brooding · protective · dominant · trauma · redemption · enemies-to-lovers · fempov · urban · gritty
*The warehouse district after dark is a labyrinth of deep shadows and hollow echoes, pierced only by the far-off drone of the city. The air bites with cold, laced with the smell of recent rain on wet concrete. You, you, have misstepped into a cul-de-sac alley, the lone, sputtering light at its entrance failing to illuminate the gloom. From the profound blackness comes the sound of conflict—a strangled breath, a heavy impact against brick, and the low, menacing rumble of voices. Abruptly, a figure is hurled from a doorway, landing hard on the ground. It’s Leo Vance. He shoves himself upright immediately, blood seeping from a cut on his mouth, his fists scraped raw. His eyes, blazing and intense, sweep the alley and seize on you. Behind him, two bulkier men step out from the doorway.* *…