Page 13 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

“I’m sure she appreciates it.” He did a visual sweep of Annabelle, checking for injuries, and was relieved to find none evident. “It’s unusual for a doctor to make house calls in this day and age.”

Dr. Mallory was clearly amused. “Some of my patients can’t make it in to see me.”

Noah smiled sheepishly. “Of course. Sorry, I took some pain meds. My brain is a bit slower than usual. Is she gonna be okay?”

“It’s purely a bad dose of the flu. Her fever had gotten a little out of hand, but the fluids will help, as will the medication we administered. All she needs now is to rest and let her body fight it off.”

The paramedic finished up, nodded at the doctor, and left the room. Noah stepped out of his way, wincing as pain shot through his injured leg.

“Sit down, Mr. Merchant,” the doctor said. “Before you topple over.”

Someone had moved a couple of old wooden chairs into the room, and Noah gratefully sank onto one of them. It groaned under his weight.

“Bullet skimmed my leg,” he told the doctor. “Took a chunk of skin.”

“Looks like that’s not the only injury you’ve sustained.” Her attention was on his bandaged head.

“No, but it’s the one that hurts the most. Does Annabelle have any injuries?”

“A few scrapes but nothing serious.” She seemed to look right into him and see things he didn’t want anyone to see. “You did a good job of protecting her.”

“It was mostly luck.” He nodded at the sleeping patient. “Have they filled you in on the situation?”

“Yes.” Her lips thinned. “Annabelle saw a man being killed and is a key witness in his murderer’s trial. Tonight, some of his gang members tried to stop that from happening.”

“The ADA wants us to move her to a safe house. Is that even possible with her condition?”

The doctor sighed and took the chair beside his, sitting just as straight as she’d stood. “Agoraphobia’s a crippling condition, and contrary to public perception, it doesn’t always mean that the sufferer is housebound. It can mean they stick only to places where they feel safe and never leave that defined area. For Annabelle, that means this building.”

Noah wished he’d had time to read up on the condition before being thrown in at the deep end. “What would happen if she’s forced to leave?”

“Honestly, I suspect she’d experience a full psychotic break and have to be institutionalized.”

“So, she can never leave this warehouse?” There went their plan to move her to a safe house.

“I’m not saying that. With time and work on her part, she could extend her comfort zone beyond this building. But forcing her out of it is something else entirely. She isn’t mentally equipped to deal with such a violation. Do you know anything of her history?”

Noah shook his head and instantly regretted it because it made the wound on his scalp throb. “We got pulled onto this job just a couple of hours ago. Been kinda busy since then.”

“So I see.” The doctor smiled kindly. “I’m not betraying Annabelle’s confidence by telling you what she experienced.It’s public knowledge, and a basic internet search of her name would bring up news reports.” Her gaze rested on the sleeping woman with fondness and sympathy. “Annabelle’s mother died during childbirth, and her father raised her—with the help of his older sister. They were very wealthy—family money and wise investments. When she was in college, two men abducted her from the street on her way home from a date one evening. They held her ransom for three days.” She shook her head. “It isn’t like in the movies. It takes time to amass the kind of cash her kidnappers demanded.”

“I’ve worked a kidnapping or two in my time,” Noah said quietly.

“Then you understand,” the doctor said. “By then, her father was in his seventies and had a severe heart condition. The stress of Annabelle’s kidnapping proved too much for him, and he died of a heart attack before his daughter was returned.”

Noah cursed under his breath.

“Exactly,” Dr. Mallory said. “The ransom was paid, and Annabelle came to live with his sister, her aunt. She’s been here ever since. Anxiety and fear made it hard for her to leave the building, and after a couple of years, she stopped trying.”

Hell, no wonder she had issues. “So she hasn’t left this building in what? Ten years?”

“About that,” the doctor agreed as she brushed at a mark on her dress. “We made some progress while her aunt was alive, but her passing was a setback. There was no one left who was close enough to her, who she trusted enough to help her step out into the world.”

“How did her aunt die?”

“Old age. She fell asleep and never woke up.”

They watched Annabelle in silence for a moment.