Page 31 of Cinder
I smile at her attempt to be brave. It’s a facade. But I appreciate it. “Who you are and what you’re doing here.”
“I’m Ella, and I’m here for my mother’s watch.”
“Nice try. How about you tell me who Ella is and why she came to the clubhouse tonight. The first time. And don’t tell me you were Cheezy’s date. You and me both know he’d be punching way above his weight with you. No girl in their right mind would come to the clubhouse with him. Especially not someone who looks like you.”
A smile tugs at the corners of those plush lips. “And how does someone like me look?”
When I stand, I tower over her. “Guilty.”
Her smile quickly fades and then it’s a battle of the arctic stares. She glares at me, and I glare right fucking back at her.
“Give me my watch,” she says through gritted teeth.
“Who are you?”
“Ella.”
“I ran facial recognition, but you don’t exist online.”
She reaches for the watch again, but I pull it away. “I don’t have time for social media,” she snaps.
“But you’re not even tagged in friends’ social media.”
“I don’t have time for those either.”
Jesus, if we keep up this verbal tennis, I’m going to snap and fucking kiss her again.
“Except for Cheezy.”
Her expression sours. “Yeah, except for him.”
I don’t take my eyes off her. “Who are you?”
“I’m no one.”
“Oh you’re someone and I’m going to find out who?—”
She turns her head slightly, and the light bounces onto the side of her face that had been cast in shadow until now.
That’s when I notice the bruise on her cheek—a fist-sized bruise that certainly wasn’t there earlier tonight. I zero in on the swollen red lump and feel the darkness unfurl in my chest.
I take her chin in my fingers, and she flinches. “Who the fuck did this to you?”
CHAPTER 16
Ella
Murder.
It burns bright in his eyes.
He’s looking at me like he wants to annihilate the person responsible for the swelling on my cheekbone.
I have to think quick. But the rage in his eyes is wild and bright, and it catches me off guard. “My boss.”
“Your boss hit you in the middle of the night?”
“I board with him and his wife. He’s a mean drunk who doesn’t like to be woken up at midnight.” The lie falls awkwardly off my tongue.
