Leo laughed, nudging me with her broad shoulders. “Feel good?”
“Yeah, just warmer than I thought.” I shook my head.
“Can’t have our girl in a cold pool. Although, you know I’d love to warm you up.” A smirk took over Leo’s chiseled face.
Rolling my eyes, I let myself take a deep breath. Despite being completely enclosed, the air in here felt light and breezy, like we were outside. But the leaves outside had almost entirely fallen to the ground, the grass starting to brown as the cold of late fall set in.
In here, you’d think it was summer.
I watched the water ripple over my skin, the eerie feeling of old comfort washing over me. I’d sat here before, dunked into the water and squealed.
Who was I playing with?
My mind searched for the answer, digging through ancient filing cabinets of information long stored away.
All I knew about this house from my captors was that Dom had bought it after a foreclosure.
Maybe it was just one of my mom’s rich friends' old place. After Dad passed, we spent summers with family friends — Maura always on a mission to find a new husband’s checks to cash.
No one I knew who didn’t come from money would ever let a home like this fall into disrepair. It had to be one of those rich douchebags.
Even in its roughest form, no first time mansion owner would ever let their prized possession become a heap of rubble and cobwebs.
Whoever’s house this was, they were more than happy to let it rot in the dirt.
Until Dom found it.
“I’m sorry for her.” Leo nodded toward the pool room's entrance. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her. She’s usually grumpy, but not like this.”
All I could do was shrug. “It’s not your fault she’s a rude bastard.”
Leo groaned out answer, her frustration with her friend evident. And it wasn’t just about me. There was more going on, plenty I wasn’t privy to. It had become very clear over the past 24 hours that I was being left out of plenty.
More than anything, it seemed like Major Callahan was getting tired of apologizing for Dom’s sins. Maybe I could use that frustration to get her to spill.
“Was she like this when you two were younger?” Leo tilted her head, so I continued. “In school. You said you guys were friends.”
“Oh,” she nodded. “Not really. We went to the same prep school, but we ran in different circles, so we didn’t hang out much. I’m pretty sure our parents knew each other, though.”
“Huh.” Looking down at the lightly lapping water, everything made a little more sense. I’d been wondering how Leo got away with confronting Dom.
Too much history in this damn place.
It wasn’t just the house either, it was Valemont as a whole.
“We only got close when she saw me in The Hollow and told me to come by her shop. I needed work post-discharge and Dom was willing to take me in.” Leo watched me as I stared down at the water, lost in thought.
“Why didn’t you just get a job in medicine? Wouldn’t it pay better?” It felt odd to be so blunt, but I knew Leo could handle it, could take the honesty.
Nodding, Leo gripped the edge of the pool. “Yeah it would.” Her fingers tapped against the stone deck. “But I couldn’t do it, not after what I saw out there. Besides, it felt like I’d come back here to heal people and let them leave with hospital bills that would just kill them in another way.”
Under her breath, she muttered. “There’s plenty of other doctors to take care of people.”
I bit my lip. “So, underground medicine is a little better?”
Leo lifted her brows and laughed. “Yeah, no insurance companies. And helping Valemont Violence is far more rewarding than anything else I’ve done.”
A silence drifted over us as we let our feet dangle in the water. It was comforting but I couldn’t get one question out of my mind. It made sense why Spencer and Leo had ended up in this rundown, college town…
