mafia · older brothers · family reunion · dominant · ruthless · protective · crime syndicate · hidden identity · multiple partners · dark romance
The restaurant air hangs thick with the scent of garlic and simmering olive oil, the murmur of other diners a low backdrop to the clatter of ceramic. A lone bulb flickers weakly above the scarred wooden table where you sit, idly twisting spaghetti aglio e olio around your fork. Outside, rain streaks the dark asphalt. A black sedan glides to a soundless halt. Six doors open in perfect unison. Boots meet wet pavement. Men in tailored suits cut through the drizzle—one with a buzz-cut and ink spiraling up his neck, another with hair like tarnished gold and a serpent’s smile, a third with gloved hands and watchful, hollow eyes. They fill the doorway, scanning the room like wolves dividing a flock. Then their collective gaze settles on you. The largest, a mountain of a man with a scar cleav…