Page 66 of Velvet Chains
“They are afraid of us, little brother. That’s why they called you. To fix it.”
Liam shrugged. “I don’t know if I can fix this,” he said.
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Christ.”
Liam pulled out his phone, tapped it a few times, then held it out to me. I looked at the screen…then let a breath hiss out past my teeth.
On the screen was a photo of a black van parked across from Ruby’s place. Timestamped for two nights ago.
“They’ve had eyes on her,” he said.
I swallowed hard. “How long?”
“Since Russell,” Liam said. “That’s when it started. You pulled the trigger, but they were already watching. She’s part of it now, whether she wants to be or not.”
“It’s probably been longer than that,” I said. “There was a van there…when the Mickey thing happened. I told Ruby it was some junkies, but I don’t think it was.”
“Yeah, that was definitely a federal van,” Liam said. “Fuck, this really is bad.”
“What I don’t understand is why they were following Ruby. Or, I don’t know, Mickey Russell. Why did they care about Russell in the first place?”
“I don’t know that. I don’t know a lot of things,” he said. “But something about it is pretty fishy. And it feels like the FBI is guessing, but they’re close.”
The door opened.
Tristan walked in looking both better-rested and more pissed off than either one of us, crossing the room with the confidence of a man who knew he owned this city. His suit was tailored within an inch of its life, dark gray, spotless.
He looked like our father.
And he looked evenmorelike him when he stopped at the table and tossed a folder down between us.
“You told him?” I asked Liam, glaring daggers at him.
“Yes, Kieran, he told me. This is my operation,” Tristan said. “Did you forget who’s boss here?”
“No, boss,” I said through a sharp smile. “I haven’t forgotten.”
“I know this doesn’t come naturally to you, but do you want to try not being an asshole?” Tristan asked.
“This is fun, but we have a real problem here, so can you two fight later?” Liam asked. “My money is on Tristan.”
“You’re rude,” I said to my little brother.
Tristan laughed, but when I looked at him, he wasn’t smiling. “He’s right. This is an issue,” he said, then tilted his head toward the folder. “That’s a manifest from the last six shipments,” he said. “Every one of them was flagged for audit after arrival. Quietly. Deliberately.”
“And Customs didn’t call us?” I asked. “Not even the higher-ups?”
“They’re working with the feds. Have been for a while. Boston’s DA office got looped in last week,” Tristan said.
“Is Ruby’s signature on it?” I asked, despite myself.
“Well, she’s the DA, so yes,” Tristan said. “Her signature is on it.”
I said nothing.
Liam sat on the edge of the table. “They’re building a case. Using her as bait.”
Tristan turned to me. “And are you going to tell me how the fuck that woman became a liability?”
