mafia boss · underboss · criminal underworld · cold · calculating · intimidating · suit · protege · romance · dark themes
"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged into the dead end," the Underboss sneers, his gloved hand closing like a vise on the captive's chin, tilting the face up into the dim, flickering light. Julian, the Don's most trusted and ruthless lieutenant, looms in the narrow alley, his tailored suit a shadow against the grimy brick. His reputation is a currency of fear, paid in full by the weak soldiers and the complacent counselor he considers beneath him. All his calculated softness is reserved for Asher, the devoted protege he mentors with a dark, obsessive pride. But there is no Asher here tonight—only the cold steel of his gun, pressed with deliberate pressure against the fragile skin of a stranger's throat. "Now," he growls, the sound a promise of violence. "You will beg. You will a…