Page 36 of Velvet Betrayal
Tristan’s answer was already locked and loaded. “Now? You go home. You take a week off. You visit—with Kieran, if possible—a cabin somewhere upstate. Unplug. When the noise dies, you’ll know if anyone’s still hunting.”
“And if they are?”
Tristan’s face was pure paternal instinct, even if the wiring underneath was all razor wire. “You call the number.”
“But you won’t have to,” I said. “Because I’ll be right here. Helping you. I promise.”
“Yes, I have no problem believing my little brother will keep you safe,” Tristan said, his gaze flicking between Ruby and Rosie. “He’s had some issues with communication, but he’s been doing a great job of that so far.”
Ruby pressed her lips together, silent.
Rosie came back from the fish tank and put on her best pout for Ruby. “Can we go to the playground after, Mami? It’s Saturday. I want to go outside.”
“Maybe later,” said Ruby.
“You should take her to Jamaica Pond,” Tristan offered, folding his napkin. Quiet this time of year. I’ll have it swept before you go.”
Ruby blinked. “Swept? It’s a public park and it’s below freezing. I can’t imagine this is sniper weather.”
“That’s the advantage, isn’t it? I’ll imagine it for you.” He smiled for Rosie, who wasn’t listening—she was busy running back and forth with a darting fish now—and then, with zero drama, he stood. “I have meetings. You know how to reach me.” He glanced at me. “Handle your business, Kieran.”
No handshake. No hug. Just a shadow vanishing toward the stairwell. We watched him go, three pairs of eyes tracking the same line of absence.
Rosie cocked her head. “I thought he was your brother, Key. He talks like your boss.”
“He’s both,” I said.
After a minute, when the plates were a ruin of crusts and cooling eggs, Ruby said, “We should go home now, right? That’s the plan?”
I nodded. “I’ll sweep the car. Tristan will have people trailing. It’s safer if you don’t change your routine too much.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but just deflated, her hand coming to rest on Rosie’s hair, smoothing the wild tangle with surprising gentleness. For a second, Rosie puckered her lips to the side—the exact way Ruby did—and I felt a jolt of affection hard enough to almost knock me off center.
“I’m done with the adventure,” Rosie said. “Am I going to see Daddy tomorrow?”
Ruby swallowed. “Yes, love,” she said. “Just like you do every Sunday.”
I wanted to tell her I was her father. That she didn’t need to spend every Sunday with “daddy” because I was right here. That Julian had stolen my place in her life. But when I saw the look in Ruby’s eyes, I said nothing.
For a second, Ruby caught my gaze. And then she mouthed a quiet thank you.
And for that second, nothing else mattered.
But as she gathered her coat and got ready to leave, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was keeping them safe from The Crew, but I’d just handed them over to Tristan and the Callahan family.
And nobody got out of that untouched.
Ruby
If I was being honest, I was still fucking terrified of Tristan.
By the time we pulled up to the house, Rosie was dead asleep in the backseat—mouth slack, arms flung wide, one sock halfway off like she’d gone down swinging. She’d fought it, sure—mumbled something about finishing her muffin, about cartoons—but sleep took her out in the first round.
Kieran parked two doors down, always the cautious one. He didn’t say anything as I slid out and opened the rear passenger side—but he did step up as I gently unbuckled her seatbelt, as if he wasn’t eight years too late.
“Want me to carry her?” he asked.
“Absolutely not,” I said. I could feel him weighing my answer, trying to decide if I was being stubborn just to spite him or if I was still pissed. Probably both, so I gave him a look that said,We’re done here,and turned away.
