CHAPTER 13 #2
He looks slightly taken aback by my words and tone, but the next second, his expression shifts back to neutral as if he does not care. Without further argument, he walks past me, and that infuriates me even more.
Fine! I don’t care either. I head to the treadmill and increase the speed slightly, forcing myself to focus on my rhythm and breathing. On anything that isn’t him.
But it does not work.
As soon as I start walking on the treadmill, my eyes flick towards him again.
He has taken off the woollen cardigan and is now in a black sleeveless tee that hugs his broad frame.
The fabric stretches across his chest before tapering down his torso.
His arms are completely bare, showcasing every line of defined muscle, every movement of strength in a way that is impossible to ignore.
He drops to the floor and starts doing push-ups as if it is any other day. There is no show in it. No need to impress. Yet, I cannot look away. My eyes keep drifting back to him.
And it is not just me. Between his push-ups, Raghav’s gaze lifts too and finds me every single time, lingering a second longer than it should. And this time, when our eyes meet, neither of us looks away immediately.
Is he trying to figure me out? Is he still stuck on why I snapped at him moments ago?
Is he trying to read what I’m not saying?
Or is it something else entirely? Something that has nothing to do with anger?
Why is it so difficult to predict what’s going on inside his head?
This man could be thinking the most sinful things while looking at me like that… and I still wouldn’t know.
My grip tightens around the treadmill bar.
The way his gaze drops just briefly before returning to mine again…
it doesn’t feel like curiosity anymore. It feels like he is aware.
Aware of the way I’m looking at him right now.
Aware of the fact that I’m standing here, trying to outrun my frustration, my thoughts, my control… and failing right in front of him.
And that awareness? It definitely doesn’t feel one-sided. Because his eyes shift again. Lower this time. To the dip of my neck where the black tank top clings a little too closely to my skin, outlining my breasts clearly.
My breath stutters as I notice the flicker of recognition on his face, as if he is recalling how his hands had been there at that very spot last night…
how his forearms brushed against me while he tried to free that chain.
When his gaze lifts back to mine, slower this time…
it no longer feels accidental. It is as if he wants me to remember too.
My steps falter slightly, breaking my rhythm. Because my mind is not here anymore. It is caught somewhere between everything that happened yesterday and everything that is happening right now.
I hate that he has this effect on me. I hate that I came here to clear my head and somehow ended up making it worse. So, I hit stop abruptly. The treadmill slows beneath my feet, and I step off without giving myself another second to think.
Grabbing my things, I turn and walk out of the gym without looking at him, carrying twice the frustration I walked in here with.
RAGHAV
Same Night
I’m at the reception lobby with Esha, going over the VIP bookings scheduled for the next few days and reviewing the high-profile events lined up at the estate. That’s when my phone vibrates in my hand. It’s Haider.
I step away from the desk, my instinct kicking in before I even answer. “Hello.”
“Raghav, we’ve got movement outside the outer barricades,” he says. “The thermal detectors picked it up about ten minutes ago near the dense forest stretch beyond the east wall.”
My posture stiffens instantly. Haider is not someone who gets alarmed easily, and the fact that he called me says enough. “What kind of movement?”
“Not an animal,” he replies. “At least it doesn’t look like one. The movement pattern is off, and the sensors are too still at intervals. The security team is already sweeping the perimeter. But it could be a man.”
A man? Out there at this hour? In a zone no one reaches without knowing exactly what they are doing?
“Stay where you are,” Haider adds. “I’ll update you once we confirm.”
The line goes dead. I don’t move for a second. That forest is not only dense, it also serves as the estate’s natural shield. No guest crosses that barricade, and no outsider reaches that stretch without intent. So if someone is out there moving like that, it is not random.
My phone buzzes again. This time it’s a message from Haider.
‘Red alert. The man is armed.’
My jaw tightens as I read it.
Armed?
Just then, the thought of Siya crosses my head. This is the exact time she usually steps outside, wandering around the estate, without any caution or awareness.
“Damn it.”
Without wasting another second, I dial her number. It rings three times before she answers. I don’t bother with hello.
“Where are you?” I ask.
There is silence on the other end.
“Who is this?” she asks. Then her voice changes immediately. “RK? Is that you? How did you get my number?”
My grip tightens around the phone.
“Siya,” I say, slower this time, emphasising each word, “where the hell are you right now?”
“I—” she exhales, clearly annoyed. “I’m just out for a walk. Inside the estate though, so relax.”
“Where?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Where are you, Siya?” I snap.
“At the east side,” she says after a beat. “Near the lily beds… the ones that release their fragrance at night.”
F*ck!
I’m already moving before the call even ends, stepping out of the lobby and heading straight towards the forest barricades.
Because I know exactly where those lily beds are.
There’s only one stretch in the entire estate where they grow like that.
Guests are naturally drawn to them, especially after sunset when the flowers bloom, and the air becomes thick with their fragrance.
At night, the place becomes almost impossible to resist.
“Go back to your cottage,” I tell her, my voice firm. “Right now.”
I don’t want her out when there is danger lurking around. If someone from the mafia world is here for me, he won’t be walking out of this place alive. That much is certain. But I don’t want Siya anywhere near that.
“Excuse me?” she scoffs. “What is wrong with you? You don’t get to decide that. I can walk wherever I want inside this estate, Raghav. This isn’t—”
“Siya,” I cut her off. “Listen to me carefully. Do not walk any further towards the forest barricades. Turn around and start walking back to your cottage. Now.”
“But why? What is going on?” she asks, turning serious now. “Why do you sound like that? Is there a problem?”
“There is a threat,” I finally say, picking up my pace.
But before she can respond, the call disconnects.
Damn! I don’t even look at the screen. I just run. Within minutes, I move closer to the eastern stretch.
By the time I reach the lily beds, I see her a few feet ahead, walking back just like I told her to. Something inside me eases on seeing her safe and within reach. Siya looks up at the sound of my approach, and surprise flashes across her face as she takes me in, running towards her like this.
And then I see it… a faint red laser dot right on her shoulder. Everything inside me goes cold.
“Siya—”
I close the distance between us in seconds, my hand gripping her arm as I pull her into me and turn her body sharply away from that line of fire.
The shot cracks through the silence. Pain explodes in my upper arm as the bullet grazes past my bicep, tearing through the skin. Blood immediately begins soaking into the fabric of my shirt. I tighten my hold on her instead of loosening it.
Her body stiffens against mine as she gasps, the sound almost like a panicked cry. “RK—”
Siya clutches onto me. But I shift, positioning her behind me this time, my gaze snapping towards the direction of the shot. There, beyond the barricade line, just past the dense stretch of trees, is a faint flicker again. The laser resets.
My entire body goes still. He is going for another shot.
I’m about to pull Siya down and take cover before the second shot is fired, but then I notice another movement.
Relief washes over me as I see Haider and his team closing in from the flank beyond the barricades, dragging the shooter out from his position.
One of my men knocks the weapon aside before the shooter can fire again forcing him down and subduing him.
I watch just long enough to ensure the threat is contained before looking down at Siya, even as the blood continues to slide down my arm. She is still staring at me, wide-eyed and shaken.
“RK… you got shot…” she stammers, still in shock. Her hands are on my arm before I can stop her. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing,” I mutter, already dismissing it. It’s just a bullet graze. I’ve taken worse and kept moving.
But she doesn’t listen. Siya pulls the scarf from around her neck and presses it against my arm, her fingers tightening as she wraps it around the wound, pulling the fabric tight to stop the bleeding.
“We need to get you to a medic. Now,” she says, urgency taking over. “Come on.”
She catches my wrist and is about to drag me away, but I pull my arm back just enough to stop her without breaking her hold.
“I told you to get away from here,” I snap.
“I was leaving,” she replies, lifting her chin. “But how was I supposed to know what was happening here?” she fires back. “You didn’t even tell me what the problem was.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Yes, it is!” she snaps back. “The point is you’ve been shot, and you need—”
My phone vibrates again.
I loosen my hold on Siya to pull it out of my pocket and answer. It’s Haider again. My fingers shake in the process of answering and the call switches to speaker instead.
“Raghav,” Haider’s voice comes through. “You okay? You got shot.”
“The bullet just grazed me,” I reply, my gaze still locked on Siya. “What’s the status?”