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She squeezes my fingers gently. "Quite the turnout. Can you believe we pulled it off?" Her voice is tinged with wonder. There were so many objections by so many people—council approvals for the extensions, zoning approvals, federal regulations around the amount of money that could be poured into anything at any one time—but together Natalie and I simply bulldozed over them and got it done.
"Come on, let's check on the courtyard." I lead her out to the small courtyard in the back, away from the commotion, though it's just as busy out here. Overhead, twinkle lights are dancing along strings, and it feels almost magical against the dusk of the New York sky.
"Thank you for everything," I say, turning to face her.
"You did most of it," she says. "I just followed your lead."
"I don't mean just this. I mean thank you for taking a chance on me. For showing me who I could really be if I stepped out of the shadows."
She strokes my cheek tenderly. "You did all the hard work, Alessa. I'm glad I got to be a part of your journey."
I kiss her then, a sweet, lingering kiss under the stars and string lights. No matter how chaotic life becomes, Natalie is my rock, my safe harbor.
She's perfect for me.
She told me once that Kristen Hays was the one who thought we'd be attracted to each other, an almost tentative admission, but I laughed so hard I cried.
"I'm sorry," I gasped at last. "But it's just so—soperfect. You, the upstanding federal agent, and me, the Mafia princess, brought together by someone straddling both our worlds. That heinous cow gotonething right."
And when Natalie had laughed too and told me she'd thought the exact same thing? It just confirmed all over again how perfect we are for each other.
As for Kristen Hays and Sam Wright, they're both where they should be: locked up and awaiting trial. Bail was denied for both; I suspect someone I know might have had a word in the right ears there. Maybe Daddy. Maybe Juno. Maybe even Lucia Rossi, who is here tonight and has made a sizeable personal donation to Anna's Kitchen already.
Or—in my wildest imaginings—maybe it could even have been Alicia Crane, who is also here tonight and acting like nothing at all happened. I met her at the door trailed by her campaign people—including a goddamn cameraman, filming for some promo she's putting together—and smiled just as brightly as she did, while stating firmly, "No. Fucking. Cameras," from between my clenched teeth.
She looked into my eyes for only a moment before turning around to shoo away her entourage. And I even saw her taking a turn to serve out food tonight, so perhaps there's hope for the Congresswoman yet.
And as for those Mancini thugs who barged into the Ruby Realm looking for Sienna, who beat Elena and threatened her—they've met their own justice. Don Mancini doesn't take kindly to his underlings getting ideas above their stations, and my tipoff left himverydispleased indeed.
So now Vince Ricci, Tony Sorento, and the rest of them, have all taken vacations.
Extended, permanent vacations. The kind with cement shoes. Daddy tells me he saw them off himself, one last job for the Mancinis.
And it couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of assholes.
Just as I lean in to kiss Natalie again, the door to the courtyard opens and Juno Bianchi sweeps out, followed closely by Caitlin.
"Sorry I'm late," she says. "I hope you haven't been waiting on me."
"Ah, the guest of honor has arrived," I say sarcastically, releasing Natalie's hand reluctantly as we prepare to greet them. "Now we can really get the party started."
"Congratulations, Alessa," Caitlin says, hugging me. "Anna's Kitchen is amazing!"
"Thank you," I reply. "It wouldn't have been possible without Natalie."
"Indeed," Juno agrees, her eyes flicking briefly to Natalie.
Natalie and Juno seem to have silently agreed on a cold war, which I much prefer to a hot one. They both get very cool around each other—but they're polite, at least, which is about all I can ask for. Juno doesn't like Feds—evenex-Feds—and Natalie, bless her, will never approve of Juno's line of business.
But they make an effort to get along for my sake, and I'm more than satisfied with that.
Juno studies the mural spanning the wall of the courtyard. "I never pictured you as the artistic type, cousin."
I smile wryly. "The shelter kids painted it, actually. I provided pizza and a drop cloth."
Juno's laugh carries genuine delight. And then Juno says something to Natalie that just about bowls me over.
"You and my cousin may have arrived here from very different paths, but I can see you share a common goal: making this world a better place."
