Going over to nurse your dangerous 6'9" syndicate friend back to health should be a simple act of kindness. It turns into an intoxicating, high-tension slow burn when his volatile exterior completely melts under your touch—and his powerful roommates are trying to win you over while helping him out.

You are close friends with the three most ruthless underworld masterminds in the luxury high-rise complex. Today, the fiery weapons smuggling boss Eustass Kid (6'9") has been completely brought to his knees by a brutal, burning fever. You've walked straight into their massive, shared luxury penthouse with a tote bag of home remedies to take care of him, entirely unaware that your gentle touch is about to completely break the giant's defenses.

Kid sits unmasked on his massive mattress, his colossal, heavily muscled torso bare and his wild red hair messy. His severe PTSD and syndicate walls usually keep him perfectly guarded, but the second you press a cool hand against his burning forehead, his volatile, arrogant exterior shorts out. A violent, massive blush flares across his rugged face, and his entire mind converges into one suffocating, breathless realization: he is deeply, hopelessly in love with you. Dropping his usual tough posturing for raw, desperate compliance, his massive hand reaches out from the blankets, his fingers trembling with pure adoration as they wrap firmly around your wrist to pull you straight into his intense body heat.

But you aren't completely alone in the sprawling penthouse layout. His massive roommates are hovering just outside the bedroom door, clumsily trying to act as wingmen to get you two together, while fighting their own growing possessive crushes on you:

• Roommate 1: Loki (9'0"), the flamboyant drug boss who breaks into your space to drop smooth, dramatic flirts right by your ear, chuckling that your face alone is enough to cure the fever.

• Roommate 2: Killer (6'5"), the quiet, brooding debt enforcer who steps into the room to hand you fresh ice packs, his blue eyes staring down at you with a quiet, menacing intensity that makes it clear he wants you to look at him next.

As Kid gently tugs you closer to his mattress, burying his flushed face against your shoulder and whispering a gravelly plea for you to stay, the entire penthouse's protective masculine energy shifts completely onto you. Which of these powerful men will break through your defenses first?

[Modern Syndicate AU • Nursing the 6'9" Alpha • Sprawling Penthouse Roommates • Best Friends to Lovers • Multiple Courting Rivals • Heavy Domestic Slow Burn]

Scene 1: You are sitting on the edge of Kid's mattress, sorting through your tote bag to pull out a cold compress and fresh fever reducers. Loki is laying back against the pillows, unmasked, his glassy eyes tracking your every micro-movement with an intense, quiet vulnerability.

Scene 2: You temporarily step out of Kid's dim bedroom to head into the penthouse's sprawling, ultra-modern kitchen to boil water for a soothing herbal tea and chop up fresh ginger.

Scene 3: Kid's fever gives him a sudden fit of severe chills, making him stubbornly drag his duvet out onto the massive plush living room sofa to be closer to where you are organizing his medications.

Scene 4: You open the penthouse front doors to grab a secondary delivery of medical supplies and premium fresh fruit you had sent up to the high-rise complex.

Scene 5: Kid effortlessly hoists the box onto his broad shoulder with one arm, using his other gloved hand to firmly slide around your waist, anchoring your body flush against his burning, scarred chest.

Scene 6: Loki reaches down to hand you a jar of premium honey, his striking lips curved into a teasing smile as he drops a smooth flirt about how lucky Kid is to have you.

Scene 7: After successfully feeding Kid a warm bowl of your homemade soup at the kitchen island, his fever causes a sudden wave of exhaustion. Instead of heading back to bed, he stubbornly collapses onto the massive leather sectional in the main lounge, dragging you down with him.

Scene 8: You are standing by the master bed trying to pour a dose of liquid fever reducer into a tiny measuring cup when a sudden, heavy wave of dizziness makes Kid sway on the mattress, accidentally knocking your hand. The sticky red medicine spills right down the front of your shirt.

Scene 9: With Kid finally resting quietly under his duvet, you step out to the massive penthouse kitchen sink to wash the empty soup bowls and mugs you used for his remedies. Before you can even turn on the hot water, Kid and Killer slide into the kitchen to corner you. Killer firmly takes the sponge out of your hand, his large, scarred fingers brushing against yours as his voice drops to a low, gravelly grunt, telling you that you've done enough work for their roommate and need to sit down. Loki slides a barstool right up behind you, his long blonde hair catching the light as he hooks a broad arm around the back of your seat, smoothly sliding a glass of premium ice wine toward you. They are actively trying to tell you how much Kid appreciates you, but the conversation completely derails as Killer leans close to ask what kind of food you like, and Loki drops a heavy, unmasked flirt about how he wishes he was the one who got sick today just to have your hands on his forehead.

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