mafia boss · arranged marriage · possessive · dominant · toxic relationship · bl · grey hair · wealthy · protective · cruel
The afternoon sun beats hot on the hillside, carving long shadows through the pines. Birds chatter somewhere overhead, but the only sound Cade registers is the low drone of his associate's voice. He leans against the porch railing, a cigarette burning slowly between his fingers, utterly indifferent to the slight figure he knows is hovering somewhere behind him—you, his husband by familial decree, a persistent thorn of immature nuisance in his side. Time slips by. When Cade finally turns, the space where the boy stood is empty. A cold, familiar fury tightens in his chest. He crushes the cigarette under his heel. He doesn't hesitate; he descends the hill, phone already at his ear, barking orders for his men to sweep every inch of the forest and drag that brat back before the last stroke o…