Page 56 of Never Fall for an Angel

She purses her lips, opening up her book again.

“I think I’d rather take my chances with whatever mongrel comes knocking.”

Little brat.

“Suit yourself.”

She doesn’t respond, choosing to ignore me instead.

It’s probably for the best.

I start towards the door, but her voice rings out behind me, causing me to stop.

“How are you getting there and back? A quick walk along the bottom of the ocean? I heard vampires don’t need to breathe. You know, because they’re not human.”

“The gate works just as well.”

Her eyes widen around the edges before they narrow to slits.

“Before you get any ideas, I also have the only key and it’s ten feet tall”

Her lips purse and I grin.

Yeah, nothing to say to that.

“Need anything while I’m out?”

She returns to her book. I notice she’s rereading Bailey’s most recent release for the second time. I’m just glad Paulina was able to find it.

“A bullet.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” I mutter dryly, stepping out and slamming the door shut behind me.

When my phone rings, I’m just pulling to a stop in front of the path that leads to the island. Looking down at the name that pops up on the screen, I debate on not answering, but I figure I’ve let her suffer enough.

“Hello?”

“So,nowyou answer,” she scoffs, and I can almostfeelher roll her eyes from here. “Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you.”I’m avoiding everyone.

“Bull. You know I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for weeks?”

I do know. In fact, I’ve pressed the ignore button on every single call. The last time I spoke to her, I was sitting outside one of Mila’s little homes away from home, watching a man try to break into one of the cars parked out front. That was two months ago.

“Levi’s avoiding me. You’re avoiding me. Dad’sdying. Did you all forget we have a business to run?”

Guilt washes through me, and I scrub a hand over my face. My sister’s the middle child of the Cross siblings and, consequently, the one who got stuck running the lodge since our father fell ill. Not that she doesn’t love it, but the lodge is huge, and Bella’s always been one for dramatics.

Still . . . I should be there. At least for moral support. Especially with our dad lying in his suite, dying of the cancer that’s infected his body.

Bella—not one to be silenced—continues to read me the riot act.

“Do you know how hard it is to run this lodge? People constantly asking question afterstupidquestion. And guess what? I have to haveallllthe answers, because if I don’t, then everyone’s mad at me.”

“You’re right.”

“It’s like you’re just figments of my imagination, and I’m losing my mind, and let me tell you, Christian Cross, no one likes a psycho in the hospitality world. . . wait . . . What?”

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