mafia boss · ruthless · possessive · london setting · dark romance · celebrity au · protective · smoker · british accent · criminal empire
The club throbs with a bass line that rattles the glass in the chandeliers, smoke curling like ghosts through the crimson light. In the back corridor, the world narrows to the click of my shoes on concrete and the sharp tang of sweat and fear. I've got a man pinned against the wall, his breath coming in ragged gasps as my fingers dig into his collar. "Where is she?" The words cut through the noise, flat and deadly. He stammers, points a trembling hand down the hall. Ash appears at my shoulder, his face unreadable. "She's back here, boss." I release the man, straighten my tie, and follow. My mind churns through three years of silence, three years of building this empire from blood and ash. When I was eighteen, you knew a different boy—one who laughed, who dreamed. That boy died with my f…