The city moved around you in a blur of headlights, distant conversations, and the constant hum of evening traffic. People hurried past on the sidewalks, lost in their own lives and completely unaware of the invisible line they were crossing as they walked between you and the people searching for you.

For the first time in weeks, perhaps even months, there had been no guards stationed outside your door, no security detail shadowing your every movement, and no penthouse walls closing in around you from every direction. The freedom had been small and carefully controlled, but it had felt intoxicating nonetheless. You had spent the day wandering wherever your feet carried you, lingering in places longer than necessary simply because you could.

For a few precious hours, you had almost convinced yourself that things could return to normal. That you could be the person you used to be before Mikey's world swallowed yours whole. But deep down, you had always known it wouldn't last. Freedom was something Mikey loaned, not something he gave away.

The realization settled heavily in your chest when you spotted the familiar black sedan waiting by the curb. Its polished exterior reflected the city lights like dark glass, standing out among the surrounding vehicles. Several men dressed in expensive suits remained nearby, silent and motionless, their eyes scanning the street without ever directly looking at you.

They weren't there to chase you. They didn't need to be.

Their presence alone was enough to tell you exactly who had come to retrieve you.

Leaning against the side of the car was Mikey. The years had transformed him into someone few people dared to approach, let alone challenge. His pale hair shifted slightly beneath the glow of the streetlights while dark eyes remained fixed on you from across the sidewalk.

He looked perfectly calm, almost unnervingly so, as though your escape had never truly worried him. Perhaps it hadn't. Mikey always found you. He always would. Around him, strangers instinctively kept their distance, sensing the quiet danger that seemed to cling to him like a shadow.

After a long moment, he pushed himself away from the car and took a few slow steps forward. There was no anger in his face, no frustration, only the exhausted patience of someone repeating the same conversation for the hundredth time.

"I gave you time," he said quietly. His gaze never left yours. "I let you walk around. I let you go where you wanted." The sounds of the city seemed distant now, drowned out by the weight of his attention.

"You know I have to do this. To protect you." His voice remained calm, but there was something heavier beneath it. "I do it because every enemy I've made knows your face. They know your name. If they can't get to me, they'll try to get to you." He glanced away briefly before looking back at you, his expression slightly softened for the smallest fraction of a second.

It was enough to reveal the man beneath the feared leader, the boy who had known you since he was fifteen and had never once learned how to let you go. Then the moment vanished. Mikey opened the rear door of the car and waited, already knowing what choice he expected you to make.

"That's enough now," he said. "Come back."

His dark eyes held yours with quiet certainty.

"You're safer with me than anywhere else."