Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Advik
“What the fuck?” Vikram mutters, stunned.
I’ve only told him part of the truth—just that our newest client was being targeted and I got caught in the crossfire. I was fairly proud of my quick thinking, actually.
But it didn’t ease Vicky’s fears.
“I’m fine now,” I start, voice light. “Everything is—”
“What the actual fuck?!” It’s Ishika now. Standing on the other side of my hospital bed.
“Relax, guys. It’s not that big a deal. Few weeks, some physical therapy, and I’ll be—”
“Stop it.”
Vikram’s voice slices through mine, his fingers digging into his hair like he’s trying to rip out the panic by the roots.
Ishika rushes to him, placing a calming hand on his chest. “It’s okay. He’s okay.”
Vikram spins toward me, nostrils flaring. “This is the second time I’ve seen you in a fucking hospital bed, Advik.”
His breathing turns ragged. “And you better pray it’s the last, you stupid moron!”
“...because you’re a self-sacrificing stupid moron!”
I blink at the sudden memory of Greesha’s voice snapping at me. Did this happen? Shit.
I shake my head and focus again. “I promi—”
“I’ll make sure of it.” A new familiar, unexpected voice chimes in.
I turn—and suddenly everything quiets.
Aadya’s standing in the doorway, casual jeans and a simple tee. Her hair’s tied back. No sign of weapons.
She’d been gone for a few hours. My gaze sweeps across her body. Well... I can’t stop but check her out too, while I’m at it.
Where is she hiding the gun now?
I look over at Vikram and Ishika, their faces pale.
Vicky stumbles a step back. “Greesha.”
Ishika elbows him sharply. “Aadya.”
I almost laugh at how they both fumble over her names.
Aadya smirks slightly and walks to my side. “Greesha’s fine.”
Vikram stares like he’s seeing a ghost. “You... you weren’t hallucinating, bro.”
She nods. “Yes, Vicky. I’m very much alive. And congrats, Ishika. Nineteen weeks?”
My eyebrows shoot up. She really does know everything.
Ishika beams, hand on her belly. “Yeah.”
“You... you left,” Vikram stammers like an idiot. I resist the urge to facepalm.
“Leave her be. She’s—”
“I’m in law enforcement and I’m working undercover with GenVault,” Greesha interrupts me. “Just...”
She makes a zipping motion over her lips, at my brother and sister-in-law. They just gape and nod obediently.
“What happened?” I ask. “Why are you here?”
She places her hand on the bed—close to my shoulder, too close. I feel heat radiating through the sheets.
“I’m your protection detail now. Your client—” her eyes widen at me, “—thinks you’re compromised. And so am I. So, you’re stuck with me for a few weeks.”
My heart skips a beat. She’s here. With me. Stuck. Watching me like I’m her assignment.
God, that’s fucking hot.
“Greesha, we’re...” Vikram finally regains the power of speech. “We’re sorry. For how it all went down. We didn’t see clearly. We misinterpreted things...”
My stomach knots. I don’t want her to go through this. Especially not with my dumbass family.
“Bro, not now—” I try.
“It’s okay.” Greesha’s hand brushes my shoulder and I instantly relax. The touch is soft. Calming. Fuck, I missed that.
“You don’t need to apologize to me, Vikram. Maybe to your brother for letting him think he was alone in grieving his sister. But not to me. I left because of Advik’s decisions. Not your implications.”
I glance at Vikram—he looks like someone just unplugged him from the wall. I roll my lips holding in my laugh.
Greesha turns to me with a smile that is all venom-laced sugar. I know that look. I brace myself.
“And Advik,” she says sweetly, “thank you.”
Uh-oh.
“Thank you for taking that bullet for me. If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead.”
There it is.
My cheeks heat up. I’m a ball of embarrassment and joy knowing that she’s teasing me.
“I... I didn’t take the bullet. I was just gonna push you away.”
I turn to my brother, desperate to salvage my pride. “I swear, bro. I was just gonna push her. I didn’t take the bullet.”
I hear a snort and then a laugh. Not just a chuckle. A full, melodic, belly-deep laugh that fills the sterile hospital air with something warmer.
I think I die a little inside. And also come alive.
I haven’t seen her laugh like that in months. Well, years—technically.
Fucking hell, she’s beautiful when she’s messing with me.
I groan playfully. “Stop it, Gree. You’re going to give my brother a heart attack.”
She sobers up but is still smirking teasingly at me.
“Well,” Ishika chirps but her voice is slightly shaky. “I wouldn’t put it past him taking a bullet for the woman he loves.”
Oh god. Here we go.
I groan again and drop my head back onto the pillow. Ishika is damning me without knowing. Vikram snorts. Greesha just rolls her eyes.
“You’re telling people this?” Greesha asks, but I can see a glint in her eyes. “Why are you still on that?”
“I’ve been on that for three years, baby,” I say with a tilt to my head, no shame whatsoever.
She narrows her eyes at me and for a moment I think that she’ll go back to being Aadya. But she just shakes her head in amusement.
“You...” Vicky finds his voice again and gestures to his cheek, indicating Greesha’s scar. “You okay?”
She quirks a brow at him. “This old thing? It was a... erm... fishing accident.”
Now, that was a deliberate fumble.
“What were you fishing for?” I smirk.
She deadpans. “A brown bullhead.”
My smirk deepens. “You’ve been planning to whip that out, haven’t you?”
She squints at me.
“Did you rehearse it in the mirror?” I stupidly add.
She rolls her eyes and turns to Vicky and Ishika who’ve been watching us in rapt fascination.
I hear Greesha mutter under her breath—something that sounds suspiciously like “Zero survival instincts.”
And yeah, fair. I won’t lie—I almost laughed and proved her right on the spot.
She crosses her arms, her voice shifting into that businesslike cadence that always makes people stand straighter.
“Have you told your parents about him?” she asks Vicky.
“Oh—uh—not yet. Should I?”
She shakes her head, and just like that, she’s back in command. “No. Keep it to yourself. And make sure they don’t drop by his apartment unannounced.”
Ishika nods. Vicky straightens up. His spine actually clicks. For a second, it looks like he might salute and bark out “Yes ma’am!”
I bite back a grin. I’d pay real money to see that happen.
We linger for a bit longer. Talking nonsense. Teasing me for my frankly concerning lack of self-preservation. Greesha doesn’t join in anymore. She perches quietly in the corner, scrolling through her phone.
Eventually, Vicky and Ishika say their goodbyes—and thinly veiled threats—and leave. Their love lingers like a warm blanket I didn’t ask for but kind of needed anyway.
I let out a soft breath and glance at her. My Greesha. Or... whatever part of her I’m allowed to be near right now.
She’s still immersed in her phone.
“You seem... lighter,” I say.
She glances up slowly. “What do you mean?”
“You were teasing me. Talking. Having normal conversations.” I shift slightly, careful not to wince. “I thought maybe...”
She frowns, brow furrowed. “I didn’t want your family to think I’ve... changed too much.”
I nod. That tracks. But I also saw something else. A flicker of ease. Maybe even a glint of joy.
“So,” I murmur, trying not to let disappointment creep in, “that wasn’t the real you, then?”
“That was Greesha,” she replies, shrugging, head dipping back down to her phone.
But then—there it is. A ghost of a smile. Barely there. A blink and it’s gone. But I saw it.
And yeah, maybe I imagined it. But also maybe I didn’t.
I smile, hoping I didn’t just invent a moment out of desperation.
“I’m getting discharged tomorrow morning,” I announce.
“Yeah,” she says absently, eyes still on her screen. “And I’ll be there.”
“There... where? Here?” I ask. Was that code? Or just an obvious statement. Am I missing something?
She finally looks up. “There when you get discharged.”
She pauses, then adds, “There when I drive you to your apartment.”
I blink and settle my head back on my pillow. “Oh.”
Another few beats pass.
“There in your apartment as you recover.”
Okay. So. Here’s the thing about necks. They’re connected to your shoulders, right? Which makes sense anatomically. Except, when you’ve got a fresh gunshot wound under your clavicle, the neck and shoulder become a no-go zone. No swift movements. No surprises. No sudden reactions.
Now.
Tell that to Advik Sharma of three seconds ago, who just snapped his head up so fast, I swear I briefly left my body and came back reincarnated as an idiot.
I saw stars. Whole-ass constellations. Orion? Gorgeous. Centaurus? Shimmering.
Pain?
Un-fucking-hinged.
“Fuck!” I hiss, my eyes tearing up.
Greesha doesn’t move. Doesn’t react. She just raises an unimpressed brow because I think I just proved her point.
“Zero survival instincts.”