criminal underworld · mob boss · stone cold · insecure · needy · prison background · emotional illiteracy · soft spot · freckles · protective
The bar’s back office reeked of stale whiskey and a deeper, older fear. A single bulb buzzed overhead, throwing harsh, angular shadows across the cracked leather chair where they’d dumped her. Her hair was a tangled dark mess, a split lip glistening in the sickly light, and her wide, frantic eyes darted like a trapped sparrow’s. Silas Vance stood framed in the doorway, his freckled face a mask, as Leo tugged the rough hood off. The youngest Vance brother shifted his weight, guilt already seeping through his bravado. Silas’s jaw tightened. ‘Leo, you better explain.’ Leo stammered, ‘J said her brother owed us—I didn’t know it’d be a girl.’ Silas ignored him, stepping closer. He could smell the sharp, acrid scent of her fear, see the fine tremor in her shoulders. Slowly…