Page 75 of One Wild Omega

Fitz shook his head. “I won’t let harm come to either omega who worked in this building. If either of them was targeted by this arsonist, I need to know.”

Harrison waved him on. Fitz donned his gear and hardhat before entering the burned-out shell. They moved to the small warehouse space behind Bellamy’s design studio and under the stairs that led to Tanner’s loft space. Harrison lifted a piece of charred wood and sniffed it before offering it to Fitz.

Fitz lifted it to his nose and inhaled. “Accelerant.”

Harrison lifted an evidence bag he pulled out of his pocket—filled with more pieces that looked like the one his brother had handed him—before eyeing a small blackened metal wastebasket. “This was the source. Paper and some kind of fuel. I found tool marks on the front door, where it was pried open. I don’t think it was an accident.”

Arson?“My gods.”

“I’ve canvased the area. Looked for security cameras. I got a look at who was here last night, but it’s dark and out of focus. Best I can see is a lone male. Possibly beta from his build. He was wearing a hoodie, so I can’t tell much else about his appearance.” Harrison paused. “I’ve got someone at the police department who’s going to try and clear up the footage some, but I don’t hold much hope.” His brother exhaled. “Where’s your omega friend?”

“I texted him your number and told him you wanted to talk to him.” Fitz wasn’t in the mood to discuss his love life, or lack thereof, with Harrison. “He’s in no shape to be going through this place, so I figured I’d see if there was anything I could salvage for him.”

“Romantic gesture?” Harrison asked, one brow rising.

“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you. What happened with Cassidy?” He knew changing the subject would be hit or miss, but it would drive his point across one way or another.

From the dark look his brother gave him, things with Cassidy weren’t great.

“Cassidy… is Cassidy.”

“You’ll get him back. You always do.”

“Maybe not this time,” Harrison murmured. “But now isn’t the time for this discussion.”

“Is this the guy?”

Harrison frowned. “I don’t think so. If it was, he’s changed his M.O. and left behind a lot more evidence than any other scene. Most of the fires have been over in the Victoria Highlands… so this one really doesn’t fit. Might be a copycat. Or someone trying to use a serial arsonist to cover his tracks. Badly.”

“Bellamy and Tanner should see the video. Maybe they’ve seen someone who looks like the guy hanging around the neighborhood recently.”

“I’ll give McCreary a call,” Harrison said. “Set something up.”

“Good,” Fitz said. “You need to get some rest, old man. You look exhausted.”

“Old? Kiss my ass with that old shit.” He chuckled. “Once I get my initial report in, I’m headed for a bed. Don’t you worry.”

After his brother departed, Fitz took a look around. Much of Bellamy’s office was gone. Lifting his head, he could see the second floor was practically gone. He sifted through piles of wood, but didn’t come up with much more than a corner of a tattered piece of a painting here and there—or a singed section of a sculpture.

Then he noticed the second office space. A wall between Bellamy’s and the empty office had burned down. The fire had crept upwards before spreading out to engulf the whole of the first floor. While the flames hadn’t spared the other office, it looked like the firefighters had stopped it from spreading as far in there.

It looked as if it was a storage of some kind. Fitz saw stacks of paintings and grew excited—but once he finally reached them, he found they were blanks, ready to be used. If they could be used. They were soaking wet from the firefighter’s hoses.

He scanned the area and saw everything was dripping wet. Without any idea if it was salvageable, he didn’t know what to grab.

But then he noticed a vault door.This must’ve been a bank long ago. Fitz made his way to the door and cleared the debris before it, not knowing if the damned thing was locked. It could be a waste of his time to even try, but Tanner could always open it later. If the man could be nudged into coming back, that was. It took him nearly a half hour to move everything out of the way…

He tried the door and it miraculously opened. A smile played over his lips as he saw a bevy of frames—untouched by flames or water—inside. “What treasures does Tanner have in here?”

Without looking, he lifted the first stack and turned to climb out of the chaos of the space. Once he was finally outside, he came face to face with Quinn and another man—one with a clipboard, trying to look all official.

One of Quinn’s brows rose as he silently appraised Fitz.

“What are you doing, Walker?”

“Trying to salvage something from this mess,” Fitz answered.

Quinn glanced around. “Is my brother here?”

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