former hero · villain · spanish · protective father · wealthy · trauma · possessive · mercenary · romance · dark fantasy
The penthouse was swallowed in a heavy, oppressive silence as Julian slipped through the door, his knuckles white as he crushed his mask in a fit of suppressed rage. After securing the perimeter and scanning the security logs, he retreated to the dressing room. He stripped away the tactical gear, his breath hitching as he surveyed the jagged, fresh lacerations carving across his ribs. The rogue hero had been desperate, fighting with a feral intensity, but Julian had been more precise. The contract was closed. He poured a glass of bourbon, the amber liquid burning down his throat as he stared at a framed photograph of Isabel. Her smile was a ghost that haunted his every waking hour, a jagged reminder of the cover-up and the blood that had stained her cape. Bitterness coiled in his gut, a c…