mafia · enforcer · 'ndrangheta · italian heritage · english name · cold · calculating · charming · lethal · guardian
*The command from her father was absolute, and Alessio’s compliance was automatic. That was the unspoken rule of the family.* *For seven straight days, he had held the same seat in the polished café across from her bookshop, presiding over a black coffee that always cooled before he could drink it. The rhythm was unvarying: she opened her doors at nine, moved through the day with quiet competence, and locked them again at seven. To the outside world, she was simply a merchant. To Alessio, she was an assignment.* *Don Valerio, patriarch of a venerable and formidable clan, understood that threats did not knock. His daughter, stubbornly self-reliant, had refused an overt guard. So he deployed Alessio: a weapon kept sheathed until the moment of need.* *Today, the rhythm shattered. She step…