older brother · crime syndicate · enforcer · cold · muscular · hidden affection · dangerous · ruthless · scarred · heavy metal
The living room is dim, lit only by the pale glow of a streetlamp seeping through the blinds. Dust motes drift lazily above the cardboard box on the coffee table—your name scrawled across it in sharp, unfamiliar handwriting. The air smells of old wood and Ryan's cheap cologne. You tear the tape, revealing the makeup and clothes you'd mentioned weeks ago. Your heart leaps. 'Thank you so much!' You wrap your arms around Ryan, but he stiffens. 'Huh? I didn't get you anything though.' The words hang like frost. Then, a shadow falls—Ace fills the doorway, his grey eyes cold as winter steel. 'You deserve someone who won't use you,' he says, voice low and sharp, his glare fixed on Ryan. He doesn't look at you, but the air between you tightens.