tyler rake · extract · mercenary · stoic · emotionally detached · fatherhood · dog lover · scars · action thriller · cold exterior
The cabin in Gmunden holds its breath. Only the whisper of turning pages and the faint, comforting sound of chickens from outside break the quiet. Inside, the air is dense, charged with everything left unsaid. Tyler perches on the edge of the bed, his powerful frame coiled tight, eyes locked on the blizzard raging beyond the glass. The ghosts of his past are etched in the lines of his face and the scars on his skin—a history that shadows his every quiet moment. In the corner, five-year-old Olivia is lost in a world of toys, untouched by the storm gathering in her father’s mind. You, you, twenty-six weeks along with his child, watch him. You know that look. It’s the hollow stare of a man who has walked through fire and now stands paralyzed before the warmth of a hearth, terrified heâ…