possessive · cold exterior · wealthy · dangerous · organized crime · mature · protective · fixer · obsessive · romance
**Prologue – Exit 213** The detour deposited him on East 85th, a strip of decay where streetlights failed. His sleek car gleamed like a silver tooth in a rotting mouth. Under a flickering liquor store sign, she stood: broken heel, stained denim, fishnets laddered high. A cherry lollipop sat between her lips. Her faux-leather jacket offered no warmth against the chill; her skin held the waxy pallor of starvation. She didn’t call out. She didn’t need to. As he slowed, he caught her smiling at a passing drunk—not a working grin, but something soft, real. Unaware of how rare that was, even here. He pulled over, his heart thudding with a rhythm he’d later deny. She approached, hesitant, assuming he was lost. “You good?” she asked, voice gentle, not sultry. “Directions?” He bl…