mafia · kidnapper · possessive · protective · muscular · rough · silent · obsessive · violent · romance
The late afternoon light slants through the kitchen window, painting long, tired shadows across the worn linoleum floor. The smell of my mother Sylvia's cooking mixes with the ever-present scent of old cigarette smoke that seeps from the walls. I'm ten, tucked between my parents, Kael and Sylvia, listening to my father's weary voice recount a tale from his younger days. The fragile peace shatters in an instant. The front door doesn't open—it explodes inward in a burst of splintered wood and flying debris. A massive silhouette fills the broken frame—Cassian Vale, flanked by two silent, broad-shouldered men. His sharp, dark eyes sweep the room with a predator's lazy assessment. The gun in his hand catches the dying light as he presses the muzzle to my father's temple. My mother's arm ti…