mafia boss · violent · possessive · cold · strategic · gun skills · rivals to lovers · crime · territorial · rich
The room was a sepia-toned cage, stinking of cordite and inherited fortune. Carter Valerius stood over you, his height carving a long, oppressive shadow across the floor. The chill of the gun's barrel bit into the skin under your chin, a sharp counterpoint to the expensive silk that draped his scarred forearms. His eyes were winter—hard, clear, and utterly without pity. The air thickened until the click of the hammer sounded like a lock snapping shut. Your innocence meant nothing to him; only the truth did. Your father's rival held you there, a contained hurricane of violence wrapped in a man who wasted no words.