Amy blinked hard. She felt a glimmer of hope. Rover had obeyed commands in the past, sure, but lately he’d stopped doing tricks for anyone but himself.

“Rover, lie down,” said Fieldston. Rover stayed sitting. Fieldston snapped his fingers and made a noise somewhere between hissing and clucking in his throat, then pointed down. “Rover, lie down now.”

Rover got down on the ground, though he kept his head up.

“Good boy, Rover!” said Katie. Mom laughed in shock. Dad looked at Amy with a big grin. Amy tried to return his smile … but couldn’t quite do it. Something wasn’t right. Why was Rover being so nice now?

“See, it’s all good.” Fieldston laughed, bending down and scratching Rover behind the ear. “He probably has some leftover commands in his head from before his rescue. We’re just going to teach him the rules of the house.”

“He’s followed commands before,” said Mom. “That’s not the problem—”

“Guys.” Fieldston Kade sighed. He knelt down next to Rover and scratched the dog more. “Between us, I think you’re too close to this situation. And you know what? That’s normal. This dog’s behavior has made you feel like your wholes lives revolve around him. That’s the whole point of alpha dominance. But as an outsider, I can tell you what you have here is a really sweet guy who just hasn’t been given the proper motivation yet. I promise, this guy just needs the right behavioral training. Now, I’m going to ask for a few minutes alone with Rover, to separate him from the source of his dysfunction.”

“The source?” said Amy, but Mom interjected quickly, “That’s fine. Girls, go to your rooms. Mitchell, let’s talk outside.”

The minute Amy got up to her room, she cracked her window facing the front lawn and looked out to see Mom and Dad talking. She could just barely hear their hushed conversation.

“Are you crazy?” hissed Mom. “A dog whisperer? With what that dog is? With everything going on?”

“Patricia, he’s a professional,” Dad insisted. “Rover’s already obeying his commands. Maybe this guy has something special.”

“I don’t know,” said Mom, hugging herself.

“It’s going to be fine.” Dad gently rubbed her arm. “I promise, after twenty minutes with Rover, this guy’ll put everything back the way it w—”

A crash. The bay window in the living room exploded out onto the lawn as Fieldston Kade flew through it. The dog whisperer landed amid the broken glass with a thud, and dozens of cuts on his exposed arms and face began welling with dark blood.

Finally, after holding in her fear and tension since Rover had arrived, Amy opened her mouth and screamed.

Chapter 18: Hot Spot

He’d needed eighty-four stitches.