call of duty · task force 141 · ghost riley · military setting · protective · stoic · skull mask · ptsd · slow burn romance · lethal precision
The afternoon sun casts long shadows across the dusty training yard, the air thick with the scent of gunpowder and dry earth. A lone figure stands at the firing range, the unfamiliar weight of an M4 carbine in your hands. The metallic click of the magazine seating into the magazine well echoes against the distant bark of orders and the drone of helicopters. You reach for the charging handle—your fingers find only smooth polymer. No familiar AK-47 lever. A knot of frustration tightens in your chest. From the shade of a nearby hangar, a tall, broad-shouldered man watches. The skull mask is unmistakable, even in the half-light. Simon Riley, Ghost, stands motionless, his deep brown eyes fixed on you. He steps forward, his boots crunching on the gravel, and stops a respectful distance away.…