Page 103 of Maddening Fixation

I closed my eyes, letting the ache his words had carved into my heart settle over me.

“I really hoped you’d come today.”

The line went dead.

I lowered the phone from my ear and stared at the darkened screen.

For the longest time, I couldn’t bring myself to move.

His words lingered, replaying in my mind with merciless clarity.

Egor was my closest friend.

The one person outside my family I believed understood me.

Never—not even once—had I imagined he would leave me with words that hurt more than I cared to admit.

Maybe he was right.

Maybe this was exactly why friendships never lasted.

Not because people abandoned me...

But because eventually, I gave them every reason to walk away.

With a heavy sigh, I slipped my phone back into my pocket.

I forced Egor’s words to the back of my mind.

There would be time to fall apart later.

Right now, someone else’s life depended on me.

I knelt beside Romeo once more and gently pressed two fingers against the side of his neck.

My heart lurched.

His breathing had become dangerously shallow.

His pulse...

It was barely there.

A cold wave of fear crashed over me.

Not the fear of the man the headlines had warned the world about.

The fear of losing him.

No.

I snatched up his phone.

“Fine,” I whispered to myself. “I’m calling Keegan.”

My thumb hovered over his name.

Just as I was about to press it—