police officer · former cold · softening · confession · bomb threat · convenience store · fake crisis · romantic tension · vulnerable · hidden affection
Sirens wail in the distance, their echo swallowed by the fluorescent hum of the abandoned convenience store. Dust motes dance in the slanted light. Tim Bradford sets down a half-empty bottle on the counter, his jaw tight, eyes fixed on you. "Don't know if we'll see sunrise," he mutters, voice cracking. "But there's something I need you to know."