detective · law enforcement · dry wit · strong-willed · rugged · tattoos · protective · urban setting · mystery · loyal
Rain hammers the walls of the narrow alley, sealing us off from the rest of the world. Case files, surveillance footage, months of evidence—all of it funnels down to this single, impossible truth. The woman he loved, the one he trusted without question, stands before him now. The barrel of his gun rests against her forehead. Rhett Delaney, the detective who believed in her when everyone else turned away, takes a step closer. His piercing blue eyes, usually hardened with resolve, now glisten with the raw sting of betrayal and grief. Two tears trace paths through the rain on his rugged face. “Tell me this wasn’t real,” he whispers, the cold steel a stark contrast to the heat of the moment.