Page 67 of One Wild Omega

“You need something on your stomach.Thenyou can go to bed.”

Tanner glared at him, still looking like he wanted to argue. But he finally nodded. Fitz soon sat him down on the couch with the sandwich and a cup of warm soup. “Eat up.”

Tanner picked up one half of the sandwich and lifted it to his lips. He took a sparse bite before dropping it back on the plate. “I just want to go to bed.”

“Trust me. This will help you feel a little better. Especially the soup.”

Fitz relaxed a little once Tanner ate a few more bites.

“I’m going to give my brother a call and find out when the scene will be cleared. After that, I can take you back and see if there’s anything to salvage. It’ll likely be a few hours, so you can get some rest.”

“As if I could sleep.”

Tanner ate about half the food, if that. But it was something.

Fitz cleared the plate and bowl. “Why don’t you crawl into bed?”

“Once you leave and I lock up.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Tanner eyed him, glaring.

“Mind if I take a shower?” Fitz asked after rinsing the dishes. “All I smell is smoke.”

“Whatever,” Tanner answered before heading toward his bedroom.

Luckily, Fitz had brought up his gym bag from his pickup, so he had a fresh pair of sweats. While Tanner crawled into bed, he grabbed a quick shower to wash off the soot. Then he made the call to Harrison.

“Hey, Fitz. Can I call you back? I’m in the middle of an investigation—but then I think you know that, hmm?”

“The building over on Barrington Row?”

“I saw you with that purple-haired omega… I understand he’s the artist that worked on the second floor.”

“Yep. He’s also that trouble-causing guy I told you about. He also owns that building. Well, technically his brother, Quinn, does.”

Harrison whistled. “You and a McCreary? Wow, Fitz. I’m shocked.”

“No more than I am,” Fitz mumbled. “Anyway… I figured you were probably in there checking since we’ve got a firebug in the province. I just need to know when the site will be cleared.”

“It’ll be a few hours. I can shoot you a text when it is. I’d like a chance to talk to your friend, too. I need some information.”

“Honestly, Harry—I don’t know what kind of mental shape he’s in for that right now.”

“The earlier I talk to him, the better.”

“Yeah, I’ll get him the message. By the way, is there anything so far that looks salvageable?”

“Little to nothing,” Harrison answered. “It’s pretty much razed.”

Fitz winced. “Okay… I can try to temper expectations before we go back to check it.”

“If he was here, I think he already knows there won’t be much. Lemme go… I’ll text you ASAP.”

“Thanks, man.”

Fitz sat back on the couch and looked around at Tanner’s place. It was messy, but not terrible. Stacks of books littered almost every surface, which was a bit shocking. Party-boy Tanner had never appeared to be that much of a reader—but naturally, that had been an assumption. Curious, Fitz walked over to them and checked the titles. Books on art, photography, and design made sense. But the Science Fictions and Histories were interesting. And the romances… they made Fitz smile.

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