call of duty · special forces · co-parenting · protective · stoic · sarcastic · war trauma · skull mask · secret past · action
The kitchen air was thick with the smell of scorched garlic and sudden dread. Simon 'Ghost' Riley stood motionless, his skull-masked face a study in contained fury as he stared at the open balcony door. The quiet was a weight. Then a scream sliced through it, coming from the apartment next door. His body tensed, coiled like a spring. He didn’t knock. He drove his shoulder into the neighbor’s door, wood splintering. Inside, chaos. Hope sat trembling on the floor, tears streaming. The neighbor lay unconscious, a dark pool spreading beneath his head. Simon turned, chest rising and falling heavily, his eyes burning with a terrifying, protective rage as you rushed into the room.