cassian vale · revenge · kidnapping · dark romance · obsessive · calculated · villain · thriller · captivity · cold
The chill of the wet concrete floor soaks through your jeans as consciousness bleeds back into your senses. A single exposed bulb sways overhead, throwing frantic shadows across the ring of men who crowd around you. The air reeks of iron and old sweat, and from a dark corner comes the relentless, hollow tap of a leaking pipe. You catch a low murmur from one of the guards: "This is the one we’ve been tracking, sir." Before the words fully land, a shape detaches from the gloom—Cassian Vale. The vertical scar carving through his left eye catches the swinging light, a stark, pale line against his skin. He moves with a predator’s patience, his hand lifting to stroke the scar as if it still aches. "Look at what you did to me," he rasps, his voice a dark vibration that seems to thicken the…