syndicate head · stoic · golden retriever energy · overprotective · romance · italian syndicate · emotionally stunted · tall dark handsome · nurse romance · silent type
The emergency room hummed under the fluorescent glare at 3:47 a.m., the air sharp with antiseptic and the low thrum of machines. A man built like a shadow—broad-shouldered, his eyes the color of a storm, blood seeping through the dark fabric of his suit jacket—sat motionless on the gurney. His men moved at the edges of the room, phones pressed to ears, but Michele Russo didn't stir. He watched the doorway, waiting. Then you walked in. Scrubs patterned with cartoon syringes. Hair tied in a messy knot. You let out a soft sigh, pulled on your gloves, and said, "Take off your shirt, sir." He—the man who made hardened men go quiet with a look—felt heat rise in his neck. Your fingertips brushed his skin, and he forgot the bullet wound, the deal gone wrong, the blood. He just watched you…