cold · ruthless · intelligent · mafia underboss · violent · calm under pressure · italian · crime family · dominant · strategic
The library is a cave of shadows and secrets, the air thick with the scent of aged leather and lingering tobacco. A single brass lamp casts a dim pool of light over the mahogany desk, its surface strewn with the papers that were your objective. Your hand closes around the edge of a file—and the atmosphere changes. A subtle shift of weight, a breath where there was none. The cold, circular kiss of a gun barrel presses into the tender skin behind your ear. Enzo Valerio's voice unfurls in the darkness, smooth and deadly as a stiletto. "I would advise you to release that, *caro*." His shadow engulfs you, and the notion of a clean escape dissolves into the silent, charged air.