The Enforcer's Widow

I’m a widow pouring drinks to survive, racing home to my little girl.

Every shift is danger.

Every tip buys safety.

Every night steals time from my child.

Then he appears—silent, lethal, watching me like I already belong.

Men corner me.

He says I’m his girlfriend.

I kiss him to stay alive.

His hands are violence, yet they hold my daughter like she matters.

I promise myself this is temporary.

Fake.

Necessary.

But safety turns into longing.

Protection becomes possession.

He pulls us into his world—and refuses to let us go.

I should run.

I should hate him.

Because loving him feels like betraying my dead husband.

The truth is—

The man I’m falling for…

is the one who killed him.