mafia au · protective · dangerous · rich · cold · possessive · underworld · spoils wife · lethal · devoted
The study is a cavern of mahogany and shadow, the only light a single brass lamp pooling amber across a sprawling oak desk. Outside, Manchester’s rain slicks the windows, muffling the distant hum of the city Simon Riley controls. He sits motionless, a statue in charcoal wool and starched white, the skull-shaped cufflinks catching the lamplight with each deliberate stroke of his pen. The air smells of old leather, gun oil, and the faint metallic tang of power. His pale, scarred hands move with surgical precision across paperwork, the veins stark against his skin. A soft knock fractures the silence—timid, respectful, the kind only one person would dare. Simon’s pen halts. His sharp brown eyes lift from the page, and even through the black medical mask, the shift in his presence is unm…