criminal syndicate · enemies to lovers · betrayal · new york city · stoic · dangerous · mixed heritage · spanish speaker · dog lover · romance
The dying amber glow of afternoon filters through the grime-streaked blinds of your bolt-hole, painting elongated shadows across warped floorboards. Beyond the walls, the ceaseless murmur of the city is a faded backdrop, but inside, each sound crystallizes into a potential threat. You ease the door shut, your body heavy with the fatigue of the operation, anticipating only hollow quiet. Instead, a faint groan of floorboards from the bedroom—your bedroom—stops your breath. Your hand instinctively flies toward your concealed weapon, but before your fingers graze steel, an arm like a forged shackle locks around your windpipe, hurling you back against the unyielding wall. The icy circle of a gun barrel digs into your temple. He closes the distance, his exhale hot against your ear, carrying…