Hart's Passion (Pirates & Petticoats Book 2) by Chloe Flowers

pieces.”
    They circled each other. Landon’s gaze flicked uneasily to Keelan. To place his body in a position to gain his sword, Landon had to move away from her. Their tormentor soon placed himself between them.  
    Terror clenched her throat as Landon lunged. Gampo blocked and parried. Their blades hissed and clashed repeatedly while they circled and lunged, their grunts, and curses muffled within the closed room.  
    To her horror, the large bulk of Crowe staggered upright directly in front of her. And worse, Landon appeared oblivious to the his revival. Her heart lurched as Crowe pulled a long ugly blade from his boot and began to creep silently toward Landon’s back. There was no more time for contemplating her options. She had to act now.
    The chain. Use the chain!
    Keelan grabbed the end of the chain and surged forward to fling a loop around Crowe’s neck. Startled, the man slashed at the iron. Hoping to pull him off his feet, Keelan pulled back and leaned away with all her might. Her stomach flipped in panic when her bare feet slid out from beneath her. Crowe crashed to the floor and didn’t move. She did it. She stopped him.  
    With a strangled sob, she crawled to Crowe’s dagger and snatched it. Thusly armed, she untangled her chain from the pirate’s neck and scrambled to her feet, trying not to look at his head, which was cocked at an odd angle from his body.  
    Gampo glanced over at Crowe, who was motionless on the floor, neck broken.  
    “No!” he roared. He lunged toward her and swung his saber in fury and rage. Landon seemed to barely block the attack.  
    Gampo twirled and lunged at Landon again.  
    Instinctively, Landon brought his dirk down, but he could only partially deflect the blade. The saber slashed across the side of his ribcage. He twisted and crashed the butt of his handle on Gampo’s wrist, dislodging the saber. It skidded across the floorboards and disappeared into the shadows. Gampo put his head down and plowed into Landon’s wounded side. Both men crashed into the wall. Landon’s head hit the boards with a sickening thud.
    Keelan’s breath froze in her throat. Disarm. Distract. There was no time to spare. She dashed to the saber, even as Gampo struggled to his feet and pulled a dagger from his belt. The saber’s hilt was in her grasp before the pirate noticed she’d moved. Swinging the weapon up, she spun and lunged.  
    The clinking chains attracted Gampo’s attention, and he cried out in surprise, barely parrying her attack with his dagger. Pain seared her back as she whirled again and sent the blade slicing toward his midsection. He stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding the bite of the saber once more.  
    “Ye think ye be strong enough to scuttle me? Me cousin was taken by surprise, but I’ll not be,” he sneered. “Let’s see how ye fair against the bite of my sword, ye daughter of a double-eyed whore!” He grabbed Landon’s fallen blade and lunged.  
    Dear God, what had she done? Whatever Fynn’s actions had been involving Gampo’s sister had driven the pirate to a feud with him lasting for years. Would her fate be worse for killing the pirate’s first mate and kin?
    She lifted her weapon, even as the pain from the movement almost made her swoon. Her arms shook under the weight of both sword and heavy iron chain. How long would her arms last before they gave way under the strain?  
    The next parry from her weapon was weak; she brought her sword up across his body, forcing him to jump back. The weight of the weapon threw her body around, and the burn of his blade streaked across her shoulders. She cried out in pain, and when she brought her sword back around to parry, his next blow jolted the saber from her grip, and it clattered to the floor.  
    He nodded toward the small door in the corner. “’Tis time for us to go. I hear footfalls in the hall and don’t wish to engage in another skirmish,” his voice was as cold as a London winter rain.
    “You will