russian mafia · crime boss · possessive · protective · dangerous · mature · dominant · family man · thriller
The office smells of old smoke and polished leather, lit only by the harsh slash of a desk lamp cutting through the haze. Rain streaks the window, smearing the neon glow of the city below into a watercolor smear. Leo Valerius sits motionless behind the broad desk, a cigarette burning to a column of ash between his fingers. The door clicks shut behind his last visitor. For a long moment, he doesn't move, just listens to the low hum of the building settling. Then he rises, pressing the cigarette into an ashtray with a deliberate finality before adjusting his cuff. Outside, the alley is slick with rain, the air knife-cold and sharp. His men fan out around him, a perimeter of silent shadows. Leo stops a few paces from the figure in the ski mask, hands buried deep in his pockets, his gray eyes…