Page 8 of Creature's Vengeance
“Then I’ll have to convince you.”
Those words terrified me, but I wouldn’t cower. I had to fight back. Mateo wasn’t a big man, but he was muscular, with a good thirty pounds on me and an additional couple of inches in height. I was no match for him.
He bolted forward and grabbed me around the waist. I flailed and opened my mouth to scream when one of his men pulled a gun. It aimed at my chest.
Mateo dragged me to the side of the bar out of earshot, where no one would see us. The loud music would drown my screams even if the asshole holding the gun decided to lower it. I struggled and kicked my legs, shoved at his hands, and clawed at his wrists, but he didn’t release me.
Mateo laughed as he threw me down on the ground and descended like a ravenous beast, and I was the prey. I tried to shield my body, but he kicked me in the ribs first. Pain exploded along my side and in my head. No one had ever hurt me like that before, and it stunned me.
I gasped, trying to drag air into my lungs, but it wasn’t working. Spots danced in my vision.
Don’t pass out!
I formed a fist and swung but caught nothing, only air.
A fist connected with my jaw, and I jolted, cracking the back of my head against the concrete. The sharp, throbbing stingpulsed from my jaw to my temple. Another hit split my lip, and I felt warm fluid trickling from my mouth and nose.
Blood.My blood.
My fingers reached out so I could flee from the assault, but Mateo only laughed. The material of my shirt ripped, and terror seized me. The pain increased, and I grew dizzy. Disoriented, I couldn’t fight back.
I felt his hands yanking at my clothes. He wouldn’t hurt me like that. Right?
A cell phone began ringing. Mateo paused to answer it as I struggled to stand, swaying as I got to my knees. He spoke Spanish, and his words were too fast for me to comprehend.
Without a word or looking in my direction, he reached for the handkerchief one of his goons handed him. Mateo wiped the blood off and tossed it on the ground. He stepped away, and they followed. All three men dismissed me as if I were a cockroach under their boots.
God. Everything hurt.
I slumped over as my knees buckled. At least I didn’t show weakness until that asshole was gone. Right?
I had to move and get help, but I couldn’t seem to make my body obey that command.
My head tilted back and rested against the wall outside the bar. It hurt too much to lift my arm, but I managed to swipe some of the blood from my nose and mouth.
Fuck. I really messed up. How the hell would I find Bells now?
I had to get Mateo to trust me again. It was the only way.
But that meant he could do worse to me next time. I wasn’t that stupid. I needed help. But there was no one to ask.
Just when my faith in humanity was annihilated, a stranger approached me, lifting his flashlight to assess my injuries. His green eyes held concern when he saw that I’d been beaten.
I didn’t know how he found me, but this good Samaritan probably saved my life. I barely stayed coherent enough to answer his questions before the pain became too much to endure. My eyes fluttered, and I fell forward, terrified of what I would find when I regained consciousness.
Chapter 3 Creature
“No need to look at me like that,” I growled at the nurse, who stuck up her nose as I approached the desk. I just want to know how the girl I brought in is doing.”
“Her name?”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “That’s what I’m telling you. I don’t know it. She never told me before she passed out.”
The nurse narrowed her eyes. “Why are you covered in her blood?”
“Because she was bleeding all over me when I brought her here,” I deadpanned. Was it that complicated?
The nurse, whose nametag read Phyllis, shot to her feet. “Security!”
