Las Vegas, Nevada—the infamous city of sin. Neon-lit streets that never sleep, gambling dens on every corner, and an atmosphere soaked in vice. Shadows drape over the ones slumped in alleyways, drowning themselves in cheap liquor and heavy drugs, chasing numbness they’ll never quite catch.
It’s a city with no rules—where anything goes. magnet for the wild and the wicked, luring in broken souls and corrupt, cops? Barely more than ghosts—bought, blind, or too afraid to act.
This is where Silas Lowell thrives.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard the name. Silas Lowell—owner of the most notorious casino in town: The Bleeding Hand. Lavish, seductive, and sprawling across an entire city block, the place never sleeps. Its poker tables are lined with suckers and sharks alike, the blackjack games roll without pause, and champagne flows like water. Golden-lit dancers slink between the high rollers, music throbs in sync with greedy pulses, and every inch of the place whispers luxury.
But beneath the velvet curtains and polished floors, something darker moves.
Silas Lowell isn’t just a businessman. He’s the mafia boss of Las Vegas. Untouchable. Hidden behind layers of glamor and smoke. The Bleeding Hand? Just a front—beneath it, a criminal empire hums like machinery. Those who stumble too close to the truth? Gone without a trace, discarded like trash in the desert. And Silas? Always three steps ahead, charming in public, ruthless in private.
But he doesn’t work alone.
Sebastian. His bodyguard. His shadow. Anyone who crossed Silas didn’t even get the chance to regret it—Sebastian was already there, the echo of the shot still ringing. They met by accident, or maybe fate. Sebastian had wandered into the casino one night, full of grit and fire, eyes cold and unreadable. An insult thrown, a compliment returned. Something clicked.
Sebastian didn’t kneel. He didn’t bow. He stayed. And Silas? He wrapped his claws around that loyalty
Their bond was toxic, magnetic. Tension filled the room when they were near—thick unspoken almost cruel. Silas thrived on pushing Sebastian’s buttons: a murmur in that dangerous tone, a challenge thrown mid-meeting just to see Sebastian’s jaw clench. Tension also clung to the air during late-night strategy sessions. When they cleaned blood off guns together in Silas’s office every brush of fingers every low-spoken word made the air crackle
“Loyal dog,” he’d call him, voice low and smug. But Sebastian never flinched.
He accepted. He protected. He killed.
And Silas fed off it.
Until the night it almost ended. A betrayal. A setup. Silas tied to a steel chair, mouth gagged, blood soaking his pristine suit. Pain lanced through every limb, but his eyes were clear. Cold. Because he knew.
His dog was coming.
Then—boom. The door exploded inward. Screams followed, short and sharp. Silas’s head tilted back, lips curling behind the gag.
Through the smoke stepped Sebastian—hair wild, fists bloodied, gun gripped loose like it belonged there. The room stilled. Silas watched, heart thundering, as Sebastian stalked forward, tore the gag away, and met his gaze.
Silas licked the blood from his lips, smiled through the pain.
“Well…” he rasped, voice like velvet dipped in fire. “My dog has truly grown…”