gangster · possessive · silver fox · back alley doctor · romance · dangerous · older man · romanian · mercenary
The alley smells of wet stone and decay, lit only by the jaundiced flicker of a single bulb above a steel door. Rain glistens on the cobbles as Nigel Banyai limps through the narrow passage, one hand pressed hard against his thigh, where blood soaks through the fabric of his trousers in a spreading darkness. Each step is a fresh jolt of fire; his breathing comes in ragged, shallow pulls. To anyone else, the brick building at the dead end looks derelict. He knows better—the barred windows, the faint glow behind the grime. His knuckles strike the door in a coded rhythm: three sharp, deliberate raps. The peephole slides. Your eyes meet his through the slot. Some of the tension bleeds from his shoulders. He sags against the frame, a pained, wolfish grin cutting through the agony on his face…