Alex lets his fingers dance on the underside of my arm. “Does he know about us?”
“No. In fact, Gunn doesn’t want me anywhere near you.”
“Because he wants you for himself,” Alex says matter-of-factly. But there’s a distinct note of jealousy.
The memory of Gunn in my room, his loaded words, that look in his eyes—I don’t deny what Alex says, but I sure as hell can’t bring myself to confirm it either. “It doesn’t matter what Gunn wants,” I whisper. “After this deal, I’m telling him about us. He can’t control my heart. He can’t do anything about it. Gunn needs me, same as I need you.”
“Why exactly does he need you, Joan?” Alex says softly.
But I don’t want to get into the caging spell with Alex, not right now. I can’t think about what I’ve given to Gunn, what I’ve yanked out of the past and sold like a door prize. I only want to focus on the future, a future that I can’t imagine without Alex in it.
“All you need to know is that we’re going to be rich, Alex,” I say it for him as much as I say it for myself. “Over the moon. You’ll see. You just need to do what it takes to make that happen. You need to show Gunn what he wants to see, and we’ll have a future together here.”
Alex takes my chin in his hand, rubs my jawline softly. Above us, Tommy and Rose’s clouds float by like pockets full of dawn.
“I promise I’ll do what it takes,” he says. “And thank you for trusting me.”
We both turn our attention back to the finale and begin our own indoor sunrise.
CALLING IT IN
ALEX
I don’t want to leave Joan, for a number of reasons, not just because I don’t want to arouse her suspicion. But because the time we have together never feels like enough. Because the act of taking what she just shared with me and running with it like a prize to the Feds feels like the purest form of betrayal, whether I’m right in doing so or not.
“Tomorrow’s a big day. Lots to iron out,” Joan says to me after we’ve brewed our group shine on the stage. “I should check in with Gunn.” Then she pauses. “But I’d rather sneak away again with you.”
She wants me, like I want her. She needs me, like I need her. She trusts me, and as much as I want her to, Joan shouldn’t trust me, shouldn’t choose me, not at all.
I turn around, lean my back against the altar, and look her in the eyes. “Our troupe’s performance is going to wow D Street, especially with you at the helm more these days. You know this troupe better than anyone, can get things out of us that Gunn never could. And all of us know it, whether they tell you that or not.”
She gives me an embarrassed smile and looks at the floor. And then, before I let this go any further, make me feel any guiltier, I squeeze her hand and walk away.
I burst out the double doors, wind up the stairs, hit the street, and walk a few blocks before I begin frantically searching for a phone. I spot one on the corner of M and 19th Streets and duck inside the booth. I dial Frain’s home number, the one I’ve memorized, my only link to the outside world. My fingers move fast around the dial, because I have a strange feeling that if I slow down, I’m going to do something insane, like turn around and walk right out.
This is about you, your job, your purpose. Months and months leading to this deal—think about all the monsters you’ll put away, the safer streets, the win for you and the Unit. Now bring it home.
Frain picks up on the third ring. “Frain here.”
“It’s Alex.”
Sleepy, strained whispers are exchanged in the background. “Alex, what’s the word?”
The significance of what I’m about to pass along finally and fully settles over me. If all goes well, this might be the biggest score in Prohibition Unit history. We nail this deal, and we take two of DC’s largest crime rings down.
“Tomorrow.” I keep my eyes trained on the abandoned street in front of me. “What we’ve been waiting for, working for—Agent Frain, it’s all coming to a head. Apparently there’s some new type of shine, something that the Shaws and D Street are actually breaking bread over. And if Harrison Gunn manages to secure the deal, he’s got the support of most of the Shaw underbosses to confirm him as boss,” I say in a rush. “If all goes according to his plan, they’ll take McEvoy and anyone left by his side out.”