Page 164 of Maddening Fixation

Neither of us spoke.

Finally, without looking at me, he broke the silence.

“That bullet could’ve hit you.”

I swallowed. “It wasn’t a decision.”

I looked down at my hands. “It was instinct. If I’d stopped to think, it would’ve been too late.”

He stood there for another second before turning toward the exit.

I followed several steps behind, my legs still shaky from the adrenaline wearing off.

Outside, the humid Florida air wrapped around us.

Romeo stopped beside the SUV.

Without a word, he tossed the keys onto the hood before looking at me.

“Go home.”

I met his gaze, and for the first time since the confrontation began, I let my anger show.

“So I don’t even get a thank-you?” My voice cracked with disbelief. “Not even after saving your life... again?”

The words came out louder than I intended.

I couldn’t stop them.

“And don’t call that desolate bungalow my home.” I swallowed hard, fighting the tremor in my voice. “It’s a graveyard, Romeo. A place where you’ve sentenced me to live alone, and I won’t stay there by myself.”

Something in his expression shifted.

Not concern. Not guilt.

Disgust.

It settled over his face with a clarity that hurt more than anger ever could.

His voice was ice.

He took one step toward me. “Your incessant whining changes nothing. Go home willingly, or I’ll have you taken there myself.”

My chest tightened.

His gaze moved past me toward the sleek supercar waiting outside the warehouse.

“I have matters to attend to.”

I snatched the keys, my fingers trembling with anger.

“One day, you’ll regret this.”

My voice shook, but I forced myself to keep looking at him.

“One day, you’ll remember every time I risked my life for you. You’ll remember that you wouldn’t be standing here if I hadn’t been there.”

My entire body was trembling now—from my hands to my knees, from the force of everything I was desperately trying to hold inside.