Page 187 of All Packed Up

“Fuck,” he whispered, swallowed against the pain rising up the back of his throat.

“What is it?” Tate pushed, sitting up along with Arlo.

Nic wished the mattress would just swallow him up. He didn’t know how to say it, didn’t know how to get the words out of his throat, as if his tongue had forgotten how to form syllables along with his lips.

Wendy was on her knees in front of him, eyes pleading for him to spit it out. Her scent bittered with worry, and it seemed to drip from the fabric of the nest, and that was exactly what Nic hadn’t wanted.

But drawing it out wasn’t going to help anything. It would only prolong this torturous moment where everyone looked at him and… waited.

“There was an… accident.” The words tumbled from his throat, unsure of their footing and tripped on the way out. “Uhm…” He wiped his nose, sinuses burning. “At the gym. A fire.” Could he only give them pieces because he wasn’t done sorting them out yet himself?

“I need to go back in the morning. I have to deal with insurance and the police and…” His mind blanked.

What did he have after that?

“Oh, Nic,” Wendy finally whispered. She sat up on her knees before him and pulled him close, wrapping her arms around his head and shoulders. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Nic hated that question the most. It tightened his chest like a vise and squeezed his breath.

“If it was an accident, why do you need to speak to the police?” Griffith’s voice cut through the fog, and Nic lifted his gaze to the alpha over Wendy’s shoulder.

Maybe he could make something up, some bullshit answer about being a business owner complying with fire code or something, but he couldn’t think fast enough, and Grif’s gaze was hardening into stone, and Nic didn’t know what to say.

“This wasn’t an accident, was it?” Grif’s voice was hard, posed like a statement, a dare, rather than a question.

“Nic,” Wendy said, voice apprehensive as if she was connecting dots but didn’t want to. “They didn’t…”

But when Nic met her gaze, she dropped her hands from his shoulders and covered her mouth. “I am so… I’m so sorry,” she choked out behind her hands.

Nic leaned up and pulled her hands away, pulling her into a hug. “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” he said, heart aching. “It’s not your fault.”

He wanted to say something more convincing, but he was still wrapping his head around the fact that all he’d wanted to do was help and yet he’d been the one burned.

Just like Griffith had been.

All he’d done was help Nic escape, and yet he’d been the one to suffer for so long.

Now it was his turn, huh? Karma really was a bitch.

“It’s because of my heat, isn’t it?” Wendy asked, voice thick with tears. “They came after you because we…”

Nic swallowed, cupped his hand over the back of her head and kept her close. “I still wouldn’t change anything. You’re not responsible for their actions.”

Her fists tightened in his shirt, the fabric pulled taut against his skin. “I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Tucking her into his neck, he held her close as Nic gulped the tears down. “Don’t apologize.”

“I’ll do what I damn well want,” she sniffled.

Nic smiled despite everything and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. The devastation seemed a little less sharp with Wendy there to sooth the ragged edges.

“What about the rescue?” Tate whispered, and Nic’s heart sunk.

He might have lost a hunk of metal and cement, but Tate had real innocent lives in his care, in his rescue. If the alphas were willing to go after him, would they try to take their revenge on Tate too?

“Wait, wait,” Arlo said. “Let’s all take a deep breath. Nic, do you have cameras?”

“Yeah. I’m supposed to send the footage to the police, that’s what they want to talk to me about,” he admitted.