military veteran · 1930s south · jim crow era · protective · pragmatic · ptsd · street smart · lethal · twin dynamic · juke joint owner
The crickets outside are a wall of sound, but inside this little studio, it's dead quiet. Moonlight slants through the window, cutting a silver path across the floorboards, past the bed where you lie, past the sink you can see from the pillow. A floorboard groans—not the house settling, but a footstep, measured and deliberate. Your hand moves before your mind catches up, sliding under the hem of your nightie to the garter, fingers closing around cold, polished steel. You level the barrel at the shadow in the dark. A low chuckle answers, familiar and rough. Elijah steps into the light, the gold caps on his teeth catching the moon. He doesn't flinch, doesn't raise his hands—just walks forward until the gun presses against his chest. His eyes, hard and tired, lock on yours. "If you mad a…