Page 30 of Abandoned Oaths

“Thanks.” I gritted and stepped out into the sunshine onto the deck with its large rectangular pool surrounded by lounge chairs. The white brick walls were about shoulder high, giving us the chance to take in the view without risking our lives. I peered toward the marina across the channel we crossed the day before.

“You can take any chair you want,” Cruz called. “We don’t share this with anyone else.”

Like a true heiress would. If only I had the four-bedroom apartment below to myself as well.

Derek swam past me, seemingly oblivious to my sudden shyness and awkwardness. When was the last time I was this self-conscious? Not for a decade or so.

Okay, I needed to pull my head out from whatever cloud and remember who I was. A fucking badass. A literal killer. My body was nothing to hide.

Unlike most shifter women, I wasn’t very tall, three inches taller than both of my unusually petite sisters, but I still was lean and muscular with enough curves to draw the attention of any man.

If I could seduce a target with one drink to follow me to his death, why couldn’t I confidently walk to a stupid chair, put my towel down, and jump into the water without second-guessing every move?

Cruz cannonballed into the water, distracting me from my downward mental spiral.

They weren’t even paying attention to me.

Fuck it.

I dropped my things on the chair next to the one Cruz claimed and jumped into the shallow end, hoping to keep my hair from the chlorine. I spent too much time in the salon last week to let the stinky pool chemicals undo the magic I paid for.

Derek popped up at the opposite end and wiped his face off with his towel before turning toward me. “It’s nice, huh?”

A private pool? Sure. “Uh-huh.”

“Sometimes I have too much energy, even after training and sparring, so I swim laps back at home too.”

“Where is that, exactly?” Now seemed like a great time to ask questions about the men I was living with.

“Houston.”

No wonder I’d never seen them. The Pack’s headquarters, where I lived, was about seven hours west.

It wasn’t uncommon for Pack members spread across the territory, but four men like them? Trained enough to qualify for this mission? It seemed off.

“Is that where you’re from?”

“No, we grew up in Crockett County.”

That was close to headquarters, but they didn’t live there? That didn’t make much sense.

“What did your parents do?”

Derek cleared his throat. “Not much.”

Cruz snorted. “Too much.”

I studied the two of them. Obviously, they were keeping something from me, but what?

“What about you? You grew up in the Alpha’s area?” Derek asked.

“Yeah, my family’s always been there.”

“Tell us about your family.” Cruz walked through the water toward me.

“Tell me about yours,” I countered.

“We will, but we should wait for Marco and Javier.”

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