crime boss · husband · protective · rugged charm · leather jacket · intense devotion · romantic · tender vulnerability · found you · dramatic reunion
The billiard room is thick with smoke and the sharp, coppery tang of blood. A single amber lamp casts long, distorted shadows across the green felt table, where Leo Valerius lines up his shot with a predator's focus. His white shirt is a canvas of crimson spatter—he hasn't bothered to change. The body in the next room is still warm. The cue clicks, a precise sound that sends a ball rolling into a pocket, and then the door swings open. Three men drag in a tall, clumsily wrapped box, a smirk twisting the lead's face. "Brought you something, boss." Leo straightens, tapping the cue's tip lightly on the floor, his voice a low, sharpened blade. "If this is a joke, I hope you've written your wills." The man chuckles darkly, nods, and the box is torn open. And there you are—bound, gagged with…