CHAPTER 45 #2
My men scatter as the peaceful estate erupts into a battlefield within a second.
Gunfire breaks out from somewhere ahead, followed by another shot, and then another.
Bullets rip through the trees from hidden positions across the estate.
I duck behind a stone structure as one bullet tears past me.
I then raise my rifle and fire back. Two of my men immediately join me.
The night explodes into chaos. Good. This is exactly what I came for.
Amidst the sound of gunfire, I hear another series of shots echoing from the main entrance of the resort.
A grin spreads across my face, knowing that Michael has started his part.
The attack is underway. By now, he and his men must have breached the resort grounds.
The entire place must be descending into panic exactly as I planned.
I reload my weapon and push forward. “Move!” I bark.
My men follow. We advance through the darkness, taking cover behind trees, pillars, anything that can shield us from incoming fire.
But within minutes, the real problem becomes obvious.
Raghav’s men know these grounds too well.
They are familiar with every corner, every blind spot, and every elevated position that allows them to shoot without being seen.
This is their territory. Their hunting ground. And we’re the ones being hunted.
Suddenly, a burst of bullets rains down from somewhere above us. Three of my men fall instantly. One dead, and two screaming in agony as blood splashes across the pathway.
“Find the shooter!” I roar.
But nobody can. By the time we return fire, the b*stard has already disappeared. Another gunshot tears from our left. Then another from behind a fountain. Then another from a rooftop. Then from somewhere inside the trees. It’s like we’re fighting invisible ghosts with rifles.
I grit my teeth and keep moving. We know Raghav is at the villa.
Everything else is irrelevant. Kill the king, and the kingdom collapses.
That’s all that matters. But every hundred feet we gain costs me more men.
Another body drops. Then another. The numbers behind me keep shrinking.
Hundred becomes fifty. Then twenty. Until barely ten of us remain.
Something is wrong. Very, very wrong. This doesn’t look like Raghav’s men are defending themselves.
This looks like they were already prepared for this attack, as though they knew exactly from where we would enter and when.
A fresh burst of gunfire forces me behind cover again.
A bullet grazes my shoulder. Pain burns across my skin, but I barely register it.
My eyes keep sweeping through the darkness, searching for any sign of movement from the other side of the estate.
Where the f*ck are Parag and Singhal?
By now, they should have reached the southern side. They should have started their assault, and I should be hearing gunfire tearing through the estate from every direction. Instead, only my men are dying, bleeding, and only my army is being cut apart.
I shove the thought aside and keep moving.
The villa is not even halfway from here.
But somehow, I’ve already lost most of our strength.
I can still hear gunshots echoing from the resort section, which means Michael is doing his job.
At least one part of my plan is going exactly as it should. That thought keeps me moving.
I push forward again, and another firefight erupts around us. More bullets, more blood, and more bodies hit the ground. Suddenly, I run out of ammo.
F*ck. I reach for another magazine, but before I can reload, several of Raghav’s men charge out from behind cover and charge straight into us.
In no time, my men and I are locked in brutal hand-to-hand combat with them.
I drive my elbow into a man’s throat, smash my fist into another man’s nose, and grab a third by the collar and slam him hard into a stone pillar.
Then someone comes from behind me. I grab the man coming at my back and throw him over my shoulder.
Someone else lunges towards me with a knife aimed at my ribs.
But I catch his wrist and snap it. The man screams. Bodies crash around me.
There are men fighting everywhere. Mine against his, the clash between them making it impossible for us to move any further towards the villa.
Then I see an opening. One of Raghav’s men is climbing to higher ground.
If he reaches the top, he’ll have a clear shot at every man I have left.
I spot a rifle lying abandoned a few feet away and lunge for it.
My fingers are inches away from the weapon when a heavy boot slams down on the back of my hand and crushes it into the dirt.
I grit my teeth as pain shoots up my arm and look up.
That’s when I see him. Raghav Khurana. Standing over me, calm and completely unfazed, as if he had been expecting me here all along.
As if the bullets flying around us, the explosions shaking the hillside, and the bodies dropping with every passing minute mean absolutely nothing to him.
Smoke from the gunfire curls through the night behind him, but his eyes remain locked on mine. Cold. Steady. Like a hunter who has finally cornered his prey.
“Samarjeet Vardhaan.” His boot presses harder against my hand. “So eager to die that you walked straight into your own death trap?”
The bastard actually sounds amused, as though he already knows how tonight is going to end.
“We’ll see who dies tonight, Raghav.” I wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth and glare up at him. “You or me.”
The next instant Raghav lifts his foot and drives it straight into my chest. The impact sends me flying backwards.
The gun skids away across the rocks, and I crash hard onto the ground, coughing as I struggle to breathe.
Rage explodes through me as I stagger back to my feet with a growl and charge at him.
My fist connects with his jaw, and his elbow slams into my ribs.
I grab hold of him, but he shoves me backwards.
I charge at him again, and this time, he meets me halfway.
We crash into each other like two wild animals, fists flying as years of hatred finally find an outlet.
Every punch carries history. Every blow carries vengeance.
We fight our way across the stone pathway, onto the grass, and against the railings.
Neither of us is willing to yield. Neither of us is willing to fall.
But gradually, the balance begins to shift.
Not because he’s stronger than me, but because my men are disappearing while his seem to be everywhere.
I throw another punch at him, but he dodges. I reach for the fallen rifle lying a few feet away and lunge for it, my fingers almost closing around the weapon before Raghav kicks it away. The weapon slides across the ground while he picks another gun lying nearby.
As I look up, the barrel is already aimed straight at my forehead.
Everything stops, and only then do I realise what has happened around me.
The few men I have left are on their knees, their weapons kicked away from their reach.
His men have guns trained on every last one of my men.
The rest of my army is gone. Either dead or lying somewhere across the estate we fought so hard to enter.
We are surrounded, disarmed, and outnumbered.
One wrong move would get the remaining ones killed.
Just as one pull of Raghav’s finger on his gun gets me killed.
Raghav can end this war right here if he chose to.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. The tide has turned.
I came here with an army and with two other mafia empires backing me to destroy Raghav.
Instead, I am standing in the middle of his kingdom, with the Dark Prince’s gun pointed at my head.
Raghav tilts his head slightly, a mocking smile touching his lips. “What happened?” he asks smugly. “You look surprised.”
I glare at him, but the b*stard smiles wider.
“So, am I,” he adds, taking a slow step towards me without lowering the gun. “I had no idea you were this good at imitating me.”
My hands curl into fists.
“You replicated my Cape Town stunt almost perfectly. The split assault, the attempt to surround the estate from multiple directions, the dramatic entrance.” He laughs. “You even came at sunset.”
I spit the blood pooling in my mouth onto the grass, but Raghav isn’t done.
“I always knew you didn’t have the courage to come alone. You needed two other empires to back you up.” His gaze drifts lazily over the bodies scattered across the grounds before returning to me. “And yet, it seems even that wasn’t enough. You still failed.”
The words hit harder than the punch he threw earlier. I force a smirk onto my face.
“You think you’ve won?” I laugh.
Raghav says nothing.
“I haven’t failed, Raghav. You’re standing here pointing a gun at me while Michael is tearing your resort apart.” I lean forward slightly, my grin widening. “You heard those gunshots, didn’t you? Those are your guests dying. Your precious RK Estate is already burning.”
I wait for him to react. Instead, Raghav smirks.
“I heard the gunshots,” he says calmly. “Every single one.” Something in the way he says it makes my smile falter. “But don’t worry. Not a single guest has been harmed. Because right now, there are no guests at RK Estate.”
“What?” My brow furrows.
Raghav’s smile turns colder.
“RK Estate has been closed to visitors for the past few days.”
The ground beneath me seems to shift.
“The people inside the resort are my men, disguised as guests. Seems like your sources never got a whiff of that, did they?” he mocks.
A chill crawls down my spine.
“You came here to wage war, Samarjeet. Did you honestly think I would leave innocent civilians here for you to slaughter?”