Page 76 of Velvet Chains

She rocked on her heels, nearly spilling the eggnog, like she didn’t want to hear the truth. Like she knew it already. “This isn’t fair.”

“I know.” I let it hang there, my own body taut with the intensity of wanting her. “I fucking know.”

She took a sip of the drink, closed her eyes, then opened them again. “You seriously want me to send an entire task force away? You think they’ll pack up and leave just like that? That’ll only make them more suspicious, particularly if they’re already watching.”

“That’s why you need to give them something else. Another good get.”

Ruby was silent for a long time; the only sound was my own breathing. I wanted to grab her, pull her close, fuck the anxiety away until she’d had too many orgasms to worry anymore.

I wanted it to be okay.

I wasn’t sure if it would be.

She took a long drink, draining half the glass before setting it down with a quiet thud. Her eyes met mine—steady, unreadable.

“You’re asking me to sacrifice someone else to keep us safe,” she said. “How do I sleep at night if I do this?”

“I’m asking you to do your job,” I said. “You’re a prosecutor, right? So prosecute. If it has to be someone else… fine. But do it.”

Her jaw tightened. “Kieran—”

“I’m asking you to keep yourself safe,” I said, cutting her off. My voice dropped. “I’m asking you to put yourself and Rosie first.”

She didn’t blink. “I think you’re asking me to save you.”

That one landed.

I stared at her. She shouldn’t see through me that easily. But she always had.

“If anyone can, it’s you,” I said, quieter now. “And if you don’t... then it’s over.”

She held my gaze, breath caught somewhere between a question and a threat.

“My family,” I added. “The feds. You. Me. All of it—gone.”

There it was. The offer, the truth.

“I can give you someone,” I said finally. “If it comes to that—I’ll give you someone. From my side. Someone who can take the fall. But it can’t be you.”

Her lips parted slightly, but she didn’t speak. Didn’t have to.

Because we both knew the cost.

“Jesus Christ, Kieran,” she said.

Her voice wavered just enough for me to hear. She set the glass down with a sharp clink and turned away from me, pressing her palms into the counter like she needed to ground herself.

“I shouldn’t have let you in,” she whispered.

“But you did.”

I crossed the kitchen in three steps. She didn’t move when I stopped behind her, close enough to breathe her in. Coconut, vanilla…a hint of sweat. She was always a little warm. Always too close to burning.

“Ruby,” I said, low. “Tell me to leave.”

She didn’t. Her shoulders stayed rigid, hands still flat on the counter like she could hold herself upright by will alone.

“I can’t do this,” she said. “You need to leave.”