Chapter 5 #2
Shruti grinned triumphantly. She pushed the gate open slightly and slipped through, stepping out onto the narrow, rocky public coastal path running along the edge of the Arabian Sea.
The cool, salty ocean breeze slammed into her face, blowing her dark hair wildly around her shoulders. The vast blue ocean roared against the jagged black rocks below, sending white foam splashing into the air.
"Freedom!" Shruti laughed out loud, throwing her arms out wide.
She walked down the rocky path towards a popular street food stall area located about three hundred meters away near the public promenade.
She didn't want to leave the general vicinity, she wasn't stupid enough to wander into dangerous public areas alone after what happened at Marine Drive.
She just wanted her favorite spicy street snack: a fresh, paper cone filled with hot, crispy bhel puri from a local vendor.
Within ten minutes, Shruti was sitting happily on a large, flat granite rock overlooking the ocean waves, eating her spicy bhel puri with a wooden spoon, enjoying her quiet victory over Akhil Raheja’s rules.
***
Meanwhile, inside the Raheja Security Command Room, total chaos erupted.
Mark, the chief of security, was staring at a bank of thirty-two high-definition surveillance monitors. Suddenly, a red blinking alert flashed across the central console.
"Alert! Perimeter breach at East Maintenance Gate Four!" a computer voice echoed.
Mark slammed his hands onto the desk, zooming in on the camera angle. The iron gate was standing slightly ajar. He quickly checked the GPS tracking system on his tablet. Shruti Malhotra’s location signal was completely dark.
"Where is Miss Malhotra?!" Mark shouted into his headset, his face turning pale. "Foyer Guard Vikram, report!"
"I... I went to fetch her water, sir!" Vikram’s panicked voice came through the earpiece. "She's gone from the foyer!"
"Search the estate grounds immediately!" Mark ordered frantically. "Initiate local sweep!"
Before Mark could dispatch the full security convoy, the private elevator behind him dinged open.
Akhil Raheja stepped into the command room. He had returned early from his corporate meetings, having wrapped up his negotiations ahead of schedule. He had unbuttoned his suit jacket, his dark eyes looking relaxed as he held a leather file folder.
"Mark," Akhil spoke as he walked in. "How are the perimeter checks, "
Akhil froze, instantly sensing the heavy, panic-filled atmosphere in the command center. He saw the red blinking light on the main screen and Mark’s terrified expression.
A dark, icy chill instantly gripped Akhil’s heart.
"What happened?" Akhil asked, his voice dropping to a dangerous, deadly whisper.
Mark swallowed hard, his hands trembling slightly as he turned to face his boss. "Mr. Raheja... Miss Malhotra slipped past the foyer guard. She picked the lock on the east maintenance gate. She's... she's outside the perimeter grounds, sir."
Akhil’s dark eyes turned pitch-black with raw, terrifying fury. The folder in his hand fell to the floor.
"Where is her GPS signal?" Akhil demanded, stepping towards the console like a towering storm.
"Her... her tracking app is turned off, sir," Mark stammered.
Without saying another word, Akhil turned around and sprinted out of the command room. He didn't wait for his driver. He didn't grab his jacket. He ran straight down the grand hallway, shoved open the heavy glass doors, and sprinted down the private garden pathway towards the east maintenance gate.
His mind was racing with terrifying images of Reyansh Khanna’s thugs grabbing her, pulling her into a black sedan, hurting her...
"Shruti..." Akhil growled through his gritted teeth, his heart hammering wildly against his ribs as he shoved open the iron maintenance gate and burst onto the rocky coastal path outside.
He scanned the shoreline frantically, his sharp eyes searching every rock, every shadow, every stretch of sand.
And then, about two hundred meters down the rocky path, he spotted her.
Shruti was sitting casually on a high granite rock, her legs swinging over the edge, wearing her dark hoodie, happily eating a paper cone of bhel puri while watching the sea waves crash against the shoreline.
She was completely fine. She was safe.
The overwhelming surge of relief that hit Akhil was so intense it almost made his knees buckle. He took a long, heavy breath, resting a hand against the rough stone wall as his racing heart slowly settled.
Then, right behind the relief, a wave of dark, burning rage took over.
***
Shruti was just scooping up another spoonful of crispy puffed rice and tangy tamarind chutney when a tall shadow fell over her rock.
She looked up, and almost choked on her food.
Akhil was standing right in front of her.
His dark hair was tossed wildly by the ocean wind.
His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the neck, his tie was gone, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.
But it was his face that made Shruti’s heart do a sudden backflip.
His jaw was set like forged steel, his chest heaving with heavy breaths, and his dark eyes were burning with a terrifying mix of raw fury and intense relief.
"Enjoying your snack, Miss Malhotra?" Akhil asked, his voice sounding like grinding stones.
Shruti swallowed hard, quickly hiding her paper cone behind her back. She forced a brave, playful smile onto her face, trying to cover her sudden nervousness.
"Oh! Hey, Akhil!" she greeted cheerfully. "You're back early! Did you buy Italy already?"
Akhil didn't laugh. He didn't even smile.
He took two slow, deliberate steps up the granite rocks until he was standing directly over her, towering above her seated frame.
"Do you have any idea," Akhil spoke, his voice dangerously low, quiet, and steady, "what just happened inside my house? Do you have any idea that thirty security operatives were about to launch a high-alert sweep across South Mumbai because you vanished?!"
Shruti’s smile faded slightly, replaced by her natural stubbornness. "I didn't vanish, Akhil! I’m literally sitting two hundred meters away from your gate! I just wanted some fresh air and some bhel puri!"
"You broke three security protocols in less than six hours!" Akhil raised his voice, stepping closer until his leather dress shoes were touching her sneakers. "You tricked my guard, you picked a locked gate, and you turned off your location signal! Are you completely out of your mind?!"
"I am NOT out of my mind!" Shruti yelled back, standing up on the high granite rock so she could meet his gaze at equal height.
"I told you this morning, Akhil! I am not a dog you can keep locked inside a golden kennel!
I needed to step outside for twenty minutes without four men in dark suits breathing down my neck! "
"You were almost kidnapped yesterday!" Akhil roared, his dark eyes flashing with a terrifying power that made the sea air seem to freeze around them.
"Reyansh Khanna’s men were looking for you!
If they had spotted you sitting out here alone on these rocks, you wouldn't be eating street food right now, you would be in the back of a van with a knife to your throat! "
"I was watching my surroundings!" Shruti shouted back, her chest heaving as she pointed her wooden spoon at his chest. "I am not stupid, Akhil! Stop talking to me like I am an irresponsible child!"
"Then stop acting like one!" Akhil shot back furiously, reaching out to grab the paper cone of bhel puri from behind her back. "Give me that!"
"Hey! No! That's my bhel puri!" Shruti gasped, pulling the paper cone away from his reach.
"We are going back inside right now," Akhil commanded, reaching out again to grab her arm to guide her down from the rock.
"I am not going anywhere until I finish my food!" Shruti declared stubbornly, twisting her body away to protect her snack.
"Shruti, give me the paper!" Akhil gritted out, stepping up onto her rock to snatch it from her hands.
"No! Get your own!" Shruti laughed defiantly, ducking under his broad arm.
In her hurry to dodge him on the uneven granite surface, Shruti’s sneaker caught on a patch of wet sea moss covering the rock.
"Whoa!" Shruti gasped, her feet slipping right out from under her.
"Shruti!"
Akhil reacted instantly. Throwing all caution to the wind, he lunged forward, wrapping his strong arms firmly around her waist to catch her before she could crash onto the sharp rocks below.
The sudden shift in momentum threw both of them completely off balance.
With a loud yelp from Shruti and a grunted curse from Akhil, both of them tumbled off the granite ledge together, rolling down the short grassy slope lining the coastal path, finally coming to a stop on the soft, thick green lawn just inside the private estate boundary.
'THUD!'
Silence fell over the lawn, save for the sound of crashing ocean waves.
Shruti opened her eyes, gasping for air.
She was lying flat on her back on the soft green grass. Sitting directly over her, straddling her waist with his hands planted firmly on the grass beside her head, was Akhil Raheja.
His dark hair was completely messy, falling over his forehead. His crisp white shirt was covered in grass stains, his trousers were rumpled, and his breathing was coming in deep, heavy rasps.
Lying beneath him, Shruti’s dark hair was spread out like a halo on the grass. Her hoodie had pulled back slightly, revealing her flushed, glowing cheeks.
And crushed completely between their chests was the paper cone of bhel puri, spicy tamarind chutney, crispy puffed rice, and chopped onions smeared all over Akhil’s multi-thousand-dollar white designer shirt and Shruti’s dark blue hoodie.
They stared at each other in utter shock for three long seconds.
Shruti looked down at Akhil’s chest, taking in the massive, glorious mess of tamarind chutney and puffed rice plastered right across his chest.
A small, unstoppable twitch appeared at the corner of Shruti’s lips.