Page 39 of Velvet Chains (The Dark Prince of Boston #2)

Chapter Thirty-One: Ruby

I didn’t take my coat off when I walked through the door. I just dropped my bag on the floor and stood there, staring at the sink like it might tell me what to do next. The faucet dripped, slow and hollow, a metronome for a morning that had spun completely off its axis.

The house smelled like lemon cleaner. The crew had come and gone, wiping down every surface, vacuuming up the pieces of the life I was pretending was still mine. They hadn’t touched the coffee cup I’d left in the microwave three days ago. Or the blood that still clung to the back of my throat.

I turned on the faucet and let it run. Steam rose up and fogged the window. I pressed my fingers against the sill just to remind myself I was still here.

Then I made myself move.

Upstairs, Rosie’s room was dark and too quiet. Julian had texted earlier—said she was happy, said she was staying another night. Said I needed the rest. I wanted to argue, but he was right. I needed the rest.

I sat on the edge of her bed and pulled one of her blankets into my lap. The pink one with the little worn tag she liked to rub between her fingers when she was sleepy. I pressed it to my chest.

There was a pink unicorn book sticking out from under her pillow.

She always tried to hide her favorite one so no one would take it.

I opened it, heart stuttering when I saw the bookmark—folded construction paper with the words “Love you mama!” in glitter pen, her hand unsteady.

She hadn’t yet mastered writing. It was wonderful.

I set the book down gently and whispered, “I love you too.”

And I wasn’t going to let them take me from her.

“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “I didn’t know what he was planning.”

The truth. But also the kind of thing that sounded like a lie the second you said it out loud.

I stood too fast, heart pounding like I’d just admitted something I shouldn’t. Like the walls might be wired. Like I might never stop shaking.

But I had to pull myself together. There was no time to mourn when I needed to make sure my baby was okay, when I needed to make sure she stayed with me.

I made myself go shower.

I needed to wash my hair but the smell of coconut reminded me too much of Kieran, who I was trying very, very hard not to think about.

I wasn’t feeling any better when I stepped out of the shower, walked downstairs and grabbed a General Tso’s microwave dinner from the freezer.

I didn’t feel like cooking. Truthfully, I didn’t feel like eating, but I needed fuel.

I sat down at the kitchen island and scrolled through my phone mindlessly, reading about celebrities’ break-ups and marriages, trying my best to forget about my own fucked up love life.

My phone vibrated in my hand. Alek. I answered it immediately.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” he said. He sounded out of breath. “Just wanted to check in. How are you doing?”

“Shitty. That was rough. How are you?”

“I just went for a jog. I thought it would make me feel better, but it only made me feel more annoyed. How do you even run?”

“You work out every day.”

“Yeah, but I swim, like a reasonable human,” Alek said. “Running sucks.”

“I’m not going to argue with that,” I replied, sticking a forkful of far too hot chicken in my mouth.

“Are you having dinner?”

“Yeah. Did you eat?”

“Not yet,” he said, then sighed. “There’s something I need to tell you, Ruby. I’ve been…thinking about it, ever since Russell broke into your house. And before I tell you this, I’m so, so sorry.”

A chill went down my spine. I put my fork down. “What is it?”

“The police should’ve been protecting you that night.”

“I know,” I said. “Where is this going?”

“Kitsuragi was assigned to watch you. He, uh. We went out for a drink that night,” Alek said after a minute. “It spiraled. He didn’t go back to your house.”

“Wait. You were sleeping with him while he was supposed to be watching my house?” I asked him. I wanted to laugh, though I wasn’t sure why.

“You make it sound really bad.”

“Wonder why.”

“Look, I get that it sounds really bad. And it was bad. I wasn’t thinking.

” He let out a breath on the other end, sharp and guilty.

“We’d won the campaign, and Kitsuragi and I had a couple of drinks.

He said it would be quick, and I just—God, Ruby, I didn’t think it would matter.

You were going home. I never thought Russell would try to attack you that night. ”

I let out a flat, humorless sound that barely passed for a laugh. “He said it would be quick?”

Alek didn’t respond at first. Then, quietly: “Yeah. I know how it sounds.”

“You let the only officer assigned to watch me walk out on his post,” I said, voice rising. “For sex. A patrol that you insisted I have. Something you pushed for. This isn’t like you.”

“I was drunk. Wasn’t thinking straight,” he said. “Well, I rarely do.”

“That’s not funny.”

“I know.” His tone dropped, low and worn. “I know I’m supposed to protect you.”

“But you chose him.”

There was a pause, the kind that felt longer than it was.

“I did,” Alek said finally.

“And you didn’t tell me,” I said. “You’ve been walking around with all this righteous anger about me and Kieran, and you didn’t tell me.”

“I’m an idiot,” he said. “I chose wrong. I’m sorry. I kept trying to figure out when, but—how do you say something like that? I just wanted you to stay away from Kieran because I thought I was protecting you. I thought—”

“You failed,” I cut in, my voice shaking now. “You failed me.”

He was silent.

“You can be furious,” he said eventually. “If you want. I deserve it. I just want you to know…I won’t let it happen again.”

I closed my eyes, pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead. My voice was quieter when I spoke again. “Do you like him?”

“Um, yeah,” Alek said after a second. “He’s really nice. He asked me out for a date but I had to say no because, well, there’s too much baggage there for me now.”

I shook my head, quite aware he couldn’t see me. “You can still say yes. I don’t get to be mad. I’ve chosen men too, right? I get it. But you don’t get to lecture me again.”

“Okay. That’s fair. If I could go back—”

“You can’t. None of us can,” I said, sighing heavily. “I’m not mad, okay? I just need to…I don’t know. I just—I need to process. I’m going to get off the phone and try to get some sleep.”

“Okay,” Alek said, his voice soft. “You know I love you, right?”

“I know,” I said. “I love you too.”

I hung up without waiting for anything else.

Then I sat there in the quiet, staring at the phone in my hand.

My chest felt tight. My skin was hot, too hot.

I was exhausted and wired at the same time.

I don’t remember getting into bed. Don’t remember if I brushed my teeth.

I just remember the weight of everything pressing down on me all at once.

At some point, sleep came.

When I woke, it wasn’t to my alarm. It was to the smell of coffee.

Coffee I hadn’t made.

I blinked hard, disoriented. For a moment I didn’t know where I was—if I was late for court, if I was still on the phone, if Kieran had found a way in again, like a shadow slipping through the lock.

I sat bolt upright, heart hammering. The room was too quiet. Too normal. Sunlight slipped in through the blinds, and downstairs—

A voice.

Low. Calm. Familiar.

And Rosie’s laugh, high and bright, like a wind chime catching a sudden gust.

Julian.

I pressed the heel of my hand to my eyes. The stress hadn’t left. It had just sunk deeper. And I wasn’t ready for what came next.

I pulled on a sweatshirt and padded barefoot downstairs.

The floor was cold against my skin. My hair was still damp from last night’s shower, and my mouth tasted like fear.

Julian stood in my kitchen like he still owned the place, setting a paper cup on the counter and helping Rosie take off her shoes.

“We tried to knock,” Julian said. “You weren’t waking up so I used my code.”

“That’s fine. This is your house.”

“Good thing we installed that keypad lock. I was worried you’d forget to lock the door.”

It was a dig, but I didn’t have the energy for it. And he was right. I’d probably forget to lock the door. Fuck, I’d probably forget to turn off the fucking faucet with the way things were going in my life.

I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it because Rosie ran at me full speed, arms outstretched. “Mami!”

I scooped her up and held her tight, tighter than I probably should have. She smelled like apples and toothpaste and the faintest trace of whatever overpriced shampoo Julian’s girlfriend insisted on using in her hair.

“Hi, mi amor. Did you have fun?”

She nodded against my shoulder, then leaned back to look at me. “We made cookies. I made a star one for you but Daddy ate it.”

“Did not,” he said from the counter, but he was smiling. “She bit off one of the arms and decided it was haunted.”

“So you did eat it?” I asked.

“Yes, but it was a public service,” Julian said.

“It was,” Rosie said solemnly. “You have to eat haunted cookies or they’ll eat you first.”

I laughed, and it felt like a miracle.

Julian handed me the coffee. “Valerie said you’d need it.”

Goddammit. I really liked Valerie. If I told her to stay away from my soon-to-be-ex, would it sound to her like I was jealous? I wasn’t. I just wanted to protect her. Julian was a good dad, but he was a bad partner—always would be.

“Take it,” he said.

I did as I was told. “Thanks.”

He nodded, and for a minute, there was silence. Rosie flopped onto the couch and began pulling stuffed animals out of her overnight bag, lining them up for roll call.

Julian watched me over the rim of his cup. “You okay?”

I didn’t answer.

He tried again. “You looked pale when I pulled up. And you're wearing that old sweater you always wear when you're freaked out.”

“It’s warm,” I said.

“Ruby,” he said gently.

“I had the interview yesterday. With the DOJ.”

Julian went still. “And?”

“And it was awful.”

He didn’t ask what they’d said. I don’t know if that was kindness or cowardice.

“Do I need to be worried?” he asked, low. “About custody?”

“Not yet,” I said.

“But later?”

I looked over at Rosie, who was now scolding a bunny for not sitting up straight. “Maybe.”

He exhaled through his nose. “Then I’ll prep. Quietly.”

My throat tightened. “Thank you.”

Another long pause.

Then: “Is he still hovering?”

I knew who he meant. “No.”

Julian nodded slowly. “He shouldn’t be around her, Ruby. I know I’ve said it before—”

“You’ve said it,” I cut him off. “And I’m handling it.”

“I hope so,” he said. His eyes found Rosie again, his brow furrowing, and he looked…God, he looked so sad. “She’s everything.”

I nodded. “I know.”

He looked at me a second longer, then stepped back and grabbed his coat. “Call if you need anything. Seriously. I’m around, and I have junior attorneys for a reason. Got it?”

“Yes. I got it.”

He kissed Rosie’s head on his way out. “Be good, tesoro.”

“Bye Daddy!” she chirped. “Tell Valerie I like her hair.”

When the door closed behind him, I stood there for a long time, watching the frost creep up the edge of the window again.

Rosie climbed into my lap, her blanket dragging behind her. “Can we make a fort today?”

“Yeah, baby,” I whispered. “We can make a fort.”

Because I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring.

But I knew I had today.

And I wasn’t going to waste a second of it.