Page 7 of Cruel Revenge (Cruel Command #3)

Chapter Five

SKYLA

Aiden’s eyes nearly bulge from his head. “You really think that I’m going to make a deal with that asshole? After everything he’s done to this family, you think I’m just going to trust him?”

“I think it would be for the good of the family if you did, and you know that too.”

He puts the energy drink down on the stone coffee table before pacing over to the fluted glass cabinet beside the kitchenette.

Bottles rattle inside as he searches for something specific in the back.

When he emerges from the cabinet, he’s holding a bottle of white rum and two shot glasses. He sets the neon pink Miami glasses down between us before pouring two healthy shots.

“If we’re even going to entertain the idea of working with the Vitale family, and I’m still not sold on it, then I think I’m going to need a hell of a lot more to drink.”

“Don’t be difficult.” I lean forward and reach for my shot, throwing it back and wincing when the alcohol burns its way down the back of my throat.

“You know this could be good for us regardless of what your feelings are about Joshua. The Rinaldos may have been laying low for the last few months, but you know that’s only going to last so long. ”

“And what is Joshua Vitale going to do beyond give us cocaine? I already have a cocaine supplier.”

“Not one with a quality as good as his, and you know it.” I pour another shot for myself as he takes his first. “The businesses are going to crumble if the DEA puts more pressure on us, Aid. I’ve been looking at the numbers and while they’re good now, if all the businesses get shut down, we’re screwed.

All the people who work for you, legitimate or not, won’t be able to get paid. ”

He collapses onto the couch, dragging a hand down his face. “Fine. Let’s say the worst happens. How long until we’re out of money?”

“If the DEA were to strike all the businesses tomorrow, we have enough clean money to last for maybe six months. Dirty could extend that to a year, but you would have to find someone, and I doubt their cut is going to be small.”

For the first time since Ellie was kidnapped by Noah Rinaldo, Aiden looks utterly defeated. He stares at the bottle of rum on the table like he’s considering throwing back the entire thing.

I wouldn’t blame him if he did, either.

“With the return of the Rinaldos, business has been suffering. You can see that in the numbers as clearly as I can. If we get the Vitale cocaine, we could grow the drug end of things again. Joshua is willing to cut back on all his sellers on the east coast and let us take a monopoly.”

For the first time since I walked into his office, there’s interest shining in Aiden’s eyes.

He leans forward, bracing his forearms on his legs. “He’s willing to take that big of a hit?”

“Not a hit if we start distributing more. We have the connections in place to make it happen, as well as our own outposts.” I twirl the glass on my thigh, watching the palm trees surrounding the neon Miami spin in circles.

“We could make this work for us, and it might be the most beneficial decision you could make.”

“And why are you so invested in this?”

“Because this is a chance for us to take back what the Rinaldos stole when they came back to New York. We have a chance to take back the power while they’re still reeling from Noah’s death.”

Aiden sucks his teeth, getting up and pacing over to his desk. He grabs one of the files he was looking through and brings it back over, handing it to me. “This is what the cops found at the laundromat the other day. You’re in the background of one of the pictures.”

My heart races.

I flip through the file, finding the picture of me and holding it out to him.

“I’m not even looking at the place. My phone is in my hand. They’d have a hard time proving I was doing anything other than stopping to read a message. And that is not a crime.”

“You’re right, but this is the kind of mistake that can’t happen. If we get into bed with the Vitales, then you need to watch shit like this and go unseen. Working with Joshua is asking for Logan to pay more attention to us.”

“Joshua would make him back off. You know he’s the one who pulls the strings in that family.”

I close the file and toss it to the table, waiting for the next hole Aiden tries to poke in this.

Aiden eyes me like he’s trying to figure out if I’m telling him the entire truth or not.

I hate that look. It’s the one he’s given me our entire lives.

If it wasn’t for our younger siblings, I would’ve left the house the day Dad was killed, and I wouldn’t have looked back. I could’ve established an outpost somewhere else, where answering to Aiden wasn’t as frequent as it is now.

He clears his throat. “What else is there?”

“Nothing much.”

“Skyla.”

I shrug. “I have to pretend to be married to Joshua to get him out of a sticky situation with his importer. Not sure what the situation is.”

Aiden grabs the bottle of rum and takes a sip straight from the bottle before setting it back down. “This is too much. You’re not going to marry a man you don’t love.”

“ Pretend marry. Technically, I think I would have to pretend that the wedding already happened, if that makes you feel better.” I can’t help the small hint of amusement that slips into my voice.

He shakes his head. “Not going to happen. I’m a failure of a brother if I let another sister get married for the sake of the family.”

“Once again, not a real marriage.”

“That doesn’t matter, Sky. You know that you would have to move in with this man at some point. You’d have to make sure that nobody outside of me, you, and Joshua knew that the marriage was fake, otherwise this entire thing could fall apart. Don’t you think that’s a bit much to be dealing with?”

“If you’re actually asking what I think for once, then I think this is too good of an offer to pass up.” I sigh and hold out my hand for the bottle, taking a swig when he gives it to me. “I’m thirty-three, Aid. I’m old enough to make my decisions, and I want to make this one.”

His tone is cold and distant as he glowers at me. “Look at what happened with Ellie and Sean. I’m not going to have you go through the same thing.”

“Ellie and Sean are happy now. They have their entire lives together and from what I’ve seen, it’s a great one. They love each other.” I put the bottle to the side and stand up, pacing to the window and back again to get rid of some of the pent-up energy building. “This is just business.”

“It’s not just business, though. This requires something personal. Something that you shouldn’t have to give up.”

Aiden stuffs his hands deep into his pockets, giving me a stern look that does absolutely nothing.

I stop and place my hands on my hips, quirking an eyebrow.

“This is the best chance we have at getting the family back to being as successful as we were. This isn’t the Dark Ages either. You don’t get to decide who my fake husband is.”

The corner of his mouth pulls into the ghost of a smile. “I can’t believe we’re standing here and having this argument right now.”

“I can. When have we ever had a discussion that didn’t end in arguing?” I grin before turning and striding over to one of the shelves with pictures of us as kids on it. “We used to get along more back then.”

“Yeah, well, that was well before we had siblings to raise and an empire to run. It certainly didn’t turn either of us into the most pleasant people in the world to be around.”

I snort and grab one of the pictures with our mom and dad in it.

“You know, sometimes it’s hard to think that this is what they wanted for us.

I know Dad always wanted us to take over for the family business, but with everything the Rinaldos have put us through in the last few months, do you think he would’ve ever thought about throwing in the towel? ”

“Not a chance,” Aiden says, his tone gruff.

I put the picture down and turn back to him. “Do you?”

Guilt flashes across his face. “Every now and then. Mainly when I think about what could happen to Summer or Jade. They’re both young and relatively sheltered from all this.”

“I think you’d be surprised to find out how much the two of them actually get into trouble.”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t. They were little hellions when they were kids.” He sits down back behind his desk, shuffling more of the papers to the side. “Now, back to this deal. What’s really in it for you? I know it’s more than just the family business.”

“Logan finally gets what’s coming to him.

You know nothing is going to enrage him more than realizing I’m married to his brother and our family is untouchable.

Forcing him to close the case will definitely make him look bad and then, on top of everything else, he’s going to lose the massive promotion he’s been gunning for over the years. ”

“So, this is about revenge for you.” He gives me a flat look, steepling his fingers beneath his chin. “I don’t like this, Sky. I think you’re leading with anger again, and you should be taking the time to think this through.”

“I am thinking this through.” I sit down across from him.

“You see that, too. You need to be okay with this, because whether you like it or not, I don’t need your permission to pretend to be married to a man.

Hell, even if I wanted to run away with that man to Vegas tomorrow, I still wouldn’t need your permission. ”

A dark cloud takes over his expression. “That’s where you’re wrong. You do need it. I’m still in charge here.”

“And this family wouldn’t have become anything without me helping you build it up after Dad died. Don’t you dare forget everything I’ve given up for this family either.”

He studies me for a moment before leaning back in his chair and kicking his heels up on his desk. “Fine. You want to go through with this, then it’s on your head when it fails. Every mess that this brings is going to be your responsibility to fix. I’m not getting involved with any of it.”

“Really?”