CHAPTER 12 #3
“I’m not deflecting,” I say flatly. “And don’t think I haven’t figured out that you and Meher sent Baba here to find out about Siya.”
There’s a flicker of satisfaction on Ayaan’s face.
“Siya,” he repeats slowly. “So that’s her name.”
I curse myself internally for giving that away so easily, but it hardly matters now. Even if Baba hadn’t recounted every moment at RK Estate word for word, Ayaan and Meher would’ve still managed to pull enough out of him anyway.
“Don’t act like you don’t know anything,” I continue. “As soon as Baba got home, you and Meher would’ve cornered him for details.”
Ayaan chuckles. “We did. And he told us… just enough.”
My eyes narrow at that.
“What exactly is going on there, Raghav?”
Silence stretches between us for a long moment.
“If you’re going this far to hide a woman from us,” he says finally, his voice dropping just a fraction, “then she’s not just another guest for sure.”
Although I know nothing I say right now is going to end this conversation, I still divert it elsewhere. “Why did you call?” I ask.
Ayaan exhales, and his serious expression catches my attention immediately. “There’s intel coming in,” he says. “Possible arms movement. Looks like a smuggling deal tied to the southern mafia network.”
I go completely still.
The Reddys.
“GLEN picked up movement near the border region around Nepal,” he continues.
I already know that.
My grip on the phone tightens slightly.
“Since you’re closer to that side now,” he says, watching me carefully, “I thought of checking with you first. Have you heard anything?”
“No.”
I meet his gaze directly as I deliver that lie, but Ayaan doesn’t look convinced.
“Okay. But why do you suddenly look like that?” he asks.
“Like what?”
“Distracted,” he says, shrugging. “Like something is already running through your head.”
“There’s always something running through my head, Ayaan,” I reply. “You know that’s not new.”
He studies me for another second before nodding.
“Fine. But if something this big is moving near the border, I need to know before it turns into something we can’t control. Right now, I’m not asking as your brother, but as the Director of GLEN. I can’t afford to overlook anything at this scale, Raghav.”
I stay silent as he continues.
“We already have eyes on the southern mafia networks. And lately, the Reddys’ name has been coming up far more than it should.
Movements. Financial trails. New alliances.
None of it feels coincidental.” His gaze locks onto mine.
“We’re building something big to dismantle their operations from the roots.
But that only works if we stay ahead of whatever they’re planning and not lag behind. ”
He takes a heavy pause.
“So if anything on your side connects back to them, I need to know before it escalates into something bigger.”
I don’t answer him right away because I already know enough. Yet I choose not to tell him.
“I’ll let you know if anything comes up on my radar,” I say at last.
Just then, I hear a sharp sound of something hitting the ground.
My head turns instantly, my body already alert.
Ayaan is saying something through the phone, but I barely register it anymore.
Because a few feet away from me is Siya, completely frozen in place.
Her phone lies on the ground near her feet, and the look on her face tells me that she has heard enough.
I don’t wait.
“I’ll call you back,” I say abruptly, disconnecting the call as I start to move.
By the time I turn fully towards her, Siya is already running. That alone confirms it. She heard it all. I move fast, closing the distance in seconds , and grab her arm just as she tries to escape.
“Leave me!” she snaps, trying to twist out of my grip in an attempt to break free.
Before she can try anything again, I bend and lift her clean off the ground, throwing her over my shoulder in one swift motion.
“RK!” she yells, hitting my back with her fists as she struggles against me.
I ignore her and carry her straight back into the stable, away from open ground and away from her guards, if they are around following her.
The moment we reach the far end, I push her down onto the haystack. She barely has a second to react before she tries to get up again. But I stop her immediately, grabbing both her wrists and pinning them against the hay as I lean over her, trapping her beneath me.
“Stop,” I snap, my voice sharp enough to freeze her again. “So now you’ve started eavesdropping on my private conversations as well?” I ask, barely holding on to my anger.
Her breathing is uneven from struggling, but the defiance in her eyes shines bright as ever. “I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she snaps instantly. “I was just… taking a walk.”
I hold her gaze, not buying a single word of it.
“And even if I was,” she adds, lifting her chin stubbornly, refusing to back down, “I have no interest in your… whatever that was. Your top secrets.”
“How much did you hear?”
My grip on her wrists tightens slightly. She goes still for a few seconds before speaking up, no longer struggling now.
“I heard enough,” she says at last. “About the arms smuggling deal near the border. About GLEN. Everything.”
I curse in my head as she continues. “GLEN is the same organisation that dismantled the BAT Syndicate, right? Back in Cape Town, everyone in the mafia world knew that they killed your father and… you too.”
There’s unmistakable curiosity in her eyes now.
“So Ayaan… your brother is really the Director of GLEN?” she asks in disbelief, trying to process it all. “And you are standing right in the middle of both worlds? Feeding him intel when it suits you… and keeping the rest buried?”
“Stop,” I shout back. “Get that out of your head right now.”
She frowns instantly. “As if that’s possible.”
She tries to pull away again, but I hold her wrists tightly.
“Then make sure it stays in your head and nowhere else,” I warn her.
She stills again.
“Because if anything from that conversation leaves your mouth,” I continue, my voice dropping to a dangerous tone, “you’ll end up becoming the next target on my hit list.”
“Oh really?” She lets out a mocking laugh. “So what are you now? Your brother’s personal assassin?”
I don’t respond.
Siya exhales sharply and shakes her head. “Okay, look. I really have no interest in all of this. Nor am I going to share it with anyone. Not even with my mom. Happy? Now leave me.”
When I still don’t, her brows furrow in irritation.
“And what’s this?” she demands, glaring up at me.
“You’ve already carried me twice in your arms within twenty-four hours.
First at the vineyard in front of everyone, and now this, carrying me around like a sack of potato.
I seriously wish Kailash Uncle could see you right now.
What did he say yesterday? My boy is shy. ” She snorts softly. “Shy my foot.”
There’s fire in her now.
“Urgh,” she groans in frustration. “My back is hurting already. Get off me, RK.”
I finally shift, releasing her wrists, having heard enough of her rant.
But even then, she immediately pushes at my chest, trying to create distance between us.
The moment her fingers pull my collar, the top two buttons of my shirt give way with a soft pop, the fabric falling open to expose more of my chest than it should.
Siya freezes completely. Her gaze slowly drops to the open collar of my shirt, intentionally lingering there. I catch the way her throat moves as she swallows. The subtle shift in her breathing. The faint flush creeping up her cheeks. Even the pressure of her hand against my chest weakens.
The moment Siya notices where her attention is, her eyes jerk back up to mine, visibly flustered.
“Get. Off,” she says again, quieter this time.