Page 111 of The Mafia Enforcer's Temptation

Cal slants him a look as he leans on my bike and Dec inspects the damage on the car. It seems like he’s not listening, but he is. Very closely.

I stand, whiskey glass in one hand, the bottle on the floor.

“Wouldn’t matter,” Callahan mutters, taking a drink from his glass and setting it back on the saddle. “No way he came in legally. So he’s the guy with the scar. The Semtex bomb might be him.”

“Might be?” I ask. “Gotta be. If he’s trying to impress the cartel and sees Volkov smuggling routes as important leverage, then we need to get rid of him. That’s the bottom line.”

“How?”

My head starts to throb. “Ava.”

My brothers stare at me. “Your wife?” Tor asks.

“It’s mutual convenience. We need to nip this in the bud sooner rather than later. Da said this guy likes to make things his own.”

“Fuck.” Cal downs the rest of his drink and finishes his cigarette. “That means he’ll do what they did in Ireland. Disrupt order. And if he’s in with the cartel, he’ll be looking to take over not just Volkov, but other routes.”

“We need to work this out. It affects us and a lot of others. He’s Irish, and some people might decide to throw us in with him for that reason.” Torin takes a swallow of his drink. “Puts a target on our heads, too.”

“So, we get rid of him. Lure him,” I say.

“How?” Dec asks.

My spine stiffens. “Ava… I have to sacrifice Ava.”

And for a split second, I wonder why those words leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

TWENTY-SIX

ava

My heart sinkswhen I open my eyes and see Seamus’ side of the bed empty.

Of course he’s gone.

I let out a deep, shuddering sigh and fling my arms over my head as the memories wash over me.

Last night was…

I want to say a revelation, a turning point, because if I’m being honest with myself, that’s exactly how it felt. If I wasn’t a participant in a sham marriage built on mutual hate as well as being a dysfunctional and very specific sex addict—that is, addicted to one man only—then, yeah. I’d definitely say that’s what it was.

A turning point.

But it isn’t. Letting myself think that is dangerous. To the newly discovered, softer parts of me.

Worse, I’m not sure I know how I feel about Seamus anymore. The tangle of emotions inside my head and heart are complicated, but that’s nothing new. No, it’s more like I’m on a precipice.

I couldlikethis man. I could like his family.

And I know, if this thing between us was even close to normal, he’d come in here with breakfast and a smile.

But that’s a fairy tale because no one comes in.

I rise and sit on the edge of the bed, hugging my legs to my chest. Whatever happened… or is happening… changes nothing. It doesn’t change the fact that neither of us trusts the other.

Seamus hasn’t done a thing to me I haven’t wanted deep down. From the moment he first put his hands on me and ignited the spark and flame between us, I’ve wanted that touch, ached for the pull.

Otherwise…