The ghosts didn't knock.They never did.
They slipped in through cracks through static on secure lines, through memories Naya had trained herself not to feel, through instincts that woke her seconds before the alarms sounded. She was already moving when the first alert hit. Perimeter breach. East dock. Naya grabbed her weapon and was halfway down the corridor before Kairo reached her.
"What's happening?" he demanded, pulling on a shirt.
"Not paparazzi," she said. "This is professional."That was all it took.
Kairo didn't argue. He didn't joke. He followed.
They moved as one ,something that would have startled both of them a week ago. Now it felt inevitable. Natural. Like two fighters who had learned each other's rhythm without trying.
The dock lights flickered.
A body lay near the water.
Naya stopped so suddenly Kairo nearly collided with her.
"No," she whispered.
The man on the ground was alive barely. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and spreading. His eyes fluttered open when Naya knelt.
"Still… breathing," he rasped.
Kairo recognized the accent. Military. Same cadence Naya slipped into when she was under pressure.
"You shouldn't be here," she said quietly.
"You shouldn't have left," the man replied weakly. "Ash."The name hit her like a punch.
Kairo stiffened. He had never heard it before but he felt its weight instantly.
"Who did this?" Naya asked.
The man coughed, blood staining his lips. "Same people who buried the report. Same ones who want him."His eyes flicked to Kairo.
Naya's jaw clenched. "Why him?""Because you protect him," the man said. "And because you were never meant to survive that mission."His hand went slack.
Flatline. Naya stayed frozen, fingers still on his pulse long after it was gone.
Kairo knelt beside her, voice low. "Naya."
She stood abruptly, pacing, breath sharp. "They found me."
"Us," Kairo corrected.
She looked at him then really looked and the fear in her eyes was raw, unmasked.
"They don't stop," she said. "Not once you're marked. Anyone close becomes leverage."
"So that's it?" he asked. "You push me away and disappear?"
"Yes," she snapped. "That's how this ends."
"No," he said, rising to face her. "That's how it used to end."
She shook her head. "You don't understand military ghosts. They erase."
"So do boxers' enemies," he shot back. "Different ring. Same rules."She hesitated.
He stepped closer. "You trusted the wrong people once. So did I. That doesn't mean we let them decide what we deserve."
Her control cracked then not loudly, not dramatically but enough.
"I can't lose someone again," she whispered.
Kairo's voice softened. "You won't lose me by protecting me."
She looked away. "That's not what scares me.""What does?"
She met his gaze. "That I might lose you by caring."
The truth hung between them, stark and undeniable. From the shadows beyond the dock, a distant engine hummed boats moving, repositioning.
The war had followed her home.
And now it had him in its sights.
Kairo placed a hand over hers, firm and steady. "Then we fight smarter. Together."
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then she nodded once.
Slow. Decisive.
"Then I tell you everything," she said. "No more ghosts."
Behind them, the sea swallowed the blood at the dock.
Ahead of them, the past was done hiding.
And for the first time, neither of them was fighting alone.