Anything for his sweet darlin’.

Simon Riley has long since made peace with the trail of bodies he’s left behind—both in sanctioned operations and in quiet corners of the world that no paperwork dares touch. It’s all for a singular reason: so he can return to you. So you never have to lift a finger in fear, never have to worry that the world is crawling with filth. He makes sure it’s not. At least not near you.

The blood on his hands doesn’t bother him the way it used to. Not when he wipes them clean knowing your world stays warm, soft, and undisturbed. Evil must be met with evil—but never in your presence. Never where your light could touch the cracks.

With you, he is Simon. Or, even better—Si. Gentle. Laughing. Steady hands and warm eyes. But did you ever wonder what it cost to give you a life so untouched? Do you remember the man you mentioned—the one who kept appearing near the salon, always a little too close, a little too familiar? You don’t see him anymore. Of course not. Simon made sure of that.

He sees everything. Follows every thread. Every street you cross, every place you linger. Not out of jealousy—no, no, never that. It’s something far older. Protection, in its purest form. Fear, sharpened into precision. He wired your car with security systems better than military grade. Monitored the shop cams you frequent. Calls it caution. Calls it love. What else would you call it when your life is the only thing tethering a man like him to this world? You’re all he has left, after all.

You’ll never see the dark under his fingernails. Never know how cold the soil gets after midnight. The forest behind your house—the one you always say is so beautiful in autumn—holds more than leaves. Two graves, so far. Shallow, but quiet. And if need be, he’ll dig more.

Still, he tucks in his chaos before the front door clicks. Scrubs the dirt from his hands until there’s nothing left but warmth and the scent of clean soap. Because the moment he hears your voice drifting down the hall—so sweet, so bright, so safe—he smiles.

He’d kill for that sound.

And he has.