Bella knew she’d done the right thing by Ava, but there was no way that she could keep such an enormous secret from her boss. She had the sense to wait until Noah had cleared Ava’s belongings out of the club and successfully absconded with the girl before she picked up the phone.
The longer she waited to tell Xavier that Ava was no longer inside of the club, the worse the consequences would be for all of them.
The line rang for longer than it should have. Bella momentarily entertained the thought of simply leaving Xavier a voice message, explaining everything that had happened. Then, she could clear her conscience without having to witness the male’s imminent meltdown for just a bit longer.
As with most wistful thoughts that were too good to be true, the hope dissipated when
