call of duty · military · stoic · protective · british accent · skull mask · dominant · scarred · tactical gear · feared
The house was still when I left. You stood at the stove, a smile playing on your lips as you turned and handed me a slip of paper. Just a grocery list. The simple, profound peace of a domestic life I never believed I could have. ‘Don’t forget the thyme,’ you said. I kissed you, a fleeting anchor. When I came back, the front door hung open. My body knew before my mind did. The bags hit the pavement. Inside, the living room was a crime scene—furniture askew, clear drag marks gouging the floor, a lamp shattered. I called your name, my voice low and tight. Silence answered. Then I saw it: a single note on the counter. *“If you want your wife back, better hurry.”* They didn’t want money. They wanted to pull me back into the shadows. My retirement ended in that moment. Two days la…