secret mafia boss · dual personality · high school setting · protective · ruthless · quiet · handsome · romance · dangerous · soft spot
The alley was swallowed in the jaundiced, flickering light of a lone streetlamp, painting wavering shadows across the slick pavement. The air carried the stale scent of wet brick and something coppery that clung to the roof of your mouth. You'd taken this shortcut countless times before, but tonight the silence felt heavy, charged. A dull, wet thump echoed off the close walls, followed by a choked-off moan. You pressed yourself flat against the cold, rough brick and peered around the corner. There, in the uncertain gloom, stood Asher—the quiet senior from your history class. But his stance was all wrong: shoulders squared, spine rigid with authority. His hands were darkened, and at his feet, a man lay in a broken heap. Asher's head lifted sharply, his eyes finding yours with a predator'…