Page 91 of The Golden Goalie

The guys looks up slowly and locks eyes with me. At 6’4” I’m not intimidated easily; but if I was, he would be the guy to do it to me. He’s tall and muscular, like I am; but it’s his facethat threatens pain. There's something in his gaze that screams danger. I step closer to Amber, but she shocks me by putting her hand out in front of me. He looks at her hand and then back at me. “You must be the hockey player.” His voice is low and gruff, like he doesn’t use it much.

“Uh,” I look between him and Amber. Her next words shock me.

“Rico, this is my brother, Noah.”

My gaze goes to him and then back to Amber. Recognition dawns. I can see the resemblance now between all three of them. This is the brother.

“Come on in. Let’s get out of the chill,” Brielle says, motioning them forward and closing the front door. “I can’t believe you’re here. Where did you come from this time?” she asks.

“Somewhere.” I scoff at his answer because it’s not an answer at all.

I make myself back up and make room. Bri walks over to Aiden, still smiling. Amber is slower to follow, but eventually she follows Brielle. Noah, the brother, stops right in front of me; and I’d be a fool to miss the threat in his eyes. “Hurt my sister, and they’ll never find your body.” He steps away and walks into the living room. “Oh, and stop texting me.”

I swallow and feel my face flush. I lock eyes with Aiden who smirks. I take a breath before heading into the living room. Sebastian can’t wipe the goofy smile off his face, and Gunner looks less than thrilled about the newest addition to our group.

“So,” Bri rubs her hands together. “This is our brother, Noah.”

“Hey Noah, I’m Sebastian, forward for the Green Thunder, the good-looking one in the group.”

I smirk when Noah doesn’t even turn in his direction. Seb’s smile falls, and I want to laugh. But considering the threat inthe room, I don’t feel like now is the right time. Noah looks around the living room before his eyes fall on Gunner. “Let me guess. Hockey?” Gunner gives him a nod. Noah walks over to the wall and leans against it. “Clearly, I interrupted something. Continue.”

Absolute silence reigns for another minute before I decide to just deal with things. They’re not going to get any better without an intervention. I turn my focus back on Amber. “What’s really going on? The truth this time, please.”

Amber sighs and looks exhausted suddenly. No, scratch that; she’s looked exhausted for a while now. “Rico, I told you. I want to be with Adam.”

“No, you don’t,” I say resolutely. I push on before she can argue. “If you really wanted to be with him, I would step aside. But you don’t. You don’t smile when you’re with him, you’re not happy, and he hurt you tonight.”

“He didn’t hurt me,” she scoffs.

“Check your arms.” She shakes her head. “Amber, he grabbed you hard enough to leave bruises. I saw him. Besides, you don’t grab a woman and manhandle her the way he did you tonight, especially not one that’s seven months pregnant!”

Her surprised eyes meet mine. “You know how far along I am?”

My voice softens. “I know more than you think, Amber; and I want to know more. I want to know everything about you—your hopes and dreams, your fears, your joys, your sorrows. I want to share your life with you, Amber. I think I’ve made that more than clear.”

“You have.” Her voice cracks, and I see her tough facade crack for the first time tonight. Then she looks at Gunner for some reason. I watch as she pushes her shoulders back and stands to her feet. “But I’ve made my decision. You all need to leave now.”

“Amber, I—” I start, but her brother pushes off the wall.

“I believe she told you people to all go home.” There’s a lethal edge to his voice that would be ignorant to ignore.

“All right,” I say, backing down. I walk right over to her, knowing her brother is standing a few feet away. “If you need me, anytime, call me. I’ll be there.” She drops her head, and I can’t get a read on her anymore. I look over to her brother. “I don’t care that you’re her brother. You hurt her, you’ll answer to me.” He doesn’t even blink.

“I think he’s got it,” Aiden says, putting a hand on my shoulder and not so discreetly directing me to the front door. At the door he stops and looks back at Bri. “I’ll be outside; take your time.” He opens the door and all but shoves me out. We stand on the porch in the cool in silence for a moment.

“A little warning would have been nice,” I mutter.

“I didn’t know he was going to show up,” Aiden responds. “And nice touch. Threatening him? Threatening the guy who can probably kill both of us without breaking a sweat.”

I turn around and glance back at the house. “Yeah, he’s one scary dude. What’s he into?”

“Something so deep, even Bri doesn’t really know. He’s always in a foreign country and just pops in every once in a while.” He gives me a look. “Usually when his sisters are in trouble.”

“Maybe he just wanted to check in,” I offer. “It is the holiday season.”

He scoffs. “Right. Yeah, he just flew in from some country I don’t even know the name of on a random day just to pop in? Try again.”

I shove my hands in my pockets. “Okay, yeah. You probably have a point.”

---