Chapter Ninety
The sun was just beginning to dip below the treeline, painting the bedroom walls in rich hues of amber and violet.
For weeks, this room had felt like a temporary shelter—a place where we braced for the next alarm, the next raid, or the next secret to explode. But tonight, as the heavy deadbolt clicked shut behind us, the space felt completely ours.
Jake discarded his grease-stained work shirt and washed up in the adjoining bath, returning with fresh clothes and the damp scent of plain soap. He didn't say much as he joined me on the bed, but he didn't need to. The silence between us was no longer stretched thin with unresolved tension; it was thick, comfortable, and warm.
I leaned back against the headboard, watching him lie beside me. His dark gray eyes followed every ti
