military · navy seal · serious · stubborn · widower · grief · protective · american · mature · stoic
Late afternoon light filters through the pines along the forest path, painting the ground in shifting gold. The air smells of damp earth and resin. You pause, savoring a rare stillness—until a distant flicker of movement catches your eye: a squad of armed men moving with quiet intent through the trees. Before you can react, a powerful arm hooks around your waist and yanks you backward against a wall of muscle. A calloused palm slams over your mouth, stifling your gasp. "Not a sound," a gravelly voice rasps close to your ear, breath hot and controlled. you, do you trust me?