Downloading The First Sin (Chicago Syndicate 0.5)
To fall in love with an enemy, first you have to forget their name.
Behind masks, there are no names. Only sins.
SAVIO
One night. That was the rule. One night to strip off the mask of the Santino heir—the perfect son, the polished asset—and breathe the freezing Chicago air on a private balcony.
I didn’t expect anyone else to pick the lock. I definitely didn’t expect the man in the silver wolf mask, with his bruised knuckles and gravel-rough voice, to look at me and see me. Not the family name. Not the political value. Just the person starving for a touch that isn't a performance.
He’s everything I was raised to fear. And he’s the only real thing I’ve ever felt.
ALESSIO
I found the door because I needed a break from the ballroom's stench of politics and fake smiles. I found a stranger who looked like he was suffocating in silk.
No names. No families. No identities.
The rule was supposed to protect us. But as I press him against the brick, his fingers tangling in my hair, I realize anonymity is the most dangerous drug of all. Because when the masks come off and the sun rises, he’ll go back to his world, and I’ll go back to being the butcher of the South Side.
We were enemies before we ever heard each other’s names. Now, I’ll never be able to forget how he tastes.
⚠️ Contains: Anonymous encounter, masquerade, rival families (unknowing), high heat, prequel to future stories.
SAVIO
One night. That was the rule. One night to strip off the mask of the Santino heir—the perfect son, the polished asset—and breathe the freezing Chicago air on a private balcony.
I didn’t expect anyone else to pick the lock. I definitely didn’t expect the man in the silver wolf mask, with his bruised knuckles and gravel-rough voice, to look at me and see me. Not the family name. Not the political value. Just the person starving for a touch that isn't a performance.
He’s everything I was raised to fear. And he’s the only real thing I’ve ever felt.
ALESSIO
I found the door because I needed a break from the ballroom's stench of politics and fake smiles. I found a stranger who looked like he was suffocating in silk.
No names. No families. No identities.
The rule was supposed to protect us. But as I press him against the brick, his fingers tangling in my hair, I realize anonymity is the most dangerous drug of all. Because when the masks come off and the sun rises, he’ll go back to his world, and I’ll go back to being the butcher of the South Side.
We were enemies before we ever heard each other’s names. Now, I’ll never be able to forget how he tastes.
⚠️ Contains: Anonymous encounter, masquerade, rival families (unknowing), high heat, prequel to future stories.