Page 55 of The Return
“Corey, I’m sorry,” Matt said softly.
“Me too,” I said. “But more, I’m sorry for not thinking about my people before my building.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
I wished he would explain it to me.
Kinsey got in front with Matt, before he reached over and put a hand on Matt’s knee. Jonas slid in beside me and immediately wrapped me in his arms. Even the touch of my mate couldn’t chase away the cold that had seeped into my heart, though.
I wondered if anything could.
CHAPTER15
JONAS
Paramedics and firefighterswere racing around, hauling hoses, oxygen, and more as they tended to the wounded in the buildings that abutted the coffee shop, at the same time as the firemen worked to put out the fire. I stood there, watching as everything Corey had built burned to the ground. I scanned the area, and my gaze landed on Corey. He sat in an ambulance, talking with DD. She reached up and put a hand on his, and he broke down, sobbing.
This was all such crap. I wanted to go to him, to pull him in my arms and make it better, but I needed to be here, dealing with the situation as leader of the pack.
“Alpha?”
I turned to find Sawyer Henderson, the fire chief, his face a grave mask. “How bad is it?” I asked.
He blew out a sharp breath. “The shop is probably a total loss. We won’t know for sure until we get the fire contained completely. The buildings adjacent to it are scorched, but they shouldn’t be hard to fix up. Eighteen people were treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns. Deirdre got the worst of it, but they assured me she’ll be okay.”
“How’d she find it?”
“She said she came in to open and saw flames through the windows. She called 911, then went inside to see what she could do. The smoke overwhelmed her, and she was overcome. She was lucky that Jeb and Arlene saw her go in, because they pulled her furry ass out.”
So DD could have died in the fire. “Any ideas?”
He gave a quick nod. “I did an initial look, knowing you’d want to have an update. The sprinkler system appears to have been ripped out, so there was no way to mitigate the damage. Also, we found six cans of paint thinner that hadn’t gone up yet. If they had….”
“Everything would have been way worse,” I finished for him. “So this was deliberate.”
“It seems that way.” Someone called his name, and Sawyer gestured, then turned to me. “I’m sorry, Alpha, I need to get back to work.”
He turned and stalked toward to his men, barking orders at them. Meanwhile, I tried to digest what he’d said to me. Someone had deliberately done this to Corey. Were they hoping that he’d be caught in the fire? Was someone trying to kill my mate? I scanned the crowd and found Kinsey standing guard beside Corey, and Matt was helping the paramedics move people to safer locations. I pulled out my phone and dialed Kinsey.
“Yes, Alpha?”
“We need to talk, but I don’t want you to move from Corey’s side. I don’t care who it is, no one other than me, you, or Matt gets near him. Am I understood?”
“Of course.” He hesitated. “Should I move him to a safe location?”
Corey would hate me, but I needed him protected. “Get Matt and take them both to the pack house. I’ll join you after this is all dealt with.”
“Understood.” Another pause. “You know he isn’t going to be happy.”
“I wish there was another way. This fire was deliberate, and until I find out why, Corey needs to stay out of harm’s way.”
A low rumble came over the line. “I’ll take care of it now, Alpha.”
I pressed End and put the phone back in my pocket. Moments later, Corey’s shouts made their way to me. He was pissed. I wanted to go to him, but an explosion blew debris everywhere. Sawyer ran into the building, calling out to his men to direct the hoses there to soak everything. From the corner of my eye, I saw Kinsey put a protesting Matt in the car, and then they drove off. I went to help Sawyer.
“You can’t go in there, Alpha! The fire is too hot.”
I ignored the man and dashed toward what had once been the front of the building. The fire had burned so hot, the glass had melted in places. Even though I tried to focus, thoughts of Corey having been here kept playing in my head.
