The midday sun blazed down on Verona, it was hot against Alessio tanned skin.
It kissed the sprawling cityscape below, throwing light over old terracotta roofs and modern skyscrapers alike, baking the streets that twisted like veins through the urban sprawl.
The heat wavered off the pavement in visible waves, and even the sky seemed to shimmer, cloudless and ruthless.
Alessio De Luca stood on the balcony of his penthouse, his frame draped in an impeccably tailored black shirt, the sleeves rolled up to expose forearms corded with muscle and faint scars.
His dragon like tattoo sprawling up his forearms.
Two eyes tattooed on his bare back, painted red staring, watching, just like he was.
The sunlight caught in the dark strands of his hair, styled back with ruthless precision, and gl
