Page 13 of Velvet Betrayal
He looked at me for what felt like a very long time. “I know.”
We stared at each other over the kitchen island.
There was a crack in him, just for a second. Maybe I could get through. Maybe I could talk him into taking us back to Boston. I had to try.
I pushed, gently. “You could help me, you know. Instead of hiding me, you could let me do my work, let me make an actual case. Against whoever is behind this.”
He shook his head. “You don’t get it.”
I picked up my coffee again. “What don’t I get? The least you could do is explain.”
“There isn’t a case. There isn’t a forensic path. There’s just people killing other people, and if you stay near it, you’re next.”
“Why do you think that?”
He sighed. “Before, uh…before Tristan knew that Rosie was mine,” he said. “He sent someone after you with a molotov.”
I raised my eyebrows, my heart drumming hard in my chest. “So it’s your brother who’s after me?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Not anymore. You’re not after me anymore, right? You’re not after the Callahans. The whole anti-corruption thing was just an empty campaign promise from you.”
“Right. You made sure of that.”
“Well, don’t sell yourself short. It was a team effort,” he said, no humor in his voice. “The bottom line is that Tristan isn’t after you anymore; he’s confident you won’t come after me.”
I rolled the mug between my hands, not sure if it was warming me more or just giving my fidgeting somewhere to go. “But if it isn’t them, who is it? Who would even care thatmuch? You’re making this sound like I’m a target in some Netflix miniseries, but last I checked I’m not that interesting.”
He stood, not threatening, just filling up the space. He opened the fridge, then closed it, bracing himself like the door might collapse under his hands. “You’re very interesting. And you shouldn’t be alone.”
“From what you’re saying, there’s always someone watching.”
He returned to the kitchen island and sat. “I’m not doing this for fun, Ruby. There are things you don’t see coming until they’re inside your house. Like Mickey Russell.”
“That’s not fair. You can’t throw that in my face.”
He shook his head. “It is fair. That Crew app—if you think it only traffics in cheap harassment, you need to stop giving the world the benefit of the doubt. These aren’t Callahan-level jobs. We do our business in person. This is way fucking scarier. This app thing…they’re freelance, decentralized. Anyone with enough money can pick a target, put out a contract. Half the enforcement world uses it as a back channel when unions get too strong. It’s the coldest fucking capitalism there is.”
I blinked, once, letting the adrenaline hit settle. “You sound…almost scared,” I said, softer than I meant.
He laughed at that, but it was a deep, silent laugh. “I’m always scared. That’s why nobody gets in close. That’s why I had to get you out of town before whoever was after you even realized you’d gone dark.”
“Who could be after me?” I said, shaking my head. “Look, the DOJ told me not to leave town. I’ve left town. I’m literally disobeying an order from a special counsel because you kidnapped me.”
“That’s why you need to listen to me.” Kieran’s face was blanched, the color in his cheekbones almost translucent. “The Feds are only playing one angle. There are other...stakeholders.Some of them have money and time. They don’t care about the courts or the news. Don’t you get it? I have to protect you from all of them.”
I stared him down. If I’d had my phone, I would have thrown it at his head.
“So what, I just sleep here until the goons get bored and pick someone else? You think that’s enough?”
He said nothing, letting the silence spill out between us. In the hush, I heard a scuffle at the stairs: Rosie's first few steps, her socked feet sliding careful along the treads. Kieran softened.
“You’re not wrong,” he said, but for the first time he looked unguarded, like the blueprint of his own plan didn’t quite match the reality of her voice, her existence, here.
“In a day. Two, tops. When I’m sure the trail is cold. Then you’ll go back to Boston and pretend none of this happened.”
“And when it all gets hot again?”
“I will take care of it,” he said, and then, softer, “I always have.”
