Chapter 43
43
Half an hour earlier
A nanya looked around her. The stench of petrol was getting stronger as the men poured it around every inch of the warehouse. Ivan definitely meant business, and he wasn’t taking any chances. He’d captured her deliberately, knowing Mihir couldn’t live without her.
Mihir would be devastated if something happened to her and their babies. She knew that and believed it in her soul. And that’s why Ivan would never let her out of here alive. The petrol around them was proof.
Mihir, her husband . She finally let all the love she felt for him flood her heart. She surrendered herself to all the emotions she felt for him. She allowed them to consume her heart and soul. She loved Mihir Oshnov so damn much. He was the only man she’d ever loved. He was the man she’d married, and he was the father of her unborn children. She’d wasted time being mad at him when she could have spent it loving him and being loved by him. God. She’d been an utter fool, and now her idiocy was going to cost her everything. She firmed her heart and mind.
She was not dying tonight. Mihir and she had gotten another chance in life. She would get out of here and tell him that she loved him. She would forgive him. She would find her happily ever after with him again, and this time, she’d guard their happiness with all she had.
Her mind made up, she glanced around, taking in everything. The warehouse was emptying of men. Only the two men standing guard in front of her and Devina remained, along with the one man who was peeking surreptitiously out of the window. By an unprecedented stroke of luck, the men hadn’t thought of tying Devina and her up. Ananya knew she had to make full use of this opportunity the Universe had granted her.
The sound of incoming cars distracted the two men in front of her, and they looked toward the windows.
“Devina, listen,” Ananya whispered. “I’m going to distract the men. You need to help.”
Devina stared at her in shock. “You’ll get us killed.”
“We’re going to die even if we don’t do anything,” Ananya replied. “Might as well try. Any opportunity you get, kick and punch hard. Try and get the guns off their hands.”
“Hey, you. Stop talking,” One of the guards yelled at her.
“I need to use the restroom,” Ananya said aloud, pushing to her feet.
One of the guards snickered. “Does this look like a place with a restroom?”
Devina also rose. “Please. I also need to go.”
Ananya moved closer to one man, and Devina, following her lead, closed in on the other one.
“Please, I really need to go to the restroom,” Ananya said.
“Sit down and shut up,” the guard said with a snarl.
“Sit down, or we’ll shoot,” the other guard said.
“Look around you,” Ananya spread a hand out. “You shoot, and we all die. Can you not smell the petrol? Did you not see them pour it everywhere?”
The guard’s forehead burrowed. His grip on his gun wavered. This was all the opening Ananya needed. She swung her fist and smashed his nose; at the same time, Devina yelled and attacked the other guy. Before the guy in front of Ananya could recover, she struck him in the stomach. He went down, and she kicked his face once and then again. He went still.
She turned to Devina. The other woman was wrestling with the other guard for the gun, but he was superior in strength and flung her away from him. Not wasting time, Ananya stretched her leg out, and the man tripped. She kicked him in his groin. He recoiled in pain. Taking both their guns, she threw them far away and went to Devina, helping her up.
“Come on, let’s go,” Ananya said.
She had barely taken a step when a loud blast echoed around them. They both fell to the floor. Within seconds, the whole shed erupted in flames. Ananya’s heart seized in terror. Beams fell around them as the roof began to cave in.
“Run,” she screamed.
Devina followed her through the fire and smoke and falling debris as Ananya made her way toward the exit. But it was hard to move fast between the smoke, the flames, and dodging the rubble. The lone guard who’d been peeking at the window appeared in front of them. Before they could react, a beam fell on top of him. Leaving him, Ananya ran.
Hot! It was so hot everywhere. Her skin was singed. Another blast caused a chunk of the ceiling to fall upon them. Ananya rushed to the side just in time, but Devina fell. Ananya ran back to her.
“My leg, my leg!” the other girl screamed. “I can’t move it.”
“Let me help you up…” Ananya tried, but she couldn’t manage her weight. Devina tumbled down again.
Tears streamed down Ananya’s face. Time was running out.
“You go, Ananya,” Devina said. “Just leave me here. Maybe I deserve this for all that I did to you.”
“I can’t leave you to die,” Ananya said.
“Your baby…you have to go, Ananya,” Devina said.
Ananya’s heart warred with indecision. Suddenly, she saw a figure running through the flames, straight toward her.
Mihir.
He was here. Joy filled her heart, followed by blinding fear.
She ran to him. “Why are you here? Are you crazy?”
“I couldn’t wait outside while you were stuck inside.” He caught her in his arms, quickly scanning her. “Oh my God, Anna. You’re alive and you’re okay. Thank God. I’m getting you out of here.”
“Mihir, no, wait!” She pointed to where Devina was sitting against a wall. “I can’t leave her.”
“I won’t let you die because of her,” Mihir argued.
Just then, two more figures emerged from the flames. Armaan and Vedant rushed to them. She pointed to Devina.
“Go, brother. Take Ananya,” Armaan said. “We’ll get the other one.”
Taking Ananya’s hand, Mihir ran to the side of the warehouse where a wall had now collapsed. He pushed Ananya through it before jumping out himself.
He hurried with her far away from the flames before holding her against his side. His eyes were fixed on the warehouse. Only once Armaan and Vedant made it out safely with Devina did he yank her to his chest. The sounds of fire trucks and ambulances resounded around them.
“Oh God, Anna, tell me again, are you okay?” he asked, his eyes wet with tears. His face was streaked with soot and grime.
“I’m fine. We got out in time,” she said, wiping his face.
“That fire… God, and you were caught in it. I died a thousand deaths when I realized you were inside.”
She suddenly realized something vital. “You came through a fire for me. Despite your fear… you came for me…”
“I’d do anything for you, Anna,” he said.
Her chest warmed. “You know, in there, I realized that we’ve both made mistakes. I wish I’d confronted you sooner. I wish I’d forced you to talk and not simply waited like a fool, allowing the situation between us to persist. I wish I’d told you how much I loved you. Because I do. I love you, Mihir, so much. I never stopped loving you, not for a moment.”
He touched his forehead to hers. Even with the soot covering his face, he was the most beautiful man in the world to her.
“I love you, Mihir Oshnov,” she repeated. “You’re mine. You’ve always been mine.”
“I’m yours, always,” he promised, kissing her lips lightly.
Armaan and Vedant came to them.
“Why the fuck did you follow me inside?” Mihir yelled. “Are you both mad?”
“It’s always been the three of us against the world, brother,” Armaan said.
“We weren’t going to let anything happen to you,” Vedant said.
“You could have died, you fools,” Mihir said.
“But we didn’t!” Armaan grinned, his face streaked with black.
“You guys are un-fucking-believable…I love you both!” Mihir hauled both of them into his arms, his face wet with tears. Ananya wiped her own tears from her eyes. Mihir had walked through fire for her , and his brothers had walked through fire for him . She thanked God they all were safe.
“What happened to Ivan?” she asked, suddenly remembering the man responsible for all their pain and agony.
“We shot him,” Armaan said. “The second he signaled his guy inside, Vedant and I shot him. He didn’t deserve to live after everything. Our men have taken away his body. He will never bother us again.”
“Neither will Andres,” Vedant said. “He’s dead too.”
Armaan and Vedant gave her a hug. She looked up and saw Rajiv approaching them, his friends behind him. She ran to him. Her brother caught her in his arms.
“You gave me a fright, sis,” Rajiv whispered into her hair. “Never, ever do that to me again.”
She smiled. “Thank you for being here.”
“You’re my sister; I’d do anything for you,” he said. She looked beyond him at all their friends—Dev, Aaryan, Vihaan, and Shaurya. They’d all been there for Mihir and her tonight. She was alive, thanks to all of them. She thanked each one of them, feeling grateful for this group from the bottom of her heart.
Next, she went to Chekov, Anton, and Lenin.
“Where is Adam?” she asked.
“He sustained a bullet wound to the shoulder, but he’s fine,” Chekov said. “We have someone looking after him.”
She was so relieved to hear that.
“Thank you, all of you,” she told them.
She looked to the side and saw Devina sitting on a crate, her leg stretched out in front of her. Ananya went to her.
“Thank you,” Devina said. “You saved my life. You refused to leave without me.”
“I’m not you, Devina,” Ananya said.
The other girl’s face fell. “Will you ever forgive me?”
Ananya sensed Mihir behind her. His arm came around her waist. She rested her head against him, her eyes on Devina.
“I will never forgive you,” Ananya said. “You and Zeeshan destroyed my life once, and you did not hesitate to do it a second time. I saved you because I’m a good person. However, that was the last thing I’ll ever do for you. You and I will never be friends. I don’t even want to see your face again.”
“What’s happening, Anna?” Mihir asked. “Why was she with Ivan?”
Ananya told him all about Devina’s involvement in both the past and the present. His face grew grimmer by the second.
“She was jealous of you?” Mihir shook his head. “Fucking unbelievable.”
Mihir looked furious, so before he could say anything, Ananya rose to her toes and pecked his cheek. “She’s not worth it. In whichever ways you’re thinking of hurting her for ruining us in the past, stop.”
Devina shrank in fear as she looked from Mihir to her.
Ananya addressed her. “I just have to say one word, and he’ll ensure no one remembers you ever even existed. So take my next words as a warning. If you come near me or anyone close to me ever again, I will kill you. That is not an empty threat, Devina; it’s a vow.”
Taking Mihir’s hand in hers, she pulled him away.
Mihir touched his forehead to hers. “I really wish I’d insisted on you staying away from them all those years ago.”
“I’m so sorry I never heeded your warnings,” she told him.
“You and I had to face what we did. Fate had decreed it to be so. It wasn’t our time then. It is, however, our time now.” He kissed her nose. “I’m never leaving your side ever again.”
“I’m never leaving you either, Mihir,” she said.
“Please, can we get you checked at a hospital? I need to ensure you and the babies are all fine.”
She smiled, letting him take her away from all the chaos. She knew their siblings would handle everything. All the men here tonight were powerful people in their own right. They’d deal with whatever came their way.
For now, she only wanted to spend time with the man next to her, the one who’d forgotten his own fears and walked into a fire for her. The one she was certain would end the world for her if need be.