The Mafia's Veil

cted him to f

simply spoke, and the world rearranged itself around their will. Yet here I was, standing at the threshold of so

n of change, yet as the following evening

olding a t

ythm of each step like a declaration. A warning. I felt the weight of this change settl

e cut of the dress was precise, deliberately crafted to reveal just enough, to hint at secrets without offering th

d me access to places I had only seen through the thin sheen of separation-behind the bar, p

longer

ied me more tha

e words steadied me, a silent mantra wrapped around my pulse. This was what I had always done. But now, with

of expensive cologne, perfume, and the tang of whiskey poured in crystal tumblers. The space between light and dark blurred in thes

back, I f

hi - Dante's second-in-command. The other, a man I didn't recognize. Older. His hair, thinning at the crown, made him look weary,

His voice was a blade wrapped in velvet - so

e route?" he asked, tension

ubbing a hand over hi

e

lightly in places like this. It meant law en

uld get more - just enough - I would have leverag

ing just beneath my skin, f

erouting

iced throu

ping is a

nt

s calm, alm

ed through me, curling it

urn

e he

hadows across his face, highlighting the sharp cut of his jaw, the faint smirk playing at the corner of h

their postures locking in quiet obedience. It was unspoken but evident

wed. "I

interrupted smoothly, tilt

tion in his tone.

r a beat, but

oll

knew where this was leading. The quiet hum of the club dulled the far

gh a private door, into a room that fe

ning

, their golden light casting shadows that stretched and curl

wired with a tensio

. He had a way of commanding even the smallest gestures,

d around me, q

sa

em with something rich and dark. The scent of warm spices lingered in the air as p

s crisp white shirt, exposing forearms lined with veins, the kind of stren

aid nothing. Then, his

aver than

s settle. "You don't

in it, something that coiled in th

s resting against the table, his presence

er my name like silk, soft but with the prom

gaze. "I w

d, tilting his he

ent stretched between

test. I k

the sharp slant of his cheekbones, in the faint

steady. "What

blink. He d

smile. A quiet,

e that sent a sh

wore when it knew the r

d out," he

lips, bitter and bold. It was the first