She leaned her head against my good shoulder. Fireworks began to bloom over the neighboring rooftops, gold and red and white.

“Do you still have the black card?” she asked.

I smiled, reached into my pocket, and pressed a fresh one into her palm. It carried no name, no title, no seal. Only a number and a single line.

Use this only if you cannot protect yourself.

“Welcome to the family business,” I said.

Above us, the sky lit up, and for the first time in twenty-two years, I felt completely, quietly at home.

THE END

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