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"Hey – how's the situation looking inside?"

"Just one more table, then the only people in the house are Russians."

"Perfect. The final table. Do they look like they’re going to be there for a while?"

"They're almost done with their desserts."

"Great."

"Great?" Rachael echoes incredulously. "One minute I'm your boss, yelling at you like, let's face it, the most unhinged woman this side of Fort Worth. The next you're calling me up saying you’ll pay me a month’s wages if I keep tabs on the restaurant and empty the place when 'it's time' – whatever that means."

“The less you know, the better," I explain. "But rest assured, you're doing a good thing. I guarantee it. Keep me posted."

"Consider it done, hon."

I disconnect. "Almost time."

"This was an excellent idea," Nico declares with unmistakable pride. "He would have detected any of my men surveilling him, but the Vine's staff isn’t on his radar."

"The Vine is supposed to be neutral territory, right?" I contemplate aloud. "Will there be repercussions from this? What – why are you looking at me with that expression?"

"You're the most remarkably adaptable woman I've ever met. Mere weeks ago, you had no knowledge of organized crime, yet now you’re speaking like a seasoned mafia queen."

"I wouldn’t go that far."

He caresses my cheek with that disarming tenderness that consistently catches me off guard. "It's not. I know I keep saying it, but I'm genuinely proud of you. Your mother would be too."

Tears well in my eyes as I lean into his kiss. It's passionate, explosive, igniting a hunger within me that I struggle to ignore. "Thank you," I whisper against his lips.

"You're incredible, Sienna," he murmurs. "Before you entered my life, I thought myself incapable of forming genuine connections. I had resigned myself to being a cold, distant, grump forever."

"I like your grumpy face. Even if we fall..." In love. I stop myself. Too far, too fast... isn't it? "For each other, I still want to see that grumpy face occasionally. If only for artistic inspiration."

He smirks. "Agreed."

"And regarding my question earlier..."

He hesitates before nodding. "Will there be consequences from using the Vine?" He shakes his head, his demeanor becoming savage. "They forfeited any claim to decency the moment they trapped you in that bathroom within supposedly neutral territory. All bets are off now."

He gently smooths my hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. Warm sensations cascade throughout my body. "I'm profoundly grateful our paths crossed, Vignette."

“Me too," I respond sincerely.

"Are you sure? You had a normal life before I came along. Challenging, marked by tragedy and tribulations, but fundamentally normal. Civilian."

"I've experienced more during these few weeks with you – has it really only been a few weeks? – than throughout the last four years. You've awakened things inside me... aspects I never recognized existed."

I stop when I hear how emotional I’m getting. "Maybe we should save this conversation for later... when this is all over. When we can finally exhale."

As if on cue, additional patrons exit the Vine. My phone trills.

"Hon, it's me," Rachael announces, her breathing accelerated. "You want staff evacuated through the back exit, right?"

"Everyone," I confirm. "Make sure they’re safe."

"As you should be," Nico growls when I end the call.

"Two people are responsible for my mom's death. I refuse to sit here passively while you do what needs to be done."