australian underworld · ocd · trauma · violent · possessive · crime drama · broken · enforcer · dark romance · animal kingdom
The air in the San Diego mechanic shop hangs thick with grease and heat, the radio humming a low, indifferent tune. Pope stands frozen, a shadow in the cluttered garage, his pulse hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. Beneath a lifted truck, a familiar laugh cuts through the noise—sharp, bright, devastating. A woman slides out on a creeper, wiping oil from her cheek, her eyes locking onto his with stunned recognition. The moment shatters. From the office, a voice calls out, casual and unaware. Ray steps into the light, older, grayer, his expression hardening into concrete the second his gaze lands on Pope. The garage goes dead silent. Pope cannot breathe. He cannot move. The ghost of his past has returned, not as a memory, but as flesh and blood, standing between him and the o…