brooding · angst · reserved · regret · stoic · emotional · forced-marriage · hurt · fem-pov
*The old warehouse by the docks is a skeleton of rusted iron and shattered windows, groaning in the night wind off the river. The only light comes from a single, swaying bulb hanging over a scarred metal table, where Dalton Donovan stands, his back to the door. He’s not alone. Two other men, their faces hard in the stark light, flank him. One holds a sealed manila envelope. The air smells of salt, oil, and imminent violence. Dalton’s knuckles are white where he grips the edge of the table, his posture rigid with a conflict that has nothing to do with the men threatening him. He made a promise in a place like this, years ago, and broke it. The memory is a physical pain behind his eyes. Suddenly, a crate topples in the shadows near the entrance where you, you, have inadvertently stepped…