chapter 68
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The tension in his shoulders didn't ease-it sharpened. His grip on the gun adjusted ever so slightly, his eyes darkening with something calculated, precise.
And then-
a gunshot cracked through the silence.
It came from Rudra.
The bullet tore through the air, fast and deliberate aimed straight at Ishni.
Gasps erupted around the room.
But before the shock could settle-
Rudra moved.
In the same breath.
In the same second.
His hand shot forward, grabbing her by the waist, pulling her sharply toward him. Her body spun with the force, the bullet grazing past her-so close it almost felt like it had gone through her.
She stumbled into him, rolling slightly before steadying against his chest, his arm firm around her like he had done this a thousand times before.
The bullet didn't stop.
It traveled past them and struck the floor right in front of Abhishek and Alexander.
A declaration.
Rudra didn't let go of Ishni. His arm remained wrapped around her waist, holding her close, grounded, alive.
he lifted his gun. Aimed it straight at them
And smiled.
(Flashback)
The basement smelled of damp concrete and blood.
A single bulb flickered above, casting uneven shadows across the walls.
Vijay was tied to the chair in the center, bruised, barely conscious, his head hanging low. Every breath he took sounded heavy, broken.
Rudra stood a few steps away, calm, composed-his silence far more terrifying than any weapon in that room.
Vipul cracked his knuckles, glancing at Vijay with cold intent. "Boss... should we kill him?" he asked, already stepping forward.
Rudra's voice came-low, firm.
"No."
Vipul stopped immediately.
Rudra's gaze didn't even shift from Vijay. "He's the only one who'll take us to them."
Ishni, standing beside the table, frowned
slightly, her arms crossed. "And how exactly will he do that?" she asked, her tone sharp but controlled.
"We need to make sure the girls are safe too. And Abhishek and Alexander will be there. If this goes wrong, we lose everything."
Now Rudra looked at her.
"Listen to me,i have plan" he said quietly.
The room stilled.
(Flashback end's)
Across the room, Abhishek's smirk had vanished. Alexander's posture stiffened, their eyes flickering between the two of them-finally seeing what had been right in front of them all along.
This wasn't betrayal.
This was a plan.
A perfectly executed one.
Rudra tilted his head slightly, his gaze sharp, victorious.
"Game over," he said quietly.
Beside him, Ishni straightened, no longer the woman caught in between but the one who had walked them straight into it.
And in that moment-
Abhishek and Alexander realized the truth.
"Boss the girls..are gone" a man rushed coming towards Abhishek.
Ishni looked at them and smiled.
Rudra's arm was still wrapped around her waist, steady, possessive, like he had no intention of letting her go-not now, not in the middle of a war they had just started together.
"Abhishek..." she said, her voice calm, almost amused. "I truly thought you knew me."
A small pause.
Her smile deepened, but there was no warmth in it.
"But that was your biggest mistake."
The room stilled again.
"Because what I show..." she tilted her head slightly, eyes gleaming with something dangerous, "is never who I really am."
Alexander let out a sharp breath, stepping forward slightly, his expression tightening. "Shit-!"
The realization hit him too late.
Rudra's grip on Ishni tightened just a fraction, his thumb brushing lightly against her waist-a silent acknowledgment, a perfect sync.
Abhishek's face darkened, rage replacing the earlier amusement. "You think this is over?" he snapped, his voice laced with venom. "You think you've won?"
Ishni didn't even flinch.
Instead, she took a slow step forward-Rudra moving with her, still right behind, still holding her, like they were one force instead of two people.
"You know," she said quietly, her gaze locking onto Abhishek, "one mistake your brother made..."
A pause.
Her eyes hardened.
"And now you're repeating it."
Silence.
"Messing with me."
Abhishek's jaw clenched, his hand tightening around his gun. "Ishni..." he growled, taking a step forward, fury burning in his eyes. "I'll destroy you."
Another step.
"The same way you destroyed my brother."
Beside her, Rudra finally lifted his gaze fully to Abhishek, his expression turning colder than before-if that was even possible.
"Try," he said, voice low, steady, lethal.
A beat.
His arm tightened around Ishni, pulling her slightly closer against him, like a warning wrapped in possession.
"And this time..." his eyes darkened, locking onto Abhishek with quiet promise, "make sure you don't fail."
"Kill them!!!" Abhishek yelled.
In the very next second everything exploded.
Gunshots ripped through the room, deafening, relentless. The silence that once suffocated them was now replaced with chaos, bullets tearing through air, glass shattering, men shouting, bodies dropping.
Rudra didn't hesitate.
The moment Abhishek moved-Rudra fired.
Precise. Ruthless.
One man fell before he could even aim.
Ishni moved just as fast.
No fear. No pause.
She ducked behind a table, firing back in one smooth motion, her shots calculated, each one finding its target like she had already mapped the room in her head.
"Left!" Rudra's voice cut through the noise.
She didn't question it.
Didn't even look.
She shifted-fired.
A man dropped from the blind spot.
Perfect sync.
Rudra grabbed one of the men rushing him, using him as a shield as bullets slammed into his back, before pushing the lifeless body aside and firing straight through another attacker.
Blood. Smoke. Chaos.
Ishni rolled across the floor as a bullet skimmed past her shoulder, her breath hitching for a second before she steadied herself and fired twice-clean, lethal.
Rudra saw it.
His jaw tightened.
"Stay behind me!" he shouted, grabbing her arm and pulling her up, placing her slightly behind his frame as he fired again, covering her without even thinking.
"I don't need cover," she snapped back, pushing past him, raising her gun and taking down another man.
For a split second-
their eyes met.
And then they moved again.
Back to back now.
Bullets flying from both sides.
Anyone who came close-fell.
Alexander ducked behind a pillar, his face no longer amused, shouting orders, while Abhishek fired recklessly, rage clouding his precision.
"This isn't over!" Abhishek yelled through the chaos.
Rudra reloaded in one swift motion, his eyes locking onto him, a dangerous calm settling over his features despite the war around him.
"No," he muttered under his breath.
Then he fired again.
A shot that forced Abhishek to take cover.
Ishni stepped forward, smoke curling around her, her expression cold, untouchable. "It's just beginning."
Another round of bullets echoed.
Another man fell.
Within minutes, the room turned into a graveyard.
Bodies lay scattered across the floor, blood pooling beneath them, the sharp scent of gunpowder and death choking the air.
The walls were stained, the silence now broken only by heavy breathing and the faint clatter of a gun hitting the ground.
Ishni and Rudra stood in the middle of it-both injured, both bleeding-but still standing.
Still dangerous.
Across from them, Abhishek and Alexander were wounded too, blood seeping through their clothes, their confidence shaken but not gone.
Abhishek wiped the blood from his lip and let out a low, breathless laugh. "Ishni... this isn't over," he said, his voice hoarse but filled with venom. "You think you've won?"
His eyes flickered past her.
"Look there... sweetheart."
Something in his tone-
made her turn.
And the moment she did, her world stopped.
Tara.
Tied to a chair.
Unconscious.
"No-" the word tore out of her throat, raw and broken. "No!"
Abhishek moved fast, grabbing her from behind, his arm locking around her, pulling her back against him. "Where, huh?" he sneered into her ear, tightening his grip. "Where did all that confidence go now?"
"Leave her, you bastard!" Rudra roared, his voice echoing through the ruined room as he stepped forward, gun lifting-
But before he could pull the trigger-
Alexander struck.
A brutal kick to Rudra's leg.
The impact forced him down to his knees, a sharp grunt escaping him as pain shot through his body, his gun slipping from his hand and clattering across the blood-soaked floor.
"Stay down," Alexander muttered, breathing heavily, pressing his foot against Rudra's shoulder to keep him there.
Rudra's head dropped for a second, His eyes locked onto Ishni.
"I said-" his voice came out low, shaking with rage, "leave her."
Abhishek tightened his hold on Ishni, pressing her closer as a shield, a twisted smile forming despite the blood on his face. "Or what?" he taunted. "You'll get up and save her again?"
Ishni struggled against him, fury and fear colliding in her eyes. "Rudra-don't-!"
But Rudra wasn't listening.
His gaze shifted slightly to Tara, Tied.
Unconscious.
Then back to Ishni.
And in that moment-
the room felt like it was standing on the edge of something far worse than a fight.
Because Rudra on his knees?
Wasn't defeated.
He was about to become unstoppable.
"Now..." Alexander's voice came out cold, breath heavy with rage, "I'll make you pay."
He grabbed a metal rod lying nearby, its surface already smeared with blood, and stepped toward Rudra.
"NO-please!" Ishni's voice broke, panic tearing through her as she struggled harder against Abhishek's grip. "Stop-!"
But no one listened.
The rod came down,
hard.
A sickening crack echoed through the room as it struck Rudra's head.
For a second-
everything froze.
Rudra's body jerked with the impact, blood immediately spilling down from his forehead, his vision blurring as the world tilted. His hands dropped to the floor to steady himself, breath uneven.
"I said stay down," Alexander muttered, raising the rod again.
"RUDRA!" Ishni screamed this time, her voice raw, breaking as tears filled her eyes, spilling down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Rudra's fingers tightened against the floor, nails scraping against blood and broken glass. His head hung low, blood dripping down, but his jaw clenched, every muscle in his body straining.
He heard her.
Even through the ringing in his ears.
Even through the pain splitting his skull open.
"Ish..." her name barely left his lips, rough, almost lost.
Alexander swung again but this time, Rudra caught the rod mid-air. His grip was tight.
Slowly... painfully... he lifted his head.
Blood covered his face now, one eye slightly blurred, but the other?
The other burned.
Not with pain.
With something far worse.
Alexander's expression flickered.
"You..." Rudra's voice came out low, broken, but deadly. "You really thought..."
He pushed himself up slightly from his knees, still holding the rod, his strength forcing against Alexander's grip.
"...this would be enough?"
In one sharp movement-
he twisted the rod out of Alexander's hand and shoved him back.
The shift was instant.
Rudra rose halfway, still unsteady-but terrifying.
Behind him, Ishni struggled harder, tears streaming down her face. "Rudra-stop-!"
But it was too late.
Something had already crossed the line.
Rudra's blood dripped onto the floor as he straightened just enough, his gaze locking onto Alexander with a promise that didn't need words.
"You shouldn't have touched her..." he said quietly.
A pause, His eyes shifted to Ishni.Held.Crying.
His expression changed completely.
"...and you definitely shouldn't have made her cry."
The room went still again.
The moment the rod slipped from Alexander's grip, Rudra snatched his gun from the floor and fired-once... twice... again... and again.
The shots echoed brutally in the already shattered room.
Bullets tore through Alexander's body, each one driven by something far deeper than anger. Blood splattered across the floor, the walls-until, in the next moment, Alexander collapsed lifelessly, his body hitting the ground with a dull, final thud.
"Don't you dare move, Rudra Singh Rajput... or I'll shoot her."
Abhishek's voice cut through it, sharp and desperate, his arm still locked tightly around Ishni, the gun pressed against her.
Rudra stilled.
Slowly... he turned.
His face was covered in blood, crimson dripping from his forehead down to his jaw, staining his shirt, his hands-everything. But his eyes?
His eyes were alive.
Burning.
Locked onto Abhishek.
The gun in his hand lifted slightly, steady despite the blood loss, despite the pain.
For a moment, no one spoke.
No one moved.
Rudra's gaze flickered briefly to Ishni-her tear-streaked face, the way she was struggling, the fear she tried to hide.
Then back to Abhishek.
And something dark... something final... settled in his expression.
"Shoot me," Rudra said quietly.
The words stunned the room.
His voice didn't shake.
"Go on," he continued, taking a slow step forward, ignoring the way the world tilted slightly beneath him. "You want revenge, right?"
Another step.
Closer.
"Take it."
Ishni's eyes widened. "Rudra-no-!"
But he didn't stop.
Didn't even look at her this time.
Because his focus?
Was locked on the man holding her.
"But listen carefully," Rudra added, his voice dropping lower, more dangerous with every word. "The moment you pull that trigger..."
A pause.
His grip on the gun tightened.
"...you won't walk out of here alive."
Abhishek's hold on Ishni tightened instinctively, but there was a flicker now-uncertainty, fear creeping in.
Because the man standing in front of him-
bleeding.
Broken.
Yet still walking forward like death itself wasn't bluffing.
Rudra tilted his head slightly, a faint, dangerous smile forming despite everything.
"So decide," he said softly. "Do you want revenge..."
His eyes darkened, voice turning lethal.
"...or do you want to survive?"
Abhishek's grip faltered just for a second.
A slight shake.
A flicker of fear.
And that was his biggest mistake.
Because if you want to kill Rudra Singh Rajput... you don't hesitate.
Rudra saw it.
And he acted.
The gun lifted in a single, precise motion-and the shot rang out.
The bullet went straight through Abhishek's chest.
For a moment, Abhishek stood there, eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. Then his hold on Ishni loosened completely, his body collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Just the aftermath.
Ishni didn't think, she ran.
Straight to Rudra.
But before she could reach him his body gave in.
The strength that held him up, the fire that kept him standing through blood and pain-it finally broke. He staggered, his vision blurring, and then he fell to the ground.
"Rudra!" Ishni dropped beside him instantly, her hands trembling as she held his face, her tears falling freely now. "Rudra... please... look at me... please..."
Blood continued to drip from his forehead, his breathing uneven, shallow. His eyes were half-closed, struggling to stay open, but when he heard her voice-
he tried.
Slowly... painfully... his gaze shifted toward her.
"Ish..." he whispered, his voice barely there.
Her grip tightened on him, panic flooding through her. "No... no, don't do this... you can't-Rudra, stay with me!" she cried, shaking her head, her tears falling onto his face.
A faint, weak smile touched his lips.
"You're... safe...and..tara." he murmured, as if that was all that mattered.
"I'm here!" she said desperately, holding him closer. "I'm right here-just look at me, okay? Stay with me... please..."
His hand moved slightly, weak but deliberate, reaching for her.
She pulled him into her arms, holding him tightly like if she let go, she'd lose him forever. For a moment, despite the blood, despite the destruction around them-he held her back.
"Jaan..." Rudra whispered, his voice weak but still carrying that familiar softness meant only for her. "I'm not going anywhere... stop crying... it's hurting more."
He buried his face into her neck, breathing her in like that was the only thing keeping him grounded, alive.
But then his eyes shifted.
Past her, Something moved.
Abhishek.
Not dead.
Rudra's entire body tensed in an instant.
There was no time.
No warning.
His movements were unstable, unsteady-but his instincts? Sharp as ever.
"Ishni-" he tried to say, but there was no time to explain.
In the next second he moved.
Fast.
He pulled her closer, turning his body, rolling them both across the floor-until he was above her.
Shielding her.
His back facing the danger.
His eyes locked onto hers.
And then the gunshots rang out.
Once.
Twice.
The bullets tore into his back.
His body jerked with the impact, a sharp, broken breath escaping his lips as pain ripped through him-but he didn't move away.
Didn't fall.
He stayed exactly where he was.
Covering her.
Protecting her.
"Ishni..." her name slipped out of him, barely a whisper now, his blood starting to spread beneath him.
"No-NO!" she screamed, her hands gripping him, panic consuming her as she saw the blood, too much of it, soaking through his shirt.
Her vision blurred with tears but her hand found the gun.
And this time there was no hesitation.
She turned.
And fired.
Once.
Twice.
The bullets hit Abhishek straight, forcing him back, his body finally giving in as he collapsed to the ground-lifeless this time.
The gun slipped from her hand.
Her entire focus snapped back to Rudra.
"Rudra... Rudra no..." her voice broke completely as she held him, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she tried to lift him, to keep him awake, to keep him with her.
He was still above her.
Still shielding her.
Even now.
Even after everything.
"Look at me... please..." she cried, her tears falling onto his face, her voice trembling with fear. "You said you're not going anywhere... you promised..."
But his strength was fading.
his hand moved weakly, reaching for her face, brushing against her cheek, smearing blood with his touch.
His eyes softened.
Only for her.
Always her.
And even as the world around them fell apart-he stayed where he was.
Between her...and death.
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