"Coming!" I call, and the knocking mercifully stops. I pull my hair back into something resembling my usual ponytail. A quick splash of cold water on my face helps reduce the obvious glow, but there's not much I can do about the satisfied curve that keeps trying to pull at my mouth.
I check the window. Fen's gone, but the memory of his hands on my skin, his mouth... I shake my head, forcing myself back to the present. Professional mask. Agent Mathieson. Not the woman who came apart under his masterful mouth in the shower last night.
I open the door to find Ghost and Sherlock grinning like idiots, loaded down with coffee and what smells like fresh croissants from the French bakery three blocks away. The good stuff, not convenience store pastries.
Ghost looks thinner than when I last saw him, but his eyes have that familiar mischievous spark. Sherlock's arm is no longer in a sling, though he favors his left side slightly when he shifts the bakery box. It’s good to see them both.
"Well, well," Ghost says, his eyes immediately scanning my face. "Don't you look... refreshed this morning."
"It's called sleep," I reply, stepping aside to let them in. "You should try it sometime."
Sherlock follows Ghost into my living room, his too-observant gaze cataloging everything as usual. "Sleep, yes. Though typically one doesn't look quite so... tousled after a full night's rest."
I feel heat rise to my cheeks and turn toward the kitchen to hide it. "Coffee. Now. Before I remember why you're both supposed to be on medical leave."
"Ah, but we're not," Ghost says, setting the pastries on my counter with a flourish. "Cleared for active duty as of yesterday. Dr. Patterson signed off on both of us."
I freeze mid-reach for my coffee. Relief floods through me followed immediately by a spike of wariness. Fen... everything suddenly feels more complicated. Still, I can't deny the small thrill that runs through me at the thought of having my team back together. Known verses unknown.
"Which means," Sherlock adds, producing three steaming cups from the bakery, "we're officially back to being your problem."
I accept the coffee gratefully, inhaling the rich aroma. Real coffee, not the swill from the office machine. "Hayes cleared this?"
"Not just cleared it—requested it," Ghost replies, unwrapping what appears to be a chocolate croissant. "Seems our fearless leader has decided you’ve had enough time all to yourself."
Something cold settles in my stomach. Hayes was not feeling that the last time I saw him. I set down my coffee, the satisfied warmth from the morning instantly replaced by professional alarm. "What happened?"
Ghost and Sherlock exchange one of their wordless communications, the kind that comes from years of watching each other's backs in impossible situations.
"More bodies," Ghost says finally. "Three more retired agents. All in Florida. All in one night."
My coffee cup freezes halfway to my lips. "One night? That's impossible."
"That's what we said," Ghost replies grimly. "Miami to Tampa is four hours by car. Tampa to Jacksonville another five. Even with helicopters, the logistics don't work."
"Unless they can fly," Sherlock says, but his tone suggests he doesn't believe it either.
I set down my coffee. "Where were they last seen before Florida?"
The silence that follows makes my stomach drop.
"Paris," Sherlock says quietly. "Two weeks ago. After our encounter with them."
"Paris to Florida." I lean back against the couch, trying to process this. "That's... what, eight thousand miles? Across an entire ocean. Who moved them?"
"Could be boats," Ghost suggests, though he doesn't sound convinced. "Private yacht, shipping container… if someone is helping them or controlling them."
"Maybe," I say, but something about this feels wrong. Fundamentally wrong. "Or maybe we're dealing with something we don't understand at all."
"Hayes is sending another team to investigate," Sherlock says. "They deployed this morning."
My chest clenches. "Another team?"
"No," Ghost interrupts. "But Hayes wants fresh eyes on this. We’re his Hail Mary."
“It’s a mistake,” I hiss out.
Both my partners nod in agreement.
