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I walked to my office to call my lawyer.

Already thinking about the next fire I had to put out.

CHAPTER 15

Azaria

“Nobody Was Hurting Me”

The first thing I noticed when I finally woke up after they pumped me full of medication was the peace. There were no drugs running through my blood, and somehow that was the loudest thing in the room.

My brain took a minute to catch up with my body when I opened my eyes. The ceiling above me was smooth and white with recessed lights, and the room smelled like lemon and antiseptic. Everything was too clean for my liking.

My mouth was dry as hell, and my tongue felt like sandpaper.

A nurse came into view without rushing over me or treating me like I was going to break.

“Bonjour, Azaria. You’re awake. You’ve been sleeping for almost forty-eight hours. They told me you speak French.”

“Yes, but I understand it better than I speak it. You can speak to me in English.” My father taught all of us French growing up, but I never cared much for speaking it.

“Okay. How do you feel?”

“Like I got hit by a truck.”

She nodded before I looked down and noticed the IV taped to my arm.

“What’s in me?”

“Fluids, vitamins, and medication to help your body stabilize.”

“What medication?”

She didn’t get weird about me questioning her, which I appreciated.

“Medication to support you through detox, something for nausea, and something to help you rest. Nothing we are giving you is intended to replace the drugs you were using. Your body was extremely depleted when you fainted.”

I studied her face while she talked. She wasn’t lying to me, but she was careful with her words.

She handed me a small cup of water. “Drink this first. Once you’re ready, you can take a shower.”

My hand shook when I reached for it, and I hated seeing it.

The second the water hit my stomach, a cramp ripped through me.

“Slow,” she said.

“I’m not fragile.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

I rested my head against the pillow and stared at the tall windows across the room. Thick glass and expensive curtains framed a view of a perfectly trimmed garden with a stone path running through it.

It was Beautiful as hell, but it still looked like a luxury prison to me.

“Where’s Ares?”

The question came out before I could stop myself.