Page 15 of Golden Knight

“So Jake, what have you been up to since the last time I saw you?”

“Just diving right in then?”

She shrugs. “I was just hoping to get to know you better. I thought that was the whole point of this.”

I cleared my throat. “I tried looking for you after you disappeared.” A knot of emotion starts to form in my throat, and I take a deep breath to loosen it.

A moment later, I continue. “Eventually, I joined the Marines. After I was injured on a mission in Iraq, I came home. Using the connections I had, I started my own security company.”

“Wow, you’ve accomplished quite a lot. So impressive.”

I shrug off her compliment because, in the grand scheme of things, none of it mattered until I found her. “It was just something to help me take steps to find you. That’s been my ultimate mission since I was sixteen.”

She lets out a deep breath and we change the subject. I ask her about her job and she tells me animatedly about how she worked her way up to becoming a manager and all of the people she has met while working there. I want to ask about Paul, but I don’t.

Our food comes while we continue to enjoy easy conversation. After we finish, I gesture to the waitress and pay the check. I’m not ready for the night to end so, I ask “Would you like to go for a walk?”

“I’d love to.”

We both make our way outside and start walking down the city street. The hair on my neck rises and I get the feeling that we’re being watched. I try to quickly scan our surroundings but before I can, I see out of my peripheral vision that she stops and her body stiffens. When a scream leaves her, I spin my body around. What the fuck? That’s when I see a man dressed in black standing behind her using his grubby hands to touch what’s mine.

I lunge toward him, but he’s faster. He lets her go and starts to run away. Amber starts to sway on her feet, her eyes catatonic as if she’s seeing something that is not there. I have to make a choice. I can go after him and punish him, or I can help her. In the end, it’s an easy choice. I will never let her fall.

Chapter ten

Amber

After a nice dinner, Jake and I continue our date by walking around the city. Conversation is flowing, both of us talking about what we’ve been up to. Well, it’s mostly Jake telling me stories about what he and Zeev have been doing, but I give him little bits about my job and tell him about Ella.

We both try to keep the conversation light. I don’t talk about my time while I was captured and Jake doesn’t ask me any questions either. Neither of us wants to be the reason we end the carefree feeling surrounding us. I’m having such a good time. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.

Until a hand wraps around my upper arm, causing my body to stiffen immediately. I don’t stop to think. I just go with my instincts. A loud guttural scream pours out of me.

My whole body starts to shake. I can’t handle someone touching me without my consent. Years of abuse and conditioning take over. Suddenly I’m thrown back into the same dark room, voices surrounding me. I just want it to stop.

“Over here, little girl.”

“I’m going to beat you until you’re the perfect woman. Cowering in the corner.” Then the slap comes. I’m knocked to the ground. I taste copper on my tongue as I bite down, trying to keep the tears at bay.

“That’s right, cry for me, little girl.”

I crawl into a ball, covering my ears. “No. Stop. Get away from me,” I scream.

I can feel the heat as the men surround me, closing in on me. I can’t let them get me. I do the first thing I can think of, I start kicking and screaming, hoping it will stop them from getting to me–stop them from touching me.

That’s when I hear it. A deep grumble in my ear, “Sunshine, you’re not there. You’re here with me.”

That voice sounds familiar, but I don’t stop. I shake my head, yelling, “No…no…get away.”

A large hand grabs my chin stopping me from moving my head, then I hear that same voice again. “Sunshine, look at me.”

“No, I don't want to,” I scream.

“Fuck, let's get you out of here,” a deep voice growls out, but I’m not sure if the voice is talking to me or someone else.

I’m lifted into the air as large muscular arms tighten around me. We start to move quickly and I thrash and flail. The arms around me tighten even more and I can’t seem to move at all now.

The scent of pine and bergamot invades my nose. I know that smell. It’s familiar. I breathe the scent in and it instantly calms my racing heart. “There you go, sunshine. In and out. In and out.”