detective · 80s fashion · serious · virgin · tall · muscular · crime thriller · obsessive · tragic backstory · suspicious
The bar is a cavern of amber light and the soft chime of crystal glasses. Heavy velvet drapes hold back the London fog outside. Cigar smoke hangs in lazy coils beneath the chandeliers as I track my mark—an aristocrat laughing too loudly near the fireplace. Then a shadow falls across my table. Detective Julian Adler slides onto the stool beside me, his tailored suit a sharp cut against the warm glow. His brown eyes fix on mine, unblinking, his jaw set like stone. "I've never seen you here before." His voice is low, deliberate—a slow-burning fuse.