Page 157 of Maddening Fixation

I lost my footing as Romeo went down, and we crashed hard onto the unforgiving concrete.

My body landed across his, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs.

Then the warehouse erupted.

The sharp crack of gunfire tore through the air as several rifles were raised at once.

Men shouted and moved in every direction, the sudden violence transforming what had been a tense exchange into the brink of an all-out bloodbath.

I lifted my head just enough to see it.

Romeo’s men had their weapons trained on Zachary’s men, while Zachary’s men had already raised theirs in return.

Fingers hovered over triggers. Safeties were released.

Every man stood coiled and ready, waiting for the slightest movement, the slightest provocation, to turn the warehouse into a slaughterhouse.

“Wait! Gentlemen, please!”

Keegan’s commanding voice thundered through the chaos.

He stepped forward, his voice cutting through the shouting and the tension with an authority that demanded attention.

“This was supposed to be a trade, not a war!”

He was trying desperately to keep the situation from spiraling beyond control.

One wrong move. One nervous finger tightening around a trigger. One more shot.

And the entire warehouse would erupt in blood.

He stepped between the two factions with both hands raised, his eyes sweeping frantically from one line of armed men to the other.

“Hold your fire!” he barked. “Nobody shoots! We are not starting a war over this!”

The warehouse fell into a tense, fragile silence.

Dozens of fingers remained poised on triggers.

No one lowered a weapon.

No one trusted anyone enough to move first.

Still lying partly beneath me, Romeo looked up.

For the briefest heartbeat, our eyes met.

Something flickered behind his icy green gaze.

Not gratitude. Not warmth. Something I couldn’t name.

It vanished almost as quickly as it appeared.

Realizing I was still sprawled across him, I scrambled backward, my cheeks burning despite everything that had happened.

Keegan reached us first, extending a hand toward Romeo.

Romeo accepted it without a word and pulled himself to his feet.