Page 98 of Velvet Chains

“I would burn this entire city to the ground to keep her safe. And I’ll do it without hesitation, without mercy, and without losing a fucking hour of sleep.” I leaned in, close enough that he could smell the smoke on my coat. “So if you ever want to talk about what real protection looks like? You know where to find me.”

Alek didn’t back down. “Yeah,” he said. “And if you ever want to talk about what real love looks like, you can ask her who stayed when you didn’t.”

Something in me snapped. My fist flew before I could think.

But Alek was faster.

He ducked, clean and instinctual, like he’d been expecting it. My knuckles hit air. The sound of my breath caught in my own chest, loud and sudden, like even my body was shocked I’d missed.

He straightened, face calm but eyes sharp. “You really want to do this?” he asked. “Because I guarantee you—I won’t be the one bleeding.”

I stood there, chest heaving, blood hot in my ears. My hand stayed clenched, still ready.

He looked at me like I was a problem he’d already solved. Then he turned and walked past me toward the kitchen, completely unimpressed.

“You done?” he asked over his shoulder.

I didn’t answer. Couldn’t. My pride was still screaming.

“Good,” Alek muttered. “Because Ruby’s about to be subpoenaed. You wanted to know what the feds are up to? That’s what they’re up to. Darnell’s pushing for her testimony. And if she doesn’t give it, they’ll squeeze her until she cracks—or breaks.”

That stilled me.

Subpoenaed.

I sank back into the chair. A quiet, ugly rage curled behind my ribs.

“She tell you that?” I asked.

“No,” Alek said. “But I saw the paperwork. It’s coming. If you want to do something useful, figure out who put her name in their mouth to begin with. Because it wasn’t me.”

He walked to the door and opened it wide.

“Go home, Kieran.”

I stood slowly, looking at him one last time. I wanted to say something sharp. Something that would land. But I didn’t have it in me.

Instead, I pulled my coat tighter around me and walked past him. No threats. No goodbyes.

Just smoke in my lungs and a single thought burning in my chest:

If Ruby was about to be dragged into this, I wasn’t walking away. I was going to find out who gave her up.

And then I was going to kill them.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Ruby

Four days before Christmas, City Hall smelled like cinnamon and bleach.

Someone had plugged in a holiday-scented diffuser near the elevators, and it clashed horribly with the industrial cleaner the janitorial staff used after hours. My assistant had left a tray of cookies on the breakroom table with a note that saidTake one!—and I had, just so no one could accuse me of being a Grinch. But it sat half-eaten on my desk now, the frosting too sweet, the sprinkles too cheerful.

Across the room, Alek leaned against the doorframe of my office, arms crossed, coffee in hand. He hadn’t said anything since he walked in. That wasn’t like him.

“You didn’t get me one of those?” I asked.

“I assumed you’d already drank one.” He sipped his coffee, more to rub it in my face than anything else. “You know it’s eleven o’clock in the morning?”

“Fuck, already?” I asked, looking up from the documents I was reviewing. “Are you going to come in?”