SUDDENLY, I HEAR barking from around the corner. Then I see a flash of brown fur in front of the steps. I get a twinge in my gut. That dog could be Bando’s twin. He’s even got…

“Bando! Wait up!” Grandma’s voice.

Grandma’s voice?

I jump up just in time to see her coming around the corner. We both freeze for a second. It can’t be. Is this a dream? I run into her arms, crying and shouting like crazy. As soon as she grabs me, I know it’s her. It’s really her. She smells like lilacs.

“Grandma! You’re alive?”

“Don’t say it like it’s a question,” she says. “Of course I’m alive.”

“Jessica?” shouts Margo. She can’t believe it either.

“Nice to see you all breathing,” says Grandma.

“The warehouse!” says Lamont. “How did you…?”

Grandma reaches out to hug Lamont and Margo while Bando runs happy circles around everybody.

“As soon as you all left this morning,” says Grandma, “Bando started to get antsy. So I took him out for a walk. Which, as it turned out, was excellent timing. When I looked back, there was nothing but a cloud of smoke.”

I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe she’s here. My heart feels like it’s about to pop right out of my chest. I go right back to hugging her. I can’t get enough.

“And what happened to you?” she asks. She’s looking at the scratches on my face and the bruises on my arms. “Did you get into another fight?”

“I did,” I say. “But I came out on top.”

“That’s my girl,” says Grandma. Always my biggest fan.

“Have you heard?” she says. “Gismonde’s gone. Everybody’s celebrating. They’re shooting holes in his video screens all over town.” She looks at Lamont.

“Did the Shadow have anything to do with this?”

Lamont puts his arm around her shoulders and leads her up the steps to the building. Margo follows right behind.

“Jessica,” says Lamont. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

I’d say that’s putting it mildly.

Bando is jumping all over me, begging for some attention. I pick him up in my arms as we head up the stairs. He licks my face, and I kiss him right back. Now we definitely need a new place to live.

Big enough for a family of five.