Page 100 of Velvet Chains

I shook my head slowly. “This isn’t like you. You’ve never wanted me to roll.”

“I’ve also never had a district attorney on my hands before,” he said, voice hardening. “You’re a target, Ruby. Get your story outbefore theirs. Make them believe you’ve been acting like a DA—not like a girl in too deep.”

My stomach twisted. “He could turn against me,” I said quietly. “He could tell them about all the crimes I committed when he, you know, killed Mickey Russell for me—and I let him clean it up.”

Alek’s eyes softened just a little. “You were in shock. You’re his victim.”

“Rosie is his daughter.” My voice cracked on the word daughter. “How are you going to spin that?”

He didn’t hesitate. “He’s never asserted his parental rights. And only three people in the world know that: you, me, and him.”

“He could tell them,” I whispered.

“They wouldn’t believe it, Ruby,” he said, more gently now. “This isn’t a spin. It’s the truth.”

He sat back again and tilted his head, looking at me with something like reluctant admiration.

“And from what I’ve read about your boy toy?” he said. “I doubt he’d put her in a position to lose you.”

My heart thudded, low and sick.

“You think I should just give them the rope?” I asked. My fingers trembled around the mug, and I wasn’t sure if I was angry, afraid, or already grieving. Maybe all three.

“I think you should stop letting them dictate the narrative,” Alek said. “I think you should start acting like the goddamn district attorney.” He didn’t pause. “You should see Darnell on your terms. The time, the place, the game plan. You should get ahead of this, not just react every time they decide to drop the hammer.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Kieran’s not going to like this.”

“Who gives a fuck? This is about Rosie, Ruby. Not Kieran.”

“You’re right, but upsetting him scares me. Wouldn’t it scare you?”

“No. Don’t be scared of him,” Alek replied. “Make the appointment, Ruby. Before they do. Don’t hide this time. Control the optics. Start playing offense.”

I stood up and paced for a few minutes, then I sat down on the edge of my desk, looking at him.

“I know you’re right,” I said. “But the thought of losing her to them—I can’t.”

“Then don’t,” Alek said. “But don’t lose her to them because you didn’t try.”

“Alek—”

“Ruby,” he said. “It’s time. You know it is.”

“And what about him?” I looked up. “What if—I mean, what if he doesn’t give it all up? What if this isn’t what they want?”

“The Callahans don’t want you to investigate them. You got in this office because you told them you’d look into the corruption running rampant in this city,” Alek said. “Now they have something over you, and it’s your turn to be practical. You need to figure out what this means for you, for your office and for what you do for the city. You care about being District Attorney, right? And you care about being a good role model to your daughter.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I do,” I said. “And if he was anyone else, I feel like I would’ve walked away already.”

“Maybe you need a boyfriend.”

“I don’t need a boyfriend, Alek,” I said, suddenly annoyed. “I need…”

I trailed off, because what I wanted to say was that I needed him. That I needed Kieran Callahan.

Alek must’ve seen the shift in my face, because his expression softened. “You don’t need to finish that sentence,” he said quietly.

“I wasn’t going to,” I muttered.