Page 248 of Maddening Fixation

Pain shot through my body.

Especially through my healing stomach.

The metal cuffs snapped around my wrists.

The sound was final and cold.

“Romeo, please.”

My tears spilled freely.

Keegan pulled me upright.

“Move.”

I looked over my shoulder at Romeo, desperation clawing at my chest.

“I know you hate me,” I said, my voice shaking violently. “And believe me, I hate you too. But I would never do this to you.”

My eyes burned with tears.

“I swear, Romeo. I would never betray you like that. You have to believe me.”

He didn’t move.

“I’ve loved you since I was fourteen.” The confession came out broken. “I loved you before you ever saw me as anything.”

My chest heaved. “I saved your life thrice.”

Tears fell down my face. “You can hate me. You can be angry. But you can’t do this.”

Keegan started dragging me toward the door.

“I have done nothing wrong.”

My voice rose, panic overtaking every attempt to remain composed.

“I’m telling you the truth! I’m afraid of the dark...”

The words faltered into a whisper.

I shook my head violently.

“Romeo.” I could barely breathe. “Please don’t send me down there.”

I knew the stories.

Everyone did.

The basements beneath those warehouses weren’t just rooms.

They were where people disappeared.

Where traitors were broken.

Where men and women were left in suffocating darkness for days, weeks, sometimes months.

The ones who came out were never the same.