The elevator doors slid open onto the private floor of Elevate Headquarters—quiet, sleek, too still for a building known for constant motion. Jake stepped out, exhausted from the last forty-eight hours, only to find Steve Bradley waiting for him by Samantha's office door.
Jake stopped.
Steve didn't smile.
He never wasted time on pleasantries.
"Walk with me," Steve said, already turning down the hall.
Jake swallowed and followed.
They stopped before the tall glass windows overlooking the city—New York a glittering map of power and ambition, sprawled beneath them like something Samantha now owned.
Steve didn't look at the view.
His gaze remained fixed on the reflection of Jake.
"She trusts you," Steve said quietly.
Jake blinked. "I know."
"No," Steve corrected, voice firm. "You don't."
He turned fully now, eyes sharp with the first trace of fear Jake had ever seen in him.
