Page 52 of The Cinderella Secret
“Multiples of six for the win,” said George, running to the entry way. “Get the bags. Let’s load up and get out of here.”
“You don’t need us,” said Aiden. “Let us go and get out.”
“Maybe we’ll just keep her,” sneered Paul.
“No,” said Aiden, and once again the mask slipped. Aiden’s expression was hard and brutal, and she felt John’s grip on her shift, his palm slippery with sweat.
“Just go load up,” said John to Paul. He walked her toward Aiden. “Get the hell out,” he said and flung her at Aiden. The rug skittered out from underneath her on the marble tile, and she fell face first into Aiden’s chest.
And she was seventeen again.
The scent of soap and sandalwood filled her nose. His arms were around her, holding her up, keeping her safe. The pounding of his heartbeat in her ear.
Aiden backed up, pulling her into the stairwell. He let go of her then and stared down into her eyes.
“Are you OK?”
She nodded, not feeling capable of speech.
“We’re going to go downstairs,” he said, putting his words into actions. He was holding her hand. She didn’t let go. She kept trying to catch a glimpse of his jawline and match it to her memory. How was it possible? It couldn’t be possible. She was mistaken. Number Nine had been poor.
No, Cinderella, I’ve got more. This is just what I have on me.
He hadn’t been poor?
I live in the US. It’ll be OK. I have family there. And lawyers.
He hadnotbeen poor. But… he had been a fighter? She’d seen him fight. He was good. Tall, pale skin, same number nine mask. Six years of fighting. That could not have been Aiden Deveraux. He was sweet and funny and… stupid. Absent-minded. Bumbling. Everyone said so. Only, she already knew that wasn’t true.
Number Nine had been willing to help. He’d been kind. He’d been funny. And just a little bit cocky. Wasn’t that Aiden?
They reached a landing several floors down and found themselves running into a wall of guns. Police were shouting at them. Or it seemed like shouting. There was a lot of loud talking. Aiden maintained his grip on her hand. It wasn’t until they were on the street and all of her uncle’s lawyers surged forward to pull her away that he released her.
Was she really going to leave him again?
“Ella!” Bai called. She looked at her uncle striding toward her, ignoring police officers, who were trying to block him. He’d been waiting for them in the car. He was always anxious to see any new evidence she turned up. Today had been no exception.
She looked back over her shoulder at Aiden. He was still watching her. She wanted to run back and fling her arms around him.
“Ella!” Bai yelled again, then he was hugging her and barking orders as he pushed her toward the car. She looked back again, and Aiden was gone.
19
Aiden – Berdahl-Copeland
Aiden idly flipped through the pile of documents that Ella had submitted into evidence last time they’d been in court. He stared blankly at a Berdahl-Copeland report that was part of a compiled stack of papers showing that Bo Zhao had worked for Randall Deveraux in 2006.
Every time he closed his eyes, Ella’s face appeared on the inside of his eyelids. They had pulled her away and he had let them take her. They were her family. That was the right thing to do.
He kept repeating that to himself.
But her face… She hadn’t wanted to go.
It had taken every ounce of strength not to simply start peeling lawyers off of her like wrapping paper, scoop her up and run for the hills. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was supposed to be with him and that she hadn’t wanted to leave.
He stared again at the Berdahl-Copeland report. From 2006.
His brain was trying to tell him something, but all he could think about was Ella. The police had taken up the rest of the afternoon. The bank robbers had made it out of the building seconds before the police closed the perimeter. Currently, they were in the wind. And he had come out of police questioning to an annoying blockade of press. The damn hostages in the bank had given him credit for saving their lives. That was not how he was supposed to be in the news. He was supposed to be sayingno commentfor other people or giving a prepared statement about his undying support for his grandmother. He wasn’t supposed to be the focus of any news stories. He was finding it massively embarrassing. He’d retreated to the safety of Deveraux House, but Jackson and Evan’s unrepentant glee over the situation had driven him back out again. He’d finally had Dominique drop him at his new office so he could catch up on all the work he’d missed during the day.
