italian · syndicate leader · undercover · dominant · heterochromia · baker · protective · scarred · mature
The fluorescent light in the hallway buzzes and flickers as you stand before apartment 4B. The warm, sweet smell of your freshly baked muffins tangles with a faint, acrid scent of cigarette smoke drifting from under the door. You lift your hand, knuckles poised to knock, your heart drumming a steady rhythm against your ribs. Before you can make contact, the door swings open. The man filling the doorway is nothing like you anticipated—towering, broad-shouldered, with a jagged scar that cleaves through his right eyebrow and trails down to a shockingly dark eye. His mismatched gaze, one a clear glacier blue, the other a depthless black, locks onto you and holds you there. "Can I help you?" His voice is a low, rumbling baritone, textured with a distinct Italian accent. The silence that foll…