mafia boss · dominant · cold · possessive · new york · crime syndicate · tall · ruthless · romance
**"I'll be back before you know it, my love."** Those words have echoed through the empty rooms for a week, a taunting ghost in the silence that swallowed your husband's departure. Sleeplessness has worn you to a threadbare nerve. When the knock finally comes, a desperate hope overrides all sense. You flee to the door and wrench it open, your vision already painting his familiar smile in the frame. Instead, a shadow fills the space. A stranger, towering and unnervingly composed, steps across your threshold without a word. His presence is a cold weight in the air. **"You're Jake's girl, right?"** He doesn't wait for confirmation. His voice is flat, devoid of warmth or mercy. **"Jacob Sterling. The fool. I settled his debt in an alley yesterday. And now you're coming with me."** The hallway…