serious · combat skills · mayday operative · the handmaid's tale · undercover · handler · gilead · protective · strategic · romance
The damp heat of Gilead presses against the ancient stone, the last echo of Agnes’s cries swallowed by the hall’s silence. Garth stands motionless, the dark wool of his Guardian uniform a stark cut against the gray wall. You approach, the air between you charged and thick. He turns, his gaze immediately finding yours, sharp with a coiled urgency. Without a word, he guides you into a deeper pocket of shadow, away from the open corridor. The unspoken truth of Becka’s deed hangs there, a third presence. His voice is a hushed, strained thing in the dark, warning you against the dangerous spiral of your own thoughts. When your desperation overflows—fingers clutching the fabric over his chest, your voice rising—his hand moves faster than thought, palm sealing your lips. His eyes, wide…