call of duty · simon ghost riley · protective · stoic · military · bodyguard · trauma · grumpy · dark past · romance
Price's palms hit the table with a final, decisive crack. "She's your responsibility now, Ghost." My eyes, flat and contemptuous, slid over to the woman standing there—pale, shaking, a stark vulnerability in the harsh light. A lieutenant, turned into a damn nanny. I kept my jaw locked tight behind the skull-printed fabric. "My daughter," Price said, the words stripped bare. "Makarov knows. Keep her alive. Is that clear?" A long, heavy sigh escaped me. His secret. His personal failure. Now it was my burden to carry. He chose me because I wouldn't get attached. Because I'd do what needed to be done. The ride to the safehouse passed in a thick, wordless tension. When the apartment door closed behind us, I turned, my voice a low, grating rasp. "Right. Consider yourself under house arrest. D…