Page 20 of Tempered By Flames

Liam nodded. As much as he was panicking, he had to focus on the reason he was here. He wouldn’t abandon the woman on the floor.

He turned to her. He knew that he shouldn’t be moving her without knowing what had happened, but he couldn’t afford to waste time. Hopefully, Lisa and Jeremy would be able to help her when she was out of the fire.

He was still careful when he picked her up, holding her neck as steady as he could. Thankfully, Taylor hadn’t run out of the building screaming in horror after seeing what Liam could do. He’d stayed behind to help Liam. Liam didn’t need his help, but it felt nice to have it, anyway.

Was this how Ethan felt when he told people about being a chimera shifter? Did he wait for that person to say or do something hateful? For them to question what he was and his behavior? If that was the case, Liam didn’t like it.

His stomach churned with nerves and anticipation as he and Taylor made their way out of the building. Liam made sure to check every room they passed, but they didn’t find anyone else. When they stepped out, West and Austin were already there, their masks off, standing by the engine. Their station wasn’t the only one on site now, and another group of firefighters was working on controlling the fire.

Liam and Taylor rushed the woman toward Lisa and Jeremy. Unfortunately, there was nothing more Liam could do for her, but she’d be in good hands. He wouldn’t want anyone else to take care of him if he was in trouble.

He waited until he was sure they had the woman safely settled before stepping back and pulling off his mask. He turned to Taylor, unsure what was about to happen or what he was supposed to say. Should he act as if everything was normal? He didn’t like the feeling that the thought of deceiving Taylor gave him, but maybe it would be the safest for everyone involved. It probably would be the safest for Liam, but he wouldn’t know until Taylor reacted.

Taylor pulled off his mask. His eyes were wide, and his skin was covered in a fine sheen of sweat. He licked his lips, then opened his mouth, and Liam braced himself for the words that were coming. He really hoped they wouldn’t be you’re fired, or what the fuck are you. He had no idea how to react to either of those statements. He didn’t want to answer any questions. He wanted to rush back to the engine and hide in there like a child. Instead, he had to face his boss after he’d just found out that Liam wasn’t quite human.

“Captain?” a woman asked, causing both Taylor and Liam to turn toward her.

Taylor nodded at her. “Captain Robinson.”

“Do you have a second?”

It was clear that Taylor was going to be busy, which gave Liam some respite. He quickly stepped away from the two talking, hoping that Taylor would forget what he’d seen in there by the time he was done. But Liam wasn’t stupid. He knew there was very little chance of that and that Taylor would want to talk to him.

This had never happened to Liam before. All of his life, he’d been taught to hide what he was from the outside world, but he hadn’t had to try too hard because he barely left the clan house. He’d learned to be careful when he was at the academy, but even there, he’d never had to try hard because he hadn’t done anything that would’ve given him away. The same went for the weeks since he’d started working at the station. He’d been careful, but he hadn’t really needed his dragon abilities while working.

That had changed today, and on the first occasion, he’d given himself away.

* * * *

ETHAN AND JONATHAN shouldn’t be here. They should’ve stayed at the shop, far from the fire, but Jonathan had been panicking, and Ethan hadn’t wanted to leave him alone. He knew his friend wanted to check in on his boyfriend and that he was terrified an arsonist was involved because the last one had gone after shifters. Ethan still hoped that it was an accident or something completely unrelated, but nothing he or the others had said had convinced Jonathan to stay back.

So now they were here.

They hadn’t gotten too close, even though Jonathan had wanted to. Ethan had kept him back when he’d seen the fire. It was frankly terrifying, and he didn’t want his best friend anywhere near that. “West is going to be fine,” he murmured. “He’s a dragon shifter. The fire can’t hurt him.”

Jonathan nodded, but he was still staring at the building. “It doesn’t mean he won’t get hurt. What if the arsonist is here somewhere? What if he hurts West?”

“If this really was arson, the arsonist won’t be hanging around the building. He’ll probably be among the crowd around us, watching what’s going on.”

Jonathan’s eyes widened, and he looked around. That probably hadn’t been the right thing to say, but at least Jonathan wasn’t worrying about West anymore. Besides, Ethan wasn’t lying. If it was arson and the person responsible was around, there was a good chance they were watching from afar. That meant they wouldn’t be anywhere near West or the other firefighters.

But he was worried, too. He knew the owner of the store and her family. Margaret was in her forties and always joked that she’d been saddled with an old woman’s name. She wasn’t wrong, but Ethan found it delightful. He suspected that she liked it, too, deep inside.

He couldn’t see her anywhere. There were many people hanging around, watching the fire, and a few were with the firefighters and the paramedics. West was nowhere to be seen, but then, he was probably inside the building.

Their station wasn’t the only one there. Ethan watched as firefighters he didn’t know worked to extinguish the fire. That was when he recognized the number on one of the fire engines. He didn’t want to tell Jonathan until he was sure West was okay, though, so he tried to get a better look by standing on his tiptoes.

He relaxed when he recognized the back of West’s head. He’d seen enough of it when he’d caught Jonathan and West making out at the tattoo shop. The thought made him roll his eyes, but he frowned when he realized that West was huddled with Austin and Liam. Liam was talking quickly and gesturing, and they kept glancing at two firefighters standing nearby. Ethan didn’t immediately recognize Taylor, but when the man turned, he did, and he wondered what was going on. Liam seemed almost panicked, which didn’t make sense. His captain was a good man. Ethan had talked to him several times, and he was sure of that.

“Something’s happening,” Jonathan murmured.

His body was almost vibrating with the need to be with his boyfriend, but thankfully, he didn’t cause a scene and try to push past the police officers keeping the crowd back. He looked like he was about to snap, but he didn’t even try to catch West’s attention. Clearly, now that he could see that West was okay, he felt better.

“What do you think it is?” Ethan asked in a whisper.

“Maybe something happened. Maybe now we know it’s arson.”

That could be it, but it could also be a dozen other things. Ethan had no idea what fighting a fire entailed. Maybe something had happened with Taylor. He might be a good person, but Ethan couldn’t be one hundred percent sure of that, and he’d only met the man a few times. Maybe he was different on the job than he was when he wasn’t working.