Page 109 of So Wild

“I’ve got to go,” Nicole said and the line disconnected.

Scott tried to call back but the line rang out. Every muscle in his body went tight and he gripped the steering wheel so hard, his bones hurt. What had happened? Was his father there? Again, his mind groped for alternatives—Tabby had broken something, Nicole was called away by a client—but his gut told him it was just wishful thinking. He remembered the fury with which his father talked in the voicemails and he accelerated his speed.

It took a thousand years to get to his old street and as he drew up to Silver Daughters, he could taste blood in the back of his mouth. Scanning the road, he couldn’t see his father’s car anywhere. The reassurance of that was short lived. As he pulled over, he smelled the stink of burning plastic. There was smoke billowing above Silver Daughters.

“Shit!” He ejected his seatbelt and leapt from the car. A small crowd had gathered around the storefront and he ran toward them. “What’s happening? Where are the girls? Has anyone rung the fire brigade?”

“Yes,” said a woman with coke-bottle glasses. “They’re on their way, but no one’s seen the owners—hey, you can’t go in there!”

But Scott had already flung open the door and run inside. There were no flames that he could see, but the smoke was everywhere. His eyes stung and he raised a sleeve to protect his mouth and nose.

“Hello?” he called. “Nicole? Tabby? Where are you?”

He could hear people moving at the back of the building and headed toward the sound, coughing a little. “Hello? Nicole? Tabby?Gil?”

“Scottison? Is that you?”

Scott almost laughed with relief. It was Tabby, and she sounded fine. “Yes, it’s me. Where are you?”

“Out the back!”

Scott pushed forward, his hand outstretched to detect unknown obstacles. He saw natural light glowing at the end of the corridor and headed toward it. The back door was open and he stepped through it and into a small concrete courtyard that was thick with blue-grey smoke.

“Scott!”

It was Nicole, smudged with grime and holding a green garden hose. To her left was Tabby, paler and smaller than Scott had ever seen her. She was hunched over a big wicker basket, feverishly patting the six black and gold puppies and their mother. They were whining loudly and Scott felt his guts shrivel up like old fruit. “Are they okay? Areyouokay?”

“Yes to both,” Nicole said grimly. “Look at our shed.”

Scott turned and felt stupid for not seeing it sooner. The corrugated iron was a tangle of smoldering metal. “What the hell happened?”

“No idea.” Nicole turned on the hose, spraying the shed with water. Her spine was straight and her eyes clear, but there was a brittle quality to her voice, like if given one more nudge, she might scream. Scott turned to look at Tabby for more information.

“It was deliberate,” she said, picking up three puppies and holding them close. “Molotov’s or petrol bombs or something. They got the shed and the back door. That’s why the whole house is smoked out.”

Scott turned and saw the back door was burned up in the middle as though hit by a cannonball. His vision hazed over. This couldn’t have been his dad. His dad was angry and rude but he wouldn’t throw a Molotov cocktail at a building filled with women. Why would he? He wanted to buy the house.

“I was with the pups when the first petrol bomb, or whatever got thrown over. It hit the shed.” Tabby was holding four puppies at once, tugging them close whenever they attempted to squirm away.

“Did you see who did it?” Scott asked.

“No, I had my back to the fence. I thought it was a meteorite or a firework or some shit like that. I was trying to get the pups together to take them inside when the back doorexploded.”

“It was okay, though,” Nicole said quickly. “I got the fire extinguisher and stopped the door burning too much, then I used the hose to do the shed. It was mostly metal, so I put it out pretty fast.”

Her eyes were bright. Scott moved toward her, wanting to give her a hug or a comforting arm, but she backed away.

“Sorry,” she said with a fast smile. “I’m a bit rattled, I think.”

“Nix saved us.” Tabby stared at him, imploring him to believe her. “She didn’t freak out at all. I was screaming and Gil ran out the front door with the customers. If it wasn’t for her…”

Tabby buried her face into the mass of puppies, her shoulders shaking.

“Oh Tabs…” Nicole handed Scott the hose and knelt beside her sister. “Everything’s okay. No one got hurt.”

“You were so brave,” Tabby sobbed. “You were so brave and I’m always a dick to you for no reason. I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry,” Nicole said firmly. “I love you.”

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