Page 110 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

She recognized that tone. People used it when they thought she was especially crazy.

“E-Evan?” She could barely get out his name.

“There’s a bullet hole in his shoulder, and it looks like he banged his head, but he’ll be fine.”

Tears trickled down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I left him there.”

“It was probably the best thing you could have done. You took Eddie’s attention away from Evan. You might have saved his life.”

“You don’t believe that. But thanks.” She bit her bottom lip as she recalled the sight of him lying there in his own blood. “He was the one who saved me. He tasered Hanson and bought me time.”

“Aye, he’s a hero alright. And we’ll never hear the end of it. Don’t cry, Annabelle; none of this is your fault.”

She caught sight of his hand in her peripheral vision, reaching out to comfort her. “Don’t touch me! You’ll block the crack.”

His hand retreated. “Okay,” he said slowly. “We wouldn’t want to do that now, would we? You’re getting a wee bit burned, though. How about we move back into the shade?”

“No. I’m not leaving the crack.” She kept her eyes on it, only daring to blink when absolutely necessary. The crack was her lifeline. It was literally, in that moment, her entire world.

“Is this, uh, crack like an interdimensional portal only you can see?”

“What?” Annabelle almost looked at the idiot. “It’s a crack. It’s right there. Anybody can see it.”

“Whatever you say,” he said soothingly.

Now he was just making her mad. “Where’s Noah? I can’t leave without Noah.” She needed to hold his hand. That’s what Sammy said worked, and he had to be right. Jacob had been right about focusing on the little things. Ten years of expensive psychotherapy, and it was Noah’s boys who’d given her the tools she needed to survive.

Go figure.

“He’s dealing with the problem in the stairwell.”

As if on cue, there was a series of explosions behind the stairwell door.

“Flash-bang,” Logan said. “Nothing to worry about.”

Gunshots rang out.

“That was a gun,” Logan said. “We might have to worry about that.”

There was banging at the door, which made Annabelle jump and almost take her eyes off the crack.

“Gimme a sec,” Logan said as he stood. “Noah says we need to unlock the door. Do you have the key?”

Slowly, keeping her gaze steady, Annabelle shifted enough to reach into her pocket. She handed the key to Logan without looking at him. A few seconds later, the door opened, and then Noah was at her side.

At last.

He fell to the roof beside her and wrapped her up in his strong, solid arms.

“Don’t do that!” Logan shouted. “You’re blocking the crack.”

Annabelle buried her face in Noah’s chest, closed her eyes, and sobbed. Everything was okay now. The crack had done its job. Noah was here.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

“He really should go to the hospital,” Dr. Mallory said as she watched the paramedic patch up Evan’s bullet wound. “He’s had a nasty blow to the head.”

Annabelle’s doctor had arrived quickly after they’d called her. While waiting for a different paramedic to tend to Annabelle’s cuts and bruises, she’d popped into the main office area to check on Evan, citing professional curiosity. Noah suspected the doc had developed a soft spot for their team.