Page 177 of Maddening Fixation

“It hurts...” Yarina whimpered, pressing trembling fingers against her bleeding forehead.

She leaned even farther into him, as though afraid he might let her go.

Romeo tightened his hold around her shoulders, his expression unreadable.

Not once did he look at me.

Not once did he ask what had happened.

Not once did he wonder why I had reacted the way I had.

He had already decided I was guilty.

The realization hurt almost as much as losing Raven.

Barely a minute later, Romeo bent and lifted Yarina effortlessly into his arms.

She curled against his chest as though she belonged there.

As though she always had.

He carried her outside without another word.

I stood frozen in the middle of the living room before forcing my feet toward the window.

Moments later, the shrill cry of sirens shattered the morning silence.

The ambulance swept through the front gates, red and blue lights flashing across the mansion walls.

Paramedics jumped out with practiced urgency, rushing to Romeo’s side.

They checked Yarina’s pulse, wrapped a thick bandage around her forehead to slow the bleeding, asked rapid-fire questions, then carefully transferred her onto a stretcher.

Throughout it all, Romeo never left her side.

His hand remained wrapped around hers until the stretcher disappeared into the ambulance.

The doors slammed shut.

Seconds later, the vehicle sped away, its sirens fading into the distance.

I remained by the window, unable to move.

The house suddenly felt impossibly quiet.

Romeo stood alone in the driveway for several long seconds, watching the ambulance until it vanished beyond the gates.

Dark stains of Yarina’s blood streaked the front of his expensive suit.

I turned frantically, wondering what he would do if he came back, and that was when something caught my eye.

A phone lay on the floor near the spot where Romeo had crouched moments earlier, when he had held Yarina in his arms.

Curiosity drew me toward it before caution could stop me.

I crouched and picked it up.

The moment the screen lit beneath my fingers, my heart sank.