Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

D inner went well. Everyone, except those on guard duty, sat around her huge dining table, enjoying spaghetti Bolognese and homemade garlic bread. And Annabelle loved every minute of it. She’d wanted to take plates to Abasi and Logan, who were on duty, but Rochelle had insisted they needed to focus and would eat later. So Annabelle had contented herself with fussing over everyone else. It was as though she had family around for dinner, albeit a large, dysfunctional family, still sizing each other up.

It’d been a long time since she’d had a proper family dinner; even then, it’d just been the three of them—her father, her aunt, and her. Dinner parties had expanded after she’d moved in with her aunt, although the table hadn’t been filled with family—it had been filled with an eclectic mix of friends belonging to both. Her aunt had been notorious for adopting people. She readily made friends and loved inviting them over to eat. Meals could be boisterous. Sometimes, there were musicians and artists; other times, politicians and lawyers. You never knew who you’d be eating with when Aunt Rose hosted a dinner.

Annabelle hadn’t realized how much she’d missed those dinners until her apartment was filled with people again: talking, laughing, arguing people. It would be hard when they left and the building reverted to its usual empty state. In the meantime, she planned to make family dinners a regular thing while the team was there. There weren’t many upsides to witnessing a murder, being shot at for testifying, and fearing for your life. But it had brought the Benson Security team into her life, and Annabelle planned to make the most of having them there while it lasted.

Fresh from her shower and dressed in one of the three identical pairs of Wonder Woman pajamas Katrina had bought her, Annabelle walked into her new bedroom. She refused to call it the panic room while sleeping there. Panic wasn’t exactly conducive to sleep.

The door between her room and the guest room stood partially open, and she could see Noah sitting on the edge of the bed. Still fully dressed, he held up his phone, obviously on a video call. He lifted a hand to her in greeting, and she nodded in return. She was a little self-conscious in her new night clothes but grateful that they covered a whole lot more than her usual nightwear. Although Noah had already seen her in that.

Annabelle hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but considering the door was open and he was facing her, it was impossible to avoid.

“I scored two goals!” The excited voice of one of his sons came through the doorway.

“That’s fantastic, Sammy,” Noah said with enthusiasm. “I wish I’d been there to see them.”

Annabelle winced, aware she was the reason he’d missed his son playing.

“We have the advantage,” said a different voice, which must have belonged to his other son, Jacob. “All that soccer we had to do in England means we’re way ahead of how they play here.”

“I’m the best player on my team,” Sammy piped up.

“By far,” Jacob agreed solemnly, making Annabelle smile as she grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge in her new kitchen area. “It’s so cool that they let us play, even though we’re only here for a few weeks.”

“Yep,” Sammy said. “They’re going to miss us when we’re gone. They won’t win any games without us.”

Noah’s laughter was deep and rich, like molasses. “Sounds like we need to find you two permanent teams when you get back to Houston.”

“Totally,” Jacob said.

“Do you think they have rubbish players in Houston too?” Sammy sounded hopeful.

“Course they do,” Jacob said. “Uncle Callum says Americans don’t know how to play a real sport like soccer. That’s why they wear all that protective gear to kick a ball.”

“It might be time to remind Uncle Callum we are Americans,” Noah said drolly.

“Not me!” Sammy piped up. “Uncle Callum says that seeing as I spent half my life in England, I’m half English.”

“Yeah,” Jacob said. “But he said we have a long ways to go to be Scottish like him.”

“I’m going to try real hard to be Scottish,” Sammy said.

“Bet we’d be good at that too,” Jacob added.

Annabelle smothered a giggle as she listened to the boys. Noah was right. They did sound like the triplets.

“Right, you two, time for bed. Tell Gran to stop keeping you up so late and spoiling you.” Noah’s love for his sons was clear in his voice, and it made Annabelle’s chest ache to hear it.

“We can’t tell her not to spoil us,” Sammy said in a stage whisper—clearly, their grandmother was listening in. “Grandpa said old folk should be allowed to do what they want before they die.”

Annabelle couldn’t help the laugh that burst out. She caught Noah’s eye through the open doorway and saw he shared her amusement.

“Yeah?” he said. “Well, tell Grandpa to stop filling your head with garbage too.”

“Let an old guy have his fun,” a male voice shouted in the background, making the boys giggle.

Noah rolled his eyes. “Get to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Love you, Dad,” the boys chimed in unison.

Noah’s face softened. “Love you right back.” He ended the call, still smiling as his eyes met Annabelle’s. “They’re going to finish this visit addicted to sugar, and I’ll have to check them into rehab.”

Annabelle moved to the doorway. “Sounds like you have awesome parents.”

“I do, but these are my in-laws.” He grinned. “Seriously though, they’re pretty awesome too. Just a tad overindulgent.”

“Must have been hard for them,” Annabelle said, “losing their daughter. It’s no wonder they spoil their grandkids.”

“Yeah, I know. They’re good people. I’m lucky.” For a moment, he seemed lost in thought, and Annabelle wondered if he was thinking about his wife.

“What was she like?” she blurted out, then blushed. “Sorry. It’s none of my business. Forget I asked.”

Noah didn’t seem bothered by her asking such a personal question. “You mean my wife? I don’t mind talking about her.”

“No, it’s okay. I overstepped the line. I mean, you’re here to do a job, not spill your guts about your personal life to your client.”

“Honestly,” he said, “I can tell you about Therese, if you really want to hear.”

“I’d like that,” she said, wandering into the room to sit beside him.

“Don’t hold back on telling her how fantastic I am,” Therese said from where she stood near the window. “Feel free to wax lyrical. You can’t share too much.”

Noah stifled a groan as he fought to keep his eyes off his deceased wife. He smiled ruefully at Annabelle. “Therese was… a pain in my ass.”

That surprised laughter out of Annabelle, while Therese stamped her foot. “If I could move things, that lamp would be flying at your head right now.”

Noah couldn’t help but smile. “She was fiery,” he told Annabelle. “Some would say mouthy. She had an opinion on everything and stuck her nose into everyone’s business, but she had a heart of pure gold.”

“That’s more like it.” Therese sniffed. “Carry on.”

“She sounds formidable.” Annabelle toyed with a button on her ugly pajamas.

“Oh, she was a presence, alright. If Therese was in a room, you knew it. She had a way of making people open up to her, and then she’d step in and meddle with their lives. Funny thing was nobody ever got upset about it.”

“Probably because they realized she meant well.”

“Probably.” Amusement bubbled inside him as he remembered what life had been like with Therese. “She was always on the go, always busy with something. I never knew what she’d do next. She lived life to the full, you know? Almost as if she knew what was coming.”

“I didn’t,” Therese said. “I just had a lot I wanted to do. How people can be bored, I have no idea.”

“I remember you saying it was cancer?” Annabelle said softly.

“Yeah, it came on fast, and there was nothing anybody could do. She was a fighter and a planner right to the end, though. She made loads of videos for the boys to watch on their birthdays. Every year, there’s a message from her to them, along with some piece of wisdom she felt they should know.”

“What a wonderful thing to do.” Annabelle’s eyes teared up, and she blinked them away.

“See?” Therese said. “She totally gets me.”

“She made one for me too,” Noah said. “I’ve never watched it, though.”

Therese threw up her hands in disgust. “Which annoys me no end. I put a lot of effort into that video.”

“Too hard?” Annabelle nodded with understanding.

“It’s more that the title freaks me out.” He smiled wryly. “She called it ‘advice for your next relationship—so you don’t screw up.’”

Annabelle’s laughter felt like bubbles against his skin. “I bet I would’ve enjoyed knowing your wife.”

“Damn straight,” Therese said. “For a start, I’d have gotten her out of this building. It’s not healthy for a young woman to live like this. You need to fix her, Noah.”

Yeah, he’d get right on that. An ex-cop could totally do what a trained psychiatrist couldn’t. He shot his wife a disbelieving look before speaking to Annabelle. “We grew up together, were high school sweethearts, and got married straight after graduation. There was a group of us, five guys and Therese, and we’d all hang out together. Therese had a group of female friends too, but that didn’t stop her from interfering in the lives of my friends. Not that they ever complained about her always being around—or any of the stuff she talked them into doing. We all miss her.”

Annabelle seemed surprised. “You’re all still friends? I don’t have any school friends left, just a couple from college.”

“I couldn’t shake those guys even if I tried.” Noah grimaced. “And trust me, there have been times when I’ve tried. We all went our separate ways for a while but kept in touch. Now, we all work for Benson Security in some capacity or another. Two of the guys have full-time jobs and freelance with the team when they can.”

“They’re all in Houston?” Annabelle frowned, obviously wondering why she hadn’t met them yet.

“No, one’s in Scotland, two are in London, and the other travels a lot. I was with the London team before they started up this new crew. Thought it would be good to get back home for a while.”

“But Houston isn’t your home, right?”

“Atlantic City born and raised.”

“Why have we stopped talking about me?” Therese interrupted. “You haven’t told her about my great impersonations of our friends or how I was an awesome mother, not to mention that I baked the best damn chocolate cake in the world. You can give her the recipe. It’d go great with her spaghetti.” She’d become food-obsessed in her ghostly form.

“Funny how you all work for the same company now,” Annabelle said. “I wish I was that close to my friends.”

He shrugged. “It worked out pretty good for all of them. They met their wives through Benson Security. And that’s more of a miracle than you’d guess because I was sure at least two of those guys would die alone.”

“Amen to that,” Therese said.

“I’m glad you had someone like Therese,” Annabelle said. “And I’m sorry you lost her.”

“I’m not lost; I’m right here. Wondering why you haven’t given her my chocolate cake recipe yet. You could eat it tomorrow.”

He wouldn’t get any peace until he gave in, so Noah listened to the figment of his imagination and said, “She was an amazing cook, just like you.”

Annabelle flushed and tucked her thick hair behind her ear. “I’m not sure about amazing, but I enjoy it.”

“Therese made a fantastic chocolate cake that would’ve gone great with your spaghetti. You want the recipe?”

“About time,” Therese said.

“If that isn’t too weird,” he added because it sure as hell felt weird.

“No, not at all.” Annabelle smiled at him. “I’d love to try making it.”

“Okay then.” He glanced at Therese to see her looking smug.

“It sounds like you were really lucky to have her in your life,” Annabelle said softly.

“Hey,” he said, “I think she was pretty damn lucky to have me!”

“Of course she was.” Annabelle rolled her eyes as she patted his arm.

But her words caused something within Noah to shift. She was right. He was the luckiest man alive to have had Therese, even for a little while.

Annabelle stood and headed for the panic room. “I’d better get to sleep. I’m still kinda wiped out from that virus. Door partially or fully open?”

“Partially is fine.” Noah stood. “I have some work to do on my laptop, then I’ll call it a night. Make sure the other door to the panic room’s locked. If you need me, shout. And if I’m not here for some reason—” He noticed her eyes widen and clarified: “Like I’m in the bathroom or talking to a teammate, just go to your old bedroom. Rochelle and Katrina are sharing that room. There’ll be team members on guard during the night too, and someone will always have their eyes on the cameras. You’re safe here.”

“I believe that.” And she sounded sincere. Annabelle hesitated at the door. “Thanks for telling me about Therese. I feel like I know her now.” And with that, she disappeared into the room, and seconds later, her light went off.

Noah sat staring at her open door for a few minutes, unsure of what he was feeling or thinking. He just knew that something was happening. Something had changed inside of him. For the first time in years, he’d been able to talk about his wife and focus only on the good times instead of feeling like he was drowning in a sea of sorrow. It felt… right to focus on the many ways his life had been blessed rather than on what he’d lost. And that rightness somehow freed the weight he’d carried around for so many years.

“You know,” Therese said, shattering his epiphany. “ I think it’s time you watched that video I made you.”

“Seriously?” Of course she’d take this opportunity to press the point.

“Did you say something?” Annabelle called.

Noah frowned at his dead wife. “Just talking to myself.”

“Oh, okay. Good night then.”

“Night,” he called back, his eyes still on Therese.

“My bad,” she whispered, even though only he could hear her. “Think about the video. I’m going to check on the triplets.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Those boys are built!”

“I did not hear that,” Noah muttered.

“There’s nothing wrong with looking. After all, I’m dead, so it’s not like I can cheat on you.” She paused, suddenly serious. “You do realize that my death ended our marriage, right? ‘Till death do us part’? Finding love again wouldn’t mean you were cheating on me. You understand that, right?”

“Don’t you have some voyeurism to get to?” Noah whispered.

“Fine, don’t discuss it, then.” She grinned. “If I’m lucky, I’ll hit shower time.” Then she disappeared.

Noah sat on the edge of the bed, looking between the spot where he’d seen his wife and the door to the room where Annabelle slept.

It was definitely time he made an appointment with a psychologist.