Page 46 of The Mafia Enforcer's Temptation

Arnold whines and scratches on the other side of the door. Cal marches over and opens it. The dog bounds in and barks before sitting perfectly for a treat. Callahan collects one from his drawer and says, “Hold it…” Then about five seconds later, he tosses the first treat that Arnold jumps and snatches from the air.

He sits again and waits, his tail wagging.

Callahan holds his hand flat, and Arnold delicately eats the remaining treats.

“I’m curious,” I say.

“You’re a fuckingeejit. And you know it.”

Clawzilla ambles his way in, joining the party, his little boredom act falling apart the moment the treat drawer opens again.

I roll my eyes. Cal pretends he’s indifferent to the pets, but he loves them like the rest of us, and he’s unbelievably patient and good-natured with them when he’d probably put a bullet in a person who acted like they do.

He gets down on his knees to stroke them both, and he says to me, “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

I shrug. “I don’t trust her at all. I like her even less. But hey, the feelings are mutual. She hates me for reasons I can’t fathom. Though, if she did know Paddy, then that’s a good start.”

“Why do you hate her?”

I didn’t say hate but… dislike seems a little weak. She’s a liar, she’s cut me, almost blew me up, had someone knock me out. I’ve had to kill for her, and she hasn’t shown one drop of thanks. Instead, she’s acted like I’m the fucking monster in the room. She’s a thief and a liar. A woman full of secrets. I’m sure, given enough time, there’ll be more to hate.

Besides, the more I think about it, the more positive I am about a Paddy connection. Those bombs gnaw at my brain. She’s not Irish. She doesn’t seem to have any connection to the crime world beyond her knowing Iosif and, of course, her small bratva.

But the bratva is an outlier. Different. They provide a service, one they protect and only allow a chosen few in. I’m sure there’s other stuff they do, small fry crap. Things I’m not interested in.

Their list of allies and customers, for want of a better word, are protected.

And then there’s something I haven’t mentioned. Something about her hatred for us that twists the knife in me and makes me mirror it back.

It makes me think of Siobhan. Torin’s lethal ex who went batshit crazy when she found out Torin married Harry. She was vicious and brutal and was only fueled by hatred and revenge.

I’m positive the Volkovs don’t just smuggle goods. I’m sure they smuggle in people who don’t want to use regular channels. There are a number of those, but the tight and shining reputation of Volkov is not the best-kept secret if you poke under the right rocks.

Siobhan and her people—Irish, American, a few Russians—tried to destroy my brother, and my hate for anyone who does that is instant and all-consuming.

We’ve weeded out a lot of her followers, but…

Like Paddy and his crew, I’m sure there are some lying low, waiting to pounce on us once they get the chance.

Paddy tried to hurt all of us, but especially Dec, and he was young at the time. That I can never forgive, and anyone who empathizes with Paddy is my enemy.

If Ava did, if she knew any of them, worked with any of them, gleaned information or skills from them… secrets, even, then I want to know. And I’ll hold her personally responsible.

But that’s not something I wish to share with Cal yet. Like her attacks on me. None of us forgive someone who hurts another one of us.

So I choose my words.

“Because she’s up to something and she despises us. And we’ve never come across her or her family before.”

“Maybe she and Paddy…?”

My stomach turns. “Maybe. Another reason to hate her. Look, what better way to start a marriage? We’ve got all the building blocks. Lies and hate and greed. She has every one of them.”

“The Volkov smuggling routes would be a boon,” he says. Then he stands and picks up both his smoldering cigarette and his glass. “Go slow, Seamus.”

“It’s a little hard with the wedding set to happen in a few hours.”

He just looks at me. “I mean with getting what we need from the bratva. Can you do this for a year?”