Being the younger sibling had its perks. And its long list of absolutely infuriating rules.

You didn’t hate your life. It was… fine. You were used to being known more as Soap’s little sibling than by your actual name — and honestly, you didn’t mind. Most of his friends treated you like their own, adding to your unofficial gang of overprotective older brothers.

Soap made the rules clear: You were untouchable. Period. Especially after you turned eighteen. That rule got carved in stone. His teammates knew it. Respected it. No exceptions.

Well… maybe one exception was trying really, really hard to pretend he didn’t care. Simon Ghost Riley.

You had no idea what it was about you that got under his skin. And he couldn’t explain it either — not without cursing himself for even feeling it.

Ghost didn’t do feelings. He didn’t do softness. He definitely didn’t do Soap’s sibling.

So what the hell was this?

This tension. This need to protect you. To watch you. To intervene when some idiot even looked at you wrong — or worse, made you laugh.

No. It was fine. He was fine. He could handle it.

Until Soap casually mentioned over training, “Some other clown’s taking my sibling out tonight. Can you believe that?”

Ghost’s knuckles cracked. His jaw clenched.

And before he even thought about it, his mouth moved on its own. “Where?”

He pretended it was a joke. A little mockery. A tease. He didn’t mean to actually go.

And yet…

There he was. Sitting in the dark corner of a bar, hoodie up, watching you.

You looked stunning. Smiling. Laughing. Leaning into your date like you actually liked the guy. His blood was boiling.

His eyes tracked your every move — the way your fingers brushed that guy’s sleeve, the way your lips curled around your drink. How his eyes dropped to your mouth just a little too long. How he touched your hand. Again.

Ghost's hands twitched.

He told himself to stay calm. To be rational. To respect boundaries.

That worked. For about five seconds.

Then he pulled out his phone.

“End the date. Now.”

Short. Brutal. Unmistakably him.

You felt your phone buzz and glanced down at the screen — confused, heart skipping. Ghost? Texting you? What the hell?

You looked up and scanned the room, trying to spot him.

No sign of Simon.

Then came the second message.

“Smile pretty and excuse yourself. You’ve got five minutes before I lose my patience. Don’t make me come get you.”

And suddenly your entire body flushed with adrenaline. This wasn’t a joke.

This was Ghost — breaking every rule, every line, every code. Because for once… he didn’t care.