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"We're going to stop apologizing now," she says softly. "From this day forward, we rebuild."

I catch Valentina's eye before I speak. I give her a small nod. "Out," I say to the others. "All of you. Now."

Lorenzo closes the laptop and takes it. Giuseppe follows.

Valentina stays where she is. She deserves to.

She watches as I drench the room in lighter fluid. Some of the assholes are still begging for their lives.

“Bastardi,” she whispers. I hold her hand as we walk down the stairs to the exit.

“I want to be clear about what this is,” she says. “Every man in this building took a woman and sold her. They chose it, every day, for years, and they were paid.”

“Aye.”

The conviction in her eyes is chilling.

I love her.

“You’ll light this wick,” I tell her. “It will give you a chance to run.”

She nods, and her eyes glint with something like glee.

“Give it.”

I can’t help it. “Be a good girl and ask nicely.”

“Give me the fucking match. Please, sir.”

I hand it to her, shaking my head.

I watch her strike the match. Watch it catch fire. Then we take each other’s hands and run.

The heat bursts into brilliant red and gold, melting our shadows long across the pier. Behind us, the windows go, one after another. Pop.

“It’s over.”

“Almost,” she whispers. “I want to be sure the other women are safe now.”

I nod. “I'll drive.”

She looks up at me then. The fire is behind me.

She reaches over and takes my right hand, the one that did it, without wiping it first.

“I love you, Valentina.” I brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. Blood streaks across her forehead. She wipes it away, leans in, and kisses my cheek.

“And I love you. Let’s go.”

Epilogue

VALENTINA

Sometimes it’s hard to believe it’s been a year. Sometimes it feels like it’s been much longer.

Ballyhock is loud and full of people, and I love it. I stand outside, my feet bare in the green grass on the beautiful lawn outside the McCarthy family estate. The sun dips low, casting a warm late-summer glow over the ocean.

There’s nothing beneath my feet but cool, freshly cut grass. I still stop to notice how good it feels to have nothing but open air in front of me.