Page 111 of Ruthless Dream

I lift one eyebrow, and I know we’re on the same page. A plan is locking into place.

“This thing with Wallen⁠—”

I shake my head, not letting my uncle finish. “At the end of the day, who’s a more powerful ally? Wallen or the Russians.”

The weapons dealer’s got nothing on the Bratva.

This is the move that will give us more power and more leverage.

“One day it will be us,” I promise my uncle. One day, it’ll be others fighting to align themselves with the O'Connells thanks to the power we’re going to amass.

“Is this you agreeing to being a kept man?” Uncle Cormac asks.

I laugh, something light floating in my chest. “Just give me some time. Better to have a solid offer before we approach them.”

Adeline Maria Akatov will become my wife. One way or another, I’m going to make sure it happens.

CHAPTER 29

Adeline

“Hi, hello,” Nat says, pulling me away from my phone.

I blink, mascara burning my already dry eyes. I place my phone face down on the table, next to an empty plate. “Sorry.”

“You invited me to lunch.” Nat points her fork in my direction. She stabs a crunchy lettuce leaf next, popping it into her mouth.

“Um, no,” I correct. “You invited me to lunch. Remember? I literally told you I was so busy I didn’t have time.”

Which is when Nat insisted I meet her for lunch.

I understand why.

It’s final weeks at NYU. That makes things rough as it is, but to add to the stress, I’m also moving.

I am not sad to leave Brittany Hall behind. As much as I tried the dorm room thing, I can admit I’m well beaten. Mom and Dad agreed. Mom, because it turns out she never liked Trish’s piercings the moment she met her. And Dad, because he’s under the assumption that if I’d had better student accommodations, I wouldn’t be spending so much time at Ciaran’s.

They both urged me to rethink how I wanted to live in the city.

“You spend so much time studying,” Mom said. “I want to make sure you’re safe. It’s not like anyone wants to constantly be moving in and out of dorms anyway.”

I don’t think I’d imagined myself in dorms all four years of my NYU career. But I decided to go ahead and put down roots. Especially since I’ll be staying in the city during the summers. As a double major, I’m taking courses throughout the year.

Things began to fall into place when Billie mentioned finding a place to live off campus. For a second I hesitated because I didn’t want to ruin the only semi-friendship I’d been able to create by moving in with her. I didn’t want to risk a roommate-from-hell situation again.

Billie introduced me to her other friend, though, and things were so easy. I don’t want to live by myself, so together we’re moving into a three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo.

Everyone gets their own room and separate bathroom. We’re all different majors, and Rachel’s really sweet, so I have a feeling even if we’re stressed, things will remain cordial.

I’m looking forward to getting out of the dorms and also having a condo that I can make my home for the next few years. The idea of constantly finding a new place every year is unappealing.

Dad agreed, most likely because he’s hoping this will keep me away from Ciaran. He’s the one who found the condo for us. The property was checked top to bottom, ensuring the property remains secure. Billie and Rachel come from a similarly—albeit legally—affluent lifestyle, so they’re totally used to Marco and my security team being around. In fact, Rachel volunteered to make them cupcakes once in a while (Marco begrudgingly turned this down as he wanted to maintain professionalism).

“Why are you nervous?” Nat asks, finishing her salad. She took a long lunch so she could come eat with me. Something, I’m fairly certain, happened because Mom asked her to check in on me.

I glance at my phone again. “I’m not nervous.”

“I thought you liked your new roommates?”