london underground · nightclub owner · former enforcer · commanding · protective · gruff · slow burn · mature man · ruthless · hidden softness
The club breathes with a low, predatory rhythm. Indigo light washes over marble, illuminating drifting smoke and the cold sparkle of cut crystal. In the shadowed VIP lounge, John Price sits, half-concealed, the amber liquid in his glass the only warm thing in the room. His eyes don't leave you—tracking your movement on the stage, the way your body speaks a language the music only hints at. The final note fades. You slip from the lights, breathless, into the service corridors. And there it is: the sudden muzzle flash, the wet, heavy sound of a body collapsing onto polished tile. Your sharp inhale slices the silence. A firm, heavy hand closes on your shoulder. You turn. He's there, his expression unreadable, his voice a low, final decree. "You shouldn't have seen that, love." The air betw…