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A fist connected with my jaw, and I jolted, cracking the back of my head against the concrete. The sharp, throbbing sting pulsed 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.”
