Page 1 of Devil's Riches

1

Alexis

Nate stared at me, aghast. “What?”

I took another step back and gestured at the disheveled stranger. “This isn’t my father,” I said. “I have no idea who he is.”

Before Nate could respond or react, the stranger leaned down to pick up the heavy steel shackle and chain that had been attached to his legs until a few seconds ago. In a flash, he whipped it through the air and swung it right into the back of Nate’s head. The heavy metal made a sickening thumping sound on his skull, and blood sprayed through the air from the point of impact.

Nate let out a grunt and swayed giddily on the spot before crumpling to the ground. He lay there, motionless, as blood leaked out onto the concrete from behind his head.

I couldn’t tell if he was unconscious or dead.

Suddenly I felt as if I were the one who’d been hit in the head. My brain stuttered as I stared at the floor in a daze, trying and failing to collect my thoughts, and black spots appeared in my vision as my foggy mind struggled to comprehend what had happened.

From somewhere in the bunker, I heard a wretched keening sound, like a mortally wounded animal’s cry. Then I realized the sound was coming from my own mouth. I was screaming my head off and I hadn’t even noticed it until now.

With my brain finally catching up to my body, I turned and bolted up the passage, toward the steps that led to the exit. My chest heaved with terror as my feet flew over the dusty ground, and my heart pounded so hard and fast it felt like it might explode right out of my ribcage.

The stranger caught up with me before I made it to the end of the passage. He wrapped his wiry arms around my waist and yanked me backward, toward the main room of the bunker.

His fetid breath on the back of my neck made my skin crawl. I kicked, screamed, and clawed as he dragged me down the passage, using every bit of strength I had to try to free myself, but it was useless. He was a foot taller and ten times stronger.

When we returned to the main room, he wrapped one hand around my throat and lifted me off the ground before slamming me against the nearest wall. “Stupid bitch,” he hissed, eyes gleaming with sick enjoyment. “Did you really think I’d let you get away?”

“Nate!” I choked out, desperately clawing at the hand around my throat. “Wake up!”

Out of the corner of my rapidly blurring eyes, I could see him on the floor. He was still lying in the same spot, and he wasn’t moving a muscle. More blood was leaking out from his head, pooling behind him on the concrete.

Shit.He wasn’t going to help me anytime soon.

I had to save myself.

With a guttural cry, I brought my right knee up and jammed it into the stranger’s groin. He let out an agonized groan and dropped his hand from my neck, jaw clenching as he stumbled backward.

I tried to run back out of the room, but his reflexes were lightning fast, and he caught me within a few seconds. “You little cunt,” he spat out, eyes wild with fury. His face was suffused with red, and his upper lip was curled with hatred.

He slapped me in the face, sending me reeling. Then he punched me in the chest and stomach, knocking me down to my knees. Before I could even begin to recover from the blows, he hit me in the guts again and knocked me right onto my back. The force of the impact snatched the air from my lungs, and for several seconds I was stunned into immobility. I couldn’t even move my fingertips.

The man stepped away from me as I gasped for breath on the concrete, and when he returned, he was holding something white in his hands. It was hard to tell what it was with my vision swimming in front of me, but it looked like the thick fabric belt from a bathrobe.

He grinned down at me and swiftly kicked me in the ribs. I cried out and rolled onto my side, face scrunching up as pain coursed through my system.

“You could’ve made this so much easier,” he hissed in my ear as he wrenched my arms behind my back. “Stupid little bitch.”

I let out a whimper as he tied my wrists together. “Please… stop,” I begged. “I don’t know what you want, but we can work something out. Please!”

The man chuckled at my futile pleas and tightened the rope. When he was finally done, he stood up and stared down at me, eyes glittering with warped delight.

I thrashed on the cold floor, trying to escape my bindings, but it was useless. I couldn’t move more than a few inches without feeling as if I were dislocating my shoulders.

The stranger kicked me again, sending me rolling over to my other side. As I moved, I saw Nate stirring. His eyelids fluttered halfway open as his chest rose and fell in a series of short, ragged breaths, and a muffled groan slipped out of his mouth.

A rush of adrenaline swept through me. I never thought I’d be so happy to see Nate Lockwood open his eyes and take a breath.

“Don’t…” He touched one shaky hand to the back of his head. It came away wet with blood. “Don’t hurt her.”

The stranger looked over at him. “How sweet,” he said sarcastically. “He’s trying to save his little girlfriend.”

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