Page 237 of Never Fall for an Angel

“Okay.” I lead her away from the front into one of the offices. “Let me call her.”

“I tried that. Six times, to be exact.”

“What’s going on?” Ava asks, coming into the room.

“Have you seen Bella?”

Her eyes flash between the two of us, and she winces. “She left with a man this morning around five.”

“What did he look like?”

Ava shrugs. “It was dark. He had dark hair. Kind of tall. I think it was that man she’s been seeing.”

Paulina pinches the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger, letting out a breath.

“I swear, all of you are going to age me beyond my years.”

I dial Bella’s number, but it goes straight to voicemail, so I text her instead.

Mila: Need you to come in. Paulina is laying an egg. A big one. Send help.

“It looks like her phone is off, but I texted her.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you.”

“Paulina, why don’t you go take a break? I can handle things for a bit.”

“I admire your courage, Mila, but have you ever run a lodge before?”

“No, but I have common sense, which is basically the same thing.”

I’ll let Christian deal with the monsters. I’ll hold down the fort at home.

Paulina studies me for a moment, uncertainty in her gaze.

“If I don’t do a good job, you’ve got full rights to fire me.”

“You’ll do fine,” she grumbles. “I’m going to take a nap.Somethingkept me up last night,” she glares pointedly at Ava, who blushes a deep shade of crimson. “If you need anything at all, come wake me.”

“We’ll be fine,” I urge her, lightly pushing her towards the door. “Scout’s honor.”

“Christian and Sebastian were Boy Scouts for two years,” she grumbles. “It was the most stressful time of my sister’s life.”

She goes, leaving Ava and me alone, and that’s when the jitters start back up.

“Mila, you’re shaking,” Ava points out, and I nod through the deep breath passing through my lips.

“Just nervous.”

She stares at me for a moment, then her face pales.

“They’re going . . . aren’t they?”

I swallow past the lump in my throat.

“They already left.”

She lets out a heavy breath, shaking her head and wrapping her arms around her middle.

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