Page 7 of Deadly Oath

Did someone follow me? Has someone been watching? I remember the rustling I’ve heard sometimes outside of my house at night, sounds that I told myself over and over were just trees shaking in the wind.Was I right to be afraid all along?

All of my attention is focused on the woods to my left, so much so that I’m not watching where I’m going. My foot catches on a large rock, almost tripping me, and as I pitch forward, only just catching myself before I fall, I hear a sudden, sharp buzzing to my right.

I freeze, some primal instinct taking over as I look slowly in the direction of this new noise. My heart nearly stops in my chest, panic clawing up my throat as I see a rattlesnake as thick as my forearm, coiled tightly next to the rock I tripped over, head poised in my direction and tail shaking furiously.

My mouth opens to scream, even though I know it’s no use. It’s going to strike, and no one knows I’m out here. There’s no one to help me, and?—

“Sabrina.”

Kian Brady’s voice cuts through the air behind me, his drawl lost in the sudden sharpness of his tone.

“Don’t fucking move.”

4

SABRINA

“Don’t fucking move.”

The words seem to echo hollowly in my ears as I start to give the smallest fraction of a nod, and then catch myself. I can’t tear my gaze away from the snake, its mean, beady eyes fixed on me. I don’t think Icouldmove, anyway. I know I’ve been this afraid before—the night when I was almost abducted in Chicago, for example—but right now, I can’t remember how that felt. All I know is the cold, icy terror sliding through my veins as the huge snake shakes its tail at me again, warning me away.

Except it’s too late for that. The moment I flinch or move, I know it’s going to strike.

“Don’t move,” Kian repeats, and I hear a slow sound like something brushing against leather. “This is gonna be loud. Try not to flinch.”

It’s the last warning I get before I see Kian move. He lifts his gun in a flash, and I only catch the barest glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye before the snake sees the movement, too, striking out lightning-fast in the same instant that my ears are suddenly ringing from the sharpcrackof a gunshot.

I scream. I can’t help it. One second, the snake is coming at me,and I leap back on instinct, unable to force myself to stay still the way Kian demanded. And then, the next, I’m shaking like a leaf as I stare down at the bloodied body of the snake, nearly torn in half by the close-range bullet.

Kian is breathing heavily next to me. “Are you alright?” he demands, taking two quick strides to my side. His hand touches my back, steadying me, and I suck in a breath at the way the press of his fingers against my spine seems to send heat flaring through me.

It’s just shock, I tell myself. I feel like I’m going into some kind of shock, shaking uncontrollably as I stare down at the battered shape of the rattler. Stretched out now the way it is, I can see that it’s as long as my arm, too. Maybe longer.

Kian shoves his gun back into his holster, pulling what looks like a hunting knife free. His jaw clenches as he abruptly squats down, stabbing the knife viciously an inch below the snake’s head. I gasp as he drags the knife through it, blood spilling onto the autumn leaves as he cuts the snake apart. He grabs the pieces, and I let out another small yelp of shock as he steps forward and throws them into the river running just below the hill—the sound of moving water that I heard.

“Sabrina.” He says my name, more calmly this time, but there’s still a sharp, tense note to his voice as he turns back to me. “Are you alright?”

I nod, slowly, trying to decide if I really am. The violence with which Kian killed the snake was almost as shocking as the creature itself. “Did you have to—slice it up?” I ask faintly, realizing how ridiculous I sound even as the words come out of my mouth. But something about the brutality makes me feel even more shaky than before.

Kian looks at me quizzically for a moment. “There’s still venom in the fangs, even after it’s dead,” he says finally. “Some animal comes by and steps on the head—it could still end up dying from the ‘bite.’ Safer to cut up the parts and dispose of it.”

“Oh.” The word comes out faint, still. “That makes sense.” It does, but I still feel unsettled.

“What were you doing out here?” That sharpness is still in his voice, and I look up abruptly, feeling a small flare of rebellion. I can’t help but resent the implication in his tone that I shouldn’t be out and about as I please.

I’ve spent my whole life constrained by expectations and rules. I would have hoped, if I were forced to start over in an entirely new life, that I would at least be able to make some of my own decisions about how that life would go. But I keep running into constraints at every turn. Agent Caldwell has given me plenty.

“I was out for a run.” My voice is more clipped than it should be, probably, considering Kian just rescued me from a snakebite that could have killed me—but I’m too shaken and irritated to care just now. “As far as I was aware, this is public property? Public trails?”

Kian’s mouth twitches with amusement. “It is,” he confirms. “But you should be careful, city girl.” That amusement spreads into a smile, like he finds that nickname funny. I don’t. “Clearly, you’re not used to the wildlife out here. Most folks using these trails know to watch for things like rattlesnakes.”

“I–” I falter slightly. “I thought it was too cold.” I shiver as if to emphasize my point, although the shaking is definitely still from fear, not from cold. If anything, my blood is pumping so fast from the scare that I feel as if I’m running a little hot.

“For the most part, it is. But that one was soaking in a little late-afternoon sun.” Kian gestures down to the blood-spattered leaves, the overturned rock, and I see what he means. There’s a warm patch of sunlight where the snake was coiled up, no doubt getting in the last of it before the chill of December sets in.

It almost makes me feel bad. It wasn’t really doing anything wrong—I was the one who disturbed it. Scared it, as badly as I’m scared right now.

Maybe that’s just the shock talking, too.

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