Page 39 of Scent of Sanctuary

Callum drags a hand down his face, his eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them. “It’s not a far-fetched idea. Chief Monroe found turpentine at the scene and while it’s a common thing to use, it’s not really a common thing to find at multiple scenes. It’s been at the fire that took Felix and now in Seraphina’s apartment.”

I frown, remembering it was odd when I heard about it just over three years ago. It’s even more odd now because there’s a small detail I’m sure everyone’s missed. “Jonah’s degree is in biology. He’s the one that always had all those plants and shit around the firehouse, saying we needed more oxygen. Do you know how fresh it was?” Both Alphas look at me weird and I have to tap into the strange knowledge I’ve picked up over the years. “You can buy turpentine at a store but the fresher it is, the clearer it is. I think.”

“It was pretty clear from some of the residue found that wasn’t burnt.”

“Which means it came fresh from the source,” I say. “I’m not saying Jonah was behind this but I’m not leaving Seraphina alone anytime soon. He’s just a little too unhinged for me and if Felix found out what Jonah did and tried to protect her…” I don’t want to think about that possibility. Jonah isn’tthatstupid, right? He isn’t that obsessive for a woman who never even looked at him twice, right?

I’m not going to find my answers here, though. Instead, I just wait for Callum to take the lead. He pushes away from the table, a growl rumbling at the edge of his words. “This is some messy shit. I’m going to talk to Harrison and Chief Monroe.” He then points at me, a wicked grin on his lips. “You, fuck some sense into Ambrose before he ends up front-page news. We all want to kill Jonah, but I need answers before he’s dead.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I tease before dragging Ambrose down the hall. Despite how much I want to sink into his ass or maybe have him fuck me, I know something that’s one step better. The moment we step into the room, her scorched berry scent hitting our nose, Ambrose is already on his knees at the edge of the nest crawling toward her.

She reaches out for him, curling up against his chest much the same way she did to me earlier. “Make me forget. I don’t want to smell him anymore.”

I know for a fact that his scent isn’t here but the phantom memories that come with it have to be haunting her. I saddle up against her back, Ambrose leaning forward to steal her lips. I focus on her neck, watching our beautiful woman come alive between us. I remember Harrison telling us that she would need us just as much as we needed her.

But I think he was wrong.

I think we need her so much more.

A life without Seraphina isn’t one worth living.

Callum

Onceagain,I’mhereinstead of at home with my family, curled up in Seraphina’s nest. I had no idea all of this bullshit would get this big. It made sense to file a protection order or something but knowing what I know now, added with Chief Monroe’s investigation just makes all this too…

“It’s too perfect. Ihateperfect,” Monroe grumbles. His eyes walk across the wall of clues he’s pieced together in his office, allowing us a private viewing that we shouldn’t have access to.

Harrison leans against the far wall, his arms folded tight against his chest. “He’s the one guy no one would suspect, but he’s been at all of these places, all at the right time. And like Callum said, he’s into plant stuff. It would explain how fresh the turpentine is. The problem is, it’s too perfect. There’s gotta be something else.”

He’s right because we don’t have a motive. Being infatuated with Seraphina isn’t a motive for all of this. Maybe for that night during her heat and then when he showed up at our house but everything else? Jonah isn’tevil. “He’s not a murderer,” I push out. “Stealing her away would be easier than all of this but other than calls and showing up to our house, he hasn’t tried shit.”

Monroe’s eyes narrow, his gaze still focused on the board. “Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to follow crazy people’s thoughts.”

I groan, dragging a hand down my face. “What now? I can’t work with him knowing all of this. He came into my fucking house and disregarded my Omega’s no.” I don’t want to leave the firehouse; it’s been a comfort to me all these years but to protect my Omega? I’d step back in a heartbeat.

Harrison’s face hardens as he comes to sit beside me. “Yeah, well, he’s on his last string anyway. I heard he’s been harassing a few people at one of the high-end clubs or something, Auram, Aerum?”

My brow furrows at the name of a super high end club most people don’t have the money to attend. “Aurum Pulse? That’s like two towns over.”

He shrugs. “Yeah, well, I’ve gotten some reports and the only reason I know about it is because he uses being a firefighter as a line.”

I cringe, disgust twisting my gut, the thought of Jonah leveraging our honor to prey on others making my skin crawl. “Okay, I’m going home to check on Seraphina.”

Harrison’s voice softens, his hand on my shoulder as he walks me out of the station. “Take a few days. I don’t like how this is shaping up.”

God, that sounds perfect but my luck never runs that easy, an emergency text hitting both of our phones. I’m technically off duty but when I catch the fact the fire’s three blocks over, I know that I can’t ignore it. I wouldn’t be able to settle knowing I could have helped. Harrison throws me an apologetic look as we both slip into our cars and head down the road, my head buzzing with everything that’s going on.

By the time I skid into a parking lot, the firetruck is already there, my sorry ass grabbing one of the extra suits and slipping it on. I’ve never dressed this fast but the panic of the screams from this building are gutting me, someone yelling about a child on the fourth floor.Fuck. Can we not have one good day?

Evan claps me on the back as he gestures to the ladder. “All yours, Callum. I got it from down here.”

I don’t argue, just rush up the side of the truck to grab onto the ladder. My only priority is to save that screaming kid, to reunite them with their family and then get the fuck home to mine. Or thatwasthe priority until I find the floor almost falling out, the kid holding onto the decorative edges of the walls, tears streaming down his cheeks.

That could have been Seraphina and I’m glad it wasn’t but it just makes me work that much quicker, trying to assure the kid that he’ll be safe.

“What’s your name?” I shout as I climb through the window. “Jason? Hey, we’re going to get you out, okay? I just need you to hold onto me.Realtight, okay?” He doesn’t move at first but I hold out my hand, the kid slowly taking mine and then leaping forward to hold onto my neck. Fire rages around us, the smoke making it almost impossible to see as the kid buries his head in my chest to escape it all.

Wood crackles and snaps, sparks flying toward us as I carefully climb back out of the window, the kid tucked in my arms. My foot is barely on the windowsill when the waterfall of wood collapses beneath us, the strong scent of paint thinner and pine meeting my nose.Turpentine.

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