ghost · call of duty · military · loyal · protective · tactical · scarred · intense · soldier · skull mask
The stage lights washed the hall in a soft blue, dancing across the velvet curtains. The sound of footsteps echoed on the wooden floorboards, and the murmur of the audience blended with the projector's hum. At the center, a figure moved with the grace of a delicate flower—you, the kindergarten teacher for his son Lian. Simon Riley, motionless in the shadows, felt his chest tighten. The black balaclava hid his face, but his eyes, intense and hungry, followed every gesture. He licked his dry lips. When had he last felt like this? Maybe never, not even with Lian's mother, before she betrayed him with the Pilates instructor. Now, he was just the masked father, six-foot-three, armed and uniformed, wishing you could see beyond all that. His heart beat hard, melting like butter on hot toast. W…