My God, what if I’d fallen into a trap? Had this been his plan all along—to bait me into making a public accusation without hard evidence? And I’d fallen for it. His customers were now witnesses, and people did jail time for slander.
The wind could barely keep up with me as I crossed the street. When a horn honked, I whirled around, slamming my hands on the hood of a car as the driver hit the brakes at the last second.
After crossing the street, I called the only person I could think of who would know what to do.
“It’s your dime,” Wheeler answered.
“Wheeler, it’s Hope.”
He cleared his throat. “What’s shakin’?”
“Someone’s trying to put me out of business.”
He chuckled. “That all?”
I stepped onto the curb and quickened my stride. “I know you’ve got experience dealing with shrewd businessmen. I don’t have time to explain all the details over the phone, but I really need your advice. I’ve just opened a can of worms that I can’t close. Can you meet me at Moonglow before I shift and do some real damage to my reputation?”
“Be chill. Are you alone?”
“No, I’m on the street.”
“If you feel like you’re gonna shift, get the hell inside, lock the doors, and take a deep breath. Gum helps. I’ll be there in nothing flat.”
After a few minutes, I reached Moonglow. When I tugged at the locked door, I blanched.
My keys.
Flashbacks of leaving them on Dutch’s counter came to mind, and I kicked the brick wall. I wasn’t in any condition to go back and get them. My hands were shaking, and I couldn’t tell if I was on the verge of having a panic attack or shifting in the middle of the street. Neither was an option, especially if one involved my wolf chasing people down the sidewalk.
“Think, think,” I whispered.
Maybe I’d accidentally left the back door unlocked. I’d thrown the trash out earlier, so it was worth a shot. Getting off the street might calm my nerves. I headed a few buildings down until I reached a gap that ran between two stores and cut through to the alley. All things considered, at least Melody wasn’t here. She would have made it worse by grabbing her bow and standing on Dutch’s pristine countertops. I was the levelheaded one, so it upset me that I’d behaved so impulsively.
The alley that divided our street from the one behind us was wide enough to fit the trucks that collected our garbage. Most of the buildings were connected on either side, so that offered a lot of privacy if my wolf decided to burst onto the scene. I stared at the ground, stepping around discarded pieces of trash. Rusty nails, scraps of dirty paper, glass, cigarette butts, pebbles… When I lifted my eyes, I halted in my tracks.
Black smoke billowed from a large trash container ahead on the left. When I looked back and did a mental count of the buildings, I realized it was coming from our store.
I ran, my feet barely touching the ground. The smell of smoke and gas fumes permeated the air. We didn’t just throw empty soda cans and paper towels in the bin. All kinds of flammable items were in there, such as flattened cardboard boxes and packing material.
My heart ratcheted in my chest when I reached the fire. A man stepped out from behind the bin, but he didn’t notice me since he was searching for something in his pants pocket.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I shouted.
I startled him so much that he almost tripped over his own feet while turning to face me. Gas sloshed in the red container he held tightly, and I recognized his bushy beard and beady eyes. Mr. Dumont—the irate customer with the broken purse—was attempting to burn down my store.
Noxious flames licked the outside of the trash bin, black smoke billowing toward the indigo sky.
“Stop what you’re doing!”
He took a deliberate step forward, splashing gas on the concrete between us.
“Help!” I screamed. “Someone help! Fire!”
Dumont held up a pack of matches and struck one. Shifting meant watching my dreams go up in flames, so I had to choose between catching Dumont or saving the only thing that mattered.
Dumont made the decision for me when he dropped the lit matchstick on the ground, blocking my access to the door and creating a wall of fire between us.
* * *
