Page 143 of Broken Wolf Heart
Two weeks later
The sign above the door still reads Altobello’s, but only until a new one is ordered. Crow says he hasn’t decided on the new name yet, but I catch him scribbling things in a little notebook he keeps in the kitchen—recipes, ideas, possible contenders. Andy swears she saw “Crow’s Nest” written at the top of the page the other day. He denies it. Razor says he’ll boycott if it sticks. Mia suggested “La Famiglia,” but Dutch said that sounded like a pasta sauce. Crow called him an uncultured idiot and threw a breadstick at him.
For now, it’s enough that the place smells like fresh bread and garlic, not strippers and cigars.
Tonight, the restaurant glows in the warm light of dusk. The dining room is empty except for us—our found family—seated around two pushed-togethertables near the windows. The glass is new, after the explosion across the street blew them all out. The street outside is quiet.
Safe.
Bobby is at the bar, polishing glasses. Claire is bustling between the kitchen and our table, topping off drinks, stealing bites from Razor’s plate, and teasing Crow mercilessly about his inability to run this place without her.
“You missed the garlic on table three,” she says, even though there is no table three tonight.
“Keep talking back, and I’ll demote you to dishwasher,” Crow warns.
“You’d have to pay me first,” Claire shoots back.
“Idopay you.”
She winks. “Is that what that envelope full of ones was?”
Snickers and hoots follow that. Then more jokes. Laughter breaks across the table, the sound of it like sunlight in my ears.
I watch it all, soaking it in. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Crow genuinely relaxed. There’s no edge to his voice, no shadow under his eyes. It’s almost like peace. He wears it well.
Across from me, Dutch sits next to Andy, their shoulders brushing every few minutes, and each time it happens, Andy pretends not to notice while blushing so hard I’m worried she’ll combust. Dutch keeps passing her bites off his plate like a love-struck idiot.
“I swear, if you two don’t stop making heart eyes while I eat these cannoli, I’m leaving,” Mia says, pointing her fork at them.
“I’m not making heart eyes,” Andy protests.
Dutch just smirks and holds out his last bite for Andy.
Razor leans back and mutters, “Whipped.”
But Dutch just gives him a shit-eating grin and says, “It’s called romance, Razor. Look it up.”
“I think I’ll pass and retain my dignity,” Razor fires back.
Grey chuckles beside me, his hand resting on my kneeunder the table. Every time he looks at me, I feel like I can breathe a little easier. Like maybe, just maybe, the storm is finally passing.
“We should do this every week,” Mia says, refilling her wine. “Dinner. Laughter. Light trauma bonding.”
“I’m in,” I say.
“Okay, but only after I’ve hired some help for the kitchen,” Crow adds, wiping flour off his apron as he finally takes a seat to dig into his own plate. “You guys are pigs.”
“My wolf resents that remark,” Razor says.
“Your wolf resembles that remark,” Mia corrects.
Razor throws his napkin at her.
The jokes keep coming, the food keeps disappearing, and for a while, it really does feel like we made it. Like the city is finally ours.
It’s been two weeks since Vincenzo’s lab fell. Like, literally the building came down a few minutes after we all made it out. Vincenzo’s body was never recovered in the rubble, and I can see the way it fucked with Grey the way it all ended with his father. Or, more accurately, I can feel it. But I’m hoping it’ll heal with time.
Since then, most of Vincenzo’s loyalists have either gone into hiding or surrendered. The next step for the ones in custody will be exile. As soon as we find a hex witch who can help us gain control of the wards. Davina wasn’t in the lab, and no one has been able to find any trace of her since.
