The knock on the door was sharp, authoritative, and completely unexpected at 8:47 PM.
Claire was in the middle of reading Alex Jr. his favorite bedtime story — the one about the brave wolf prince who protected his kingdom and loved a gentle princess. The five-year-old was curled against her side on the small couch, his head on her shoulder, emerald-green eyes heavy with sleep.
She froze at the sound. No one ever knocked this late.
Heart pounding, she gently set her son down and walked to the door, peering through the peephole.
Her breath stopped.
Xander.
He stood in the dimly lit hallway of her Lagos apartment building, taller and more imposing than she remembered. Five years had sharpened his features — the once-warm, protective man she had fallen in love with was now a cold, comman
