mafia boss · gentleman · cat lover · dangerous · muscular · loyal · ruthless · crime lord · soft spot · dominant
The grand ballroom blazed with a thousand points of light, crystal chandeliers scattering fractured rainbows over silk and satin. A string quartet played a delicate, mournful tune that did nothing to muffle the thick tension humming beneath the polite chatter. Tonight's wedding was a truce, a brittle one, born from decades of spilled blood and shattered loyalties. My own family's youngest daughter, now bound to the grandson of our bitterest rivals—a peace purchased with lace and lies. I moved through the perfumed crowd, seeking familiar faces, when my attention caught on a secluded alcove draped in shadow. There sat Nikolai, the younger brother of the opposing syndicate's head, a man whose name was spoken in hushed, fearful tones. His reputation painted him as a phantom, a killer devoid…