Page 65 of Fanning the Flames

“Sadie!” Joan shoved her phone at her brother and ran to the side entrance.

She slammed the door open and frantically searched the gangway between warehouses. Her heart leaped spying Sadie huddled against the cement wall, mouth open as she stared at her phone.

Joan raced over and grabbed her arm. “Get inside!”

Sadie stumbled but found her footing. “That looks like somewhere north of here.”

“Sadie!” her mom shouted through the phone. “Are you still there?”

“I’m here. I’m okay.” She followed Joan into the warehouse.

“What is going on in that awful city?”

Sadie mumbled something to her mother. Possibly said it loudly, but Joan couldn’t hear anything over the roar of fire and fear in her ears. She wrapped Sadie in her arms and held tight.

Sadie slipped her phone from between them so they could watch the cell tower keel over onto a series of power lines. Booming crashes and pops sounded in the distance.

The live feed went dead.

So did Sadie’s phone call.

“Damn it.” She pushed away from Joan and tried to call her mother back. “She’s gonna have a coronary.”

Joan held her by the shoulders, inspecting for any hint of harm. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Ow, you’re burning up.”

She quickly removed her hands. Her fire was at the surface, ready to go.

Mark held his phone high, trying to get reception. “Looks like the destruction and chaos has begun.”

“The Supers wasted too much time.” Perry set his mouth in a grim line.

Joan checked Sadie one more time—she was fine, but fuck, not being with her during an attack had been terrifying. “The other Villains didn’t help him,” Joan noted. “It doesn’t look like he needs their help to destroy shit.”

“He might need it for larger-scale things,” Mark said.

She sucked in an unsteady breath, willing the fire to subside. She shook out her hands and wandered back and forth. The monthly reports sat on the table. How were they supposed to focus on the price of potatoes when the city was in serious trouble?

What were her food truck friends thinking right now? They had to be scared for their families, for their businesses… Or was this just another adjustment they had to get used to? It must be so weird being a norm. She had one foot in that world and hated all the uncertainty.

Mark wiggled his phone. “I’m getting an extremely weak signal.”

Sadie attempted to get back on SuperWatch, gave up, then called her mom back. “I’m okay,” she said. “Don’t worry. I’m with Joanie. She doesn’t let anything bad happen to me.”

Joan took Sadie’s free hand and kissed it. Sadie smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She drew her hand back and whispered, “Still too hot” away from the phone.

“Sorry,” Joan whispered back.

She left Sadie to fruitlessly assure her mother of her safety and went to pester Perry. He leaned his ass against the table, hands braced on either side.

She glanced at his agenda. The last item on the list was—ugh.Consult with Sadie about Knollwood Village property.

They had to get this under control so they could go back to food trucks and cafés and all the good things they were building for themselves.

“We need to do something,” Joan said. “You have to call her, Per.”

He sighed, his wind energy ruffling his suit jacket. “I know.”

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