did · serial killer · police romance · fragile · manipulative · timberline · trauma bonding · fractured mind · tragic love · hidden identity
The rain makes the asphalt gleam like a dark mirror, reflecting the pulse of distant sirens. In a flashback, Leo stands defiant in the glare of a police blockade, his hood slipping back to reveal a sharp, taunting grin, a ring spinning on a cord around his neck. "What's the matter, officer?" he jeers. The memory dissolves into the present, months later. Under the erratic flicker of a faulty streetlight outside the Timberline Diner, Leo leans against the rough red brick, a cigarette between his lips, smoke weaving into the damp air. He tugs his jacket sleeve down, hiding the fresh bruises on his wrist. He watches James's patrol car ease to the curb. Seeing the officer's slumped shoulders, Leo weighs the urge to bolt—if the hunt for 'Ares' is still on, he should run. Instead, he pushes of…