Chapter 21
21
N avya took a step forward, and Ananya placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Let me go, Ananya,” Navya said. “I need to talk to him. He’s… everything. I love him, and I’ve been a fucking coward about it for so long. I let my fear consume me.”
Her sister stilled.
“I’ll explain later. All I know is that if I don’t stop him right now, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”
Navya didn’t stop to see her sister’s reaction. She ran after Armaan. He was making his way down the milling crowds to the stairs. She caught his hand. He hauled his hand out of her hold.
“Armaan, please listen,” she said. She had to yell to speak over the raging music. “What you heard was wrong.”
His eyes glimmered with fury. “Last I checked, my hearing is pretty good.”
Before he could reply, she grabbed his hand and drew him to a discreet exit. She swiped her card on it, and it opened to reveal a long, dimly lit corridor. Not waiting for his reaction, she dragged him to another steel door, swiped her card at it, and they walked outside to an enclosed parking area. Except for a few cars, the lot was thankfully empty. As far as she knew, only her family and a few VIP guests had access to this private entrance of the club.
Armaan removed his hand from hers and looked around for a brief second before his laser-sharp gaze landed on her.
“So, the only reason you’re with me is because of my looks and my prowess in bed.” His lips tightened. “I ought to have figured this when you refused to verbalize what you feel for me; when you refused to reply when I asked for more commitment.”
She took a step closer to him. “I’m sorry about what you heard earlier. I was too confused about our relationship and was voicing out my thoughts to Ananya without thinking them through. That is not how I feel about you.”
“Really? I think you voiced how you feel about me perfectly clearly. The thing is, Navya, that you never gave us a chance. You entered our relationship believing that I wasn’t a good person and that I would cheat on you and hurt you.”
“Armaan, please. This is all a misunderstanding.”
“Is it? The way I see it, you’re willing to say anything now to convince me so we can continue our arrangement. Here I was, falling in love with you, but you were using me only for sex and a good time.”
She gasped. Her heart went into shock. Oh God! Had he just admitted to being in love with her? And that too a few seconds after she’d admitted to herself that she loved him too. She’d always suspected that he felt a lot for her, but hearing that he, too, loved her was making her chest explode with delight. Except that now she had to convince him to listen to her.
She took another step toward him. From the side came the sound of footsteps and metal clanging against a surface. She turned, and four men appeared in front of them holding metal rods, chains, and… wait, was that a dagger in one of their hands? Good God. Within seconds, those men had surrounded them. They were tall, heavily built, and looked European. There was no way to escape except going past them. Armaan held her by the arm and pulled her closer to him.
“When I tell you to run, you run and go inside, da ?” he told her quietly.
Fear crept over her. Who were these men? Why were they after Armaan and her? They looked deadly and determined to injure, and from the way they were surrounding them, there was no way she was getting past them. Armaan was trained to fight, but could he take on four at a time? She exhaled. She wasn’t leaving him alone. She knew how to fight too. She’d learned from the best—him.
“Let me help you,” she whispered. “You know I can.”
He gave her a slight nod. “But the first chance you get, you run. Understood?”
She didn’t reply to that. Her heart rate was escalating by the second. She wouldn’t leave Armaan alone, no matter what. She calmed herself. They were going to be fine. She had Armaan by her side, and he was a brilliant fighter. Together, they could face these miscreants. But leaving him alone was something she wouldn’t be able to do.
In front of her, Armaan spun in a slow circle, assessing the men. He removed his jacket and tossed it aside, folding his sleeves quickly. “You know you don’t want her. You only want me, right? So let her go, and we can sort this between ourselves.”
A tall, beefy man with a huge circular tattoo on the side of his neck stepped forward.. Their leader, she assumed.
“No one is getting out of here alive,” the man said in accented English. “Our instructions are to kill you, and we don’t leave witnesses behind.”
Her stomach hollowed. These men wanted to kill Armaan? Why? Had he known he was in danger? Her mind was buzzing with questions but she focused on the men in front of them. She’d need all her wits about her to even engage with them.
Armaan’s jaw tightened. “Well, then, none of you will leave alive tonight.”
He lunged forward. Three of the men charged at him at once, while the fourth one aimed for her. She had no time to focus on Armaan. She swung her leg out in an arch, catching the man’s legs as he came at her. The man toppled forward on his knees, looking shocked that she had confronted him like that. Before he could get up, she kicked him in the face. He went down and didn’t get up. That’s when she realized that her heel had gotten stuck in his cheek, and blood began to ooze out of that hole. Ugh. Gross. The urge to throw up overwhelmed her. She had never hurt anyone in her life like that. But now was not the time to think of that. She had to focus on the adrenaline humming inside her. She kicked off her other heel and turned. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Shit. She had completely forgotten about it. She lifted it out to make a call. Armaan roared, and she looked up at him.
Her jaw dropped as she watched him. He had a rod in his hand and was fighting the three men by himself. Fuck, he was poetry in motion. He was quick on his feet, ducking as they tried to get a hit on him, hitting when they least expected it.
Frustrated by him, one of the men sprang forward, his chain swinging. It caught Armaan in the chest. Armaan’s face contorted in pain. He brought the rod down hard on the man’s head. The man swayed before he hit the ground and went still. Two men down, but they still had two more left to fend.
Armaan looked at her for a brief second. “Run, Navya. Go.”
That second cost him. One of the men hit Armaan in the head, while the other plunged the dagger in his shoulder. Navya screamed. Armaan staggered back, ripping the knife out of his shoulder. Blood dripped down his forehead and from his shoulder. Her heart fell. More fear engulfed her. Oh God, what was happening here?
Both the men lunged for Armaan together. While he was managing to defend himself, he was getting tired and seemed to be in pain. Anger overwhelmed her. Pocketing her phone, she lifted the chain from the floor and rushed to help him. She swirled the chain in the air. It hit one of the goons back. It was their leader. He swirled. The look he gave her was filled with pure hatred and violence. She swung the chain again, and it hit him in the chest.
He roared as he charged at her. Panic made her lose her breath as she saw the huge man lunge for her. She swung the chain again. This time, he caught it and tugged on it hard. She slammed into him. The man held an arm over her throat in a chokehold.
“Fucking bitch, you’re going to die,” he growled.
He squeezed her windpipe hard. Her throat ached; fear sat like a weight on her chest as her oxygen supply began to dwindle. She couldn’t breathe. She struggled against his hold, scratching his arms, but she couldn’t shake him off. Spots danced in front of her eyes, and her vision began to darken.
Armaan’s loud scream rented the air, and in the next second, she was flung down. Pain shot through her body as she hit the ground. She breathed in and out, needing the precious oxygen. Her vision was fading; her breaths coming in choppy gasps. She tried to move, but even that was hard. She shut her eyes for a brief second. When she opened her eyes, her vision was clearer. She shot to her knees. It took her a few seconds to notice that Armaan had taken down the man he’d been tackling earlier and was now sparring with the man who had attacked her.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled Ananya.
“Ananya, I need help, NOW,” she screamed. “VIP entrance, parking lot. Get security.”
She didn’t even wait to hear her sister’s response. Her entire focus was on Armaan. His white shirt was spattered with blood at multiple places. His movements also seemed far slower than before. He took a few punches, and then he headbutted the huge man and smashed his jaw. The man fell to the ground. Armaan rushed to her.
Worry was etched on his face. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, I think,” she said, her voice rough.
He helped her stand.
She assessed him. He was bruised in so many places, and blood continued to pour down his forehead and shoulder, and there was a gash on his stomach where the dagger had cut through the shirt and his skin.
He held her shoulders. “Why didn’t you run? Why did you stay? What if something had happened to you?” His voice rose a notch with every word that came out of his mouth. “Are you mad, Navya? Did you not see how dangerous those men were?”
A tear fell down her cheek and then another. “I couldn’t leave you alone. I couldn’t.”
He frowned, and then his face tightened as if he suddenly remembered their previous altercation. “Why?”
“Because I love you, Armaan.”
His eyes rounded. And then his face erupted in a smile. Her own lips curved. Armaan looked beyond her, and his expression changed to one of surprise. Before she could turn to see where he was staring at, there was a loud thwack in front of her. Her skin chilled as Armaan’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into her, lifeless. She stumbled under his weight. She barely managed to hold on to him when she saw the leader of the gang standing in front of her with a rod, his battered face twisted in a cruel smile. Her throat knotted, and goosebumps erupted on her flesh.
The man took a step closer. From behind him, several security guards ran toward her, with Ananya following close behind. The man in front of her looked between Armaan and her, and then at the approaching men. He dropped his weapon and began to run.
Ignoring him, she clasped Armaan tighter. Stickiness coated her hand as she cradled his head. Blood. Her hand was smeared with blood. A new kind of fear assaulted her. She lay him down on the ground, resting his head on her lap.
“Armaan,” she whispered. “Open your eyes.”
But there was no response. Ananya dropped to the ground next to her.
“He’s n… not responding, Ananya,” Navya cried, tears streaming down her face.
Ananya grabbed his wrist. “His pulse is weak.”
“I won’t lose him, Ananya. I c… can’t.”
From her side, Ananya began making calls, but Navya wasn’t paying her any attention. She caught Armaan’s hand in hers and kissed it.
“Armaan,” Navya said. “Please, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not realising I am in love with you. Please, you need to open your eyes and let me show you how much you mean to me.”
Ananya squeezed her shoulder. “The ambulance will be here soon. He will be fine. Just hold on, okay?”
Silence settled between them. Their security guards stood in a circle around them. Her heart was running out of control now. How had this damn night gotten from bad to this worse?
“Where’s that fucking ambulance?” Navya yelled.
A phone beeped, its noise loud in the silence. It was neither hers nor Ananya’s. Ananya patted Armaan’s pockets and came up empty. But the phone continued to buzz.
“His jacket,” Navya pointed to the side. “His phone must be in his jacket.”
One of the security guards handed her the phone. It was Mihir. The sound of a siren distracted her. She pocketed Armaan’s phone as the ambulance appeared.
Minutes later, she was seated in the ambulance next to Armaan’s unconscious body, clasping his wan hand. Ananya was following in her car.
She breathed out. “You’re going to be fine, you hear me? Just hang in there for m… me, please.”
Armaan’s phone beeped in her pocket. Seeing that it was Mihir again, she answered the call.
“Where the hell are you, Armaan?” Mihir yelled into the phone. “I told you categorically not to leave the house tonight. Vedant’s been?—”
“Mihir, it’s N… Navya,” her voice shook.
Mihir quietened. “Where is my brother?”
“He’s h… hurt. I’m in an ambulance, taking him to the hospital.” She relayed the name of the hospital to him. “Four men attacked us tonight.”
“How is he? Tell me he’s alive.”
“He’s breathing, but barely. He’s suffered multiple injuries, including a bad head wound that is concerning me. I’ll know more when we reach the hospital.”
“Explain everything from the beginning.” Mihir’s tone was chilly.
She told him everything quickly, and as best as she could.
“Fuck, he knew that the Estonians were after us,” Mihir said tightly. “I’d warned him to stay at home tonight. Yet, he came for you. This is all your fault. He’s in that condition because of you. He never should have gotten involved with you.”
She stared at Armaan. He was barely breathing beneath the oxygen mask. Tears fell down her cheek. Shit. This was all her fault. Had she not been so stupid and spoken nonsense to Ananya, they never would have been outside in that parking lot. Armaan wouldn’t be in the condition he was in.
“First Vedant and now him. Fuck,” Mihir cursed. “How the hell can I be in two places at once?”
Mihir’s words cut into her brain.
“What happened to Vedant?” she asked.
“The same thing that happened to Armaan. Our enemies got to him. He’s been shot and is very critical. He’s undergoing surgery as we speak. I’ve been trying to get a hold of Armaan for the last thirty minutes. My jet is taxiing down the runway right now. I was flying to London to check on Vedant, and now this.” His voice was filled with frustration and indecision.
She understood his concern. For some Goddamned reason, the Oshnov’s enemies had attacked two of the brothers at once. The events of the night finally began to make a bit of sense.
She wiped her eyes. “Go to London, Mihir. I’ll stay with him.”
Mihir stayed silent for a moment before he swore aloud. “Fuck. I have no choice right now. I have to go check on Vedant. His life is hanging by a thread.”
“I won’t leave Armaan even for a minute. I promise.”
“Navya, did your security catch any of the men who tried to hurt Armaan?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I’ll find out.”
She’d been too concerned about Armaan to focus on anything else.
“If even one of them is caught then I want you to ensure that they aren’t handed to the police. I need them to be held at some place until I can organize for someone to come fetch them. Can you promise me that?”
“I will.”
“I’m going to send my own security team to the hospital. He needs to be protected at all times. Keep Armaan’s phone with you and answer calls only from me. Am I clear?”
“Yes.”
“And Navya, you better pray to whichever God you believe in that Armaan survives. Because if he dies, then I will kill you.”
She exhaled. “Don’t worry. If he dies, I’ll die anyway.”
There was a pause, and then Mihir disconnected the line.
She pocketed Armaan’s phone. She held his hand tighter. In a few hours, her entire perception of the world had changed. She’d realized she was in love with Armaan, only to be sitting here praying that he survived this ordeal. What she’d said to Mihir was the truth. If Armaan died, then there was no saving her. She knew it without a single doubt that her heart would stop beating if his did.
She pressed her lips to his hand. “You’re going to live, you hear me. You and I have barely begun. I won’t allow you to leave me. You’re strong, and you will survive. I won’t have it any other way.”
She shut her eyes, and then she began to pray.