Page 86 of Close Protection

Knox was led away, his footsteps echoing against marble as he disappeared throughthe side door. The man who had once commanded a criminal empire now commanded nothing, his carefully constructed hierarchy dismantled by the evidence Ivy had uncovered and the case Julia had protected with her life.

Julia appeared at her side as the courtroom began to empty. "How do you feel?"

"Complete," Ivy said, surprising herself with the truth of it. "Not just the case, but everything it led to." She gestured subtly between them, encompassing their life together.

They exited into afternoon sunlight, Phoenix Ridge spreading before them from the courthouse steps. Morgan waited at the bottom, her lieutenant's shield catching the light.

"Congratulations," Morgan said, embracing them both. "Diana's already at Lavender's setting up the celebration. She said to tell you the champagne is properly expensive this time."

Ivy smiled, remembering that first toast in Julia's apartment—cheap champagne marking their initial victory against Knox. Now they had better champagne, deepervictories, and a community that had grown from shared purpose.

"The FBI offered me a permanent position," Ivy mentioned as they descended the steps. "Director of Financial Crimes Analysis."

Julia's hand found hers. "Based in Phoenix Ridge?"

"Based wherever I choose." Ivy squeezed her fingers. "I chose here. Chose us."

The city stretched before them, cleaner now, stronger for having survived Knox's attempted stranglehold. As they walked toward Lavender's and the celebration waiting there, Ivy reflected on the path that had brought her here—from anonymous hotel encounter to protected witness to the woman who had helped reshape Phoenix Ridge's financial integrity.

Justice, she realized, wasn't just about punishment. It was about building something better from the ruins of corruption. And as she walked beside Julia toward their chosen family's celebration, Ivy knew they had done exactly that.

Lavender's Café had been transformed for the celebration, though its essentialcharacter remained unchanged. The purple door still blended with the Victorian wallpaper, the back room still hummed with quiet authority, and Lavender Larwood still commanded her space with the same blend of warmth and steel that had made her establishment Phoenix Ridge's unofficial sanctuary for women and particularly lesbians for decades.

Julia entered with Ivy, her hand resting lightly at the small of her wife's back, a gesture that had evolved from protective to affectionate over the years. The private room above the café welcomed them with familiar faces: Morgan holding court near the antique table where they'd once planned Knox's downfall, Chief Diana Marten standing by the window with her characteristic vigilance softened by a glass of champagne, and Dr. Josephine Mars arriving with her signature calm amid the celebration's energy.

"The heroes arrive," Lavender announced, crossing to embrace them both. Her silver hair caught the afternoon light streaming through the windows, and her smile held the satisfaction of someone whohad watched their journey from its beginning. "Diana insisted on the good champagne. Said we'd earned it after five years of watching Knox squirm through appeals."

"Some victories deserve proper acknowledgment," Diana replied, raising her glass. The chief had aged gracefully in the years since the Seraphim case, her authority now tempered with something warmer—a change Julia suspected had more to do with Lavender's influence than the passage of time.

Julia accepted a glass, noting how the room had filled with those who had played crucial roles in Knox's downfall: federal agents who had coordinated with their task force, prosecutors who had built airtight cases, community leaders who had helped rebuild trust in city institutions. But at its core remained their inner circle: the women who had risked everything when Phoenix Ridge's future hung in the balance.

"To justice," Morgan proposed, her lieutenant's shield glinting as she raised her glass. "And to the team that refused to let Knox win."

"To patterns," Ivy added, her smilecarrying private meaning as she met Julia's eyes. "The ones we find in financial crimes, and the ones we create in our lives."

Glasses clinked, champagne sparkled, and Julia felt the weight of five years lifting. The Anti-Corruption Task Force had become more than a professional redemption; it had become a model for other departments nationwide. Under her leadership, they'd exposed seventeen additional cases of institutional corruption, recovered millions in misappropriated funds, and established protocols that prevented the kind of systematic infiltration Knox had achieved.

Dr. Mars approached as the initial toast concluded, "I read your task force's latest report," she said to Julia. "The medical supply chain integrity initiative is impressive. Using Ivy's financial tracking methods to prevent pharmaceutical fraud—brilliant adaptation."

"Ivy deserves the credit," Julia replied, drawing her wife closer. "She developed the algorithm that flags suspicious distribution patterns."

"We developed it together," Ivy corrected, her fingers intertwining with Julia's. "Your tactical perspective combined with my financialanalysis created something neither of us could have built alone."

The truth of that statement resonated beyond their professional collaboration. Julia thought of their beachfront home, where security measures and warmth coexisted, where her grandmother's service revolver shared space with Ivy's collection of antique calculators, where two lives had merged without either losing their essential nature.

"Speaking of together," Morgan interrupted, a knowing smile playing at her lips, "Diana was just telling me about the community center renovation project. Apparently, someone suggested converting the old Seraphim shipping terminal into a youth education facility."

Julia caught the subtle glance between Diana and Lavender—a look that spoke of shared plans and private conversations. The shipping terminal where Knox had held Ivy, where Julia had broken every protocol to save her, transformed into something that would serve Phoenix Ridge's future. The poetry of it wasn't lost on her.

"The proposal includes a financial literacy program," Diana added, herprofessional tone softened by something more personal. "Lavender suggested naming it after Marie Scott, continuing her legacy of keeping corruption out of Phoenix Ridge."

"She'd have appreciated that," Julia said, feeling the familiar pride at her grandmother's mention. "Using education to prevent what Knox exploited through ignorance."

As the afternoon deepened, the celebration evolved into smaller conversations. Julia found herself by the window with Diana, watching Ivy engage Dr. Mars in animated discussion about medical billing fraud patterns.

"She's remarkable," Diana observed quietly. "The way she sees connections others miss."

"Yes, she is," Julia agreed, unable to keep the warmth from her voice.

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