Page 97 of Maddening Fixation

Growing up in the Bratva meant learning early that bullet wounds, knife cuts, and broken bones weren’t rare emergencies—they were part of everyday life.

Romeo’s injuries were serious.

The deep gash along his forearm was bleeding the most, the edges ragged enough to suggest either a vicious knife strike or shattered glass.

Fresh blood soaked through the gauze almost as quickly as I applied it.

“Damn it...”

I grabbed another packet.

And another.

Packing the wound carefully, I applied firm, unrelenting pressure until the bleeding finally began to slow.

Only then did I wrap the arm tightly with compression bandages, checking that the circulation in his fingers remained intact.

“Stay with me,” I murmured.

Whether I was speaking to him or myself, I wasn’t entirely sure.

His breathing remained shallow.

Once the wound was clean, I pressed fresh gauze against it until the bleeding slowed to a sluggish seep before securing everything with adhesive strips from the kit.

Only then did I lean back.

A long breath escaped me.

My clothes were ruined.

Dark crimson stains covered the front of my cream blouse and soaked into my trousers where I’d knelt beside him.

My sleeves were sticky with drying blood, and no matter how many times I wiped my hands on the clean towel from the medical kit, crimson remained trapped beneath my fingernails and in the creases of my skin.

I’d stabilized him.

Nothing more.

He still needed a surgeon.

A proper operating room. Real medical care.

As I reached for another bandage, I became aware of his gaze.

This time, it lingered on my face.

Not casually.

Intently.

As though he were searching for something buried beneath my features... trying to decide whether we had crossed paths before, or whether I was simply another stranger fate had placed in his path.

“Is there something fascinating about my face that I’m unaware of?” I asked dryly.

His brow furrowed as though he were trying to focus through a haze of pain.

Before he could respond, his eyelids fluttered.