Page 64 of Auctioned to the Devil

The ground slopes downward.

I slip.

Catch myself.

Keep going.

Caleb taught me this.

Don’t run downhill if you don’t know the terrain.

Change direction.

Make yourself hard to track.

I veer left.

A hand grabs my ponytail.

Pain explodes across my scalp.

I scream as I’m yanked backward.

I hit the ground.

Hard.

The pepper spray is gone.

A man rolls me over.

I swing.

He catches my wrist.

“Jesus Christ, she’s a fighter.”

“You surprised?”

The other man appears above me, eyes red and streaming from the spray.

I recognize him.

My blood turns cold.

He was at the auction.

Standing with Richard.

“You.”

He smiles. “Should’ve sold the lodge.”

I kick him in the knee.

He swears.

The other man pins my arms.