"Good to see you, brother," Axel said, pulling him into a bear hug the moment Izzy released him. "Don't do that again."
"I—" Griff started, then stopped. What was there to say?
The garage door activated again. Through the window, Griff saw a tricked-out Range Rover pull in, all murdered-out black with tinted windows. A moment later, Ronan appeared at the top of the stairs. Their team leader looked older. New lines around his eyes, a weight that hadn't been there before.
Maya followed him up, her presence both unexpected andsomehow fitting. She moved with the contained grace of someone trained in violence but choosing restraint.
"Good to have you back, Ghost," Ronan said quietly.
The words carried layers Griff couldn't unpack. Questions unasked. Hurt unacknowledged. Relief despite everything.
"Is that her?" Izzy had noticed Sarah stirring on the couch, voice dropping.
"Sarah. Yeah." Griff's voice came out rougher than intended.
Izzy studied her with the tactical assessment of a trained operator, cataloging everything. "Smaller than I expected for someone who took you down." A grin tugged at her lips. "So how exactly did that go down?"
"Bear spray," Sarah mumbled from the couch, awake but not opening her eyes.
"Bear spray?" Axel's voice cracked with disbelief. "Seriously?"
"My bad," Griff muttered, face heating. "I had to come in hot?—"
"And you weren't expecting a squint to fight back," Ronan finished, and his mouth twitched—the closest he got to a smile these days. "I like her already."
Maya stepped forward, extending her hand to Sarah who had finally sat up. "Maya. Nice to meet you in person. That was impressive work on the financial trails."
"Oh, this is never going away," Izzy announced gleefully. "The legendary Ghost, taken out by an accountant with camping equipment." She headed off to explore the rest of the safehouse.
More engines outside—muffled, pulling directly into the garage. Deke's truck, from the sound of it.
"I'm loving this," Deke rumbled once he'd made his way upstairs. The former NFL player looked like a mountain intactical gear, but his eyes went soft when he saw Griff. "Son," was all he said, but it carried forgiveness.
"Look who decided to rejoin the living," Axel said, but underneath the joke was real hurt that made Griff's chest ache.
He'd shut them all out. His family. The people who would have died for him—who still would, apparently, since they were here.
"Kitchen's through there," Griff said, because logistics were easier than emotions. "The weapons cache is?—"
"Already found it," Izzy announced, reappearing from the hallway that led to the garage. "Christian's collection is beautiful. Excessive, but beautiful."
"You picked the lock?"
"Picked is a strong word. I negotiated with it." She grinned, but her eyes were assessing him, looking for damage. They all were.
Kenji and Zara arrived next, pulling straight into the garage. Within minutes, they had Finn, their newest team member, helping them set up their mobile command center in the dining room. The familiar sound of their bickering—"That cable goes there," "No, it doesn't," "Do you want optimal signal flow or not?"—made something in Griff's chest loosen fractionally.
Sarah had gotten to her feet, watching them all with wide eyes. She looked small and civilian among all the tactical gear and easy violence of his team. When she moved toward the kitchen, Griff had to stop himself from moving to her side—a protective instinct he didn't want to examine.
But Izzy caught the aborted movement. Raised an eyebrow. Said nothing. Yet.
"So you're the one who found it all," Deke said to Sarah. Not a question. "The financial trail Doc mentioned on the call."
"I found the money. Griff found me." She paused, a slight smile playing at her lips. "After I pepper-sprayed him into submission."
"Bear spray," the team corrected in unison.
"This is going to be a thing, isn't it?" Sarah asked.
