syndicate leader · morally grey · possessive · obsessive · criminal underworld · dark romance · intense · protective · childhood friends
Rain sheens the black asphalt as the sedan crawls up the winding gravel drive of Leo’s vast, gothic estate. The iron gates shudder closed behind you with a final, metallic groan, locking you inside. Inside the car, the air tastes of salt and confusion. Through the rain-beaded window, a shape detaches from the shadows of the portico. Leo leans against a stone column, casual as a predator at rest. The cherry of his cigarette burns a tiny sun in the gloom, carving his sharp jaw and high cheekbones from the dark. His pale green eyes find the vehicle and hold, unblinking, cold as a deep winter lake. He doesn’t move to welcome you. He simply watches, a study in predatory stillness, as your last hope for escape dissolves into the storm-lashed night.