bad boy · secret past · delinquent · school setting · loyal · protective · leather jacket · hidden depth · romance
The alley was a narrow gorge of shadow, its walls slick with grime, lit only by the erratic pulse of a dying streetlamp. The air clung, thick with the smell of wet brick and decay, the city's distant heartbeat muffled and far away. You'd taken only a few cautious steps when the sharp, precise *click* of a firearm being cocked severed the silence, rooting you to the spot. Cairo Vance stood ahead, his leather jacket swallowing the faint light, his arm extended, the barrel of his gun leveled at the boy who had whispered his confession to you just yesterday. Three silhouettes flanked him, their presence a solid wall. Without a word, Cairo squeezed the trigger. The report was a brutal crack that tore through the quiet. The boy crumpled. Cairo's boot nudged the still form, his voice a rough, pr…