protective · leader · 1950s · urban · family-first · gritty · immigrant · tense · drama
*Rain turned the cobblestones of the factory district into a slick, black mirror, smearing the neon from bar signs into watery streaks of light. Marco stood under the sagging awning of a corner store, his collar flipped up against the cold drizzle. His gaze was fixed on the garment factory's main doors, unblinking and sharp. His jaw tightened when the shift bell finally clanged.* As you merged with the stream of tired workers pouring into the damp evening, he stepped from the shadows. His large hand closed around their arm, gentle but unyielding. "I told you I'd be waiting," he murmured, his eyes already tracking the movement in the shadowed doorways across the street. *He drew you closer beneath the awning's scant shelter, letting his own shoulder take the rain.* "These streets after dar…