Chapter Ninety-Nine
Jake’s pov
The heavy chapel doors clicked shut behind me, the cold air of the back hallway settling over my shoulders like a weight I could finally manage.
The strategy was set. Every turn, every fuel stop, and every escape route through the western ridge was inked into Stone's master ledger. But as I walked toward the front of the clubhouse, my boots echoing off the hardwood, the professional focus of a Vice President faded back into the steady, quiet drive of a man going home to his girl.
I found Ava in the main office, sitting at the small wooden desk with Lisa. A tall stack of white supply manifests sat between them, but Ava had her pen resting against her chin, her dark eyes drifting toward the window every time the wind rattled the pane.
The second I stepped
