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?”
I frown for a second before laughing.
“What?” Nat asks.
I shake my head, smoothing my hair back. It’s already turning into a sweltering summer. “I’m checking my phone because I want to see if my grades have been updated.”
I finished my last final this morning. I can now focus all my attention on moving into the condo.
Nat rolls her eyes, picking up her rosé. “Wow. What a loser.”
I laugh again.
She shrugs, finishing off her wine. “You’d said something about the move earlier.”
“Rachel’s making sure the Wi-Fi is getting set up, but it’s no big deal.”
She’s the shy one, but nowhere near the level of Lennie. Her mom flew in from Paris, and the pair of them are making sure the movers and technical stuff get set up.
I check my watch. “But I don’t want to leave them there too long. I don’t want to be rude.”
“Didn’t you just say Rachel’s mom flew in with a personal staff of twelve?”
It’s rich of us to be making fun of wealthy people, but while Mom is hyperaware of our security teams at all times, we’ve preferred to keep a small staff our whole lives.
It’s why we’re so down-to-earth, as Nat likes to say.
Though, when she says this, Lennie likes to point out that Dad used to train us for all types of war-like scenarios.
I’d like to see Rachel’s family operate a flamethrower.
Nat waves a hand. “Rachel will be fine. Your exams will be fine. Now tell me about your Irish boyfriend?”
“The one you used to hate?”
“He’s warming up to me.”
Unable to act coy, a smile takes over my face. “Ciaran’s fine. He’s his usual weird self.”
“What does that mean? Is that like a kink thing?”
A laugh bursts from me, my chest loosening. The stress of the past few weeks has melted away thanks to lunch with my sister. But I hate her wicked smirk as she notes my hot cheeks.
“You really want to talk about kinks with your baby sister?”
Nat makes a face, squishing up her nose.
“He’s sweet,” I say. “He made me breakfast this morning.”
Normally, he’s up before me, but he stuck around. He kissed my forehead and wished me good luck on my exam.
“In a couple of months, he’ll have been here for an entire year,” Nat says, watching me closely. “You think he’ll be here for a while longer?”
“Maybe.”
I don’t know what to say. I have always known Ciaran would go home. He’s been talking about Dublin more and more the past few weeks. Last night, his brown eyes held something in them when he spoke about dinners with Nora. Like he wanted to invite me to visit. Which would be crazy, though.
Unless, maybe we stay friends after all of this?
Nat tilts her head to the side, her brow knitted together.
She’s dropped hints a couple of times, asking aloud about Ciaran’s status in the States. Ciaran and I have never spoken officially about an end date to our arrangement. I’m not sure if I want to bring it up. I certainly don’t want to question myself on why that is.
And I’m not interested in an interrogation right this second.
“Was everything good, ladies?”
Henson appears at our table.
“Yes, thank you.” I smile wide.
I’ve since learned that Henson actually owns the bistro, along with several other businesses. Turns out he’s really big into money laundering, among other things.
He’s friendly with Ciaran, and as an extension of that, he always checks in on me when I’m here.
“Let me know if I can get you anything else.” He nods at the pair of us before heading toward the kitchen.
“What?” I ask Nat a second later.
She’s got a funny look on her face.
“What?” I ask again.
“I don’t know,” she says. “It’s just weird seeing you all grown up.”
I roll my eyes and stand up. “You’re always so affectionate.”
“I was being nice!”
Nat is telling me a story about a coworker she hates when we step outside.
“Oh, hang on.” A text comes in. “Rachel saw my Instagram story and realized where we were. She forgot her jacket here and wants me to check if it’s still at their coat check.”
“It’s summer. Why was she wearing a coat?” Nat asks.
“It was her trench coat, back in the spring. She was too shy to come back and ask about it.”
After a lifetime with Lennie, both Nat and I understand Rachel’s hesitation.
“I have to head back to work.” Nat hugs me. “You’re going to be all right?”
“Yeah, I’m just going to go check. I’ll send you photos of my bedroom when it’s all set up.”
“I’ll bring wine, and we can have a sleepover when it’s all set up.”
I blow her a kiss. “Aw, and here I thought you were too busy adulting.”
“Bye, little sis!” She waves as she heads to her SUV.
“Just give me one more second,” I tell Marco, ducking back into the bistro. The hostess stand is empty, but I know where they keep coat check, and I’ve been here so much no one seems to mind when I walk around.
I’m looking for a Burberry trench in a closet filled to the brim with stuff. Now that it’s summer, the room is also used as extra storage. There’s a rack with a few coats that I search through in the dark since I couldn’t find the light switch when I first came in.
I freeze when I hear a certain voice.
“It’s on for tonight.”
For a second, I think I’ve misheard Wallen. I still, my hand hovering over a coat hanger. I had no idea he was at the bistro. He must have come in after I’d gone off in search of Rachel’s coat.
“You sure about this?”
I have to focus in order to hear Henson.
The pair must be standing right outside. Movement has me sinking to the floor.
I know I’m in the wrong. There isn’t even time to pretend like this is cool. I’m actively hiding behind a coatrack and giant box full of crystal vases and tealights.
A sense of foreboding pangs down my body.
I’ve never seen Wallen here before.
Henson keeps his voice low, clearly hoping no one overhears him.
“There will only be one opportunity.”
“You think I don’t fucking know that?” Wallen replies, his tone sharp.
“His daughters were just here.”
I pray that Marco’s kept out of sight. That they believe I left with Nat.
But more than anything, I wonder why the hell Henson is discussing me with Wallen.
“Adeline’s a sweet girl. For what it’s worth,” Henson says.
“Good thing she’s coming with us then.”
The fuck I am. What the hell is he talking about?
Henson pauses. “Taking her as collateral might not get you as far as you think.”
It sounds like Wallen slaps a hand on the other man’s shoulders. “I’m not paying you to think. You know the time frame. Be ready.”
“And his nephew? Is he going to be ready?”
“That’s not for you to question.”
“It is if he’s taking out Boris Akatov.”
I cover my mouth with my hand, my chest caving in.
“I have every right to question whether or not the boy’s got it in him to take out a fucking Russian.”
Wallen’s voice is deadly. “It’s not wise. Questioning Cormac’s son.”
If I looked down, I think I’d find my heart on the floor.
Cormac’s son. That can only mean one thing. They’re talking about Ciaran.
“This isn’t some soldier. It’s Boris Fucking Akatov.”
“Enough,” Wallen cuts Henson off. “Get me the plane or get—”