Who would want to burn down shifter-owned businesses?Who knew about shifters in the first place?Some humans did.Maybe it was one of them, or maybe it was other shifters.Austin didn’t know if there was anything in common between the owners of the shops that burned down.He was going to have to look into it, though.Calebdefinitelywould, and Austin wouldn’t be left in the dark.
For some reason, Austin felt it was his job to protect Caleb.West already had his hands full with Jonathan.The least Austin could do for his best friend was to keep an eye on Jonathan’s best friend.
Even though he was pretty sure that was going to end in a disaster.
* * * *
CALEB FOUND HIMSELFwatching as West and Austin walked back toward the rest of their team.Austin’s broad shoulders filled out his firefighter’s jacket, and there was something about the way he carried himself that drew the eye—or Caleb’s eye, anyway.When Austin glanced back toward them, Caleb quickly looked away, focusing instead on what remained of Margaret’s bookstore.
“Subtle,” Jonathan said, sounding amused.
“What?”Caleb tried to sound innocent, but Jonathan knew him too well.
“The staring.Verysubtle.”
Jonathan’s eyes held that particular glint that meant Caleb was about to be thoroughly teased.Normally, he’d be annoyed, but after what had happened today, he was glad that Jonathan felt up to teasing him.
“Should I be worried that my best friend is checking out my boyfriend’s best friend?”Jonathan asked.
“I wasn’t—” Caleb started, but what would denying it do?“Fine.Maybe I was looking.He’s, well, he seems nice.”
“Nice.”Jonathan drew out the word.“Austin is many things, but I’m not sure thatnicecovers it.I’m also not sure that’s actually the word you wanted to use since you were staring at his ass.”
“I wasn’t!”
Jonathan arched a brow.Caleb hadn’t been staring at Austin’s ass, but he might as well have been.Hell, he’d been thinking about Austin’sbroad shoulders.
They started walking back toward Jonathan’s tattoo shop since there was nothing more they could do here.The smell of smoke clung to everything, including them, but the danger was over.Caleb tried not to think about when Jonathan’s shop had burned.Thankfully, it hadn’t been as bad, and Jonathan hadn’t lost it, but still.It was too close for comfort.
“What would you call Austin if not nice?”Caleb asked, curious despite himself.He shouldn’t be thinking about Austin, but it was a distraction he needed right now.
Jonathan was quiet for a moment.“Dedicated.Intense when he needs to be, but not in an overwhelming way.Loyal to the people he cares about.West says Austin’s the kind of person who’ll run into a burning building for a stranger, but he’ll also remember your coffee order after meeting you once.”
“He’s a firefighter.Running into burning buildings is his job.It doesn’t make him a good person, especially since fire can’t hurt him.”The words came out harsher than Caleb intended.
Jonathan shot him a knowing look.“Not everyone is Sal, Caleb.”
Caleb would rather not think about Jonathan’s ex, but he’d been the one to start their conversation, and he couldn’t deny that he was worried.Sal had swept Jonathan off his feet with grand gestures, then he’d isolated Jonathan from his friends and had hurt him.He’d made Jonathan believe that love meant giving up pieces of yourself until there was nothing left, and that was what Jonathan had done for too long.
“I know that,” Caleb said.“I just—dragons are—”
“What?Big and scary?West is a dragon.Austin is a dragon.Are you telling me that you think West is going to hurt me?”
Caleb stopped walking.The idea of West hurting Jonathan was ridiculous, even though he couldn’t help but wonder sometimes.He’d seen how gentle West was with Jonathan and how he encouraged Jonathan’s independence rather than trying to control it.He’d always been careful with Jonathan and was nothing like Sal, but that didn’t mean that no one was.“No, of course not.But West is different.”
“Different how?”
Caleb wasn’t sure how to explain it because it didn’t make a lot of sense.It was an irrational fear.“He doesn’t make everything about himself.He doesn’t need to be the biggest, strongest person in the room.He actually listens to you.”
“And you think Austin wouldn’t listen to you?”
Caleb thought about the way Austin had dealt with his panic attack.He’d been calm and professional, but also concerned.He’d offered help without being pushy and had backed off when Caleb insisted he was fine.It wasn’t the behavior of someone who needed to dominate every situation the way Sal had.
“I don’t know,” Caleb admitted.“I barely talked to him.”
“But you’d like to talk to him more.”
It wasn’t a question, but Caleb answered anyway.“Maybe.”Because deep inside, he knew that neither West nor Austin were anything like Sal.It was just an excuse not to make himself vulnerable.
