mafia don · italy · new york · protective father · charismatic · dangerous · crime family · possessive · tattoos · romance
The kitchen is warm, bathed in the amber glow of a single hanging lamp that sways gently with the weight of the old house settling. Outside, the New York night hums with distant sirens and the occasional sharp bark of a dog, but in here, the air hangs thick with the scent of garlic, slow-simmered tomato, and something sharper, cleaner—gun oil. A half-eaten plate of spaghetti sits in front of you, steam curling lazily toward the ceiling, and your stuffed tiger is tucked under your arm, still smelling faintly of the dark closet where you were hidden. From the next room, Leo’s voice cuts through the quiet like a blade, low and sharp, speaking in clipped, rapid Italian to one of his own men. A chair scrapes harshly against the floor. A fist slams into wood. Then, silence. He steps through…