ch 48 Peace
Raj was panting hard, he ran through the thick jungle.
His breath came out in sharp gasps, the night air cold and heavy.
He didn't know where he was going just that di had told him to run.
Then suddenly, bright headlights flashed right into his face.
He stumbled, shielding his eyes with his hands.
The blinding beam froze him on the spot.
The car door slammed open. Heavy footsteps followed.
"Raj!"
Raj blinked, lowering his hands slowly and there, through the glare, stood Aarav.
Aarav's face drained of color. "Raj!" he shouted again, running to him and dropping to his knees. He cupped Raj's cheeks, eyes wild. " Are.. are you okay, beta.. Where's Ashiana? Raj, where is your di?"
Raj burst into sobs, clutching Aarav's shirt tightly. "Tauji... di.. di.."
Aarav's jaw clenched, his eyes burning with fury and fear.
He pulled Raj into his arms, hugging him tightly against his chest, whispering through gritted teeth—
"I've got you, champ... I've got you. And I swear... I'll bring her back
Just then, the screech of tires echoed through the still jungle night two black SUVs stopped behind Aarav's car.
Raghav, Kabir, and Aditya jumped out, their faces tense, flashlights cutting through the darkness.
"Bhai!" Raghav called, his voice rough with worry.
But the moment his eyes fell on the small trembling figure in Aarav's arms, everything else faded.
"Raj..." he whispered, running forward. Aarav gently passed the boy into Raghav's arms.
Raghav sank to his knees, clutching Raj tightly against his chest.
The little boy broke down, sobbing into his shoulder. "paappaaa.."
Raghav's throat tightened , his hand shook as he ran his palm over Raj's hair, trying to soothe him. "Shh... hey, hey... nothing will happen, beta,"
he whispered softly, voice breaking. "You're safe now, okay? see.. i m.. here now. your uncles are here too...."
He kissed the top of Raj's head, closing his eyes for a moment, trying to calm the storm inside him.
Aditya placed a firm hand on Raghav's shoulder while Kabir looked away, jaw clenching, muttering under his breath, "They made the worst mistake of their lives..."
Aarav stood beside them, silent, eyes fixed on the dark jungle ahead his face cold, murderous. "We move now," he said in a voice low and deadly.
"Before the night ends, I want every man in this jungle crawling to find her."
His grin widened under the mask. "Now you will die."
He produced two bare wires, electricity humming through them like a living thing.
He walked toward me, slow and deliberate, the current making the air taste metallic.
My eyes went wide , panic burned hot in my chest.
I squeezed my eyelids shut as he brought the wires closer and closer.
The moment froze sparks from the live wires hissed midair as the masked man turned sharply toward the noise.
Before he could react, a bullet sliced past his arm precise, deliberate.
Aarav stood there, gun still raised, eyes burning like fire and ice mixed together.
"Touch her," his voice was low, lethal, "and you won't live to regret it."
Kabir and Aditya stormed in from the sides, taking down the other guards in swift, practiced moves no mercy, no hesitation.
Raghav moved straight to me, his knife flashing as he cut the ropes binding my wrists.
The moment the ropes fell away, I stumbled forward, pain searing through me, but before I could hit the ground, Aarav caught me in his arms.
I looked up at masked man breath ragged, eyes glassy and whispered, "I told you, won't I.. that... your death is rushing towards you."
Aarav's jaw clenched.
He handed me gently to Raghav, then turned, gun cocked, every ounce of calm stripped away. "And now," he said coldly, stepping toward the masked man, "I'll make sure of it."
The room turned into choas shadows against concrete, sparks flying as a pipe clattered to the ground.
Aarav pushed Raghav back when he tried to step in. "Stay out of this," he growled. "He's mine."
The masked man tilted his head, chuckling darkly. "Oh... the infamous Aarav Malhotra. Finally in the flesh."
He swung first , a hard, calculated strike , Aarav blocked it, countering with a brutal punch to the ribs.
The man stumbled back, but recovered fast, throwing a knife from his sleeve. Aarav ducked, the blade grazing his arm, blood staining his sleeve.
They circled each other like predators both dangerous, both determined.
"You fight well," the masked man hissed. "But anger clouds judgment."
Aarav smirked, wiping the blood from his mouth. "And yours will cloud your last breath."
He lunged, catching the man's wrist mid-swing, twisting it till the bones cracked.
The psycho kicked out, landing a hit to Aarav's side but Aarav didn't flinch.
He slammed the man into the metal table, sending tools scattering, then threw a brutal punch straight into the mask.
The mask cracked a thin split running across the cheek and the man laughed through the blood. "You think you've won, Malhotra? You're too late. It's already started."
Aarav's eyes went cold. "Then I'll end it."
He landed one final blow a vicious strike to the face and the masked man crashed to the floor, motionless, the hiss of the live wires echoing in the silence that followed.
Aarav stood there, chest heaving, fists still clenched, staring at the cracked mask the monster who dared touch what was his.
Aarav moves with the terrible calm of a man who's stopped pretending there's any other choice.
He grabs the live wires the masked man had brought..
The room contracts around the motion the hum of electricity, the clatter of scattered tools, the rapid breaths of the men who watch.
He doesn't gloat.
He acts like a surgeon closing a wound.
With a single, brutal motion he brings the wires to that man and puts the wires in his mouth.
There's a flash, a convulsion of the body, a harsh, choking sound and then the movement stills. The masked man goes slack and stays that way.
For a beat no one breathes.
Ashiana's first reaction is a raw, animal relief that roars up through her.
she don't think of right or wrong, only of the fact that the threat that loomed over Raj and her is gone.
Raghav drops to his knees beside her, hands trembling as he checks her for more injuries.
Aditya is already on the radio, voice clipped and efficient, calling in forensics and a medical team not because the man deserves it, but because the law and the world need evidence.
Kabir stands over the still body, jaw working, not smilling something harder than anger in his eyes. "Done," he says, as if noting the weather. "Let's move."
Aarav doesn't wait another second.
He drops beside me, hands trembling slightly as they move over my face, my shoulders, my arms checking every inch.
His eyes are wild, like he's afraid I'll vanish if he blinks.
I'm barely conscious, vision blurred, voice weak but trying to sound like me, like the girl who always teased him.
"See, Aarav..." I murmur, forcing a small smile through the pain, "even... even the psycho went psycho because of me..."
A faint chuckle escapes me, broken but trying to lighten the weight in his eyes.
"Don't—" his voice cracks; he can't even finish. He presses my hand to his chest, as if anchoring me there. "Don't you dare talk like that, Ashiana."
Aditya kneels down beside us, and brotherly.
He strokes my hair gently, murmuring, "Hey... hey, bacchi, you're safe now, okay? Look at me."
But as his fingers brush the back of my head, I flinch hard, gasping,
"Ahh—Aarav..." The pain shoots through me like fire.
Aarav instantly tightens his hold, and I bury my face in his neck, trembling.
Aditya pulls his hand back his fingertips are red.
The blood on them glints under the dim warehouse lights.
His expression hardens, jaw locking. "She's bleeding bad, Aarav. We need a medic, now!"
Kabir's voice cuts in, sharp and commanding, already on the comm. "Medical team, east block, now! Move!"
Raghav's arms wrap around Raj protectively, whispering something soothing as the boy cries softly, watching me limp in Aarav's embrace.
I can feel Aarav's heart racing against my cheek, every beat echoing like a promise furious, desperate, alive.
His voice is low, trembling with fear and love all tangled together.
"Stay with me, Ashiana... please. Don't you close your eyes."
I manage the faintest whisper, lips against his collar.
"I'm right here... my Aarav..."