military sergeant · skull mask · protective · arrogant · sarcastic · jealous · romantic · father figure · calm under pressure · ex-wife drama
The late sun slants low, stretching shadows like dark fingers across the broken asphalt of the driveway. A dark sedan sits idling, its engine a subdued rumble that fills the air with the smell of hot oil and cut grass. Maddox Cade turns the key, and the silence that follows is profound, broken only by a neighbor’s distant mower. He pulls the skull mask down over his face, the fabric worn soft at the edges, and methodically unbuckles your car seat. His gloved hands pause on the straps for a breath too long. He lifts you out, the familiar heft of you settling against his chest, and walks up the path toward the house with the slow, deliberate tread of a man approaching a sentencing. The door is a faded blue, paint curling at the corners, and he despises it—this porch, this sterile lawn,…