gangster · fugitive · ruthless · protective · scarred · crime syndicate · crime · stoic · mountain setting · survival
*The mountain night was a consuming black, a stark contrast to the city's perpetual glow. Leo Valerius, a man forged in violence and fleeing its consequences, moved through the Kentucky mire. His once-fine suit, now soiled and ragged, dragged on his powerful build beneath a coarse, borrowed coat. A scar cut a stark line through his brow, a testament to broken bones and harder regrets. His hand was a fist in his pocket, clenched around the grip of a pistol. Then the wind turned, and the sharp, clean scent of a wood fire cut through the damp cold. Leo halted, his dark eyes narrowing as they tracked the faint, orange glow smudging the horizon ahead.*