Page 59 of The Wolf's Surrogate

“Arson. Someone said they saw a guy launch a Molotov at the second-floor window on the left.”

My eyes bulged. “You mean my window?”

He nodded solemnly. “Description matches Phil. I’m afraid he’s back in town, Ani. We have to get you back home immediately.”

Home.

That was just the thing to fix this up, right? I could hide in Liam’s home, the home I’d fantasized about having with him, and make this all go away. Two years from now, I could restart the cycle by thinking I could head into town with my kid on my hip and my mate at my side.

Who was I kidding? This was my fault. For going to that clinic. For talking to Phil. For going out with Liam. For hooking up with Liam.

My selfish desires were turning me into a reckless mess. The flames grew to magnificent heights, intensifying the heat to the point where I considered taking off my jacket.

“Ani, did you hear me?” Liam bent forward to level his gaze with mine. “Honey, I need you to roll up the window, okay? Look away. You don’t have to watch this.”

“Oh, but I do.”

He frowned, rubbed the side of his skull, and then rounded the front of the car to get to the driver’s side. Inside the car, he started the engine and whipped his seat belt over his lap. I rolled the window up. I squinted at the flames, trying to see a hint of Phil in there, the destruction echoing his actions against me so long ago.

“Did anyone get hurt?” I dared to ask. “Is anyone dead?”

Liam took my hand as he peeled away from the curb. “No, baby. Nobody got hurt. Everyone was able to vacate the building before the fire got really bad.”

“But their things…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll handle that, okay?”

Fresh tears stung my eyes. I covered my face with my hands as I shuddered through a sob, fear freezing me to the seat as I tried to process everything that had happened lately. How much stress was too much? I spent so much of my life in hypervigilance that I hadn’t even realized the extent of it until I was with Liam.

Around him, I hardly felt a pinch of anxiety. Insecurities came but didn’t quite stick. Worry amplified about certain topics, yet didn’t seem to consume me like that fire that was now devouring my old apartment building. My life felt easier, simpler, when I was with Liam.

What was I doing in return? Nothing but complicating his existence with my parentless family, my fluffy cat that bothered him, and my ex-boyfriend who evidently had just tried to murder me.

Horror struck me then. Fear unlike anything I had ever felt. And it wasn’t just for my safety. It was for the viability of my pregnancy.

It was fear that Liam might miss his chance at having a family.

Tears clouded my vision as I lifted my head from my hands. Minutes later, the car slowed. We passed over a bump. We slowly proceeded forward. Seconds after, we came to a stop where he parked and turned off the engine.

“Come inside, sweetie,” he said gently. “Let’s get you in the tub.”

I snapped the car door open and hobbled out, making my way to the porch with blurry vision. The second step caught the front of my boot, sending me face-first toward the wood. Liam caught my waist.

He sighed as he hauled me the rest of the way to the door. “We’re going to have to bubble wrap your stomach if you keep tripping like that.”

“I don’t like that joke. Shut up.”

He grumbled something as he released me. “Fine.”

“This is my fault. I put everyone in danger.”

He shut the door and bolted it, my vision clearing the longer I stood there and stared at him. My cheeks felt dry and caked with salt. Gross—maybe a bath was a good idea.

My phone chimed in my pocket. I didn’t want to look at it. I didn’t want to see what Phil had sent this time. Authoritative energy brimmed from Liam as he closed the gap between us and reached into my pocket. I kept staring at his face as he checked the screen, anger contorting his features.

“Fucker,” he growled. “He’s trying to say he went into the building to rescue you from the fire.”

Hot tears spilled down my cheeks. “That’s a lie.”

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