Page 3 of The Cinderella Secret
He could tell by the way her fingers almost took it that she wanted it. He could also tell by the stubborn set to her mouth that she wasn’t about to take it. “That’s all your money,” she said. “No.”
“Oh,” he said. He was torn between laughing in her face and giving her a hug. He managed not to do either. “Um, no, Cinderella, I’ve got more. This is just what I have on me. And we’re going to need it to get you your plane ticket. I have a plan.”
Her expression weakened. “What kind of plan?”
He tucked the money into her hand and she didn’t resist this time. “I’ve scoped the competition. I’m pretty sure for the first three brackets—after that it gets a little fuzzy—but I’m pretty sure I’ll win. You’re going to take this and you’re going to bet on me. And then you take the winnings and you’ll bet again. You’ll do that every time I fight.”
Her head tilted back and behind the mask he was pretty sure her eyebrows had gone up. “You seem…confident.”
“Cocky, you mean?”
“If the shoe fits,” she said tartly.
“No, that’smyline for you. Like I said, it gets fuzzy after the first three match-ups. I don’t know the competition well enough to be really certain, but I’m yeah, I’m fairly confident.”
She shook her head. “Dulce’s fighting tonight. He always wins.”
“Which one’s Dulce?”
“Big one. With the tattoo and the scar.” She drew her finger across her chest mimicking the scar pattern.
“Ah. That guy. Met him on the bus. He’s an asshole.”
“Yes. He’s also good. Most big fighters just lumber around and try to squish people. He actually fights, and he likes left hooks.”
“Helpful,” said Aiden. “But either way, I’m new, so I’ll fight at least three times before I get to him. And that ought to get us enough cash.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “OK,” she said, but didn’t look entirely convinced. “I’ll do it. What about the passport?”
“I was just out there. Everyone’s down at the pool watching Jell-O wrestling.”
“Oh, right,” she said, nodding. “Mom really debated over lime or blue raspberry.”
“Somehow, I wish I didn’t know that,” said Aiden.
“There’s lots of things about Mom I wish I didn’t know,” Ella said drily, and once again Aiden wanted to hug her, but this time out of sympathy. He wondered how long she’d been living in this hell hole. How had anyone let Slutty Cleopatra procreate? And how had she managed to produce someone nice?
“I’m sure that’s true. But I think we should go get the passport now as fast as we can.”
“You’ll get in trouble if they catch you,” she said.
“Like you won’t?”
“She’ll lock me in the basement for a couple of days,” she said with a shrug, and he felt an overwhelming urge to punch Slutty Cleopatra in the face. “But they willhurtyou.”
“Then we’d better not get caught,” he said with a smile.
She led him into the main house and he stepped warily across the threshold, uncertain of what to expect. Most of the lights were off, but it wouldn’t have mattered—most of the walls had been painted in midnight shades of blue, purple and crimson that swallowed all light and made the room’s ceiling close in on them. The house had the weird, grandiose, unfinished shithole vibe that came with vacation homes in third world countries.
“Jeez, who’s your mom’s interior decorator?” He glanced at Cinderella, hoping she wasn’t going to be offended. He never could seem to keep his mouth shut.
“She says it’s chic,” whispered Cinderella, looking amused as she went up the stairs ahead of him. He decided that Cinderella thought he was funny.
“It’s not chic. It’s depressing as fuck.” He pushed a little further, wanting to make her smile.
Cinderella flashed a grin at him over her shoulder as she made it to the second floor. She really was about the cutest thing ever. He wondered what she looked like without the mask. She went down a hall and he followed close on her heels. The sounds of someone having sex could be heard emanating from in front of them.
“Someone’s in the game room,” she said, sounding annoyed. “It’s probably Rolo. He likes to fuck while watching porn.”
