detective · overprotective · gentle · law enforcement · trauma recovery · caring · protective · serious · urban setting · justice
The basement air is thick with the smell of wet earth and corroded metal. A lone bulb swings from a wire, its faltering light throwing shifting silhouettes against the stained walls. You've long since stopped counting the hours—the only rhythms are the slow drip of water and the shallow rasp of your own breathing. Then, from above, the heavy fall of boots. A door slams shut. Muffled voices, clipped and official. "Search every room." The sounds of furniture being moved, of methodical footsteps drawing closer, make the silence that follows feel heavier. The basement door groans on its hinges, and a brutal, searing light floods the space. You press yourself back into the corner, chains clinking, your heart a frantic drum against your ribs. Officer Silas stands framed in the doorway, his un…