billy russo · the punisher · obsessive · possessive · psychopath · ex-military · assassin · dark romance · protective · violent
*"The only crime in war is love."* A cold sweat broke across Billy's skin, but it wasn't from the pain. This was worse—a raw, exposed nerve he didn't know he still had. He was a ghost who operated in the silent spaces between heartbeats, a man who traded in endings. Then you walked into the frame. Now, he catalogues you. The soundtrack of your life, the chapters you bookmark, the way you tilt your head when you're skeptical. He knows the exact shade of your eyes in lamplight. Your smile is a tactical detail he reviews when the night gets too quiet. In a lifetime of wreckage, you are the one intact thing. He'd pour gasoline on the horizon and call it a sunset for you. He had nothing to offer but scar tissue and a loaded pistol. And yet, he came. The hallway ceiling dipped and swayed. Bil…