Chapter 4

Murray looked at me and said, "Amanda, we're all from the same village!"

"Besides, the storm's almost here. I just want to be closer to my own place!"

"That's all I'm asking. You can't even give me that?"

He kept his eyes on me as he spoke.

I only looked back at him, cold, and said flatly, "First of all, this is my house."

"I don't make a habit of letting strange men into it."

"And the mayor should have already told you. You can go somewhere else to ride out the storm. Not here."

As I said it, I stared at him, and something like disgust crept into my eyes.

Murray spoke up fast. "Amanda, your place is the closest to mine!"

"I just want to keep an eye on my own house!"

I gave him one cold glance. "Sorry. I have no reason to let you in."

With that, I turned and walked inside.

In my last life, Murray was the one who got me killed. So why would I lift a finger for him now?

More than that, I knew exactly how this went. Once the storm made landfall, his house would be torn apart by the wind.

And out in that storm, there was no way he would come through it in one piece.

Last life, I looked at that whole family in their sorry state and couldn't bring myself to turn them away, so I took them in.

I never imagined it would drag so much trouble down on me.

This time, Murray knew perfectly well I was reinforcing my wall, and he still wanted to move into my house. That was when I saw it clearly.

He'd planned this from the start. He'd had his eye on my place all along.

If that was his game, there was no chance I'd let it work.

Back inside, I turned to look at the men in the living room.

The two bodyguards the private security firm had sent me were still there. With them here, nothing could happen to me.

Seeing them, I let out a breath.

I knew now that nothing was going to go wrong.

"Miss Dickerson, what would you like us to do?"

The two bodyguards looked at me and asked.

I waved a hand. "All you need to do is stay here and keep me safe."

"And from now on, if anyone forces their way into my house, I expect you to protect me."

Both of them answered at once.

"Don't worry, Miss Dickerson. We're professionals."

I nodded at that.

Then I looked outside.

Wind and rain had already picked up out there, harder by the minute. I knew the storm was about to make landfall.

Just as I was about to close the door, Mayor Coleman came hurrying up to my gate, a strained look on his face.

"Amanda, I've already talked to the Hensons!"

"You know how it is. It's not just Murray, there's his parents too, and none of them will leave!"

"And it's true, yours really is the only house next to theirs!"

"I was thinking, could you take them in?"

I listened, then gave him a small smile. "Mayor, I'm sorry. My house isn't going to have anyone else living in it."

"Besides, the village has an evacuation shelter. If they won't move, that's not for me to fix. It goes against the rules."

The mayor's expression shifted. He looked at me. "Amanda, we're all from the same village. People should help each other out."

"If something happened to that family, you'd never forgive yourself!"

I looked at him and smiled again. "First of all, that family has no right to live in my house."

"And as mayor, you can evacuate people. If they won't move, that still doesn't mean they get to stay here."

"One more thing. You'd better clear people out fast. The storm is almost here!"