Page 28 of Velvet Chains

“She found you and is asking you for backdated child support?”

I laughed, a little bitterly. “No,” I said, pouring myself another shot. “Kind of wish that were the case, to be honest, but no. She, uh, doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Can’t blame her for that. Who’d want anything to do with you?”

“You’re not funny.”

“I’m a little funny.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s not the point. And, well, now Tristan might want to kill her.”

Liam considered this information for a few seconds. “Because she kept this from you.”

I swallowed, looking at the image of his distorted TV through the liquid swirling in the tiny shot glass. “Well, no,” I said. “Because she’s the newly elected DA of Boston.”

His head snapped back. “Fuck me. You’re serious.”

“Dead serious.”

“Does Tristan know?”

“He knows about the break-in. Knows I killed the guy who did it.”

“And he’s… okay with that?”

I exhaled hard. “He saw it as a missed opportunity to let someone else do our dirty work. But yeah. He knows. What he doesn’t know is the rest.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. “You’re stalling.”

“Because what comes next is worse.”

“This gets worse?”

I stared down into the glass. “The FBI showed up at the hospital asking questions. About the body.”

Liam didn’t speak. Just waited. He already knew.

I cleared my throat. “I confessed.”

He blinked. “To Ruby?”

“No,” I said. “To the Feds.”

Liam dragged a hand down his face. “Jesus fucking Christ, Kieran.”

“I know.”

“Does Tristan know about that?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. And he sure as hell doesn’t know Rosie’s mine.”

Liam reached for the bottle. “Well,” he muttered, “that’s gonna be a fun family dinner.”

Chapter Nine: Ruby

The house was too quiet.

Rosie was asleep, finally. She’d curled into me on the couch when we got home from the hospital, still in her pink coat, her little fingers curled into the hem of my shirt like she thought I’d vanish if she let go. I promised I wasn’t going anywhere. Lied through my teeth just so she’d go to bed.