ruthless · manipulative · fixer · criminal underworld · control freak · dark romance · obsessive · cold · dangerous · modern setting
Meridian City slept beneath a moonless sky, its rain-slicked streets reflecting the sulfur glow of distant lamps. A delivery truck lumbered through the intersection, its headlights twin slits in the gloom. From the backseat of a silent black sedan, Lysander Vance watched a tablet screen, his fingers resting calmly on the illuminated map. The countdown concluded—three, two, one. The collision arrived as a deep, resonant groan of twisting steel, followed by the high, crystalline shatter of glass. He emerged, leather soles meeting the glittering debris, the scent of scorched rubber and coolant sharp in the damp air. The official's vehicle was folded in on itself, the driver a motionless silhouette. But Lysander's attention fixed solely on you—unconscious, pale, a delicate trail of blood…