Page 32 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

Annabelle believed him, but she suspected Abasi was the only one without the “when necessary” modifier. The man was just plain deadly. She shivered as she accepted a plate of food from Harris.

As she ate, she observed how Abasi fit in with the rest of the team. Rochelle seemed tense, her gaze returning to him frequently, making it clear she was keeping an eye on him. Violet didn’t pay any attention to him at all, while Rodrigo looked both relaxed and amused by his presence. The triplets appeared torn between being awestruck and intimidated. And as soon as Abasi entered the room, Katrina got up to refill her coffee, but instead of returning to her seat, she moved to the opposite side of the room from him without once glancing his way.

Interesting…

It was like watching the Nature Channel in real life. And Annabelle had never been more fascinated.

Chapter Eleven

With the help of the triplets, and under Noah’s supervision, Annabelle organized her home the way she liked it—or as close as possible. It would be a couple of days before her new computer and phone arrived, and there were gaps around the loft where her broken belongings had been broken and had yet to be replaced. But overall, it felt more like home than when Noah first took her around it.

As a thank-you for the team, she’d decided to make spaghetti for dinner. It felt good to be back in her kitchen, doing something she enjoyed. Something that didn’t involve thinking about a murder or the men out to get her.

“I love this swing,” Evan declared as he kicked higher. “What we need now is a slide. We could get one of those spiral tube slides and insert it between floors. That would be cool. Oh! Or a fireman’s pole.”

“How old are you?” Noah asked from the living room sofa, where he was keeping an eye on the road outside as well as on Annabelle. “Twelve?”

“Twenty-four,” Evan replied in all seriousness.

“Weird,” Logan said. “So am I.”

Noah shook his head as Annabelle grinned at the brothers. She’d asked Logan to repot a couple of plants she’d managed to save while Harris was rehanging some pictures that had come off the wall and been sent out for reframing. Evan was… playing.

“You know what else we could do?” Evan said. “We could set up a basketball area on the roof.”

“We’re Scottish.” Harris stood back to examine his handiwork before stepping forward again to straighten the picture. “We don’t play basketball. We play football.” He cast Annabelle a pitying glance. “That would be soccer to you.”

“Aye, but a football pitch would take up the whole roof,” Evan said. “And we could learn how to play basketball.” His head poked out from behind the kitchen wall as he swung forward again. “Why haven’t you turned the roof into a garden? It’s perfect for it, and you love plants.”

Annabelle shrugged as she stirred the spaghetti sauce. “I’ve never been up there.”

It took her a moment to realize that all four men were silently staring at her.

“Never?” Logan sounded incredulous.

“Nope. It’s outside. I don’t do outside. The closest I come is opening the door to collect the mail.”

“But the roof is part of the building, so you should feel safe there.” Logan was obviously confused.

“Maybe, but like I said, I’ve never been up there to find out.”

“It’s totally flat,” Evan called. “There’s a little wall around the edge, and the view’s fantastic. You could have a vegetable garden, and a patio, and a basketball court. You should go up and take a look.”

“Maybe.”

Annabelle’s stomach tensed at the thought, even though she knew that there was little chance of being snatched from her own roof. Still, there were fire escape stairs that led up there, so itwasn’t completely safe. People could still get to her. And if they did, she might end up…

No.

She couldn’t think about that. There was enough to deal with in the present without raking up the past.

“Do you know what else would be cool?” Evan called out to them. “You know that alleyway between this building and the one next door? The warehouse wall in there would make a perfect climbing wall.”

“Let me get this straight,” Noah said. “So far, you want a slide running through the building, a basketball court on the roof, and a climbing wall outside. It’s like working with my kids.”

Annabelle grinned at him. “How old are your kids?”

“Jacob turns fourteen soon, and Sammy’s nine. And they’re both more mature than the triplets.”