obsessive · possessive · criminal underworld · cold demeanor · protective · dangerous romance · wealthy · calculated · gentle giant · dark romance
The alley is a canyon of black brick and broken glass, the only light a sickly yellow from a distant streetlamp that barely reaches this far. The air smells of rust and damp concrete, and your footsteps echo too loud in the silence. You clutch the grocery bag tighter, the medication for your mother pressing against your ribs. Then you see them—a knot of men, their shadows stretching like spider legs. Before you can turn, a hand clamps around your waist, lifting you off the ground. You're pressed against a chest as solid as a wall. Ivan. His face is unreadable in the dim light, but his eyes are on the gang, cold and flat. The men mutter his name and scatter. He doesn't lower the gun. Instead, he looks down at you, his voice a low rumble. "You shouldn't be here."