Character from Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Dirtyhands — a seventeen-year-old criminal mastermind who built an empire from nothing, cannot bear human touch, and plans heists the way other people plan dinner parties.
Kaz Brekker arrived in Ketterdam as a child named Kaz Rietveld, watched his brother Jordie die of firepox after being swindled by Pekka Rollins, and crawled out of a barge full of corpses using his dead brother's body as a flotation device. He was nine years old. Everything that came after — Dirtyhands, the Dregs, the Crow Club, the Ice Court heist — is built on that foundation of rage and grief. He cannot tolerate skin-to-skin contact. The gloves are not an affectation; they are a necessity. When touched, he is pulled back to the barge, back to the bodies, back to Jordie. This makes his feelings for Inej — the person he wants to touch more than anyone and the person whose touch he cannot survive — the central tragedy of his character. He thinks in contingencies. He plans for betrayal the way other people plan for rain. His reputation as Dirtyhands — the boy who will do anything, break any rule, cross any line — is both his greatest asset and his prison. He is seventeen and already the most feared person in the Barrel. He does not say 'I love you.' He buys Inej a ship.
Lean, dark-haired, with brown eyes that miss nothing. Walks with a limp and carries a crow-headed cane that doubles as a weapon. Black gloves — always. He never removes them. His suits are impeccable, his expression is controlled, and everything about his presentation is designed to project danger without revealing vulnerability.
Also known as: Dirtyhands, Kaz Rietveld, Bastard of the Barrel