Page 8 of Golden Knight

I take a deep breath, calming myself and releasing the pain I was holding. This is what I needed. Just someone to share their strength with me.

After a few minutes, she steps back and gently asks me, “What’s going on, Amber?

Sniffling, I wipe my eyes and nose with the back of my hand and answer. “Someone from my past has shown up.”

“Who?” she immediately asks, and then she visibly cringes.

I wave her off, but before I can say anything, she keeps talking, “Do you want to talk about it? You don’t have to if you don’t want to?”

I pull my walls back up. I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t go back to that time in my life, I just want to forget it. “I can’t, Ella. I just can’t.”

“Well, I’m here if you need me. Anytime.”

“Thank you, Ella. Maybe someday. But enough about me, tell me what happened at the party.”

Ella’s eyes light up as she goes into detail about her night. She tells me about the guests having public sex, her step-sister Mia going behind some weird locked door, an auction, and how her step-mother was sitting with a strange man. Plus all the pictures that she found in Mia’s room when she was snooping.

I let out a big breath. “That’s a lot, Ella. I’m not even sure how to process all of that. But if you need any help, let me know,” I demand.

“I know, Amber. I appreciate it.”

“Did you at least get to have some fun?”

Her whole face lights up when she answers, “Yes. I met the sexiest man alive.”

Chapter five

Amber

Twelve years ago

Jake: 16 years old Amber: 14 years old

The doorbell rings and I rush to the window in the hallway that overlooks the front yard. I’m curious to see who is at the door. It can’t be Jake back from football camp. His last text said he wouldn’t be home for a few more hours, but it doesn’t stop me from checking. He messaged me telling me that he would be back today, and I’ve been waiting on pins and needles for him.

Hushed voices bring my attention back to the front door. When I look over the stair railing, I see an older woman and two men standing in the foyer talking to my parents. The woman looks like she could be someone’s grandma but with a hard edge. Her back is stiff, her brow furrowed, and her mouth is in a thin straight line. She seems angry about something, but I can’t tell why.

I drag my eyes to the men standing behind her and…a shiver runs down my back. Shit, they look scary. They look like tanks towering over both my parents and the old lady. The scariest one has a scar across his face giving him an even more menacing look.

All three of them start to move in sync as they surround my parents, trapping them in, and that’s when I hear the old woman’s words. “It’s time. I’ve waited long enough.”

Waited long enough for what? My mother pleads, “Please. My daughter’s upstairs. Let’s go sit down and talk about this.”

What does this have to do with me? I peer over the railing again and see them move into the living room, giving me a chance to get close so I can hear what's going on. Once they move I silently make my way down to the bottom of the stairs, so I can hear what they’re saying.

“I gave you money to help you open your restaurant. It's time to pay your debt,” a harsh voice snaps.

“Please. We’re still trying to get the restaurant on its feet. We can give you the money soon,” my father begs.

What the hell? Why would my parents need a loan from these people and not a bank?

My thoughts are interrupted when I hear the old woman again. “You knew the deal. If you can’t pay with money, then we’ll take payment in a different form. But either way, we’re not leaving here without payment.”

My whole body stiffens. A different form of payment? Will they take the restaurant? My parents would be devastated if that happened, especially my father. It’s their whole life.

“Please don’t take the restaurant. I promise we'll get the money as soon as we can. I just need to make some phone calls,” I can hear the tears in my mother’s voice.

“Sit down,” one of the men growls out.

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