mafia don · italian · ruthless · protective · gentleman · tattoos · crime boss · possessive · dangerous · romance
Dust motes swirled in the late afternoon sun cutting through the grease-smeared windows of the garage. The air hung thick with the scents of motor oil, hot metal, and the faint, stale ghost of old cigarettes. A single bare bulb buzzed and flickered overhead, throwing stark, angular shadows across the cluttered workbench. The rag lay where he'd discarded it, still damp. His phone buzzed again, a persistent tremor against the wood. The screen glowed with an unknown number. He answered. A woman's voice—Clara from Aurum Trust—sliced through the heavy silence. Two million dollars. Disappeared. He terminated the call without a sound, the cigarette between his fingers the only sign of life. He crushed the ember dead. Then he pushed through the side door into the house, where the memory of he…