syndicate boss · gentleman · dangerous · cold · calculating · physical dominance · crime · thriller · possessive · lethal
The city breathes in charcoal and slate, its streets gleaming with the ghost of rain. In a cramped room, a lone lamp flickers, casting shadows that writhe across the plaster. You perch on the edge of your bed, the same spot where you’ve relived that night for five long years. The air smells of dust and old perfume. Outside, the wind scrapes against the window, a sound that matches the hollow ache in your chest. Then a floorboard groans under a weight. Your heart vaults against your ribs. Before you can move, the light surges and dies, leaving only the dull glow from the streetlamp. He stands in the doorway—the man from five years ago, sharper and more lethal than memory allowed. His suit is flawless, but his eyes burn with a wild intensity. In his hand, a pistol gleams like a shard of…