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Ava cleans and bandages my chest as I call Dominic on Sal’s phone. He sounds shocked when I explain what happened.
“Do you know how many of Sal’s men were in on it?” he asks when I’m done giving him the basic summary. “I can’t even believe this. We’ve known Sal since we were kids.”
“No, but I’d like to find out. Get in touch with his lieutenants. Tell them I’m dead, Sal’s the new boss, and you’re taking over his crew. I’m going to guess most of them had no idea, but if anyone doesn’t act surprised, you know what to do.”
“Got it. Holy shit. I’m so glad you and Ava are okay. How do you want to handle Gio’s crew?”
“Definitely going to take some housecleaning. And hey, Dominic? Maybe not the best circumstances, but consider this a promotion. You’re in charge of Sal’s crew now. You’re a captain.”
I can hear the excitement in his voice, even over the phone. “Wow, that’s… thank you, Alessandro. I’m honored. Should I come to Sal’s place and pick you guys up?”
“Yeah, we’re going to need a ride. Appreciate it.”
I hang up the phone and turn back to my wife. She cracks a smile.
“Still got Dominic working as your driver, I see. Should we… you know, wipe down fingerprints or anything? For when the cops get here?”
I shake my head. “Nah. Let’s find some fuel and burn this place to the ground.”
Epilogue I
Ava
Four years later
Alessandro leans across the restaurant table to kiss me, and his lips taste like champagne. “Congratulations, Ave,” he whispers, hovering his face inches from mine and stroking my cheek. “I know how hard you worked for this.”
I nuzzle him, brain pleasantly fuzzy from the wine. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“We both know that’s bullshit. You studied your ass off and earned this all on your own.”
“Well, sure, but I wouldn’t have been able to go to BCU in the first place if we didn’t do that thing with the admissions agent. Remember that? Jacob… something or other?”
Helaughs. “How could I forget? I still get a percentage of that guy’s business.”
“That’swhy you remember that night?”
My husband takes my hand. “No. That night was… very special to me. I think…” He trails off, like he’s embarrassed to finish his sentence.
“Come on. What were you about to say?”
He looks down. “I think that was the night that I seriously realized I was falling for you. You remember sitting on that balcony, watching the city? I’d never…” He gulps. “I’d never felt that close to anyone before. And honestly, it scared the shit out of me. I didn’t even know how to process it.”
I giggle. “Should I be insulted that you didn’t realize you were falling for me until I got you high?”
He laughs. “Oh my god, you got me so fucking high. I wasn’t even ready. As for the insulted part… I almost feel like smoking help me cut through the bullshit. Like I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.”
I kiss him. “That’s sweet. So like… Would you say that was the turning point for you? Where you decided you wanted to be with me?”
His expression turns dark, and he lowers his voice. “No, that didn’t happen until I had a gun barrel in my mouth. I told you, feeling that way about you scared the shit out of me. I didn’t want the pain of losing you. It wasn’t until I almost got… you know...” Alessandro puts a finger to his mouth, miming a gun, “that I realized I couldn’t lose you if you were already gone. Then I felt like a fucking idiot. That’s when I got on a plane to Boise.”
We kiss again, and again. “You weren’t an idiot,” I whisper. “You found me in Alaska like, the next fucking day.”
“Actually, it took two days. And I was going out of my skull.”
We’re both silent for a moment, looking into each other’s eyes.
