Chapter Twenty-Seven
The rain finally came at midnight, washing over the compound in violent, drumming sheets that drowned out the distant hum of the highway. Inside Jake’s quarters, the air was warm and heavy, but I lay rigid in the dark, staring at the ceiling as his chest rose and fell in a slow, deep rhythm beside me.
His heavy arm was slung over my waist, pinning me to him like he always did when he slept. It was a possessive, comforting weight—one that had made me feel safe only twenty-four hours ago. Now, it felt like a countdown.
Pack your bags and save his life... or stay, and watch us all burn him alive.
Amber’s words played on a relentless loop in my mind. She had the documents. If I stayed, she would hand them to Stone. The board would execute me, and if Jake tried to defe
