Page 86 of Guarded By the Phantom

She tried to get up, but her legs gave out, and she fell to her knees again, breathing hard. For a moment, I forgot about my own pain.

“Doll, what’s wrong? Are you actually on drugs? What did they give you?”

She shook her head. “You don’t understand. My mother… Assassins! They are looking for you. You need to run! Please, please, go! Hide before they get you!”

I reeled back, staring at her in confusion. “What assassins? Doll, are you all in there? You sound like you’re on some good shit.”

She groaned, then convulsed, whimpering from pain. I crouched by her side again, my hands itching with the need to touch her. From up close, I saw how sweaty she was. I saw blood coating her nostrils.

Uh-oh.She was bleeding.

My girl was bleeding.

“Who hurt you?” I asked, my voice falling into the low, deadly rumble of the predator while red seeped into my vision.

“I’ll be fine,” she choked out with effort. “You… Please! Abomination hunters. My mother hired them… They are looking for you.”

I paused, considering her. It could be just the rambling of a drugged girl. Hell, maybe she took something or was dosed to get through the wedding. And no wonder, since she evidently didn’t want to get married. I heard her “no” loud and clear when I watched the ceremony hidden in the church loft in the back.

I’d watched her for the past week, looking for evidence that she had been forced to push me away. I found nothing. My girl was perfectly happy, smiling, dancing, and going through tons of beauty treatments in preparation for the wedding.

With no more hope left, I came here to witness her betrayal in person. This was supposed to be closure. Instead, I saw her defy her family and get dragged away. The promise I made to her burned in my chest, and so I came here, knowing how she’d be punished for her defiance.

“I haven’t seen any abomination hunters around,” I said slowly. “I didn’t even know it was a thing in this country.”

“Please!” she grabbed my armored hand in a shaky hold, her eyes wild as she looked at me with tears in her eyes. “Three Russian men! They kill your kind with chains! Shoot through the eye. Please, you need to hide!”

“Russian?”

I saw three Russians lurking around the property when I started stalking Barbara. They were big and burly, wore tactical vests and carried guns. I assumed they were new bodyguards that were brought in after I was fired.

“Please!” she begged again, shaking as she sobbed. “They will kill you! I saw what they do. I’m begging you, go!”

I didn’t move. A sudden suspicion burst into flame in the graveyard of my broken heart. I was almost afraid to say it out loud, but if she was telling the truth, we had no time. I shook myself off and put my hand on top of hers, staring into her terrified face.

“Doll. How long have they been around? Those hunters?”

She hiccupped, trying to sit up. I helped her, my hands lingering on her shaking arms. She seemed somehow smaller and weaker than only two weeks ago. My heart wrenched with horrible rage.

“Ever since I told you to go,” she whispered, clutching the front of my jacket. “I had to. If I hadn’t made you leave, they would have killed you. Please! There is still time.”

I nodded, a sudden cold blowing through my mind until everything sharpened, finally bright and crystal clear.

“Why are you so weak?” I asked, my voice sounding far away. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Her white wedding gown was free of blood, but I had to make sure she could wait until I dealt with all the immediate threats.

She shook her head. “I… Mind manipulator. He tried to make me say ‘I do’. I resisted.”

My chest swelled with pride. “Brave doll,” I whispered. “Okay. They are looking for me, right? I guess I’ll have to find them first, then.”

Her eyes widened in terror. “No! You don’t understand what they do! They are lethal, and you can’t…”

I pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. “You protected me,” I whispered, a flood of grateful appreciation pouring into my chest. “Now let me protect you.”

She groaned, trying to stand up. She got as far as a chair at a heavy wooden table. I huffed, helped her sit, and turned to my weapons bag. It was filled with all my favorite toys, but I couldn’t carry all of it while I hunted down the three Russians. I bent down to grab a machine gun, when something popped in the corridor outside. The lock burst, the door slowly swinging open.

“Get down!” I roared, toppling the table at the last moment to give her cover. “Stay there!”

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