Page 31 of Desperate Bargain

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This is not good.

I gather my boys, hoping that whoever is in the hall doesn’t come any closer.

Doors slam shut, again and again. The place is being scavenged.

I’ve never had to kill a man before. I’ve always been lucky enough to slip away undetected. Fate has forced the issue, however, so I grab the remaining sword out from under the bed and usher my boys into the bathroom, close the door, and take a place in front of them.

Hopefully, I will only have to face down one opponent, but it’s possible there are several.

Hyun sobs. Duri comforts him, which is a relief because I don’t want to take my eyes off the door.

A distinct slamming sounds, and I realize the door leading into the room has been flung open.

A woman’s voice drifts into the bathroom. She’s mumbling something. I look through the hole left from when Hyun locked himself in, and I see a disheveled form that could easily be mistaken as one of the dead.

I pray she doesn’t look further. That she leaves this door closed.

But things rarely go my way.

The door to the bathroom opens, and on the other side is a woman with messy blonde hair and dull gray eyes.

She stares at me, her chest rising and falling in heavy pants.

“Go!” I say the English word perfectly. Perhaps she’ll take pity because of my terrified boys, but judging by her expression, I shouldn’t count on it.

She’s angry, growing more so every moment she looks at me. She snaps angry words I do not understand.

Except for one…

“Trent.”

Her face screws and she unleashes an ear-piercing scream.

“Why-you?!” she yells, thrusting a hunting blade at me.

I dodge it easily.

I understand the words perfectly, as they’re some of the few I’ve come to fully grasp. She wants to know why Trent is here with me and not home with her.

I never wanted to take something that wasn’t mine, and I can’t say why Trent has stayed as long as he has. But now I know he must go. He’s just as bad as Ji-hoon, if not worse, because at least my husband never pretended to be something he wasn’t.

The woman pulls back the blade, putting her head in her hands as she walks in a tight circle, mumbling. She looks deranged, but maybe that’s because she’s been worried about Trent.

But looking at her, I don’t think that’s right. She looks crazed. There’s something off about her that goes beyond a few poor nights of sleep. She doesn’t look…healthy.

I don’t think she’s been bitten, because this is no chance encounter. She knew where we were staying. She stakes us out. And now, if I had to guess, I’d say she intends to kill me.

A sickening feeling twists in my gut. If I die, who will protect my children?

I hold the sword out in front of me and shout, “Go!”

She casts me scathing eyes.

I take a step forward, trying to look bigger than I am, holding my sword menacingly in front of me.

“Go!”

A sardonic look crosses her face. She has no intention of leaving. This is a fight to the death.


Tags: L.J. Anderson Paranormal