Ruthless Ruler (The Institute Series Book 3) by A.K. Rose & Atlas Rose

Author:A.K. Rose & Atlas Rose [Rose, A.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

THIRTY

Bruno

My phone gave a ding, waking me from the washed-out gray haze inside my head. I groaned and opened my eyes as the faint illumination on the screen died. Didn’t matter. I wasn’t asleep anyway, not really. I rarely slept anymore. Instead, I lay in bed, tossing and turning, listening to the howling wind outside and felt that savagery deep inside before I finally gave up.

I rolled, reached, and grabbed my phone, pressing the button to read the text.

Evan: I want to see you.

“What the fuck?” I muttered, re-reading the text again. “You want to meet…now?”

My mind raced as I tried to make sense of the complete fucking turnaround. “You fucking avoid me, you run from me, you make no attempt to acknowledge I exist, and now you want to meet?”

Anger burned through me. I’d found myself re-evaluating my future the last few hours, trying to come up with some kind of outcome where I could walk away from this unscathed. Evan Valachi might be promised to marry a Bernardi heir, a promise that was to be enforced by my father, as well as Evan’s. But Evan had made it very fucking clear she wanted none of it.

And the last time I looked, a wedding…needed a goddamn bride.

So I sighed, licked my lips, and punched out a reply. Then by all means come and see me.

Barely a second later, there was a response.

Evan: I’m on my way.

“What? Now?” I shot upwards, sliding my feet from the bed, waiting for her text once more. She couldn’t be coming now…it was…I glanced at the time—it was almost midnight.

But there was no follow-up text. No scheduling of a time, just I’m on my way. I slid out of bed and pulled on silk pajama pants, at least. I didn’t think she wanted to see me buck fucking naked. I ran my hand through my hair. Was this an ultimatum? A truce, maybe? Fucked if I knew. Maybe she was leaving. Maybe this was her way of saying this was never going to happen between us and this was goodbye and good riddance?

I shot Deviouz a text: Evan Valachi is on her way up, show her in.

D: Will do.

That was fast. I hadn’t expected him to respond so fast. Was he even asleep? Panic pushed the grainy sting from my eyes. I rounded the bed and made my way into the kitchen, flicking on the lights as I went. There was no party last night, had been none since the report that Katerina VanHalen had been kidnapped.

Fuck, this trip had gone all to hell. First Baldeon, and now Kat. Both attacks left nothing but destruction behind. Lazarus Rossi was savage, a fucking beast tearing into everything in his way. The last I’d heard, there was a meeting with Kat’s father, and some kind of asshole who was engaged to marry her.

It all sounded goddamn messy.

But wasn’t everything lately?

Just look at my own fucking life…

I grabbed a glass, poured a splash of Scotch into the bottom and tossed it down.

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