Page 31 of Velvet Corruption

“Big talk for someone who wears loafers to work.”

“They’re Ferragamo, thank you very much,” Alek replied. “And at least I don’t wear heels so high you could serve a subpoena from orbit.”

“They’re a power move, Alek,” I said with a grin. “Something you’d know if you didn’t rely on your suits to do all the work.”

“Says the woman who once told a witness, ‘Answer me or I’ll destroy you in open court.’”

“Hey, that worked.”

“Yes, it did. You always win, Ruby. What makes you think this is different?”

Almost always,I clarified internally.

His words gave me a flicker of hope, but it was fleeting. Kieran wasn’t a man who backed down easily, and the Callahans didn’t survive generations of corruption by making mistakes. If he was here, if he was pushing, it meant there was more to this than just me.

It meant a storm was coming, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to face it.

Chapter Seven: Kieran

Iwasn’t proud of this. Then again, I hadn’t been proud of much lately.

It started with the cafe.

I’d gone there for one reason: to remind her who she was dealing with. Tristan had made it clear that Ruby was a problem, and my job was to ensure she didn’t get any bigger ideas about dismantling the family. But the second I walked in and saw her sitting there, head bent over her notes, hair falling loose around her shoulders like she hadn’t aged a day, my purpose slipped through my fingers.

I knew she would be alone. It should’ve been easy to corner her, to make her feel small. But the fact that it was her…it made any move impossible. I was rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but wait for divine intervention.

She saw me before I could decide if I wanted to stay or leave. Her eyes locked on mine, her expression flickering between shock and recognition before settling into…well, rage.

And pain. So much pain that it made me feel like an asshole, resurfacing all the ways I’d hurt her.

I froze for a second, my stomach twisting into notes. I tried to push the tension away, to stay calm. I should’ve left. I should’ve walked out the door and told Tristan she wasn’t worth the trouble, that someone like Ruby Marquez couldn’t touch us no matter what.

We could’ve taken care of her so easily…

But I didn’t. I sat down. I talked to her.

I ate her fucking scone.

I had meant to stay in control, but with Ruby, control was always a losing game. She could wound me with just a look, slice me open with a few words, and in that cafe, she did exactly that.

Every ounce of disdain she had for me was etched into her expression, her tone, even the way she folded her hands like she couldn’t bear to touch anything connected to me.

And yet, there it was—that flicker of something. Maybe it was memory. Maybe it was resentment. Maybe she wanted to fucking castrate me and I was reading it as attraction because I’m a goddamn sucker. Whatever it was, it hooked into me, dragged me under, and refused to let go.

This was the reason I hadn’t wanted to see her again.

She made me crazy. She always had.

I wanted all of her, all the time. The idea of letting her go again, of watching her slip through my fingers like she had before, wasn’t just unbearable—it was terrifying.

And maybe that was it. Maybe I’d always been afraid of her — of the way she unraveled me, stripped me down to something I couldn’t control.

Maybe that’s why I left. Because when the family needed my full attention, I knew I wouldn’t be able to give it.

Because if she was in my life, she’d be all I could see.

By the time she stormed out, leaving me sitting there with half a scone and a thousand unresolved feelings, I was already spiraling.Ruby Marquez was a loose end, Tristan’s words echoing in my head. But to me, she was something else entirely—unfinished business.