Page 110 of Ruthless Dream

Cormac watches me closely.

I refuse to waver. I refuse to think about the way Adeline adores her father.

“We kill Lev Zimin’s best friend, his brother”—I meet Cormac’s eye—“we declare war. Fuck Wallen. Fuck whatever he’s after. It’s us they come after. Did you not raise me on the stories of the Zimins and what they do to their enemies? The Armenians got blown to bits. Let’s not even mention their tiff with the cartel back in the early 2000s.”

Cormac nods, slowly digesting this information.

A sinking feeling overtakes me. It’s a lost cause. I knew my uncle had ambitions for more territory, but I had no idea he’d take such a risk.

I try a different approach. “You catch more flies with honey.”

He taught me that. He taught me that no one takes advantage of an O’Connell. But he also taught me it never hurts to collect friends along the way.

That’s why I’ve spent all my time trying to make inroads here. Adding important contacts to my arsenal.

“War is not the only way to gain territory.”

It’s easy to think of the various criminal organizations constantly fighting one another. But if that were the case, nothing would ever get done.

“What are you suggesting?” my uncle asks.

“An alliance.”

“With Wallen?”

“With the Russians.”

We stare at one another, a clock ticking in the background.

“An alliance by marriage.” Fire rains down my spine, but it doesn’t blister. There is something right about this move.

Cormac lifts a brow. “You sure you’re not better off taking your chances and killing Boris?”

“Adeline will agree to marry me.” I’m sure of it. “He’ll get over it.”

It’s the perfect solution.

“They’ll try to absorb us,” Cormac argues.

“We’ve got Dublin,” I remind. “And they hate working with the Stuarts. They’ll shift things over. As part of the terms, we’ll make sure we gain more New York City territory as the marriage goes on. Start with one dockyard as a marriage gift. By my tenth anniversary, we’ll have more than we even thought possible.”

“You really think she won’t have divorced you by then?”

I smirk. “I’ll be a very loving husband.”

He’s got that strange look on his face again. “You would really marry her?”

“Well, I don’t think her lesbian sister would be inclined.”

“If we proposed an alliance, they could offer the middle sister up.”

I snort. There’s no way in hell Elijah Zimin is letting anyone near Lennie.

“The Petrova twins just turned eighteen.”

“Never heard of them.”

Cormac rolls his eyes, but there’s a tiny smile on his lips. “Lucky for you, I doubt Andrea’s willing to offer up her daughters.”