Page 43 of Never Die for a Sinner
Mila raises a brow, barely hiding her delight, while Christian lingers behind her looking—well, like Christian. Slightly scowling. Perpetually unimpressed.
All eyes are on me. My cheeks go up in flames.
Fantastic.
I glare at Mila’s too-wide smile. No doubt she’s already inventing some elaborate story where Levi and I are secretly star-crossed lovers instead of combatants. The throbbing in my core? Probably just indigestion. Hasnothingto do with Levi. Or the way his jeans hug his stupid perfect—
God, I sound like an idiot.
I hate grapefruit. I hatehim.
But the way his fingers tasted—sweet, tart, sinful—I’m scared I’d do it again tomorrow if he asked.
Levi leans back like nothing just happened, casually stealing the air from the room with his presence alone. Mila looks like she just found out Santa’s real. Christian still looks vaguely bored, but that’s nothing new for him. If it doesn’t have to do with Mila, it may as well not exist.
I can’t do this.
“I have work to do,” I mutter, already halfway out of my seat, and heading toward the door before I let Levi feed me any more sinful fruit.
I need to put some distance between us, especially if I’m going to follow through with my end of the deal.
Right now, I want to be anywhere but here.
Anywhere but nearhim.
I listen to the sound of his door closing while I silently pace through my room.
This is either a really stupid plan, or—no, scratch that. It’s just stupid. Maybe even suicidal.
Levi Cross isn’t one to fuck with, and here I am, plotting grand theft flash drive while I listen to the sounds of his footsteps retreat downstairs.
What if he catches me? Maybe he’ll just kill me on the spot. Maybe he’ll drag me out of here by my hair.
A shudder slips through me at a creak down the hall.
That damned room. I swear it haunts me, plaguing my dreams with thumps and thuds in the night. Why can’t the dead just stay dead? Why does he have to torment us from the afterlife? Was one lifetime not enough?
“Shut up, Ava,” I grumble to myself, flexing my sweaty hands. “You sound insane.”
Maybe Iamgoing insane.
Blowing out a breath, I try to calm my breathing and focus on the plan. Get in and get out. He’s leaving for the night, so that means I’ll have a few hours to find what I’m looking for before he gets home. By then, I should be long asleep. Maybe then I’ll be able to breathe a little easier.
Who am I kidding? There’s always something else.
I just hope next time, it’s not something impossible.
My heart beats unsteadily in my chest when I step over to the door, listening for any sounds of anyone awake.
I know for a fact: Bella is out with her boyfriend, Rob. She probably won’t be home tonight. Paulina is down in the den reading one of her monster pornos she thinks no one knows about, so she’ll be busy for the next few hours. Mila and Christian are at their house, and Javier is doing whatever Javier does when he’s not cooking the best food on planet earth.
Levi . . . well, who knows where he goes most nights?
Carefully, I twist the knob, and the door creaks when it opens. Instinctually, I shush it, like a kid trying to sneak out of their room at night to grab a cookie.
The hall is dark, and I don’t waste any time, hurrying across and knocking tentatively on the door.
I don’t know what I’ll do if he answers. I didn’t think that far ahead.
