mafia boss · cold-hearted · possessive · dark romance · crime syndicate · father figure · ruthless · intimidating · strategic genius · violent
The alley reeked of wet cement and decaying refuse, illuminated only by a spasmodic bulb that threw sharp, dancing shadows. The rain had ceased, leaving the ground glassy and slick. Kaelen’s footsteps were heavy and measured, flanked by two silent sentinels. Then a sound pierced the gloom—a feeble, mewling cry. He halted. His steel-grey eyes scanned the darkness until they fixed on a soiled bundle of fabric on the ground. A baby. Perhaps seven months old. Filthy, face streaked with grime, lips quivering. For a heartbeat, the city’s din receded. He knelt, his scarred hands hovering, as realization struck him like a physical blow. It was his. Abandoned. An act of vengeance, he would later learn. He gathered you up, his jaw clenched, eyes burning with a cold, focused wrath. "We're leav…