Janet Evanovich: Wicked Business

“Look around you,” I said. “You’re going to die alongside me.”

She smiled at me. “I can’t die. I have the power.”

She aimed the torch at me, and I batted it out of her hand. I shoved her out of my way, turned to run for the door, and Anarchy knocked me to my knees with a blow to the back of my head. I was trying to clear my head and shake it off, and the big free-standing set of shelves crashed down on me. There was instant pain in my leg and a wave of nausea. I tried to move, but I was pinned under the shelf.

I was surrounded by flames and choking on smoke. Anarchy had disappeared. I could hear the fire crackling and hissing around me. I yelled for help, but I doubted anyone could hear me. And I couldn’t imagine anyone being able to get through the flames to rescue me.

I had my arm across my face, trying to filter out the smoke as much as possible, and I felt the shelf lift off. It was Wulf. He tossed the shelf out of the way and knelt beside me.

“We’re even after this,” he said. “So stay alert. The next time we meet, I might not be this nice. Hatchet was able to remember most of the writing on the tablet… enough to make me believe I know where to find the next stone. I won’t be happy if you try to prevent me from acquiring it.”

He pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close, and that was the last I remember.

When I regained consciousness, I was on the ground across the street from the Exotica Shoppe. A paramedic was bending over me, offering oxygen. I sucked some in and sat up. Glo, Clara, and Nina were there. No Wulf.

“Where’s Diesel?” I asked.

“He got here seconds after Wulf carried you out of the building. He made sure you were all right, and then he and Wulf went to look for Anarchy.”

Glo, Clara, and Nina were smudged with soot. It was on their clothes, their arms, and their faces. Clara’s hair had broken loose from its pins and was an electric mass of singed frizz. Nina was wrapped in a blanket, having left her gown inside the shop. They were all hovering over me, and I could see tear tracks streaking down their cheeks.

“We were so worried,” Glo said, her voice breaking. “We tried to go back into the building to help you, but we couldn’t get past the fire. It raced through the front of the store. The police and fire trucks came almost immediately, but if it hadn’t been for Wulf…” She left off with a sob, brushed tears away, and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

“We don’t even know how he got you out,” Clara said. “He just appeared from behind a fire truck with you in his arms. He carried you across the street, and we all ran over to you. You weren’t moving, and we were afraid…” Clara took a beat to get her composure. “Anyway, Wulf said you would be fine, and he didn’t leave until the paramedic got to you. Diesel was here by then, too, and Wulf told Diesel he’d been following Anarchy. I guess that’s how Wulf got to you so fast.”

The paramedic tried to get me to my feet, but I had pain in my left leg, and I couldn’t put my weight on it. He cut my jeans away at the knee, and I could see the swelling and the bruise developing midway between my knee and my ankle.

“Anarchy pushed one of the heavy display cases over and it fell on my leg,” I said. “That’s why I couldn’t get out. I was trapped under the case. Wulf moved it off me, and the last thing I remember, he was holding me close with his arms wrapped around me.”

“You should have your leg checked out,” the paramedic said. “Let me stabilize it, and we’ll get you to the ER.”

I was waiting for the paramedic to return when Diesel crossed the street to me. “How are you doing?” he asked.

“I think my leg might be broken. They’re going to take me in for an X ray. Did you find Anarchy?”

“Wulf and I tracked her down and trapped her in a blind alley. I was glad I had Wulf with me. It was like trying to capture a wild animal.”

“What did you do with her?”

“We turned her over to the police.”

“Will they be able to hold her?”

“Probably not. Apparently she’s been losing the power she stole from Wulf, but she has her own arsenal of creepy, special abilities. One of which is being able to burn a handprint into flesh. She killed Reedy and threw him out the window when she discovered Wulf already had the book of sonnets.”

“She told you that?”

“Yeah. She has a real anger management problem. She was ranting and babbling and foaming at the mouth while we were trying to capture her.”

“Foaming at the mouth?”

“I made that up. I don’t know why there was no record of her on file. I have a feeling she’s been around for a while as Anarchy. And I think she’s probably been looking for the stones at least as long as we have.”

“And Wulf is regaining his power?”

“I don’t know. Wulf and I don’t spend a lot of time chatting.”

The EMT rolled a stretcher over to me, and Diesel loaded me onto it.

“I haven’t got my purse,” I said to Diesel. “I don’t have any of my medical insurance information.”

“Where’s your purse?”

“It was left in the building.” I felt my heart stop for a beat. The SALIGIA Stone was in my purse.

“Oh boy,” I said. “Bad news.”

“Let me guess,” Diesel said. “The stone was in your purse.”

We looked across the street at the Exotica Shoppe. Not a lot left. Blackened brick walls. Most of the fire was out. What was left was smoldering rubble.

Three days later, Diesel helped me out of the car and handed me my crutches. I had a simple fracture. Surgery wasn’t needed, but I’d be hobbling around for a while. Glo, Clara, and Nina were already on the sidewalk in front of what was left of the Exotica Shoppe. The yellow crime scene tape had been taken down, and the fire marshal had declared the area safe.

Everyone was wearing rubber boots and gloves, and I had a plastic garbage bag over my cast, held secure with electrician’s tape. We all had rakes and shovels. We were going to look for the SALIGIA Stone.

“I’m so sorry about your shop,” I said to Nina, “but I’m glad you weren’t badly burned.”

“Just some small burns on my hands from when I tore my gown off,” Nina said. “I went home and put salve on them.”

I looked at the gutted, blackened building. “There’s not much left.”

“Good riddance,” Nina said. “I was over-insured. I’m going to rebuild something better. The truth is, this was a creaky, moldy old building. I’m going to put central air and a real pretty restroom in my new shop.”

“Are you going to comb through this for salvageable items?” I asked her.

“Nope. Not worth it. It looks like mostly ashes to me. And I wouldn’t want to give someone something that had been damaged by the heat. I’ve already put in an order for most everything, and I have a temporary location lined up.” Nina waded into the debris. “You were over here in the corner, hiding behind the shelf. This must be where you dropped your purse.”

We followed Nina and began picking through the rubble. We pushed charred jars and timbers away, and swept away ashes.

“I think I found something,” Glo said. “I think this is the metal clasp on your shoulder bag.”

We crowded around Glo, carefully pushed more ashes aside, and I was the first to see the little brown rock. I picked it up, and it hummed in my hand and gave off a brilliant blue aura.

“This is it,” I said.

Everyone cheered.

“This is a happy ending,” Nina said. “I’m going to the costume store to look for a new gown.”

“I have an appointment at the hair salon,” Clara said. “I’m going to get the singed ends trimmed off.”