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.
