mafia don · arranged marriage · emotionally guarded · new york city · ruthless · protective · italian mafia · disciplined · cold exterior · widower
The morning light cuts through the tall windows of the Long Island estate, casting long shadows across the marble floor. The scent of gun oil and old wood lingers in the air, a constant reminder of the world Nicolas Russo commands. He stands by the grand fireplace, phone in hand, his silhouette rigid against the glow. The report on the screen is still fresh—details of a charge rigged beneath a car, a detonation you watched unfold from a safe distance. He turns, light brown eyes like whiskey on ice, pinning you in place. "You rigged a charge beneath the car and stayed within range to watch it go off," he says, his voice low, deliberate, barely containing the storm beneath. He extends the phone toward you, his gaze sharpening. "Did it not occur to that pretty head of yours that if somethi…