Page 8 of Devil's Sinner

“Damn it!” I snarled, walking ahead to the nearest tree and using it for support.

I was woozy. My hand went to my ribs as the pain shot through my body and I remembered one of Connor’s goons kicking me there. I moved my tongue around my mouth and along my lips, feeling and tasting dried blood.

They did a number on me and apparently left me in the middle of nowhere.

“You should've killed me, you fucking bastard.” I growled, immediately feeling an ache in my jaw when it tensed. “Because now, I’m damn sure going to killyou.”

I tried to bring my thoughts together as I pushed away from the tree and looked up. I was no Boy Scout, but my dad was the type to prepare me for everything.

Even this.

“Sonny boy,”he’d said.“There’s some basic shit in life you have to learn to do, no matter how much money you have.”

The next thing I knew, he opened the door, and pushed me out of the car.

“Find your own way home,”he chuckled. “Or don’t come home at all.”

I hated him for doing that to me. I was nine years old, all alone, and had no idea how to get home. My dad was always cruel, so I assumed it was just another way for him to hurt me.

But I did find my way home. Many hours later, with blisters on my feet, and socks covered in blood. My dad just laughed at me when I arrived and sent me to my room.

“Thanks Dad.” I pressed my hand against a tree and pushed myself forward. “Maybe there was a method to your madness.”

After the lesson, I became obsessed with making sure I would be ready if it happened again. I taught myself to read the stars, build a fire, and even learned which local berries I could eat versus the ones that would send me to the hospital.

None of it ever came in handy.

Until now.

I staggered forward in the wooded area. I was looking for two things. High ground and running water. It was a cloudy night, but I located the North Star, and used it as a guide to make sure I didn’t get turned around.

It was too dark to see well. I stepped on enough broken branches and sharp rocks to tear up my feet. But I kept pushing myself forward. One step at a time. After several hours, I walked out into a clearing and spotted a hill that looked easy enough to climb.

“If I can just figure out where the hell I am…” I took a step and felt my ankle nearly roll as my foot went into a hole. “Fuck!”

I grunted as I walked to the hill and was careful with my steps to the top. My reward was the sight of more trees in almost every direction. I tried to rationalize it in my head. I couldn’t have been out that long. Not from a kick.

Was I drugged?

I quickly moved my shirt around, using the limited moonlight to inspect my arms. There was a bruise underneath my left bicep and when I pressed on it, I could see a mark where a needle had been roughly shoved in.

That was going to make things a lot more complicated. I had no idea how long I was out, but if I was drugged, it could have been much longer than I realized. I went to Connor Peterson’s house in the afternoon. Was it that night, the following one or…

No, I didn’t want to think about that.

I would just have to keep going.

The conversation with Connor Peterson and his wife played in my head as I pressed forward to walk down the hill.

I didn’t believe for an instant that Violet got on a bus. Connor Peterson didn’t try to pay twenty million dollars for Violet just so he could send her away. And what was the nonsense about me being responsible for Hugo Cabot going to prison? Is that what Georgia told Violet?

It had to be.

I would have my vengeance, and I would have what was mine, but I wouldn’t get it until I managed to find my way back to civilization. That meant forward progress was the only option, so I ignored the pain and the dizziness to keep going.

With another agonizing mile underneath my feet, I found water. It was a small stream, but it was better than nothing. I lapped it up from my hand, so thirsty that I didn’t even bother to spit out the dried blood before I swallowed.

Water meant survival. I could last for days just on that. The stream took me away from the direction I was initially heading, but I didn’t care. I pushed myself forward, staying next to the stream, and using the stars for guidance.

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