The Finish Line

The narrative shifts to a flashback. At 28, Tobias is in Las Vegas at a boxing match with Dom and Sean, targeting Elijah Rosenbaum, a corporate thief who terrorizes women. Their mark’s victim is Amelia, a young former cocktail waitress trapped in his control. From ringside seats, Tobias and Dom scan for security while watching Elijah hurt Amelia whenever she looks away. Dom threatens to kill him, but Tobias orders restraint, noting recent friction over Dom’s increasingly harsh methods. Tobias offers Dom a deal: maintain control until they isolate Elijah, then Dom can handle the punishment personally.

The job originated when Dom, in Boston, overheard one of Elijah’s victims tearfully confiding at the MIT library. The crew followed Elijah from Boston to Vegas, ensuring no connection to Dom’s life. The payoff is half a million dollars in 15 minutes, with Elijah taking any fall for his own corporate theft; the crew will also gain a list of future targets from his contacts. Sean arrives with Elijah’s hotel keycard. Dom reveals that Sean is hurting over a breakup. Tobias realizes that Sean’s pain stems from the club’s rules about remaining unattached and offers to revisit those rules; Sean declines.

Wearing masks and gloves, they hit Elijah’s hotel room using the stolen keycard, steal the cash, and take his contacts. Amelia escapes from Elijah’s control. By morning, Sean seems recovered, but Tobias has not forgotten. After this period—by the time Dom later got back from college—Tobias put new rules in place for birds looking to nest (that is, entering serious romantic relationships), including a specific protective mark Cecelia now bears.

The narrative returns to the present. Tobias prepares an elaborate Halloween setup while cooking, resisting gin as evening approaches. He checks the time and texts the two ravens on watch for Cecelia’s location, then swallows his worry that she may be avoiding him when they report that she remains at the café.

Cecelia sits in her closed café by the fire while her phone charges. When it powers on, she sees a missed text from Christy with photos of her sons in handmade Halloween costumes. From the hesitant typing bubbles, Cecelia recognizes that Christy is angry because Cecelia has not called since Tobias arrived. She admits she has been hiding rather than lying, fearing that telling Christy about reconciling with Tobias would lose her support and risk another painful “I told you so” if he hurts her again. Despite fear that giving in could return her to a painful starting point, she admits she loves and wants Tobias, though she has avoided sex so far.

Marissa appears with the café’s deposit bag and urges Cecelia to end her misery by having sex with Tobias, insisting Cecelia is still punishing him. Outside, Cecelia watches a mother distribute Halloween candy and imagines a normal family night. She reflects that she could have had normal but rejected it, and with Tobias, normal may never exist. Remorse strikes as she pictures his exit-wound scar. She scolds herself for being hard on him.

After rushing home to see him, Cecelia finds dozens of tealights illuminating the house with melodic music playing. Beau greets her as she hurries to the kitchen, where Tobias is cooking. He has laid the table with Halloween supplies, including carving pumpkins. Overcome, Cecelia blurts that she loves him and apologizes for making things difficult. She kisses him hungrily before he breaks away to order her to shower because they have much to do.

In the bedroom, Cecelia discovers that Tobias has thoroughly cleaned and organized everything. On her desk sits a leather-bound journal with fresh writing. She reads his entry describing meeting his grandfather Abel at age 21 in Paris. They played chess together regularly in a park for many months, while Abel taught Tobias about the game and about life. The entry reveals that Tobias attended Abel’s funeral as his only living relative and decided he would one day seek out his birth father to honor Abel. It concludes with Tobias wondering whether the dead can hear when the living speak to them. He has not attempted to speak to Dominic since his death, and still cannot find the words.

Tobias appears in the doorway, asking if this journaling is what she wants. She confirms, and he says he can do this, though he will only watch her read once and future reading is her choice. He confesses Cecelia was his first and only real girlfriend, and he now wants to share a normal, domestic life with her. She says she is okay with being a mouse sometimes, and he doesn’t understand what this means but accepts it.

She agrees to take their relationship day by day. He points to flannel pajamas waiting on the bed, joking that she will play lumberjack. He outlines the evening plan, mentioning Deanna, the grocery-store cashier whose line he always chooses, advised him. When Cecelia questions his relationship with Deanna, he explains that young mother of two helps him understand how to please Cecelia. Touched, Cecelia says he already surpassed every first date she has had. They kiss, and he returns to the kitchen with Beau following.

Cecelia and Tobias bob for apples and carve pumpkins. She concedes that his raven-decorated pumpkin is superior, but he bluntly calls hers terrible. She says that as her boyfriend, he should lie about such matters, but he objects. He insists they must place the pumpkins on the porch to ward off evil spirits.

Outside in the freezing night, Tobias wraps Cecelia in his arms as they survey the peaceful, moonlit landscape. He notes he has adjusted to the setting. A dark object suddenly races toward them, and Cecelia screams until Tobias identifies it as Tyler piloting a drone to check in. He flips off the device. Cecelia asks since when they have drones; Tobias admits he told her parents about the drone and forgot to tell her. She says this exemplifies why he will remain in trouble, then enthusiastically waves and blows kisses toward Tyler. Tobias growls, pulls her inside, locks the door repeatedly, and forbids her from giving kisses away. She reassures him she wants no one else.

Later, they share cannabis, set caramel apples to harden, and watch the horror film Halloween while feeding each other popcorn. Cecelia observes Tobias experiencing the slasher movie for the first time by tealight flicker. The revelation that she is his first girlfriend and only love resonates deeply. She strokes his chest, reflecting on his missed life experiences and the innocence that persists despite his history. She commits to making this vacation meaningful and helping him live for himself rather than perpetually serving others. As the signature killer music plays, she kisses his throat while he tightens his embrace and absently strokes her back. She silently declares it her best Halloweenie ever.

Just after midnight, Cecelia emerges from the bathroom wearing the negligee Tobias bought her years ago. She confesses that she nearly discarded the negligee multiple times but kept it, sometimes sleeping in it while hoping he would return. He reassures her it is not foolish, and the two have passionate sex, solidifying their reconciliation.

Tobias cradles Cecelia in the clawfoot tub after hours of intense sex. As he washes her back, she asks if they are cursed. He replies that they are their own worst enemies, allowing outside forces to tear them apart. She calls them star-crossed, and he agrees. They joke about absent fairy godmothers, Cupid, saints, and other forces that should have aided them. When Tobias suggests he angered God before birth, Cecelia rejects this, citing Job as evidence that God’s favorites often suffer greatly. She declares Tobias her favorite and the best man she knows. He questions how she can think him good after what he put her through. She straddles him, insisting his core is pure gold and she loves all sides of him. She says she is past tantrums and not always getting her way.

He insists she take a day off work for him—one full day off just for him, not just closing up after hours. She notes with concern that they used no protection during their multiple rounds of sex, and he points out that he saw her birth control pills in the bathroom cabinet. He wonders if the conversation is necessary. He asks if she has been with anyone since him; she says no. When she silently poses the same question, he denies it emphatically, explaining he could not look at himself after their rough encounter and her departure. He admits he rarely engaged with women even as a bachelor, despite opportunities with models and a French actress. Her jealousy flares, but he pins her and teases her about it. He confesses his addiction to her began at first touch, that he once went long periods without human contact, and she transformed his priorities.

She demands he share something she doesn’t know about him. His tone darkens as he reveals that Shelly nearly had him confined to a mental health facility years ago: After Cecelia left his office and disappeared, he experienced an emotional breakdown. She admits wanting to hate him; he says he tried to ensure it, but she refused. He discloses that he totaled his Jaguar the day she left his office, blacking out after receiving the call that she had vanished. Because she ditched her phone and possessions, he had no way to find her. He begs her never to disappear like that again, even during their worst fights, insisting that he needs peace of mind to protect her. She promises, and he presses for confirmation that this promise supersedes all others. She reaffirms, and he expresses relief. She asks about protecting him. He questions the notion. She asserts he still perceives her as the naïve 19-year-old and has forgotten who he returned for. Gripping him firmly, she says it is time to remind him and sinks onto him in the bath.