Chapter Six #2
He was with Austin and West, but he’d been given the order that he wasn’t to move from the hotel room across the street where they were staying.
He’d agreed readily. He’d wanted to be involved, but he knew there was nothing he could do that two dragon shifters wouldn’t do faster and better when it came to this situation.
Caleb was glad to hear his voice, though. It helped soothe his nerves.
“And I told you no,” Caleb said firmly, adjusting another drooping stem. “One of us being in danger is enough.”
The flower shop Tate had chosen was perfect for his purposes. Mrs. Hendricks hadn’t hesitated to let them use her shop as bait once Caleb had explained they suspected it would be a target. She’d been at the meeting Caleb had attended, so she knew this was their chance to stop the arsonist.
Caleb moved to the window display, pretending to rearrange the potted plants while looking up and down the street for any sign of movement.
It was getting late, but then, Tate usually set the fires in the evening or at night.
The only people still around were moving without hesitation, including a jogger with earbuds and an elderly man walking his dog.
Nothing that set off his wolf senses, and West and Austin would’ve said something if they’d recognized Tate.
“Movement to your left,” West’s voice said through the phone. “Guy in a dark jacket, baseball cap pulled low. He’s walking slowly and looking at the shop fronts. Reminds me of what that bookstore owner said about the guy she noticed before the fire.”
Caleb’s heart raced, but he forced himself to keep moving naturally. He couldn’t afford to alarm Tate. “Is it him?”
“I can’t tell from here,” Austin said, sounding as frustrated as Caleb felt. “But the body language is right. He looks like he’s watching and waiting for something.”
Through the phone, Caleb could hear the rustle of fabric and quiet movement as Austin and West moved, maybe to get a better view.
They’d spent hours planning this, going over every possible scenario and every way things could go wrong.
But now that it was actually happening, Caleb felt unprepared.
He didn’t regret offering himself up as bait, but he was worried.
“He’s stopped,” West reported. “Directly across from your shop. He’s just standing there.”
“Looking right at you,” Austin added, and there was something in his voice that made Caleb’s wolf prick up its ears.
Caleb forced himself to continue his fake work with the flowers, even though every instinct screamed at him to look up and look at Tate.
Instead, he moved to the cash register, fumbling with some receipts Mrs. Kendricks had left like he was closing up for the night.
They needed this to work. Caleb couldn’t afford to get it wrong.
“Is he coming closer?” Caleb asked quietly.
“No. He’s still just watching.” Austin paused. “Caleb, I need you to listen to me very carefully. If anything feels wrong, anything at all, you have to get out immediately. Don’t try to be a hero, even though he’s human. He’s dangerous.”
“I know the plan,” Caleb said. All of them did, but Caleb was the one in danger right now. He didn’t want Austin to freak out, but he felt like he wanted to scream.
“He’s moving,” West said suddenly. “Crossing the street. Caleb, be careful.”
Caleb’s mouth went dry, but he kept his movements steady and natural. He didn’t need anyone to tell him to be careful. He wasn’t planning on dying tonight.
He walked to the front of the shop, turning the open sign to closed like his grandmother had done every evening for years.
Through the glass, he caught a glimpse of a man approaching.
He looked like any guy with his baseball cap and jeans.
Caleb had almost expected him to appear dangerous, but he didn’t.
“I see him,” Caleb murmured.
“We’re keeping an eye on both of you,” Austin said. “Remember, act natural. You’re just a shop owner working late.”
The man paused outside the shop window. Caleb could feel his gaze on his skin.
But he did as Austin had ordered and moved back toward the counter.
Caleb’s wolf wanted to bare its teeth and to challenge this threat before Tate could do something irreparable.
Instead, Caleb forced himself to check his watch like he was tired and ready to go home.
“Caleb,” Austin’s voice was careful, but Caleb could hear the tension in it. “I need you to start moving toward the back door.”
Caleb had to act like he was leaving and give Tate the opportunity to get into the shop. That was when they’d stop him. Hopefully, it would be enough proof that Archer could do something about it.
“What the fuck is he doing?” West muttered as the shop’s front door chimed and it opened.
Eric Tate stepped inside. Caleb’s mouth went dry.
“Sorry,” Tate said with a friendly smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “I saw your light was still on. I was hoping to grab something for my wife.”
Up close, he was even more normal-looking than he’d appeared from across the street.
He was the kind of man someone would forget five minutes after meeting him, which was probably an advantage when he was doing this kind of thing.
Caleb could smell the gasoline clinging to his clothes, though.
He noticed the way Tate looked around carefully.
“I just closed, but as long as you’re quick, you can grab something,” Caleb said, proud that his voice came out steady.
“What kind of arrangement were you thinking?”
Caleb couldn’t let Austin and West storm in here, but he had no way to stop them. They needed evidence, and a man walking into a flower shop wasn’t a crime, no matter how suspicious his behavior was.
Tate moved further into the shop, his gaze taking in every detail. “This is a nice place. You been here long?”
“About six months,” Caleb lied. “Still learning the business with Mrs. Kendricks. She’s on vacation right now.” That way, if Tate had already investigated the place, he wouldn’t wonder where she was and why Caleb was here instead of her.
There was something in the way Tate watched Caleb that made Caleb’s skin crawl.
“So, what’s the occasion?” he asked.
“The occasion?”
“For the flowers? Personally, I’d recommend the roses unless your wife hates them. They’re a classic for a reason.”
Tate waved at the closest bouquet—not roses but tulips. “Those are fine. She likes yellow.”
Caleb was hyper-aware of Tate as he moved around the shop.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to have the tulips in Tate’s hands and Tate’s money in the cash register.
He wasn’t surprised when Tate paid with cash, and he watched him leave.
He didn’t breathe easier until the door closed behind Tate, but even after the man had vanished from sight, Caleb was still worried.
He hadn’t expected Tate to set the flower shop on fire after walking in to buy flowers, but there had to be a reason for him to have come in.
What was that reason?
* * * *
THE ONLY REASON AUSTIN hadn’t run to the flower shop yet was that Caleb would have kicked his ass if he’d interrupted whatever was going on with Tate. Besides, it wasn’t like Tate was doing anything dangerous. He’d talked to Caleb and had bought flowers for his wife. That was it.
“He’ll be fine,” Jonathan murmured as they watched Tate leave the flower shop from the window of the room they were in.
“I know,” Austin told him. He did know. Tate was leaving the flower shop, and he hadn’t done or said anything weird as far as they knew.
It hadn’t been easy to hear, even with the phone call with Caleb still connected.
Austin, West, and Jonathan hadn’t wanted to make any noise so they wouldn’t get Tate’s attention, but Austin had been close to yelling in frustration several times.
He hated that they couldn’t see inside the flower shop from where they were.
He wouldn’t have known if Caleb needed him to intervene unless Caleb screamed, and that wasn’t something Austin wanted to experience.
But it was over. Tate walked away, and just seconds later, Caleb’s voice came through. “Guys?”
“You’re okay,” Jonathan said.
Caleb sounded a bit shaky, but that was understandable. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
“What happened?” Austin asked.
“Nothing much. He came in and said he wanted to buy flowers for his wife. I don’t think he was actually here for the flowers, but he did buy something before leaving. We talked a bit about the shop.”
“If this was one of his targets, he’d have investigated it. He probably knows you’re not usually there.”
“I told him Mrs. Kendricks was on vacation.”
“Did he buy it?”
“I don’t know. Does it matter? What’s he doing?”
“He dumped the flowers in the first trashcan he found,” West explained. He was listening to Caleb, but unlike Austin and Jonathan, he was more focused on what Tate was doing.
Austin was glad that West and Jonathan had insisted on being part of this. He would’ve done what he could if he’d been on his own, but it was a relief to know that Caleb would be protected, no matter what happened to Austin.
Not that he was planning on anything happening to him.
He and West would stop Tate, one way or another.
He wouldn’t have it any other way. He was done dealing with these fires, and it was time for Tate to pay.
It was a miracle he hadn’t seriously hurt anyone yet, but something told Austin that he would eventually.
They wouldn’t let that happen.
“Is he leaving?” Caleb asked.
Austin could hear him move around the shop. He desperately wanted to go downstairs and grab his boyfriend, but Caleb really would kick his ass if he ruined everything.