Chapter 7 - The Last Enemy
Six months changed everything.
The Brass Rail became profitable for the first time in a decade.
Harper replaced the cracked booths, fired Simon's incompetent assistant managers, raised server wages, and forced Marco into therapy instead of allowing his divorce to continue destroying innocent cuts of meat.
Vincent kept his promise.
He withdrew.
Slowly.
Legitimate businesses remained.
The violent machinery surrounding his family name began disappearing.
But the past did not disappear with it.
Harper discovered that on a Thursday morning when a package arrived.
Inside was a photograph.
Her and Vincent leaving the restaurant.
Across Vincent's face someone had drawn a red X.
No message.
No demand.
Vincent recognized the signature.
Dominic Falcone.
A rival who had lost millions when Anthony's network collapsed.
Vincent wanted Harper moved somewhere safe.
She refused to disappear.
“You can't fight every problem by locking me in a mansion.”
“I wasn't going to lock you anywhere.”
“You were thinking it very loudly.”
Dominic escalated.
A brick through the restaurant window.
A threatening call.
A car following Harper home.
Vincent's old instincts returned.
Harper saw it happening.
The closed expression.
The whispered meetings.
The anger.
One night she found him loading a gun.
“No.”
Vincent looked up.
“He threatened you.”
“So your solution is becoming exactly who you're trying not to be?”
“My solution is making sure he never threatens you again.”
“And then what?”
Silence.
“Another Dominic? Another Anthony? Another person whose brother wants revenge?”
Vincent looked away.
Harper approached him.
“You said you wanted out.”
“I do.”
“Then get out.”
“He won't stop.”
“Make him stop legally.”
Vincent laughed without humor.
“Harper, this isn't a movie.”
“No. In movies, men like you get to solve everything with guns and look handsome doing it.”
That almost broke his anger.
Almost.
She took his hand.
“Give the evidence to the FBI.”
Vincent had evidence.
Years of it.
Enough to destroy Falcone.
But doing so meant exposing his own past.
Potentially facing charges himself.
Harper knew what she was asking.
So did Vincent.
“If I cooperate,” he said, “I could go to prison.”
“Yes.”
“And you'd be okay with that?”
“No.”
His eyes lifted.
“But I'd rather wait for an honest man than bury a violent one.”
Vincent stared at her for a long time.
Then he unloaded the gun.
The following morning, he called his attorney.
His cooperation led to 14 indictments.
Dominic Falcone was arrested.
Vincent admitted to financial crimes committed years earlier and provided evidence about the broader network.
Months of legal negotiations followed.
Harper attended every hearing she was permitted to attend.
Finally, Vincent received his sentence.
Eighteen months in federal custody.
Harper stood beside him outside the courthouse before he surrendered.
He looked almost embarrassed.
“You don't have to wait.”
“I know.”
“Eighteen months is a long time.”
“I've worked double shifts longer than that.”
He smiled.
Then became serious.
“I love you.”
Harper froze.
Vincent looked terrified.
That amused her.
The most feared man she had ever met could face armed rivals without blinking.
Three words nearly killed him.
Harper stepped closer.
“You picked a terrible place to tell me.”
“I've had a difficult morning.”
She kissed him.
When they separated, she whispered, “I love you too.”
Vincent closed his eyes.
For once, he looked completely peaceful.
Then federal officers approached.
He kissed Harper's forehead.
And walked away.
Harper watched until the doors closed behind him.
She cried in the parking lot.
Then she went back to work.
May you like
Because loving Vincent did not mean stopping her life until he returned.
That, she knew, was exactly why he loved her.
