Cruel Proposal (Cruel Command #6)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

SUMMER

I needed this so bad!

Ditching the bodyguards to dance on a table in some shitty little club in Miami is probably the best idea I've ever had.

Or it's the nail that will have my family locking me away.

Either way, I'm only going to get to do this once, so I don't waste any time grabbing Téa's hand and hauling myself up on the sturdy marble.

The music pounds through the club.

Turning, I press my back against her body, grinding against her while my skirt climbs higher up my thighs. I run my hands through my hair and around my curves, for the first time in my life feeling totally free.

And then I see them.

Standing by the front door in their black button-downs with eyes like hawks.

I turn to Téa, my mouth near her ear. "They're here. We have to go now."

She pouts a glossy black lip. "I thought it'd take them longer to find us."

I reach for one of the men standing in front of the table.

In another world—in another life—I might have asked him to come back to my hotel room and fuck me for all he's worth. I'd be begging him to make me feel something other than numb to the world around me.

What else are you supposed to feel when your family is a bunch of killers and they can't seem to leave you alone?

The man helps me down.

I wobble on my feet, the tequila in my blood making my balance a shitshow.

Téa lands beside me, and we run for the kitchen.

Burgers sizzle on the grill; used burnt oil saturates the air as we weave through the people working in the kitchen and head for the door in the back that leads to an alley.

I wish I could say this is the first time I've escaped from this particular club, but I'd be lying since I have witnessed multiple drug runs here. One of the "perks" of being one of the youngest sisters to an older brother who runs a mafia empire.

Shoving open the door to the alley, I haul Téa behind me. "This was supposed to be a fun trip, not another fucking day when Aiden shoves the bodyguards at me because he's the one getting the entire family into trouble again."

Téa laughs. "Come on, I think it's nice that your family worries about you. Papa doesn't bother sending anyone with me anymore."

"Sure, because your family deals arms with most of the United States and nobody in their right mind is going to fuck with you.

My family is just fighting for control of New York and waiting for the day they all get arrested.

" I let go of her hand and lead the charge down the alley, taking a sharp right and turning down another one.

Music pours out of venues as we reach the street, neon lights drowning out the streetlights, people laughing and dancing outside bars. Téa nods to a bar on the other side of the street.

I glance over my shoulder, the bodyguards whipping through the alley; though they're the night guards, they don't spend each morning going for a run. I do. They're both going to have to work a lot harder if they want to catch me.

We hurry across the street and slip into the bar, skipping the line with a smile, a small hike of my skirt, and a little lean forward. And the hundred dollars Téa slips to the bouncer.

The music shakes me to my bones, the vibrations running hard through my body. I lose myself in the crowd, melting into it the best I can, becoming just another one of the people there dancing.

As I roll my hips, grinding into some man I'm not going to bother to learn the name of, exhaustion starts to set in, the tequila fading. I could take another shot or two, party until the sun comes up, but if I'm not alert, Aiden is going to send someone after me to drag me back to New York.

Like hell that's happening.

This is the last bit of freedom I have before I throw myself back into law school and studying after spring break is over. I'm going to make the most of it while I can, even if that means being well-rested so my oldest brother can't pull his shit.

I peel myself away from the guy, searching for Téa.

She's leaning over the bar, about to snag a bottle while the bartender is busy flirting with a man on the other side.

"I'm going back to my room." I brush my hand against Téa's lower back to get her attention. "You coming, or are you going to stay here for a while?"

She snags the bottle and turns her back to the bar. "Gonna stay a bit, I think. Met a guy. Huge dick."

Snorting, I shake my head and give her a quick peck on the cheek before turning and heading for the door. I wait for a little bit before slipping outside, looking around for the bodyguards.

They're moving from bar to club at the other end of the street, looking exhausted as the night gets even darker.

I head in the opposite direction, back to my room.

As soon as the door shuts behind me, my phone is ringing. It's like Aiden has a damn tracker planted in me. I'd think he would, but I've had someone look for one every month for the last three years.

I don't trust Aiden to not be overbearing.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Aiden snaps as soon as I answer the call.

I scoff and lean against the dresser, staring out the window at the lights of the city. "I could ask you the same thing. You told me I could come here and have fun without you butting into my life."

"And you told me you weren't going to go wild, but I'm getting calls about you drunk and dancing on tables."

"First of all, it's tequila. You drink it too. Second, I was having fun. It's not like I'm shooting up a nightclub in the name of getting back at the Rinaldos. Oh, wait, that was you who did that. You shot up the fucking club last week, and now you're taking out your paranoid behavior on me."

The other end of the call is silent for a second, other than his annoyed sigh. "You think this is taking it out on you? I'm trying to keep you alive. I'm trying to make sure nothing happens to you. Or have you forgotten everything that has happened to the rest of this family?"

"Because you killed Noah's father, and now he's trying to get revenge. And then you both turned this into some huge fucking war because you think you need to play a game of whose dick is bigger."

"Are you done yet?" Something slams in the background. It sounds like his hand on his desk, but I could be wrong.

"Maybe." I don't like being angry. It's not me, but there's something about this whole thing that pisses me off.

He scoffs. "I'm not going to have this argument. I told you that you could go on this trip as long as you behaved, and so far the reports have been that you keep ditching the people I sent to keep an eye on you."

"Gee, Aiden, I wonder why a twenty-five-year-old woman doesn't want to be followed around by a bunch of men. Maybe it's because I'm too old to need a babysitter, but you don't want to hear that."

"I'm not going to keep doing this with you, Sum, either—"

"You're right, you're not. Either you're going to tell the bodyguards to back off, or I'm going to get lost and stay lost."

"You think it's that easy? You're behaving like a spoiled brat right now," he shouts, something else shattering.

"And you're behaving like a manchild who needs to get his shit together and deal with his control issues. I mean, how the hell are you going to end all this fucking shit if you're worried about what I'm doing?"

"That's none of your concern."

"Like hell it isn't!" I push off the dresser and pace over to the window, looking at the people roaming the streets and the vintage cars cruising up and down the roads.

They all have it far more peaceful than I do. They don't have to worry about their careers being over before they've really started because their brothers and sisters did something stupid that could get them thrown in jail for the rest of their lives.

Aiden sighs, letting out one deep breath after another. "I'm not going to tell them to back off when Noah is out there looking for every chance to take our family down."

"He's not in Miami. I talked to Royce, and he said Noah was spotted in New York this morning, which means you're making my life hell for no reason. Now, either tell the bodyguards to get lost, or you won't see me again."

I end the call without another word, ignoring it when it starts to ring again.

All I need right now is to get comfortable for the night and try to relax, so I set the phone on the dresser and head straight for the dark and moody bathroom with the massaging showerhead.

Maybe it can work out the stress since I didn't bring that guy back to my room.

The second I get out of the dress and heels, I'm in the shower, trying to scrub the sweat and glitter from my skin.

My fingers run through my hair before skimming down to my breasts, fingers brushing against my nipples. They tighten into stiff peaks.

I should've found someone to hook up with. I would've been able to scratch that itch that's been bothering me since I started law school in August. There's been no time to have fun since then. Instead, I've been hiding from psychotic murderers and taking one exam after another.

And now that I finally get a bit of freedom, I can't even get myself a guy to get me off.

Groaning, I turn the water to icy cold, letting it stave off whatever tension was building in my core. As soon as the chill tells my pussy to calm down, I get out and grab the biggest fluffy towel I can, wrapping it tight around my body.

Téa enters the room then, her hair mussed, her makeup running, and an "I just got laid" glow about her. "Looks like you've been having a good time."

I sigh as she drops to the bed beside me.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this shit with my family.

I wanted to go to law school to be able to keep them out of jail, but with all the breaks I've had to take and all the shit they keep stirring up, I'm wondering if it's even worth it at this point. "

"You've wanted to go to law school since we were kids."

"I know. I just don't know if it's worth it to protect them anymore." I get up and go to the closet, pulling out a pair of silk pajamas and putting them on.

She waves a hand. "You and I both know that you love your family, and you'd follow them to the ends of the earth. I think you just need a bit of a break."

"That's what this trip was supposed to be. And look at how it's turning out."

She shrugs as she gets up, already stripping and heading to the shower. "Alright, so what do you want to do about it, then?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should go back out tomorrow. Do something fun. Reckless. Something I want to do, for once."

"I'm in." Téa disappears into the bathroom as I sink down onto the edge of the bed.

Sure, I want to do something reckless, but I don't have the first clue about what that is.

My life was never truly my own. Any childhood dreams I could've had were cut from me when I was way too young to even have them fully developed.

Love, a family, children. Yes, my siblings got all of that, but I know that I am not meant to have those. My family needs me to keep them safe, out of prison. Besides, my brothers are way too overprotective to ever let me live my life.

The only thing I crave, the only thing I've always craved, is freedom. The freedom to be myself, to enjoy myself. To be wild once in a while.

Because as serious and responsible as I know I have to be, I have needs too.

Today was just another wake-up call that my life will never be my own.

Still, I want my moment.

That moment where I taste true freedom, where I can be reckless, even if I have no idea what that looks or feels like.

I'm going to find out, though. I'm going to have fun, and when I get home, I can deal with the consequences then. Aiden be damned.