Girl in Gold

Chapter 2 ~ Amber Marigold

***

CHAPTER 2

Amber Marigold

***

Amber stood her ground, even though she was shitting herself on the inside. Her lungs were tight, the tips of her fingers tingling. Why did she have the urge to smile? A nervous tick?

"Did you say something?" Leather Leader asked, his sneer curling over. With Amber still trying to figure out what was happening, he turned to his goons. "Esta chica es muda," he snickered, and the group laughed before he stared her down again.

Amber did not need perfect Spanish to know she was the punchline of a joke. She set her jaw.

"Jessica, did your friend say something?" Leather Leader asked.

The sneer was gone, and instead, his silver eyes grew cold. Some of Leather Boys tensed up while Amber's jaw dropped. She had no idea Jessy knew these idiots.

"Uh, yeah, I said something," Amber finally answered. She turned to her cousin and said, "Chico es sordo."

Nobody laughed. Tough crowd, she thought. Her cousin's trembling hand was tugging at her jacket. It made her wonder if keeping her mouth in check was perhaps the wiser approach.

A cruel smirk etched onto Leather Leader's stone-cold face while everyone else kept staring. He took a step closer. Close enough for her to smell cigarettes. Lazily, he raked his narrowed eyes over her body. He had a black piercing through his brow.

"If you plan on opening your mouth again, I can find suitable ways to shut you up, Cariño."

Amber prepared a response she would most definitely regret—

"Threaten one of your whores, Bowmen," Coat Leader yawned.

"Eh, Ave María, you're quite literally the one with whores, Rhodes," Leather Leader jabbed. "And since when do you care about who I threaten on neutral ground? This one of your hookers?"

"Goldilocks? Never seen her before."

Amber was unsure how she felt about the nickname.

"In that case," Leather Leader said, "you can go fuck right off before I get you a nice pair of wheels like your father."

"Oh, yes, that's really scary coming from a coke-sniffing puppet-boy. Why don't you dirty the streets in your own country?"

"I was born in this town, you fucking pimp."

The boys unsurprisingly jumped into an argument drifting back to territories. Though Amber was entertained, her cousin's shaky breath was not quite right. She needed to leave. Attempting to walk away, the girl was promptly stopped by an icy glare.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going, Cariño?"

Amber was now sure she needed to get out of there as soon as possible, but for that to happen, she needed to get the attention off her. Coat Leader lifted his hand to yawn again, and the gesture sparked at the girl, allowing her to grab her chance. She took a step back, rounded her eyes, and raised her hand to her lips. Shocked.

"Whoa, were you really going to hit him while he had his back turned to you?" Amber asked. "That's so shameless."

"What?"

Coat Leader raised a brow at the accusation, but it was already too late. The dark-haired boy checking her out whirled around, teeth bared, and sent a death glare.