Page 133 of The Mafia Enforcer's Temptation

So I try and try again. “Hey, Tatiana,” I say, walking into the living room, “do you want to play?”

The little girl with the black hair and light-blue eyes looks at me and starts to cry. “No. I wan’ Papa Sif. I wan’ Olga.”

I close my eyes, chest heavy. “Olga had to go away for a while, and Iosif isn’t feeling well.”

She starts crying harder. “I wan’ Lucie!”

Lucie comes in and mouths “sorry” to me.

I sink onto the couch and cover my face with my hands. I can’t do this. I can’t.

“Hey.” I drop my hands and look up at Seamus. “She’s a kid, that’s all. And I’m thinking she knows you enough that you can be honest with her. You know Iosif, so?—”

“Don’t.” I stand up, cutting him off. “Did you work things out with the cartel?”

“Cal did. Told them we have a copy of the papers we gave them and that they should keep their word to leave us alone and we won’t step on their toes. Everything should go on as normal. They agreed.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“They have what they wanted. Mostly. We told them they won’t be using Volkov routes, but they haven’t so far, and they’re doing just fine. They’re savvy enough to know this is a mutual assurance thing. One won’t hurt the other. And we helped them out. They have their money back, and there’s now a threat hanging over their head.” Seamus pauses, his lips lifting into a grin. “Until they fuck up.”

We’re in the aftermath of a war, and part of that war is the battle between me and Seamus. Those words of love we spoke seem a world away, just out of reach, and although we’ve been fucking like rabbits since that night I was afraid I’d lost him, it’s infused with a desperation that sinks me deeper into an abyss I can’t escape.

So when the doorbell rings, I’m glad to break away from it. From him. My head is in a complete frenzy, and I need a minute to work it all out.

Then I hear a familiar voice float into the air. Tatiana screams in joy.

Iosif. I know what I have to do. And it’s going to rip me apart.

When he comes in, he’s alone. Seamus doesn’t leave, even when I ask him to.

“Not on your fucking life, sweet thing,” he says, folding his arms over his chest.

Iosif moves slowly, but he’s clearly fine.

“I’m glad you survived your stupidity, Ava.”

“Watch it,” Seamus says. “That’s my wife.”

Iosif shoots him a look. “I’d like to be able to see Tatiana. I do love her like a daughter. You, too.”

I snort.

“I’ve known you longer than you remember,” he says quietly. “I introduced your father to Elena to help him. They made it work.” He sighs. “But I do care. So much.”

“You want her back.”

He spreads his hands. “She knows me.”

“You kept her from me,” I snarl. “To protect you both. To protect your interests.”

He nods. “I thought you’d be better off without the bratva, yes. But I don’t need it. Or else I’d have taken your father’s offer of being interim Pakhan if anything happened to him.”

“The thing is,” Seamus says quietly, “Tatiana’s her sister and?—”

“Seamus,” I whisper, the words harder than I imagined. “She knows Iosif. To take her from him is cruel. What if… what if… I could see her whenever I wanted?”

“That would be acceptable. He is right. She’s your sister. The threat to you both is out there now, and since you’re protected by this family, maybe she could have two homes.”