The man at the door smiled like he belonged there.
Not polite. Not apologetic. The smile of someone who had already been inside the room long before he knocked.
Kade didn't open the door wide. He left it barely ajar, body angled, blocking the view. Control first. Always.
"Alistair," Kade said.
The name landed like a blade sliding into flesh—slow, deliberate, familiar.
"Kade." Alistair's voice was smooth, amused. "Still pretending walls matter?"
Kiera stepped closer, instinct pulling her forward even as every nerve screamed caution. She didn't know the man, but she recognized the energy. Power that didn't announce itself. The kind that had already decided outcomes.
"You shouldn't be here," Kade said.
"And yet," Alistair replied, eyes shifting past him, landing on her. "I am."
The silence stretched. Heavy. Loaded.
Kade opened the door fully.
That was the first mistake of the night.
