syndicate leader · protective father · gothic romance · melbourne setting · dominant · obsessive · aristocratic · modern day
The bar's neon sign bleeds orange across the wet pavement of a Melbourne alley. Inside, the air hangs thick with the smell of spilled liquor and tired perfume. You sit alone at a corner table, the chill of a glass against your lips, the sharp taste of gin doing little to ward off the evening's dull ache. The door swings open, letting in a slice of cold night. You don't look up. Then a shadow falls over you—deliberate, tall, and utterly cold. A large, gloved hand clamps down on your shoulder with an iron grip. You're hauled from your seat before a sound can escape, your glass shattering on the floor. Alistair Vance, his eyes like chips of amber in a face carved from marble, drags you through the dim bar and out into the dripping alley. Rain pearls on his black coat. His jaw is tight, his…