Chapter 10 #3
Surrounding them on all sides were four broad-shouldered men dressed in identical black velvet cloaks and dark masks.
They had subtly positioned themselves in a tight circle around Shruti and Victor, blocking her from the view of the rest of the ballroom guests and cutting off her sightline to Akhil’s security operatives posted near the marble pillars.
"You..." Shruti breathed, terror clutching at her throat. "You're Victor Romano!"
"Full marks for intelligence, Signorina," Victor smirked darkly under his mask, guiding her towards the dark side archway leading out of the main ballroom towards the palace’s private rear water courtyard.
"Reyansh Khanna sends his warmest regards from Mumbai.
You have caused him a great deal of trouble, little girl. "
"Let go of me!" Shruti snarled bravely, thrashing violently against his grip as they reached the shadowed archway away from the main crowd. "Akhil will kill you for this!"
"Akhil Raheja doesn't even know where you are," Victor sneered, signaling his four masked thugs to close in around her. "By the time he realizes you are missing from the dance floor, my speedboat will be halfway across the lagoon heading towards my mountain compound."
Two of the broad thugs stepped forward, pulling out a heavy black cloth bag and a thick rope from beneath their velvet cloaks.
"Grab her arms!" Victor commanded sharply.
Shruti’s fearless, stubborn spirit flared to life. She was not going down without a fight.
As the first thug reached out his heavy hand to grab her shoulder, Shruti swung her heavy, gold-embossed metal clutch purse with all the force in her body, slamming it directly into the thug's masked face.
'CRACK!'
The porcelain mask shattered, and the thug let out a loud groan of pain, clutching his bleeding nose as he stumbled backward into the stone wall.
"You little bitch!" Victor snarled in fury.
Shruti didn't waste a single second. She gathered the heavy, voluminous folds of her emerald velvet ballgown in her hands, turned on her heels, and sprinted down the dimly lit, narrow stone corridor leading towards the palace’s side exit.
"Get her!" Victor roared to his remaining three men. "Do not let her reach the main hall!"
Shruti ran through the dark, arched corridors of Palazzo Pisani, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird, her heavy velvet skirt rustling loudly against the ancient stone walls.
The narrow corridor opened up into a quiet, fog-shrouded private courtyard that led out to a dark side canal jetty.
The side jetty was deserted, save for a fast, black motorboat idling softly in the dark water, its driver waiting in the shadows.
Shruti reached the heavy wooden door leading back into the main palace, frantically grabbing the iron handle, but the door was locked from the inside.
She was trapped.
Behind her, heavy, rushing footsteps echoed against the stone floor of the courtyard.
Victor Romano and his three thugs burst into the misty courtyard, blocking the only exit path leading back into the palace corridor.
"End of the line, Miss Malhotra," Victor spoke, stepping slowly towards her with cold, murderous intent, pulling a silenced pistol from beneath his velvet cloak. "You should have stayed in Mumbai."
Shruti backed away until her spine hit the cold stone wall near the canal edge. She held her heavy clutch purse like a weapon, her chin raised defiantly, her dark eyes flashing with fearless anger despite the terror clutching her heart.
"If you shoot me, the sound will echo across the canal!" Shruti warned bravely, her voice steady. "Akhil’s men are everywhere!"
"This pistol has a silencer, my dear," Victor smirked, aiming the dark barrel directly at her chest as his two thugs stepped up on either side of her, preparing to grab her. "Nobody will hear a thing."
Shruti closed her eyes tight, pressing her back against the cold stone wall, her heart screaming one single name in her mind: 'Akhil...'
Suddenly, the silence of the misty courtyard was shattered.
'BANG!'
A deafening gunshot echoed through the narrow canal walls.
Victor Romano let out a high-pitched scream of agony as a bullet shattered his right wrist, sending his silenced pistol clattering onto the hard stone floor.
Before anyone could even react, a dark, terrifying figure dropped down from the high stone balcony above the courtyard, landing heavily on his feet like a lethal predator.
The shadow straightened up, throwing off his black Venetian mask.
The moonlight illuminated the face of Akhil Raheja.
His dark eyes were burning with a lethal, murderous rage that promised absolute destruction. His crisp white shirt was unbuttoned at the neck, his velvet cloak was gone, and in his right hand, he held a heavy, black tactical pistol, smoke still rising from the barrel.
For a fraction of a second, Akhil’s dark eyes locked onto Shruti standing against the wall. He saw her pale skin, her disheveled dress, and the fear in her eyes.
A cold, deadly quiet descended upon him.
"Touch her," Akhil spoke, his voice sounding like grinding stones from the depths of hell, "and none of you will leave Venice alive."