We returned to the front of the store and found Drew waiting, gloved hands held out in frustration. “Come on, guys. I’ve got rules to follow here.”
“I know, I know. Can you give us a couple more minutes?” I nodded at the locked display cabinets running along the wall behind the counter. “We need access.”
He paused and weighed up his options, taking in the full baskets I was carrying. No one had come into the store since we’d arrived, and he had a guaranteed sale standing right here in front of him. If he showed Sadie those knives, who knew how much more she’d spend? “I shouldn’t.”
“But youcould,” Sadie said. “Just for us, please?”
He stalled for a beat, then sighed. “All right.” He slipped behind the counter and grabbed the keys to the cabinet. “What do you need?”
A commotion outside caught my attention, and I tuned into the noise while Sadie spoke to Drew.
Male voices. Two or three of them, more excited than pissed, if I had to guess. Probably nothing to worry about, but it was unusual enough to pique my interest.
When the sound of smashing glass and the high-pitched wail of an alarm followed, I left the baskets on the counter. “Back in a second.”
Sadie shot me a curious look, then returned her attention to the knives. While she exchanged the usual pandemic small talk with Drew. I approached the double doors and checked the street.
The hooded teens we’d passed earlier had surrounded an empty car a few spots up from Sadie’s. One of them held a spray can at his side, finger on the trigger, as he stood next to the cracked passenger window. The others egged him on as if he were building the courage to do something, and I didn’t want to hang around long enough to find out what they were planning.
“Might need to call the cops,” I said to Drew.
“Wouldn’t waste my time,” he said, scanning Sadie’s purchases. “Triple zero just keeps you on hold. Nothing happens.”
I’d heard the same story from others. When more people found out we were on our own now, the thought of living in Sadie’s worst-case-scenario world wouldn’t seem so out there.
“What’s going on?” Sadie asked as she helped Drew bag the items.
“A group of kids smashed a car window—not yours,” I added when her eyes widened.
There was no one else around. Not a single person. If they wanted to start shit when we left the store, there’d be four of them and two of us.
My heart pumped harder, my attention switching between the street and Sadie. “We need to get moving.”
“Almost there.” She waved her phone over the payment terminal and waited.
Nothing happened.
Another attempt yielded the same result, and my shoulders tensed.
“Motherfu—system’s down again.” Drew rested his hand on one of the bags as if Sadie might suddenly grab it and do a runner.
“How long does it usually take to come back?” I asked.
“A few minutes? Depends on the network. It keeps dropping out, and it’s been pissing me the hell off.” He lifted the portable terminal off the counter with his other hand, as if he might catch a signal higher up.
Sadie gripped her phone and waited, staring at Drew’s tapping fingers as he kept her purchases secure. I couldn’t tell if she was thinking about bolting with the bags or leaving them behind, but I’d back her either way.
When hysterical cackles drifted into the shop, I checked on the teens again. The guy with the spray can pulled a lighter from his pocket and did a couple of testing flicks. No flame, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out where this was headed. “Come on. Let’s just go.”
Sadie’s back straightened, and she sent me a sideways glance. “I’m not leaving until the sale goes through. We might need all this stuff, and I don’t want to come back again.”
The kids outside were becoming more of a problem. The lighter caught on the third flick, and the kid depressed the trigger on the spray can, sending a jet of flame through the car’s broken window.
Within seconds, the interior ignited, and thick, black smoke filled the air, flowing through the hole in the glass. The flames grew more intense by the second, and the boys jumped around the car, whooping and punching the air.
My hand flexed at my side. A single fire wouldn’t keep them entertained for long, and Sadie’s car might be the next target.
“Any luck?” I called out, keeping an eye on the street.
