Page 49 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

Annabelle made a strange hiccupping sound that could have been due to shock or a strangled laugh. Noah glanced at her face. Definitely shock.

There were another two grunts and thuds in rapid succession.

“And we have two more down!” Evan announced. “This time, taken out by a canny Scot armed with a beanbag gun. Logan, your aim is spot-on as usual. Bit of an embarrassmentfor the away team, who think they’re such badasses with their automatic weapons and amateur tattoos.”

There was another loud bang at the stairwell door, followed by the sound of gunfire.

“Never get caught in a confined space with a pissed-off former FBI agent,” Evan called. “Score another one for Benson Security. That takes us to seven-nil to the home team. Will the away team concede the game? Or are they dumb enough to keep playing?”

Automatic weapon fire sounded like a series of ill-timed fireworks.

“Seems the answer’s yes,” Evan said when the gunfire stopped. “The away teamisdumb enough to keep playing.”

There was a loud explosion a couple of blocks away, and a fireball lit up the night sky. Annabelle gasped, but she didn’t stop looking at Noah.

“Sorry, boys,” Evan said. “Looks like you’ve lost your ride home. Please put your hands together in appreciation for my brother Harris, who is not only a charming bastard but can also blow up pretty much anything he wants. I hope you weren’t too attached to those motorbikes.”

Annabelle started to shake in Noah’s arms. She tore her gaze from his and buried her face in his chest.

“It’s okay,” he reassured her. “You’re safe.”

It took a moment, but she looked back up at him. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but a tremulous smile curved her lips. “Th-they’re insane,” she managed to say.

It took him a beat to register what she meant. “The triplets? Yeah. I’m getting that.”

“Th-they make me look normal.” She hiccupped again in what seemed to be a weird little hysterical laugh.

“They make all of us look normal,” Noah assured her.

He’d never been more grateful for the brothers than in that moment. To see Annabelle smile through her terror made every crazy stunt they pulled worth it.

At a scraping noise behind them, Abasi spun around, aiming in that direction.

“Don’t shoot,” Logan said as he hurried toward them, keeping low. “I scaled the wall to let you know we managed to get a call out. Help’s on its way.” He grinned, looking like he was having a blast. “Although I don’t think we’ll need it. Harris just took out their motorbikes. They parked a few streets over, so we didn’t hear them arrive. Violet’s been picking off the gang one by one.” His eyes danced. “She’s tiny, and they don’t see her coming. Rodrigo has the fire under control on the ground floor; rest of it’s mainly smoke damage. He can also do this cool thing where he puts the bad guys in a headlock and knocks them out in seconds. I need to learn how to do that. But I was the one who tied them up.” He looked so proud of himself that Noah had to resist the urge to pat him on the head.

In the distance, sirens wailed. Yet again, the cavalry was running late.

“Oh!” Logan reached into his back pocket and produced a Hershey bar. He offered it to Annabelle, who appeared bewildered by his gift. “Sugar,” he said. “I hear it’s good for shock, and you must be shocked out of your mind now that you’re outside the building. Eat it. Feel better.”

Annabelle’s eyes were so wide that Noah thought they might pop out of her head. Slowly, she smiled, and then she began to shake. As the sirens grew louder, a slightly hysterical giggle escaped her. And by the time the fire crew arrived, she was laughing hard.

“Should we worry about that?” Logan asked Noah, pointing at Annabelle.

Noah hugged his charge and shook his head. “Laughter beats passing out or panicking and running off the roof.”

That made Annabelle laugh even louder.

“True.” Logan placed a gentle hand on Annabelle’s arm. “So, what do you think of the roof?”

She collapsed against Noah in hysterical laughter. “St-stop being funny. My stomach hurts. I can’t take any more.”

“What’d I say?” Logan asked, looking confused.

“The cops are on the pitch,” Evan announced through his loudspeaker. “They think it’s all over. It is now.”

“Soccer references,” Abasi muttered, shaking his head. He glanced back at Noah. “Didn’t have to deal with this in my last job.”

“No,” Noah said. “You had to deal with sociopathic criminals.”