Page 26 of Cruel Vows

Killing him may earn me jail time if I’m caught, but even that could be better than spending a life with him.

The door to my room opens just as I’m pinching together the front clasp of my inky black lace bra.

Sean’s gaze rakes up and down my body before he glances just past me to the terrace and the windows that overlook the massive garden and the waterfront.

I stride into the closet, ignoring him since he couldn’t be bothered to knock.

Though I always assumed Malcolm raised Sean like he was a rabid wild animal, there was a tiny part of me that thought there could have been a sliver of humanity in the beast.

After spending the last three days living under his roof, I’m beginning to see that my small shred of hope was grossly misplaced.

Sean sighs, his irritation ringing through the bedroom and into the closet. “Ellie, get dressed. We’re going out.”

My fingers trail over the silky material of the formal dresses in the corner before I cross the massive closet, dodging the paneled island in the middle. “You could ask if I want to go out with you.”

Right now, I’m sure his scowl is set deeper than ever before. He’s probably patting his pockets and searching for the box of cigarettes I hid after he went to sleep last night.

If I can’t have a bit of fun while living in this damn house, then I’m going to go insane.

Getting under his skin is proving to be my favorite hobby. Which means that the short white shorts and black sheer top I grab are going to do nothing but infuriate him more.

As I head back into the bedroom, he’s leaning against the wall, his arms crossed. The holstered gun at his hip is more obvious than usual, his shirt riding higher as he shifts his position on the wall.

His eyes nearly bulge out of his head as I drop my shirt on the bed and take my time pulling up the shorts. “What the hell do you think you’re wearing?”

I shrug and grab the shirt, pulling it over my head. “Clothing. It’s comfortable. I have to go over some case studies on palliative care today.”

His lips press into a tight line. “Didn’t I just tell you that we were going out?”

“I go back to work tomorrow and one of the patients I have is undergoing palliative care for their cancer. I need to go over some studies so they can get the best quality of care possible.”

Sean’s nostrils flare, his cheeks turning red. “That’s not clothing. Put something on that doesn’t make you look like you’re selling yourself on a corner.”

My nails dig into my palms so hard there are little half-moon imprints on them. “I just told you that I have to do some extra work for one of my patients. I don’t have time to go out today.”

His jaw clenches, the vein in his neck throbbing. “Damn it, Ellie. This isn’t up for discussion. Put on something that doesn’t make you look like you went shopping at the prostitute department store and get your ass downstairs.”

Sean spins and walks out the door, slamming it so hard behind him that some of the trinkets on the bookshelves rattle.

I perch on the edge of the bed, taking a deep breath.

This isn’t what I wanted my life to look like. I’m supposed to be picking up extra shifts at the clinic right now, not sitting on a California king bed decked out in white linens and staring out at a garden with stone walkways and a shimmering pool.

Aiden didn’t spend the last sixteen years raising me to just sit and take Sean’s demands. He raised me to be the sister to a mafia leader. Strong and independent, only deferring to a man who earned my respect.

Sean’s already killed my father, and now he just keeps digging the hole deeper.

I push off the bed and head into the closet, swapping the shorts and shirt for a sundress with a low back that scrapes just inches down from the top of my thighs.

Kara sighs from the terrace as she comes back inside, shutting the glass door and turning the lock. “You know he’s going to lose his shit when you do down there looking like that.”

“I don’t really care.”

I head over to the little gilded dish on the white vanity, picking up the dainty gold necklace with my initial on it.

Kara leaves the room as I put the necklace on, thinking of it as my armor for battle. It was the last thing Dad got me before he died.

He wouldn’t want me to bow down without a fight. Especially not to the man who killed him.

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