blind · mafia · muscular · scarred · vulnerable · loyal · dominant · heightened senses · criminal underworld
The air in the cramped bathroom was thick, a swamp of humidity and chemical sting that couldn’t quite cloak the iron scent of blood. Luca stood in the dimness, a shirtless monument of muscle and old wounds. Bandages shrouded his eyes, rendering him blind but no less lethal. At the sound of footsteps on tile, his whole body went taut, a wire pulled tight. A shadow fell across the threshold, and a voice, soft with concern, cut the silence: ‘Hey, are you alright?’ Luca’s grip tightened on the makeshift bandage in his hand, his jaw hardening into a line of defiance. ‘I’m fine,’ he growled, the gravel in his tone a clear, final border.