Page 63 of Velvet Betrayal
A beat of silence. Then: “Did you report—”
Kieran cut him off. “It was handled.”
Alek scanned the kitchen, clocked the blood on Kieran’s ear, the tremor in my hands, then stared out the window, knuckles pressed flat to the counter like it was holding up the whole city.
“So that’s why he…uh, kidnapped you?”
Kieran rolled his eyes. “I didn’t kidnap her. I just took her away for a weekend. Sure, I didn’t mention it first, but still.”
I shot him a look. “I can speak for myself, Kieran.”
He made a palms-up gesture, apology or challenge, hard to say. “By all means.”
Alek braced himself at the sink, which gave him a height advantage and something to hold onto. He still wouldn’t look at Kieran—tactical, but also kind of childish. The first time I met Alek, he’d given me the same look: someone auditing for truth among bad options.
“Ruby,” he said, softer now, “you know I’m with you no matter what, right?”
I nodded, ignoring the way Kieran’s jaw flexed.
Alek exhaled, then turned—really turned—to face Kieran. A show of control, or surrender. “If you want to keep her safe, Callahan, you’ll need more than fists and shadows. You need lawyers. Strategists. People who know how to wage war in daylight.”
Kieran raised a brow. “You offering to join the mob?”
“I’m offering options.” Alek’s voice sharpened. “I still represent her. But if this Crew thing’s what you say it is, the press conference tomorrow will be a bloodbath. I can’t spin it unless I know what we’re actually up against. And right now, I think you’re both holding back.”
“You think?” I said.
He ignored me. “I’m not asking for confessions. I’m asking for strategy. You want my help, I need to know who’s pulling the strings—and how high up they go.”
“What’s the plan, Ivanov?” Kieran said, all sarcasm gone.
“I don’t know,” Alek admitted. “Because I don’t think I have all the information.”
“You’re right,” I said. “Kieran only agreed to bring me back if I took his brother’s protection. I said yes. Then I went to work, because I needed the distraction. Then someone tried to kill me, Kieran stopped him, and got beat up. Now you’re caught up.”
“We also slept together a few times,” Kieran added. “Wait. Are you going to object? Is that irrelevant?”
Alek just stared at me.
Then he blinked.
Once. Twice. Then: “Jesus Christ, Ruby.” No heat behind it—just something like betrayal, or the cold snap of a realization you can’t take back. “You’re with the Callahans now?”
“I’m notwithanyone,” I said. “I’m trying not to die. Tristan was my only option.”
“And you didn’t think I needed to know?” He shook his head, like he couldn’t believe he was still standing here. “I’ve been fielding press calls all week. Making statements. Holding the goddamn line. Meanwhile, you’re playing house with the one family that guarantees you look guilty.”
“It’s not like that.”
“It’s exactly like that.” He let out a slow breath, controlled, but barely. “You think the Crew is your biggest threat? They’ll kill you, yeah. But this? This could bury you.” He looked at Kieran. “And you. You think because you took a few punches, you’re qualified to run point on her safety? You’ve made her a target. You’ve made it worse.”
Kieran didn’t reply, shrugging his shoulders. He was used to being told he’d made things worse.
“And what’s your brother planning?” Alek asked. “I deserve to know at least that.”
Kieran tossed a napkin in the bin, shrugging like he was bored. “Flooding the system. False exits, ghost runs, chaos in the chatter. Nobody risks a real move with all the noise. That’s the theory.”
Alek snorted, unimpressed. “You realize this isn’t a chessboard, right? You keep ramping up and all you’ll do is start a brush war that buries every Callahan and every elected official between here and the Cape. There are no safe moves. Just slower losses.”
