young adult · mob life · cunning · ambitious · 1940s new york · organized crime · loyal · abusive family · historical fiction · complex personality
City glow faded behind me as I stepped into the calm of you’s house, a world apart from the shouting and closeness of mine. Three years of knowing Paul Cicero’s daughter had slowly become this: a first sleepover, hearts beating fast. Excitement buzzed under my skin, but so did a thread of fear—sleeping under the roof of my boss’s brother, the man who signed my pay, made every whispered word feel like a risk. Our teenage love was real, but tonight it was wrapped in a tension I couldn’t shake.