Page 3 of Kiss of a Hellish Prince

“Get the fuck off me!” I yelled, throwing my elbow into the soft stomach of the man holding me.

He grunted and twisted my other arm harder. His grip around my waist didn’t loosen any. I tried again. This time, the man in front of me grabbed my arm before I could land another strike.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to be feisty. This’ll be more fun than I thought.” His smirk showed lines of yellow and black teeth that looked like they were rotting in his mouth.

What were these men going to do to me? I didn’t know exactly what they had planned, but I had no interest in finding out. I fought harder, trying anything. Scratching, kicking, and I even tried throwing my weight in different directions to throw the man who held me off-balance. But I hurt myself more than my assailants.

A scream ripped from my throat before it was cut off by a colossal fist slamming across my face. The world around me swam, and several minutes passed before I realized I was moving. The taste of iron filled my mouth; the snaggle-toothed fucker had busted my lip.

The big guy lifted me off the ground and threw me over his shoulder. He was taking me back to the van where the third man sat on the hood, smoking a cigarette.

“This her?” he asked as the big one took me off his shoulder but kept a tight hold on my hands. The leader grabbed my hair, pulling it back harshly to see my face.

I did the only thing I could think of. I sent a glob of blood-filled spit into his face.

He laughed as he wiped it off. “Yeah, this is her.”

“What do you want?” Blood spilled from my lip as I spoke.

“Put her in the van,” he said to the big one.

“Can’t I play with her a little first?” Snaggle Mouth asked the leader of the group.

I’d seen enoughCSIandCriminal Mindsto know this: never let them take you to a second location. My jaw ached, my head was swimming still, my legs were sore as fuck, and my hip still hurt. But I was NOT getting into that rape dungeon on wheels.

The big guy’s hold on me loosened as he slid open the van door. I ripped my arms from his grasp and took off. Doing my best to ignore the pain in my legs, my arm, and lungs, I ran as hard as I could toward the nearest house.

“Help me, please!” I screamed as I ran.

I made it across the street. No one came out of their homes. Blinds actually closed and lights turned off. People were actively avoiding helping someone in trouble.

Really?

Making a sharp right, I headed for Highway 51. It was only a few blocks. Maybe I could flag someone down. The 51 always had a ton of cops laying speed traps. Maybe I could get one to stop for me.

The men pursuing me tackled me to the ground before I got close. A sickening crack splintered in my chest, and pain exploded in my rib cage.

“That was fucking stupid,” the leader said. He was kneeling on top of me, his knee digging into my spine.

I tried to scream again, but inhaling caused an intense stab of pain in my chest.

“Aww. Did the little bitch break a rib? You shouldn’t have run. I wouldn’t have let Ray have you, but now I might.”

He got off me, and Snaggles, aka Ray, pulled me up by my hair. Tears blurred my vision as he pulled me towards their van. I lashed out at him with my nails, clawing at him, desperately trying to get away.

“Boss, hurry. Someone’s coming!” the big guy said from the van. He had the side door open and ran to the driver’s door to start the engine.

I fought harder; maybe that person could help me. I tried to scream again, but the pain in my ribs wouldn’t let me take a deep enough breath. All I could do was fight and try to make as much noise as possible.

“Fuck, we don’t have time for this,” the leader said before shoving me into Ray’s arms.

The pain in my ribs made spots dance in front of my eyes.

Someone yelled out. Footsteps pounded toward us.

One of my assailants placed a dirty wet rag over my nose and mouth as a loud roar came somewhere from behind me.

Then the world went black.

---