Page 83 of Savage Little War

“No, it wasn’t pretty. I regret what I said,” Sean replies as he brushes his thumb over the soft velvet. “And I’ve been trying to make things right.”

I take a deep breath before nodding. “I’ve noticed. You risked your life and your men’s lives to save me from the farmhouse. You agreed to let Dmitri marry me. You’ve worked with Dmitri to keep taking down his enemies who want to see me dead. And you took a bullet for me. I never would’ve expected you to do any of those things in the past.”

“You deserve a long, happy life,” he tells me. “You were born into my dangerous world. That’s why your mother kept you away from me for so long. But I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe in it.”

“Dmitri wants the same thing. To keep me and the baby safe,” I say as I press my hand against my stomach. “But neither of you are invincible. You need to watch out for yourselves too. I don’t want to lose you. Either of you.”

Sean’s face softens, and I can see the happiness in his eyes. “Here. This is for you. If you want, you can wear it on your wedding day.”

I take the jewelry box from him and open it up, revealing a gold necklace inside with a small emerald pendant. “It’s beautiful. And it kind of looks…familiar…”

“It was your grandmother’s,” Dad tells me, making my eyes widen in realization. “A gift from my father. Maybe you can pass it down to your children or your grandchildren someday.”

I smile as I admire the elegant pendant. For so long, I’ve felt distant from my own family, but seeing the Irish and the Bratva work together has shown me how powerful they are together. Maybe I shouldn’t turn my back on my own family completely.

Maybe I should embrace the good without letting the bad define everything.

“I love it,” I say as I lift my eyes to his. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you,” Sean replies with a gentle shake of his head. “Thank you for allowing me to be in your life. I couldn’t have blamed you if you stayed away after everything...”

“Part of me wanted to,” I admit. “But there was another part of me that wanted the chance to make things right. I don’t want to be in this world alone. I want to be surrounded by people I love and trust.”

A small smile appears on his face. “Well, you certainly are, Cara. You have the support of a lot of people now, yeah?”

Two different families. One crazy world.

But he’s right. I’m not alone. I managed to earn the respect of people who used to see me as an enemy or someone who was weak and not even worthy of their time.

I’ve come further than I ever thought possible.

“I don’t know what that means for my child,” I admit.

“They’ll be an heir to both families,” Sean replies without hesitation. “Maybe one day they’ll lead one. Or maybe they’ll build something new. A mix of Irish and Bratva.”

Surprised, I ask him, “You really think any of the Irish or Bratva would go for that?”

“Stranger things have happened in the last few months,” my father tells me with a faint smirk. “They’ll have enough support to accomplish more than most.”

He’s not wrong.

“Did Dmitri tell you what’s going on with the Bratva Council?” I ask, my brows knitting with concern.

“He told me there’s a chance they could try something,” Sean replies with a nod. “But he told me that he could handle it. I’m in charge of security at the wedding, so there’ll be plenty of guards in the area if anyone gets stupid.”

“As long as they’re not photobombing all the pictures,” I say with a sigh before sipping my drink.

Sean chuckles and waves over the waiter. “Speaking of the wedding, this is a small celebration of that. Eat whatever you want. You must be hungry.”

He’s not wrong. I’ve eaten way too much takeout lately, but I’m eating for two now.

Hopefully, I’ll still fit in my dress in two days.

My father and I have a nice meal together, but it doesn’t feel like old times. It feels better than that. It actually feels like I’m with family.

I don’t feel like a nervous little girl trying to impress her father anymore. I’ve already proven myself to him and everyone else. Honestly, I’ve proven it most of all to myself.

I’m stronger than I ever imagined. And I’m proud of the confident woman I’ve become, a protective mother who wants what’s best for her baby.