Page 28 of The Cinderella Secret
“Kid,” said Josh as Aiden pulled on the Number Nine mask. “This is a bad idea. I told you about that girl, right?”
Aiden felt the same nervous flutter of excitement as he had the first time Josh said the words. “Yeah, I heard you. But I need this.”
“You need to get caught? This one is close to home. And with someone looking for you, it’s a bad idea.”
“You don’t think I can beat this guy?”
“That isnotit and you know it. You’re going to fuck him up as long as you don’t get cocky and do something stupid. But this whole thing is cocky and stupid.”
“Josh,” said Aiden, adjusting his cup and then rolling his shoulders. “I’m going fucking nuts. I have barely left the house in weeks except to go to work or court. My cousin is watching me like a hawk and I’m starting to get weird and talk to house plants.”
“Lots of people talk to their plants,” said Josh reassuringly.
“But I don’townany house plants. I’m talking to the neighbor’s ficus, and what’s worse is that I think it’s starting to resent how much of its time I’m taking up.”
Josh chuckled. “We’re going to have to get you a cat or something.”
“Do we really think I’m ready for that kind of responsibility?” asked Aiden and Josh laughed again.
“Maybe a Roomba then,” said Josh. “We’ll put ears on it. But either way, this girl is looking for you and that’s not good news. No one should know to look for you in the States. This is a sure-fire way to get caught.”
Aiden didn’t want to explain that if it was the right girl, he wanted to get caught. And a short, dark-haired girl with five hundred dollars… That sounded like a glass slipper shoe-in for Cinderella. He needed to find her. He wanted her to find him. If only so that he could stop thinking about Ella Zhao.
“Not to mention your fucking cousin,” continued Josh.
Aiden grunted. Jackson was a different problem all together. Leverage was difficult to acquire with Jackson. But after four years, Aiden thought he had a pretty good bead on what Jackson wanted. Jackson wanted a family. He’d been absolutely clear on that. And Aiden thought that if Jackson tried to put the squeeze on him about fighting, his leverage was to remove the one thing Jackson wanted—closeness. He could freeze Jackson out and he was pretty sure he could get Dominique to follow suit, at least long enough to get Jackson to cave. It wouldn’t be pretty, but Aiden wasn’t about to give up the one thing that made him feel really alive outside of a court room. The tough part would be making Jackson believe that Aiden could be enough of an asshole to do it. What no one really understood was that all the Deveraux were assholes. Even Nika. Maybe especially Nika. Aiden tried not to think about that.
“Jackson’s guy thinks I’m in my house tucked up safely in bed,” said Aiden. “Get me home by dawn and it’ll be fine.”
Josh looked unconvinced. “Showing up at work with bruises is going to be a problem for you. Not to mention court.”
Aiden looked up guiltily.
“What?” asked Josh, clearly reading Aiden’s expression despite the mask.
“It’s not like I was putting maximum effort into my job before, but with this DevEntier mess in my lap, I’ve been blowing it off worse than ever. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about quitting.”
Josh let out a whistle. “That’s a big step. Are you sure?”
“No,” said Aiden. “Not at all. But it’s like this case has given me a serious case of the I-don’t-wannas at work. I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”
Josh shrugged. “What’s your family going to say if you quit?”
“Don’t know,” said Aiden. “Grandma might blow a gasket. We’ll have to see about the others. Maybe if I do it right, I can get Jackson to smooth it over with Grandma.”
Josh laughed. “Why don’t you just tell Jackson what you’re doing? If you trust him to help you smooth the road with your grandma, why not this?”
“Because…” Aiden petered out. “Because this is mine,” he said at last.
Josh shook his head. “Well, good luck, I guess. Did I tell you I talked to a friend of mine that knows Jackson?”
“No! What did he say?” Aiden was fascinated. Getting information on Jackson was so rare that he’d generally stopped trying.
“This guy I know, he’s ex-Navy SEAL and he goes shooting at the same range as your cousin. He says not to get in front of him… ever. Apparently, Jackson’s a dead eye. If you don’t want to get shot by Jackson, you’d better sneak up behind him.”
Aiden chuckled. “I think you’d have to get up pretty early in the morning for that. Or better yet, do what I do, and make sure he doesn’t want to shoot you in the first place.”
“Yeah, easy for you to say, you’re not sending out his favorite cousin to get pummeled.”
