Page 58 of Ruthless Dream

“No, you bloody don’t!” she shouts. “You do not know Boris and Gia Akatov. The two of them will cut your balls off and let you bleed out in the ocean. And that’s just if they’re acting on their own. Have you thought about what would happen if the Russians found out a kid from Dublin was using one of their perfect dolls? Your father called me, Ciaran. Think about that.”

Admittedly, it’s a pretty fucking rare occurrence.

“He’s just angry,” I gruff over the phone. “Worried I’ll mess things up.”

It’s not like he’s ever wanted me to come to New York. He never listens when I tell him what Uncle Cormac and I are up to.

“I’m not worried you’ll mess things up,” Nora whispers. “I’m worried you’ll die, Ciaran.”

She’s being dramatic.

“Do not fuck with the Russians. Not like this. Using a girl.” Her tongue clicks, disappointed.

“What if I told you. . . that me and Adeline get on.”

She laughs. “You think I’m too old to remember about sexual tension? Oh, yeah, our lives are filled with a type of pent-up lust found only in the grim, seedy areas we associate with. That doesn’t make it right, Ciaran. I don’t know what you did. I don’t want to know. But you’ve got to stop it before it goes too far. Find an off-ramp and exit before it goes tits-up.”

“It’s not going to.” I’m lying to the both of us, but that’s because she’s right. It’s not like there aren’t other girls willing to give me a chance. Who don’t care about the world we live in because the money is good and the morals are non-existent.

None of those girls matter. I want Adeline.

From the moment I saw her in that garden, I’d caught a glimpse of starlight, and I’m this close to being able to hold her. Really hold her.

“You’re the responsible one.” Nora sighs. “And too clever for your own good.”

“I’m okay,” I assure her. “And. . . I think you’d like Adeline if you met her.”

“You realize, she herself is an Akatov,” Nora says after a moment, making me frown. “She could very well be the one who kills you just for looking at her wrong.”

Last night she’d curled her fingers into me like claws, pulling me closer when I realized I’d taken her virginity.

I’d spotted it then. There is a madness inside Adeline, a dark pit of despair that I can read in her dark brown eyes because I know it well.

Of course she might kill me.

Nora snorts, understanding my silence. “You feckin eejit. You’re not supposed to be attracted to a woman who can kill you.”

“From what I hear, you know a thing or two about that.”

Some of the tension disappears. “You run into my old friend Nancy?”

“No, but if you could get me a meeting with Aunt Macy, that’d be great.” She’s a broker of sorts. Setting up important contracts. She doesn’t have to pretend like she’s running into people at restaurants. She snaps her fingers, people at her constant beck and call.

“You are not getting a meeting with Aunt Macy.” Nora’s never met her, but everyone knows Aunt Macy. She’s a legend.

“Da said something about her calling you once.”

“That was another time,” she says softly. She’s a good shot, Nora. Even Walsh, when I first met him, commented on her skills as a triggerman.

“I’m sorry Ian ruined it for you,” I deadpan.

She laughs softly. “Oh, no, he’s been grand. You, on the other hand.”

There’s nothing but affection in her dark humor, though. She rolls her eyes when Cain Murray or my mam is mentioned, but she doesn’t bitch or moan.

“Have you talked to Ian lat⁠—”

There’s a knock on the door. Talking to Nora and not being in front of my computer means I haven’t checked the cameras lately. I stand up, grabbing a gun. If Nora is right about the Russian’s fury, I guess she’ll have an opportunity to listen to it.