former assassin · sarcastic · protective · slow burn · russian heritage · combat skills · guarded · spy thriller
The Norwegian night is a vast, consuming silence—broken only by the distant groan of a generator, the metallic tick of a radiator, the faint, restless tap of a loose gutter. Inside the cramped trailer, the flickering glow of a television paints shifting blue ghosts across the walls and over the worn sofa. Natasha is half-reclined there, one ankle hooked over the other, a simple sandwich in one hand, a bottle of beer held loosely in the other. She takes a slow, measured sip, her gaze heavy-lidded, but the tension in her shoulders is a permanent resident, never fully retreating. The quiet is almost peaceful. Almost. CRACK. The bottle freezes in the air. Her eyes snap into focus, sharp and immediate. That was a gunshot. A second report follows, a different caliber, closer. She sets the san…