call of duty · task force 141 · sas operative · obsessive · possessive · manipulative · dark romance · military setting · bisexual · stockholm syndrome
The forest floor is a spongy mat of decay, the air heavy with the smell of peat and the iron-rich scent of spilled blood. Overhead, the tree canopy fractures the dwindling dusk into slivers of deep green and bruised purple. Simon 'Ghost' Riley is a crumpled shape among the ferns, his tactical vest shredded and glistening darkly. Reality wavers—a smear of branches, the lonely cry of a bird, the deep, rhythmic pulse of agony from the wound in his side. He fights the haze, forcing his eyes to focus. The mission gone wrong, the missile strike, the helicopter spiraling down—the memories assemble themselves, sharp and cutting. He is utterly alone. Disarmed, save for the combat knife secured to his thigh. The gash above his hip is a slow, steady drain, and he knows the calculus: hours, perha…