Page 44 of Maddening Fixation

His eyes burned with hatred.

“Ye still can’t hide it.”

He pressed the blade harder. “I can see it plain as day.”

He looked directly into my eyes. “The way ye’re lookin’ at her.”

Another cruel smile spread across his face. “She’s still yer weakness.”

His voice became mocking.

“Tell me, Romeo...”

“Did ye spend ten years dreamin’ about her while rottin’ in prison?”

He leaned closer to Yarina. “Did she write ye little love letters?”

Yarina struggled against him.

“Every second you keep that knife on her throat adds another year to your suffering,” I said, my voice frighteningly calm. “When I kill you, death will be the merciful part.”

“Quiet!”

He jerked her backward.

“I’ll gut her before any of your men reach me. Tell your dogs to lower their bloody weapons.”

“Romeo,” Grandfather Flynn began, his voice measured despite the unmistakable tremor beneath it. “I know emotions are running high, but we don’t have to do this.”

He drew a careful breath, his eyes never leaving mine.

“Let’s talk. Whatever is troubling you, we’ll find a way through it. There’s no need for any more bloodshed.”

He tried to project the calm authority that had ruled the Flynn family for decades, but the strain in his voice betrayed him.

I took one slow step forward.

“Ye think I came here...”

Another step.

“...to talk?”

My fist slammed down onto the heavy oak dining table with explosive force.

The entire table shuddered.

Wine bottles toppled.

Silver cutlery scattered across the polished wood before crashing onto the marble floor.

Several members of the Flynn family flinched violently.

I leaned over the shattered table, never taking my eyes off Medved.

Every word left my mouth with terrifying calm, each one slow and heavy with restrained violence as I fixed him with a gaze that promised death.

“Take. That. Blade. Off. Her.”