Page 14 of Starting Over

“Hi, Sam.”

She hooked her arm in mine and brought me over to the group she had stepped away from.

“This is Jack, my old man,” she said, pointing to a handsome guy standing beside her. “This is Zero, Romeo, and Winchester.”

They all nodded a hello.

“That over there is Banshee and Mimic. Mimic is the younger one,” she offered, pointing to two gentlemen sitting at another table. Mimic looked young, but Banshee looked to be around my age.

He was handsome. I wasn’t sure with him sitting down, but he looked like a big guy. His black hair fell over his eyes, giving him a younger look, but his weathered hands gave him away. They spoke of years of hard work.

“This is Beck, and her old man, Blade.”

“Hi,” the woman, who answered King earlier, said. “Micah, say hello.” She smacked him on the back, and when he turned around, I couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped.

“No,” I whispered.

It couldn’t be him.The girl called him Micah, it’s not him.

He narrowed his eyes at me, and they turned icy.

“I-I’m sorry.” I shook my head, trying to gather my wits. “You look like someone I knew years ago. It surprised me.”

“Who?”

“Wh-what?”

“Who do I look like?”

“Oh, someone I used to know.”

“What was his name?” the man pressed.

“It doesn’t matter. You wouldn’t know him. He didn’t have any family,” I said quickly.

It was a lie. He had a family. A wife and a son. But Duane assured me he was dead. His family was dead. He had turned on the Mob, and that was something you didn’t do. I wasn’t one for advocating someone’s death, but his betrayal had led to the arrest of my father and his death behind bars. To add to my grief, my mother died less than five years later. He had taken my family from me, and for that, I would always hate him.

The man’s family wasn’t to blame, but Sal had said he needed to make a point. So I said nothing when Duane told me what happened.

The young man watched me curiously.

Turning away from him, I sought out King.

“Um, is that room ready? It’s been a long day.”

“Yea,” King said, though he was watching me too.

I knew he was looking for something to explain my reaction. “Amber. Please take Maureen up and get her settled in her room.”

“Sure thing. Come on, hon.”

“Prospect, take her bags and follow them up.” He touched my arm, stopping me before I followed Amber up the stairs. “Breakfast is between eight and ten. Come down any time. After you’ve eaten, I can take you to meet Kristy.”

“Thank you. I appreciate this so much.”

“No problem. Get some sleep.”

I nodded again and followed Amber up the stairs. She chatted along the way, telling me where things were and letting me know she was available if I needed anything.

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