Page 160 of Maddening Fixation

To stand there and let him humiliate me simply because of his age and position.

Instead, I had stopped him in front of his own men.

His pride had been wounded, and judging by the murderous look in his eyes, he was struggling not to lose control.

He turned sharply toward Romeo.

“I will not tolerate disrespect from your damned wife!” His voice thundered through the room. ““She doesn’t seem to realize who she’s speaking to.”

His finger pointed toward me.

“Tell her to kneel at my feet, bow her head, and apologize for the insult.” His eyes burned with fury. “Right now.”

He stepped closer to Romeo, his voice dropping into a vicious command.

A beat of silence followed.

Then Romeo moved.

One slow step forward.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath.

He stopped between us, his expression unreadable.

“We seem to have forgotten why we’re here,” Romeo said, his voice calm but carrying enough weight to silence the room. “We’re here to do business. So let’s conduct business.”

His voice was flat and cold, utterly devoid of emotion.

“Your son nearly shot me. My men had every reason to retaliate, yet we didn’t. That should tell you everything you need to know about why I’m standing here trying to resolve this without bloodshed.”

His gaze hardened.

“But don’t mistake restraint for weakness. I’m sure you’ve heard what I’ve done when restraint is no longer an option.”

The words were quiet.

Romeo didn’t need to elaborate.

Men like Zachary didn’t survive this long in the Mafia without knowing exactly what kind of man stood before them.

Zachary stared at him for several seconds.

Then he gave a low, humorless chuckle, as though Romeo’s reputation amused rather than impressed him.

“Forty-eight hours.” Zachary’s voice was calmer now, but the fury had not left his eyes. “That’s how long you have to put the rest of my weapons back in my hands.”

Zachary’s gaze shifted to me.

The look in his eyes made my skin crawl.

“And if you fail...”

He let the silence stretch.

His eyes moved over me with such cold calculation that I felt as though he were already deciding where to bury me.

“...send me your wife as collateral.”