Free Angel Manor (Lucifer Falls Book 1) by Chantal Noordeloos Page A

his hands.
    “That girl with the dark hair, Freya, seemed to take quite a fancy to you.” John shoved his shoulder against Logan, a dirty grin on his face.
    “She was cute.”
    “I hope you’re not going to be a problem on this project.” John winked at him and pulled a packet of rolling tobacco from his pocket.
    “I’m nothing if not a professional.”
    “These projects take a long time. I can imagine a man might weaken his resolve, having a pair of grey eyes give him that dreamy look and fluttering eyelashes at him all the time.”
    “A man might.” Logan looked at the rollup and pulled a face. “You’re not smoking that in my car, mate. Let’s go. It’s a long trip back to Edinburgh.”
    The two men climbed into the vehicle and drove off down the narrow road, away from Angel Manor and Lucifer Falls. Logan couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the house was watching them as they left.

Chapter 5

    The last of the antiques were hoisted into the dealer’s van by two large men who smelled like they hadn’t showered in a week. The dealer himself, Mr MacDougal, was an elderly man with bad teeth and thin white hair brushed messily over a glossy scalp.
    “That’ll be the last of it, Miss. It was a pleasure doing business with you.” A hint of the man’s halitosis hit her, and Bam fought against a grimace. He shoved a gloved hand towards her and she grabbed it, feeling the soft leather creak between her fingers.
    “You made a good deal here.”
    “So did you, Miss. There are a lot of pieces that will need restoration, and we came all the way out here to pick everything up.” When he spoke he inhaled sharply, which made his words sound like a chuckle.
    Bam nodded in response, feeling out of breath just listening to him. She had hoped to get a little more money, but in the end she’d caved because MacDougal had offered to take everything off her hands in one go. If she could have spent more time, she knew she could have secured a better price, but everyone had agreed they just wanted the furniture cleared out before the kids arrived.
    “There you go, as promised.” He handed her a crisp envelope, and Bam took it between her thumb and forefinger. She didn’t want to touch the man again. His bulging eyes were lined with puffy skin, and he blinked at her in a way that reminded her of a frog.
    “Good luck with your, uh, hotel.” MacDougal looked around. “Beautiful spot, Lucifer Falls. Not the best loved though. But you know how tourists are. They don’t mind the occasional ghost story.”
    “Ghost story?”
    The halitosis and annoying breathing were instantly forgotten. Bam suddenly found herself very interested in what the man had to say.
    “Don’t you know the stories?”
    She shook her head. “I only know the one about Lucifer Falls being the place where the devil supposedly fell from the sky and fell straight through the earth and into Hell, if you mean that one?”
    “No, though that is a part of it.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “You see, Lucifer wasn’t the only angel that fell from Heaven. He took several with him. Some believe that not all demons made it into Hell, but that some remained in the land. Almost two hundred years ago, a convent stood on the very spot where this house stands. The nuns of the convent were the guardians of unadoptable orphans. The whole thing went up in flames. There were only two survivors, one of them a nun and the other a little girl. It’s said the girl later built this house.”
    “I didn’t know that.” Bam bit her lip.
    “I’m sure there’ll be archives about it somewhere. It’s become a bit of a local legend. Every island has its dark side; this happens to be Skye’s.” The man grabbed his hat from the table and placed it on his glistening scalp, little wisps of white hair escaping from under it. “They say the nuns still haunt this place. Called themselves ‘Angels’, they did.” He gave her a knowing look and adjusted his