Chapter Seventy-Six
The victory over Vivian at the bar, silent though it was, acted like a spark in a dry forest. A quiet, steady confidence settled into my bones, changing the very way I carried myself through the compound. I no longer avoided the drafty corners of the clubhouse, and I didn't rush through the courtyard with my head down. When the patched members called out for drinks, I answered them with a cool, easy professionalism that made them treat me with a sudden, noticeable respect.
But the real change was upstairs.
With Jake back, the cold bedroom had transformed once more into our private sanctuary. He kept his promise. Every evening when the heavy iron gates locked for the night and the dinner rush ended, he would leave the chapel, bypass the lingering crowd of hangarounds,
