“Um, well, yes, that…that did happen. I…I apologize, Heather. I was out of line and I can tell
that my sister has a real fondness for you.”
I roll my eyes at his stilted tone but I’m happy that he’s finally backed me up on something. Maybe he could be a decent little brother one day after all.
Apollo hangs up abruptly, cutting off Stefano’s stuttering. “Is anyone else concerned about how easy to rattle he is? If he can’t go up against Rafaela without falling apart, I doubt he’ll manage the Cordosi’s or the Rizzoli’s.”
“Rafaela’s scarier than the Rizzoli’s. And I think this is our cue to leave.” Daniella cuts in, winking at me and Heather before hustling Apollo out of the apartment.
I turn to face Heather again and feel my heart skip a beat when I see her smiling at me for real this time. She leans forward and hugs me, her forehead pressing against my shoulder, before drawing back. I groan at the lack of contact.
“Hey, Rafaela? The whole “family business” thing. Is it…legit?”
I laugh at how tactfully she tries to word her question. I muse over how to tell her, but as I go to speak she holds up her free hand.
“Actually, I don’t think I need to know explicitly. I kind of figured it out when your cousins bundled me into a car with tinted windows and suspicious number plates.”
We both laugh then, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’m so sorry. Can we start again? A clean slate?”
She grins and kisses me quickly and softly. “I’d really like that,” she whispers.
We’re interrupted by a banging at the door and I groan. I’m about to tell Heather to ignore it when I hear a vaguely familiar voice on the other side.
“Heather? If you’re in there, move away from the door. We’re coming, Heather!”
Heather blinks. “Rachel?” She asks in disbelief.
The banging on the door gets louder and she runs to open it. A hoard of women I vaguely recognize from the bookstore tumble through, all clutching heavy hardback books.
“What’s going on?” I ask, making to stand. One of the women, who I recognise as the owner, waves her book at me.
“Don’t you move! We’re going to rescue Heather and then we’re going to leave and you can’t stop us!”
“Um, Rachel? Hey, I haven’t been kidnapped,” Heather interjects.
Another woman pushes her way forwards. “Rachel called us all and told us you’d been kidnapped by the mafia?”
They all seem to be very at home with this lesbian hero routine. They remind me of Apollo and the ease with which he dispatches rivals nowadays.
“Oh! No, Cody, oh my god you guys are so sweet. No I wasn’t kidnapped, I really do want to be here.”
Heather argues with the women for at least half an hour, while I sit bored on the couch. Finally mollified, they reluctantly leave after hugging her in turn and then glaring at me. I don’t think I’ve made friends with her friendship group quite yet.
Heather locks the door properly this time and turns back to me. We’re finally alone again.
Nineteen
Heather
When everyone leaves her apartment, Rafaela turns to me. She smiles sheepishly.
“So, now that this is all confirmed to be real…” She trails off.
She steps towards me. I hesitate for a moment, but then I wrap my arms around her and hug her close to me. She wraps her arms around me too.
I feel so safe in her arms. This feels like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. I know this is real.