Angels & Sinners: The Motor City Edition by Melanie Harlow, Bethany Lopez, Breigh Forstner, Ashley Suzanne, Bethany Shaw, Cori Williams, D.M. Earl, Jennifer Fisch-Ferguson, Sara Mack, Shayne McClendon Read Free Book Online Page A

hang out too. I don’t want you guys to think that just because I wanted to go fishing, you have to. We’re on vacation, right? No rules . . . No plans . . . Just pleasure.”
    “Are you sure, Josh?” Kyle asked. “I don’t want to be a flake and make you go out by yourself.”
    “You’re not a flake,” I assured him. “Besides, fishing’s a solitary sport, I’ll be fine by myself.”
    “Are you sure, brother?” Marcus asked with one eye open. “After your stunt last night, I don’t know how I feel about you out on the water alone.”
    “I’m a big boy, Marcus, I’ll be fine.”
    That must have been all Marcus needed to hear, because he grunted, pushed back his chair, and headed back out of the dining room without another word.
    I finished my coffee and breakfast and got up from the table. “See you guys tonight?”
    “Sure,” Kyle responded. “We’ll wait to get dinner until you get back.”
    ***
    A half hour later I walked out of the B & B with a freshly bandaged hip, and a travel mug of coffee in my hands. My headache had subsided and I was feeling almost human again. As I ambled towards the water, I took in the lush green of my surroundings. I’d always wanted to come to Ireland, and it was even more beautiful than I’d imagined. Although, in all of my musings about the beauty of the landscape, I’d never imagined it would be as cold as it was. Luckily, Marcus had told me to pack layers, and I’d listened.
    When I reached the dock, I took care placing my items in the boat before getting in and pushing off.
    “Are you sure you can handle the fishing boat by yourself?” Mr. O’Connell had asked me before I’d left.
    “Yes, sir,” I’d answered. “I grew up on Lake Michigan and went fishing all the time. I promise I won’t let anything happen to your boat.”
    “All right, son,” he’d replied. “When you leave the dock and round the corner, you’ll see a small island in the distance. There’s good fishing right off of the island, and it’s a nice place to stop and have your lunch, if you’re of a mind to get off the boat for a bit.”
    “Sounds great. Thank you, sir.”
    As I rounded the corner, I spotted the island, just as he’d said, and pointed the boat in that direction. I felt my muscles strain as I rowed, and felt utterly content being on the water without a care in the world.
    I was so relaxed by the sound of the oars hitting the water, the crisp air surrounding me, and the grey fog of the morning, that at first I didn’t register the splashing coming from the front of the boat.
    When I finally realized the sound was coming from in front of me, I paused my rowing and listened. At first it was silent, but then I heard the splash again, almost like a very large fish was breaking the surface of the water. I leaned forward, to look over the front of the boat, but the water was still.
    I heard the splash come from behind me and turned, but only saw a ripple.
    Figuring Mr. O was correct and this was the spot that the fish were biting, I pulled in the oars and began to ready my fishing rod. My legs started to hurt from being shoved into the small boat, so I tried to adjust my position without flipping the boat over. My body was turned to the right, with my weight resting on my palms, when a flash of red sped through the water underneath my boat.
    “What the fuck was that?” I whispered out loud, losing my balance and falling face first onto the bottom of the boat.
    “Shit!”
    I righted myself and pressed my hand to my throbbing head. Was I seriously going to injure myself every day of this trip?
    I surveyed the water around me, but didn’t see what had startled me. Realizing that I may do better on dry land, I picked up the oars and rowed towards the island. The last thing I needed was to capsize and end up soaked again. Markus and Kyle would never let me hear the end of it if I did.
    I rowed up to a small dock off of the shore of the island and tied the boat to it, then