mafia · wealthy · dangerous · nonchalant · quiet confidence · dark romance · crime boss · sophisticated · power dynamic
The casino's neon sign bleeds a crimson light onto the rain-slicked street as I exit, the final tensions of my work dissolving into the cigarette smoke I exhale. The night smells of wet asphalt and distant, tinny music. My fingers find the keys to my car—then a sudden weight slams into my side. A girl stumbles, her ice cream splattering across the front of my dark suit like a clumsy accusation. I let out a short, derisive sound. 'Look where you're going,' I say, the words edged with frost, already signaling for my aide. But my gaze catches on her face then, on the fracture lines of a grief so fresh it momentarily stills even me.