Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 32429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32429 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 130(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
I start shaking my head when Xander picks himself up from the ground and walks over to us. His sharp eyes are searching Miguel's face. I know my brother is even more observant than I am.
"I could do it," he says, and only then, I realize he's been listening in on our conversation the whole time. "Why won't you let me, Xavier?"
I glare at him, wanting him to shut up, but he doesn't take the hint.
Instead, he faces Miguel and starts speaking again.
"Just put me in the ring. I think you'll be surprised by how much I can do."
Miguel shakes hands with him. "You got it, kid. Be here after midnight, right here in the garden and we'll take you where we need to go."
Once he leaves I find myself angry at the thought of Xander doing something so dangerous and reckless.
"You can't do this shit," I hiss at him. "What would mom say?"
"Mom's gone," Xander mutters, kicking the ground beneath his feet. "She has been gone a long time. And there is no going back now. We're already stuck in this life. And this is only one small way of doing something to change our situation. I'm going to do it."
I don't argue with him. I know I should try to stop him before he does some permanent damage to himself, but I have a feeling I won't be able to. Once my little brother sets his mind on something, there is no talking him out of it.
After midnight, we meet Miguel in the gardens again. I'm hesitant and, even though Xander insisted on going on his own, I decide to go with him.
My pulse is racing as we follow Miguel to an underground bunker a little way off from the orphanage. We've never escaped from the home before. This is something new and terribly exciting, even though I know what meaning it has.
We make our way into the bunker, where a makeshift ring has been set up.
Rich men with money and guns smoke their expensive cigars all around us, watching us with dark intent. My blood freezes in my veins when I see them. But there's nothing I can do no.
As Miguel hands me an envelope with some money, I feel how thick it is and how many bills must be in there. My eyes widen when I realize we have more money now than we did ever before.
"He's on next," Miguel says, nodding at Xander. "Get in the ring, kid."
Helplessly, I sit down in front of the ring and watch my brother get in. He looks so small. He looks vulnerable. His face shows signs of him being just a child despite his growth spurt. I can tell this excites the men who are watching this fight, as they cheer and become rambunctious watching.
In the ring, another boy's brought in. This one must be a few years older than Xander and I soon realize this fight was doomed from the start.
There's no way my little brother can beat a kid twice his size. But once the fighting begins, I'm shocked into silence. Xander is fast on his feet and quickly ends up prevailing over the other little boy. He wins and the boy passes out, blood trickling down his forehead and out of the corners of his mouth.
The crowd goes wild, celebrating Xander for his winnings. He takes on two more boys and every time he wins, Miguel ends up passing me another envelope thick with money.
I can't believe this is happening. We're actually getting out of here now that Xander has finally done something to help us out of the horrible situation we found ourselves in.
As I watch, Miguel's eyes meet mine.
"Want to go next?" he asks with a big grin. "If you fight each other, they'll pay you double."
This excites me. And even though I love my little brother, I can imagine how good it would feel to win in a battle against him.
I find myself nodding.
"Yeah," I mutter. "I'll go next."
Chapter 9
TALLULAH
There is no way for me to know what time it is. I've given up hope a long time ago.
With the blindfold permanently placed over my eyes, there is no way for me to know where I am, or who's with me. But I believe for the most part I'm alone, except for the maids coming in and feeding me every so often. It's better than Xander's cruel torture.
I've slowly been recovering from his attack. I can feel the bruises and scrapes all over my body, reminding me of his cruelty. And the thing he did the last time he was in here was too awful to forget, no matter how hard I tried to forget what he did to me. I keep thinking about home, about my little sister, my parents and all the men who worked with my father. I got especially close with Liberato. My father's right hand man runs the cartel along him. Liberato was always so nice to the children, especially Mathilda and me. He always said my dad and he were brothers from the beginning of the cartel. That's why he was always specially kind, buying us little gifts and trinkets that excited us. I miss Liberato. I miss him just as much as my parents and my little sister, but with no hope of seeing any of them anytime soon, I find myself incapable of thinking about them. It only hurts more when I recall them. All the happy memories we had and all the things we did together are gone. But there's no going back now. Now, I'm fucking prisoner.