CHAPTER 37 #2
Ayaan and I break into a run. He cuts through the club from the inside, while I circle around from outside. If the b*stard runs back into the club, Ayaan will have him. If he comes out… he’s mine. We’re cornering the same prey from both sides, even though the others have already disappeared.
By the time I reach the back exit, the guy is already pulling open the rear door of a car. A driver is waiting behind the wheel. They’re trying to escape. Not happening.
I grab the b*stard by the collar and pull him backwards before slamming him hard against the side of the car. He spits out a curse and swings at me.
Too slow.
I kick him once and pin him harder against the door just as the driver fires from inside the car. I dodge the bullet. But before he can aim again, Ayaan bursts onto the scene. He yanks open the driver’s door, drags the man out, and lands a vicious punch straight into his face.
The gun flies from the driver’s hand and lands on the car bonnet, while he crashes onto the pavement.
Ayaan takes care of him while I deal with the other b*stard, whose nose is already broken. Blood pours from his nose and mouth, soaking the front of his shirt as I pin him against the car door. His body trembles beneath my grip, but I don’t loosen my hold. Not even an inch.
“Who sent you?” I snarl.
Silence.
My fist crashes into his face again.
“Who sent you?”
Still nothing.
This time, I grab him by the throat and slam him harder against the car.
The b*stard starts coughing, blood spilling from his mouth.
Behind me, Krish is barking instructions into his phone, calling for additional security, while Ayaan has already dealt with the driver, who is now lying unconscious beside the open car door.
“Raghav!” Ayaan calls out.
I don’t even hear him.
All I see is this man who was sent here to keep a watch over my family.
“Last chance,” I growl. “Who sent you?”
When he still refuses to answer, I grab the gun lying on the car bonnet. The moment the cold metal touches his forehead, the man begins shaking.
“Shit,” Krish mutters under his breath behind me.
“Raghav!” Ayaan’s snaps. “Drop the gun.”
I don’t even turn. I just dig the barrel harder into his forehead.
“Whoever sent you forgot to introduce me properly. It doesn’t take me a bullet for me to kill a man.”
The bastard is begging for mercy now. But I don’t care.
“Every second you waste...” I disengage the safety. “...that’s one more bullet going into your skull.”
“Raghav!” Ayaan shouts again, moving closer. “I said drop the f*cking gun!”
Nothing reaches me except the thought that these men had their eyes on Siya and my family.
“S-Singhal…”
The b*stard finally breaks. My entire body goes still.
“...the Singhals sent us.”
There’s absolute silence as we all process this.
Singhals! Those b*stards have no idea what’s coming for them. Before the man can utter another word, my finger tightens around the trigger.
“Raghav!” Ayaan reaches me just in time and knocks the gun aside.
The shot tears into the air. The deafening crack echoes through the alley as the b*stard screams, thinking I’d pulled the trigger at him.
I wish I had!
Police sirens blare in the distance.
“Have you lost your f*cking mind?” Ayaan roars.
“I’ll kill every single one of them!” I roar back, whirling around. “Whoever comes after my family dies.”
“No, you won’t,” Ayaan yells, grabbing my arm before I can take another step. My chest rises and falls violently as blood drips from my knuckles.
“You’re just a damn civilian here. This is not Cape Town, where you can spill the mafia blood and escape unnoticed or untouched.”
The police vehicles screech to a halt. Krish immediately moves forward, taking charge of the driver while the officers pull the bleeding b*stard away from me.
“Let’s go home,” Ayaan orders.
I neither resist nor respond. I simply stand there, seething. The officers drag both men away while Ayaan quietly speaks to them, giving precise instructions. These men will go straight into GLEN’s custody, not the local police. Not after we know that the Singhals sent them.
Minutes later, the alley falls silent. Krish walks away to coordinate with the security team, and suddenly, it’s just Ayaan and me. Neither of us speaks. My shirt is a mess, but the urge to put a bullet into every Singhal b*stard who’s still breathing refuses to leave me.
I don’t even realise when Ayaan brings the car around and practically forces me inside. Before I know it, we’re on our way back to Shergill Mansion in silence.
*****************
Shergill Mansion
We reach home, but I’m still furious. I haven’t said a single word throughout the drive back, and neither has Ayaan tried to interrupt my thoughts. He knows when to leave me alone.
But the storm inside me refuses to settle. I stride inside the house with the same anger burning through my veins. The thought that the b*stards from the life I’d buried long ago came so close to my family tonight kills something inside me.
As soon as I enter the living room, I see Baba and Siya’s mother sitting on the sofa. They both rise to their feet at once.
“Raghav?” Baba calls out sharply. “What happened?”
But it’s Siya’s mother’s reaction that catches me off guard. She rushes towards me without a second thought and grips my upper arm. When her eyes fall on the blood staining my shirt, they widen in alarm.
“What happened to you?” she asks anxiously. “Why are you bleeding?”
For a second, I simply stare at her. Her concern and fear for me… this is new.
“I’m fine,” I assure her. “This blood isn’t mine.”
Relief washes over her face. Ayaan walks in right behind me, but I barely notice him. My eyes are already searching for Siya.
“Where’s Siya?” I ask.
“She’s with Meher upstairs,” her mother replies softly.
That’s all I need to hear. I turn towards the staircase and start climbing without another word.