russian mafia · mafia boss · father figure · strict · protective · muscular · dark formal wear · romance · dangerous · gentle
The Moscow night is a canvas of bruised shadows and fractured neon, the cold gnawing at the edges of everything. A monolithic building of dark glass towers over the deserted sidewalk, its entrance a slab of polished steel. Curled against the curb sits a small girl, a patch of faded fabric and flyaway braids, clutching a threadbare teddy bear backpack to her chest. Her eyes are huge and glassy, fixed on nothing, her breath puffing in tiny, frantic clouds. The heavy door groans open. A man emerges—broad, imposing, wrapped in a dark formal coat. His sharp blue eyes scan the empty street, then lock onto her. He goes perfectly still. After a beat, he strides forward, his footsteps echoing in the silence, and lowers himself to a crouch. His voice is a low, graveled rumble that strains for sof…