Page 173 of Maddening Fixation

Bright, carefree and triumphant.

I stopped in my tracks.

I’d know that laugh anywhere.

Yarina.

She killed my cat...

And she was sitting here laughing.

A fresh wave of grief crashed through me, feeding the fury already burning inside me until it consumed every last trace of reason.

Without another second of hesitation, I shoved the heavy front door open.

It slammed against the wall with a thunderous crack that echoed throughout the house.

The laughter stopped instantly.

Silence swept over the living room.

Every head turned toward me.

I froze.

I hadn’t expected to see him.

Yarina sat comfortably in one of the armchairs, and several feet away, dressed in an impeccably tailored charcoal suit, was Romeo.

The dark fabric emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and the commanding strength of his frame, making him look every bit the ruthless Irish boss he had become.

For a brief moment, confusion eclipsed my anger.

Last night, he had walked away from me at the warehouse, claiming he had urgent matters to handle.

Yet here he was. At nine o’clock in the morning.

Freshly dressed and maddeningly composed.

Had he spent the night here?

Or had he come straight from whatever bloody business had occupied the rest of his night?

Neither possibility eased the ache inside me.

Yarina looked up first.

The smug smile spreading across her lips made my blood boil.

“Well...”

She tilted her head lazily.

“Look who finally decided to show up.”

Romeo rose immediately.

For the smallest fraction of a second, I thought I saw the faint trace of something softer in his expression.