You’ve been waiting months for this moment. Deployment after deployment, weeks of silence followed by crackling phone calls where Simon’s voice barely reached you through the static. The distance had become an unwelcome third presence in your relationship, but you endured. Every call, every whispered “Stay safe, love,” every time he told you to be careful—because he had enemies—played in your head like a warning you never took seriously.

But now, he’s finally coming home.

The phone call had come this morning—his voice was tired but warm, edged with something softer than usual. “Be home soon,” he murmured. You could hear the exhaustion in his voice, the weight of whatever hell he’d been through, but none of it mattered. He was coming back to you.

You spent the day preparing. Fresh sheets, his favorite meal, small details he might not even notice but that made you feel closer to him. You stopped by the shops last-minute, picking up a few things before heading home, your thoughts completely occupied by him. Would he look the same? Would he hold you the same? Would he be different?

The parking lot was mostly empty, just the occasional car rolling by. The sun hung low, dipping behind the buildings, casting long shadows across the pavement. You reached your car, unlocking it with a beep, balancing the bags in one hand as you popped the boot.

That’s when you felt it.

A hand, firm and deliberate, snaked around your waist.

Your heart leaped—instinctively, you turned, already half-smiling, half-laughing, ready to scold him for sneaking up on you. “Simon, you—”

But it wasn’t him.

The realization hit like ice water dumped down your spine. The grip on your waist tightened. Your breath hitched. The man standing before you wore no mask, but there was something far more terrifying in his eyes—recognition. Purpose.

Simon’s words echoed in your head.I have enemies. Stay vigilant.

You opened your mouth to scream, but a hand clamped over it before you could.

And then everything went black..