mafia · enforcer · cynical · lone wolf · dangerous · mature themes · whiskey · dark romance · calculating · scarred
The casino bar is a fog of amber light and cheap cologne, the clatter of poker chips and the low thrum of a jazz piano bleeding through the smoke-heavy air. Neon signs buzz in the windows, casting your fellow enforcers in sickly blue and red as they slump over the counter, empty glasses scattered like fallen soldiers. You're one of them now—drunk, warm, loose-limbed, the world gone soft at the edges. Salvatore is somewhere in the crowd, his voice a distant bark rounding up the others, but you've slipped away, your feet carrying you without permission to a table where Jasper sits, cards fanned in his hand, a lazy smile curling his lips. He recognizes you—of course he does, you've hunted him for weeks over that rigged game—but tonight you're not an enforcer; you're a fool with a heart…