* * * *
CALEB COULDN’T BREATHE.No matter how hard he tried, he felt like the fire was closing around him, which was ridiculous because the fire had already been taken care of.Hell, he’d watched Jonathan’s boyfriend do it.Why was he still so afraid, then?Why was he panicking?
“You need to breathe,” Jonathan said.
He sounded calm—too calm for the occasion.He was the one who’d almost died in a fire just a few months ago.How could he be so calm?Caleb didn’t know, but he wished he did because he hated feeling like this.He hated that the world was closing in around him.He hated the smell of smoke and fire, and the certainty that he was about to lose his best friend.
“Okay,” Jonathan said, apparently understanding what the problem was.“The shop isn’t on fire this time.It was the bookstore, okay?I’m sorry about that, by the way.I know how much you liked it.”
Caleb snorted.“I’m not worried about the bookstore right now.”
“I know.You’re worried about me, but you don’t have to be.I’m here, and I’m fine.”
He squeezed Caleb’s shoulder again as if to prove that.Caleb tried to take a breath, but it was still too hard.
“I think he’s having a panic attack,” a voice said.
Caleb blinked at the firefighter who’d suddenly appeared in front of him.It wasn’t West, although West was there, too.No, it was a firefighter who’d been talking to West.Caleb hadn’t officially met Austin yet, but he knew a lot about him.Caleb was Jonathan’s best friend, and Austin was West’s.It was actually weird that they hadn’t talked before, but a lot of that was due to West and Austin’s jobs.They had weird schedules, and Caleb and Jonathan were also busy with work.
But Austin was here now.He was focused on Caleb, and Caleb was almost offended by his words.He wasn’t having a panic attack, dammit.“I’m fine,” he said.His voice sounded squeaky, but he tried to ignore it.
Austin arched a brow.“Are you?”
“Well, my best friend almost died in a fire a few months ago, but apart from that, yes, I’m fine.”
Austin winced.“Yeah, I’m sorry about that.That’s why I think you’re having a panic attack.”
“I’m not.”
“Sure.”
“Shouldn’t you be over there doing your job?”
“I am.I’m taking care of the public.”
“You’re a firefighter.You should take care of fires.”
Austin gestured at what remained of the bookstore.“We did.It’s not all we do, though.Do you need me to call the paramedics?”
Caleb shook his head.To his surprise, he felt better.His legs felt a little weak, and his lungs were tight, but he was breathing normally again.He wasn’t sure how it had happened.“I’m fine,” he said, and he almostsoundedfine.
Austin didn’t look convinced, but he nodded.“All right.”
“I noticed you talking to the bookstore owner.”Caleb needed a distraction.He didn’t want to focus on the fire from three months ago.In fact, he didn’t want to focus on this fire, either, but doing that meant that he wasn’t worried about Jonathan.It wasn’t like Jonathan was in danger, anyway.He was talking to West, and he was perfectly fine.
Austin frowned.“You know her?”
“I know almost every store owner on the street.I’ve been spending a lot of time here since Jonathan opened his shop.”
The words felt normal coming out of Caleb’s mouth, but Caleb’s mind was racing.He knew Margaret, the bookstore owner, and not just as a customer.Margaret was a fox shifter, and her small bookstore specialized in books that often contained more than human customers would ever realize.Those books were hidden in the backroom, and Caleb had spent a lot of time there.
Margaret had been one of the first to welcome Jonathan when he’d moved to this neighborhood, and Caleb had always been grateful for that because, as much as he loved Jonathan, he’d known he wouldn’t be able to help him on his own.Margaret had done the same for other shifters, and now, her shop was gone.
Caleb’s chest tightened again, but this time it wasn’t panic.It was anger.This was the fourth shifter-owned business to burn in the past two months.The first had been a small restaurant owned by a bear shifter family.The second was a jewelry store run by a raven shifter, while the third had been a coffee shop Caleb had loved that had been owned by a wolf shifter.
And now, Margaret’s bookstore.
The human authorities kept calling them unfortunate accidents, but Caleb knew better.Four accidents in two months, all targeting businesses owned by shifters?That wasn’t a coincidence, it was a pattern—but it was a pattern that the human authorities couldn’t see because they didn’t know about shifters.
