Page 93 of Brutal Knight

If he had been my knight in shining armor, come to save me like he'd always promised he would, he would be here right now, instead of Pedro.

The red ribbon.

He did this.

Knight killed my parents, then fled back to his cozy house in the States like a coward.

He'd broken his promise to always protect them, and had given in and done the thing he'd always wanted: to kill them.

I knew he was killing the men who bought me. He did it discreetly and in a way they couldn’t be connected.

But I figured it out, because I never forgot those men.

And now, he’d killed my parents.

He left me an orphan, just like him, except he didn’t even have the courage to look me in the eyes and confess his sins.

If he’d had, then maybe…

Maybe I could’ve forgiven him.

As I sat there, thinking about what Knight must've done, anger sparked inside, and turned into a raging inferno. My parents may not have been the best people, but at least their noises in the house made me feel not so alone.

Knight had broken his word. He promised to always love me. To protect me and keep me safe—if I put my trust in him.

And then, when I’d done all that and more, agreeing to marry him—he publicly shamed me, abandoned me, then killed the only other people in my life who even thought about me.

I hated him.

He didn't care about me.

No one did.

I stood, throwing all the money back into the bag and shoved it into the closet.

Then, I got dressed.

I would go to school today. And the next day. And the next and the next.

I would get off heroin, graduate, and figure out how to take care of myself. I was stronger than everyone gave me credit for, and now, I had the opportunity to prove it.

Not to them, because,fuck them.

I was going to prove it to myself.

I was a strong woman. And I would never, ever need anyone to protect me ever again.

And then, when I was strong and independent, I was going to show Knight what he’d lost, and go tell him to fuck himself in the ass.

From here on out, I would rely solely on myself.

TWENTY-TWO

PRESENT DAY

I spent the next week throwing myself into my work. I'd discovered the warehouse where the cartel was keeping our stolen ozone, and we were keeping an eye on it night and day. I'd also discovered the location of Benny, who was being tortured for information in a small but well protected house in the middle of their territory.

We would let the Fernandez's have him.

---