Page 4 of June 7

Chapter Three

Miss Hill." Sierra walked into the office of Seaglass Cove's City Pool, dripping wet. "A bunch of adults are standing outside on the stairs, yelling for someone to open the door."

"Those kids..." Daisy pushed the rolling chair away from the computer and glanced at the front doors. "The younger ones like to kick the stopper at the bottom of the door when they leave their lessons, and the doors automatically lock if shut. I'll go let them in."

She threw Sierra a towel. "Who's on the towers?"

"Chad and Melanie." Sierra padded her way across the concrete floor on bare feet. "I just walked off for my break and noticed people standing at the front of the building."

Unfortunately, inside the pool house, there were no windows in the front, only on the sides of the locker rooms—boys on the right and girls on the left. Smack dab in the middle was the front office, where they could greet everyone entering through the double doors.

While the view from the small counter in the office to the entryway was less than stellar, it was a safe set up for the kids that used the facility. Nobody could get to the pool behind the building without entering the double doors and walking past the office.

The beautiful area was saved for the enclosed pool surrounded on three sides by a tall glass enclosure, giving those who swam and the lifeguards a good view of the outside world. The employees working at the pool often kept an eye on anyone approaching the pool to help Daisy out when she was stuck inside the office.

As the aquatics manager, she was hired to keep the place running. Safety came before convenience. Thankfully, she had some great teenagers who worked their summers to fill in the gaps when swim lessons were at their peak, running all day long, and then helped after school when they could once Labor Day came around.

Liz handled the adult lap swims, rec swims, and private parties, while Daisy dealt with the pool from nine o'clock to four in the afternoon while Tara taught the kids' swim classes.

She loved being around the pool. Even though she'd lived in Seaglass Cove her entire life, she preferred chlorinated, clear water that was warmed compared to the Pacific Ocean. The ocean was a beast. Cold, wicked, and dark.

Her mom had started her in swimming lessons at eight years old, and she'd continued swimming through the high school level. It came naturally to her that she made working at the pool a career choice.

She walked to the doors. It was what she suspected. The stopper was up, allowing the door to shut, which meant they automatically locked. It was probably that little squirt, Taylor. He was always playing pranks—hiding the weighted rings at the bottom of the pool and holding the kickboards hostage, trying to get money for the vending machine.

She pushed one of the doors open and toed the stopper down to keep it from swinging closed. "Sorry about the inconvenience, everyone. Rec swim doesn't start for another hour, but you're free to use the locker room to change into your suits and then sit in the spectator area until lessons are..."

Her routine speech fled her mind as the people before her took shape. Unable to think, she stared at the six men standing in front of the door. They all wore black leather vests with patches. It took her two seconds to understand they were all bikers.

She shivered despite the warm day. They gave off a definite chill.

She kicked out, knocking the stopper up on the door in case she needed to slam it shut. She had no doubt the men could easily stop her from locking them out. They were big men who used their bodies a lot because that was muscle, making them hulk in front of her.

"I need to talk to whoever is in charge." The nearest man stepped forward. "Who would that be?"

At least six foot two inches tall, the man wore the sleeves of his t-shirt rolled above the swell of his tattooed bicep. Aware she only wore a red one-piece swimsuit, she stuck up her chin. It was standard attire when one worked at the pool, but she felt underdressed as each man scoped her out.

"I'm the aquatics manager." She plastered a smile on her face to hide her nervousness. "Daisy Hill. How can I help you?"

---