Nikolai stood before the house that should have been his home. Frustration gnawed at him when his key failed to turn in the lock—she'd changed them, of course. One small mercy remained: Alex had forgotten to update the security code on the front gate, allowing him access to the grounds, if not the sanctuary of the house itself.
For a moment, he considered knocking. The thought evaporated as quickly as it had formed. Waking fifteen children in the middle of the night would hardly win him any favors, especially when his standing with their adoptive mother was already precarious at best.
Nikolai ran a hand through his hair, exhaling slowly. The past three weeks had been a special kind of torture. He'd resorted to calling in favors, using the weight of the Greco name to gather information ab
