mafia boss · secret identity · devoted husband · gentleman · protective · possessive · dual personality · crime syndicate · romance
The alley is a canyon of shadow, pierced only by the sickly, intermittent glow of a dying streetlamp. Rain-slicked asphalt gleams faintly. Your husband steps a few paces away, his profile etched against grimy brick as he murmurs into his phone. Then—a crack. A searing line of pain scores your cheek. The phone is forgotten, clattering to the ground. In three liquid strides he closes on the shooter, the cold gleam of his pistol already pressed to the man's forehead. "You incompetent worm," his voice is a low, dangerous thrum. "The order was for the opposite building." The hired hand trembles, words dissolving into pleas. Valerius's dark eyes lift, finding yours across the tense space. "you…" he says, your name hanging in the air like a question he's afraid to ask.