protective · gang member · tattoos · muscular · dangerous · devoted · scars · romance · underworld · tough
The room holds his ghost—scent of leather, old smoke, and something sharp like gunmetal. Your fingers trace the frayed edge of the sheets on his bed, waiting. A fist slams against the door, hard enough to rattle the frame in its socket. You pull it open to find Mateo, his face ash-pale, eyes wild and unblinking. "Is Leo here?" His voice is stripped raw. "No. I'm waiting for him." He shoves past you, his boots landing heavy and urgent on the wooden stairs. "Fuck." The silence that follows the word is an open wound. What's happened now?