Page 64 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

Noah hung his head for a second before trying again. “Why are you here?” he asked Rodrigo.

His teammate’s demeanor changed, and suddenly, he was all business. “Elle got back to us on the Demons’ business dealings. She has a lead on some business going down tonight. You got a minute to go over the plan?”

“I like him,”Therese said before sauntering over to join Annabelle’s art lesson.

“Sure,” Noah said. “When you say tonight, exactly what time do you mean? There’s no way I can skip out on Annabelle while she’s awake, not without the entire building knowing about it.”

“We’re talking standard crime o’clock. Dark and very late. Or early, depending on your perspective. Abasi has the details.”

“That could work.” At least he’d be able to ensure she was sound asleep when he slipped out. He raised his voice. “Bella, I need to go talk to Rodrigo for a minute. Somebody’s monitoring the cameras, and Violet’s keeping an eye on the roof and the fire escape. You okay with that?”

Annabelle blinked at him several times. As though it took effort to focus on what he was saying.

“Sure, go.” She waved him off and, a second later, was deep in art mode again.

“Don’t worry,”Therese said unhelpfully.“I’ll watch over her.”

With a sigh, Noah followed Rodrigo out into the stairwell.

“Bella?” Rodrigo said with a grin as they closed the door behind them.

“Shut up,” Noah grumbled.

Chapter Twenty-One

It was closing in on midnight, and Annabelle couldn’t fall asleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she swore she smelled smoke. She lay there, tense in the dark, imagining flames sneaking through the building. The fear only abated once she’d tiptoed over to the door between the panic room and her apartment, opened it wide, and checked for any sign of fire. Then, feeling reassured and a little foolish, she climbed back into bed. She had about five minutes of peace before the cycle started all over again.

Quietly, so as not to wake Noah, she eased back the covers and crept toward the door. Again. Telling herself that she’d check just one more time, and then everything would be fine.

“You okay?” a deep voice asked from the doorway she shared with Noah.

Annabelle spun around to see him leaning against the doorjamb, softly silhouetted by the light of the streetlamps that filtered through the sheer blinds behind him.

“I’m just…” She hesitated, unable to explain her constant need to check the building and feeling foolish for having it.

“Scared?” He stepped into the room. “I get that. But there are extra smoke alarms all over the place, and the tripletsare standing guard. We’ve checked the warehouse from top to bottom, and there are no smoldering embers anywhere. You’re safe.”

“I don’tfeelsafe,” she whispered as she twisted her hands in the bottom of her Wonder Woman pajama top. “Worse, I don’tfeellike you and your team are safe either.”

“You spoke to your psychiatrist earlier, didn’t you? What did she say?”

Annabelle had made the call not long before turning in for the night. “That I’m still in alert mode. That I have to remind myself that the danger’s passed and we’re all fine now.” She stared up at him, silently pleading for him to understand. “I know all of that logically, but as soon as I lie down, all I can think about is that I need to check the building and make sure we’re all safe. I get more and more wound up until I have to get out of bed and see for myself that we’re okay. Then I feel relieved until I get back into bed, and it starts all over again. I’m going crazy here.”

“Would it help if I sat with you until you fell asleep?”

His voice was a low tease across her skin, and Annabelle answered before pausing to think about it. “It’d help if you were in bed beside me.”

Noah jerked slightly and then froze.

She rushed to reassure him. “Just to sleep, I mean.”

Although…

No.

The last thing she needed was for her brain to gotheretonight. She was tired and terrified, and now she was worried that she’d pushed Noah a step too far. She held her breath, waiting for his reply. Praying he’d understand that she needed him.

“I’m taking the side nearest the open door,” he said at last, ripping his gaze from hers.