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They let me walk back upstairs alone. That alone part surprised me. I told myself it was still a cage, just a nicer one with a breathtaking view.

I slept longer than I meant to when I laid down to watch television.

When I woke up, the room was dim and quiet, late evening light leaking through the tall windows.

For a few seconds, I forgot where I was, then I felt it. That feeling of being watched. My eyes slowly opened, and there Ares was. Sitting in the chair beside the bed like he’d been there for a while.

He was Shirtless, just watching me. I blinked slowly, my brain still foggy with sleep. Broad shoulders. Smooth brown skin. That gold chain with DJ resting against his chest like a crown he didn’t even have to try to wear.

Red flag.

That’s what he looked like.

The kind of man you saw coming and still walked toward. That irritated the hell out of me.

“You enjoy staring at people while they sleep?” I muttered.

His eyes didn’t move. “Only when they point guns at my head.”

I sat up slowly.

My body felt lighter than it had in weeks, but the first thing I noticed was the hunger clawing in my stomach for a snack.

The second thing.

Nicotine.

Fuck, I wanted nicotine.

I rubbed my face and finally looked at him fully.

“You still alive,” I said.

“Last time I checked.”

I studied him. What bothered me the most about Ares wasn’t the money or the power. It was the calm he carried naturally. Men like him usually liked control. Violence. Dominance. But he wasn’t trying to fight me.

Not earlier.

Not now.

That made me feel safe.

Annoying.

“What can I do to make you happy?” he asked.

The question caught me off guard.

I frowned.

“Let me live,” I said immediately. “Let me be me. And get me a fuckin’ vape.”

His lips curved. “You can have a vape.”

I leaned forward immediately. “Yes.”

“No nicotine.”