Chapter 41
The car jolted sharply as it drove over a pothole.
The bearded man sat silently beside Sabrina, his gun resting casually on his thigh.
Through the window, familiar streets slid by.
Several minutes passed, and then the scenery thinned into a narrow, winding road with almost no traffic.
She squinted. She’d never ventured here before.
The car went down the road for several minutes before stopping in front of a deserted building, its windows boarded with rough planks.
Fear knotted inside her belly. She stole a glance at her watch.
Twenty minutes since they’d taken her. Aditya must have reached Ahaan by now. She prayed her son was safe.
Her heart thudded painfully. She didn’t know how much her son had heard or if he’d understood the danger, but she knew that no matter what happened to her, Aditya would protect Ahaan.
The men flanked her as she stepped out and pushed her through a splintered doorway. Two more men stood at the entrance, guns slung across their chests. Several others moved in and out of the various rooms. Gosh, there were so many. She’d counted six more at least.
Inside, the air smelled of dust and rust. Her captors led her down a dim corridor and into a bare room where a single wooden chair sat beneath a bright dangling tube light.
Pushing her inside, they locked her in. She looked around, searching for any means of exit.
But there was none—no windows around and only one entrance that was locked.
Fear twisted inside her, but she held it at bay.
She couldn’t afford to be scared. She had to be strong.
Twenty minutes later, the key turned in the lock, and a man entered, followed by the two men who had taken her captive.
JD.
Her nightmare had finally caught up to her. She studied the face of the man she had once believed she had killed. God, why had he not died that day?
The light caught the harsh planes of his face. Deep grooves carved his cheeks, and a scar was slashed across one brow. His eyes were dark, flat, and predatory as he studied her.
He tilted his head. “We meet again, Karina. Or should I call you Sabrina?”
Fear clawed at her, but she forced her chin up. “What do you want?”
“You looked familiar at the cricket stadium,” he said. “But fourteen years is a long time. After all, we only met for a few minutes back then. I started to walk away when your identity suddenly dawned on me, but by then you had disappeared. You slipped through my fingers yet again.”
Sabrina’s pulse thudded, but she continued to look for ways she could escape. She wouldn’t be a victim of this man. She’d escaped him once, and she would do it again, even if she died trying.
“What do you want from me?” she repeated.
“You hurt me that night,” JD answered, his tone, surprisingly, filled with admiration.
“Severely enough that I almost died. No woman had ever bested me before. You were the only one who did. The only one who escaped.” He gave a low chuckle.
“Dorab and I searched for you for years, but you had vanished without a trace. That fool had truly underestimated you.”
Her stomach knotted tighter.
“You hid well. Even changed your name. Clever.” His smile thinned. “One day, however, Dorab told me your brothers were looking for you. The orphans he despised had become some of the richest men alive. Then their enemies came to me, asking if I’d help them find you. I told them no.”
He stepped closer, eyes gleaming. “Instead, I put my own people on your brothers. I waited. They were rich and had enough resources to get to you. And so, when your brothers finally found you, my men were waiting. They followed you from your brothers’ house to the airport…
sent me a picture of you along with the details of your new identity.
And I didn’t waste any time. So here we are. ”
Sabrina’s stomach twisted. He’d waited, a patient predator, letting her brothers do the work for him. She said nothing, her gaze still searching for any possible way out.
“Why am I here?” she asked. “By now, my brothers must know that you have taken me. They will find you and kill you.”
He shrugged. “Many have tried and failed. They can try too.”
He touched a strand of her hair. She jerked her head away. Fear scraped along her nerves, but she refused to let him see it. She locked her gaze on his, her jaw set.
“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” he said, his voice low and venomous. “Fourteen years is a long time to settle what you did. But tonight, I’m going to make you pay. My men will—”
A sudden crash sounded in the hallway and made him pause. Shouts followed, and then a clatter of boots. Gunfire cracked through the air. The two armed men beside JD spun toward the door and bolted outside. JD’s head snapped in their direction.
Seeing him distracted, she drew the knife from her pocket and drove it hard into his chest. His eyes went wide as he staggered back, shocked.
“You… you…” He attempted to scream, clutching his chest.
She didn’t wait. She ran, coming to a halt outside.
There was chaos everywhere. In the dim light, she saw several men in police uniforms and several bodies strewn across the floor.
Up ahead, she saw VJ grappling with a gunman, while beside him, Rithwik was in a headlock with another one of JD’s men.
To Rithwik’s right, Aditya was hammering his fist into a man’s jaw.
Her knees almost buckled as relief surged through her. Aditya was here. He’d found her.
A noise from the side made her turn. Two men were fighting with her captors with precise, controlled force. One of them broke off and rushed toward her.
“Are you alright, Miss?” he shouted over the din.
“I’m fine,” she managed, breathless.
“Where’s JD?”
“In that room…”
He sprinted past her. A second later, she heard gunfire in the distance. Before she could process it, a movement to her left caught her eye. One of JD’s men had his gun aimed straight at Aditya.
“Aditya!” she screamed.
He spun toward the sound. A shot rang out. He staggered back, dropping to one knee and then fell on the floor. Sabrina’s heart stopped.
“Aditya!” Sabrina’s scream tore from her throat.
She scrambled toward him, her heart hammering so hard she could barely breathe. No. Please, no. Tears blurred her vision as she knelt next to him, running her arms over his chest.
“No, no… NO,” she yelled, covering her face with her hands. She’d done this. It was all her fault. She never should have allowed him into her life. If only she’d been firm on staying away…
Aditya would have still been alive.