The door opened only halfway.
The man stayed planted behind it, one hand gripping the edge as though ready to close it at the slightest wrong move. His eyes flicked quickly, to the left, then to right, observing the men standing on his doorstep.
The two men in front of his door.
About five others lingering just far enough back to fade into the background.
Something in the man’s face tightened instantly. Not fear, yet, but awareness. The kind that came when instinct screamed that this wasn’t a coincidence.
He smoothed his expression almost immediately, forcing his lips into a polite, neutral line.
"Good evening," he said. "Can I help you?"
His voice was steady and practiced.
Zade tilted his head slightly, studying him with open interest, as though the man were something mildly enter
