by P. G. Van
“A private dance? How do you know I had that?”
“Because I was there.” She laughed.
“You watched me get a lap dance?” He pretended to be shocked.
Heat flared up her cheeks as she tried to speak, and it came out as a cough. “Samraat, I was there because it is part of the protocol. You are my responsibility until you are back in the facility.”
“I am not a child if you haven’t noticed.” He faked embarrassment.
She took a long breath. “I recommend you spend more time with your friends. Maybe invite them to spend a weekend with you in Vegas.”
“What friends? I have no friends. I have been too busy doing nothing,” he blurted.
She knew what he meant, but she needed him to keep talking. If he could only talk to her like he did the night before and know not everyone would consider his actions for revenge to be wrong, it would change everything for him. If only he had remembered that he talked to her and not the part when she kissed him. She rolled her eyes at how tricky the situation had turned out, so she decided to probe further with him.
“Samraat, I know you have something you are holding inside that you may not be happy about, but you need to talk about it.”
He looked at her for a long moment as he sipped his coffee, his eyes locked with hers. He placed the mug on the table. “Easy for you to say.”
“I know how hard it is, Samraat, but you need to let it out. This is a safe zone. You can trust me.”
“Do you trust me?” His question surprised her.
“Yes.”
He leaned back onto the chair, stretching his long legs. “Tell me something about you that no one knows.”
“Samraat, please.”
“Tell me, Naina. If you want me to talk, then you should show me how to. Don’t lie to me. I will know just like you did when I was making up stories.”
Naina looked at this man, practically a stranger, but something deep inside urged her to speak about her wish, at least talk about what she could only fantasize. “I hate a man so much that I want to see him rot in hell. But I don’t want to do anything about it.”
Samraat was shocked at her very words. The fact that she held so much anger against her father was shocking. “Why?”
“He was the reason my life was destroyed, and yet, I know I cannot do anything. So here I am in peace and not out there trying to kill that man.” Her voice held so much rage despite her calm tone, and it only made Samraat wonder why she held so much anger against her father, a man who was not capable of doing what Naina was describing.
Was there something he didn’t know about his mentor that his daughter knew? Is that why she ran away from home?
Chapter 10
Samraat surfaced from the shock he just had. He made a mental note to do another check on Mr. Sharma’s background to see if there was something he had previously missed before accepting the task of finding his runaway daughter. “Why do you want to kill him? Who is this man?”
“No details. Only emotions.”
“Okay. If it gives you peace, then you should seek revenge.” He knew that was what had triggered something in her the night before.
Naina lowered her eyes and took a few quick, short breaths before looking at him trying to keep the focus on his sorrows, not delve into hers. “What would you do to a man who was the reason for the death of one of your parents?”
“Is that what he did?” Samraat could not imagine Mr. Sharma being so brutal.
She stood up and walked over to the window with her back to him. He could see that she was under duress. He slowly got up from his chair to walk over to where she stood, her chest heaving. He stood a foot away from her and said, “If that man is out there, then you should make him pay for the pain he caused you.”
Naina started to tremble, but she knew she could not get carried away with this conversation and get personal, but she could not stop herself. “Samraat, tell me what you would do to seek revenge on a man who is the reason for your mother’s death?”
He smiled deviously. “I will make him regret what he did for the rest of his life.”
A thrill passed through her just like it did the night before. “How?”
Samraat took a step closer to her and whispered, “I would find what is dear to him and go after that… tease him a bit to make him believe he is invincible and then drop him down a hell hole.”
Naina looked into his eyes, her large browns spitting fire. “How do you think he would feel when that happens?”
Samraat took in the pleasure that passed over her in the form of relief and smiled. “Every moment of their bad actions will replay in front of their eyes and the people whose lives they destroyed. Their faces will be etched in the back of their minds as they rot in jail.”
Naina let out a sob as her knees felt weak from the emotions. She closed her eyes and felt the world around her spin, and her knees gave in. She knew she was going to collapse, bang her knees and head, but she was lost in relishing the moment. The picture Samraat painted for her, the image of the man she hated most to live his life in regret—it was her dream come true. It was a moment that she wanted to believe to be true.
Her lips curved up even as she felt her body slump, and even before her instincts to brace herself for the fall kicked in, she felt safe as two strong arms circled her trembling body.
“Naina, what’s wrong?” His voice shook as he held her to him, and the warmth of his hold gave her new strength.
She tightened her hold on him for a moment before opening her eyes and slowly becoming aware of how her cheek was plastered against his chest. She kept her eyes downcast as she pushed the hair away from her face before raising her eyes to his. “Thanks, Samraat. I am feeling tired this morning.”
“You should get some rest. I am sure it was pretty late by the time we got back last night.” Samraat took a step back to give her some space.
“I’ll be fine.”
“Naina, why are you here?” Samraat felt guilty about focusing on finishing his job when she was in such a vulnerable state, but he had a job to do and repay for what his mentor did for him years ago.
She looked at him, a puzzled expression on her face. “I don’t understand.”
He took in a slow, deep breath. “I know why I am here. Why are you working here, living your life here instead of being with family and friends?”
She looked at him for a long moment before responding. “As I said, I have no family. My friends are here, and my Guru has taught me how to forget and move on, but I…”
Naina’s words were interrupted by loud banging on the door. Samraat moved quickly toward the door and opened it to find one of the guards. “Mother, your child, Monica, is missing. We cannot find her anywhere.”
“What?” A pang of fear passed through Naina. “That’s not possible.”
The man shook his head. “She has not left the premises, but we cannot find her.”
Naina was almost out the door before the guard could finish his sentence, and Samraat followed her. She stopped short to look at him and said, “You should stay in your quarters.”
“No. I am going to help find her.” Samraat was not going to sit around waiting for the girl to be found.
Naina had no time to lose, she had to find Monica. “Okay, but please stay with me.”
Samraat nodded and looked at the guard. “Did you check every aisle in the library?”
Naina was surprised that Samraat was already thinking of possible locations where Monica could be, although he had interacted with her only a few times. They looked in some specific places, but she was nowhere to be found. With every passing minute, Naina started to panic. She was running out of ideas as to where to look for the teenager.
They spent the next couple of hours in a frenzy as it looked like Monica had disappeared without a trace. Just as the guard was about to page central security to sound the alarm and call the police, Samraat called out to Naina, “I know where she is.”
He didn’t respond to her, but instead picked up his speed and kept running. She watched him run along the pathway and toward the thick woods that are part of the facility. She followed him, and a few minutes later, she was surprised to see him go directly to one of the large trees and place his hand on his hips as he caught his breath.
“Monica,” she called out when she saw him help Monica out of the tiny space formed in the trunk of the tree.
Naina immediately hugged Monica, and when she realized how cold she was, her heart dropped to her stomach. She hugged Monica as the teenager cried into her arms.
“Monica, why… what….” Naina’s words stumbled when she realized the young girl was hiding from everyone on purpose.
Monica started to sob holding on to Naina, and Samraat watched the two women, flashes of his parents’ death coming back to him. He was pulled from his thoughts when Naina called out to him, instructing him to take her to the medical center on the premises.
“She is cold, Samraat.”
Samraat picked up the weeping girl into his arms and followed Naina back toward the residences and the medical facility. He placed her on a gurney as instructed by the doctor and was about to help wheel it away when Naina held his arm. He turned to look at her, and she shook her head. “You can’t be here. You should go back to your quarters.”
“Not until I have talked to Monica.”
“You cannot. She is very upset now, and…”
“Why? You knew she was upset, and you left her alone?” he growled, surprising himself with his tone.
“Samraat, she was doing fine. She was about to go home in a couple of days, and I… I don’t want to assume anything about why she was hiding from us.”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “Unbelievable. Why doesn’t she want to go back home?”
“She blames her parents for not saving her brother and… I can’t discuss details with you. Please go.” It was a plea, and he nodded before turning away from her to walk back to his studio.
Samraat went back to his allocated living space. He walked straight into the shower and walked out into the living area fifteen minutes later. He still could not push away thoughts of his parents, but his eyes fell on something on the table where he and Naina had sat down to talk before rushing out to look for Monica. An idea started to form in his mind.
Naina stood by the bed as the doctor checked Monica’s vitals, who seemed to have calmed down. She had been sobbing most of the time holding on to Naina and finally let go after a lot of coaxing.
“She is fine. Just cold from being in the woods. She needs to rest and see the Guru tomorrow.” The doctor stood up and added, “She needs to stay here tonight.”
“Understood…” her voice was lost when the alarm started to sound.
“Now what?” the doctor asked, looking up at the blinking lights.
Naina shook her head. “It’s probably a late alarm for when Monica went missing.”
The doctor turned to look at the young girl who looked guilty. “It’s okay. They will turn it off.”
The doctor left the room. Naina turned to look at Monica, trying to block out the alarm that continued to sound as she walked to the girl, taking her trembling hands in hers.
“I am sorry. Am I in trouble?”
“Monica…” Naina started to say.
“I am really sorry. I don’t want to go home. My parents will be…”
“Monica…” Naina hushed her. Before she could say anything else, she heard hurried footsteps outside the door.
“Mother, the man in suite twenty ran away,” one of the guards who stood by the door said, out of breath.
“What?”
“Yes, Mr. Samraat Kumar in suite twenty pushed some of the guards and drove off in a black sedan in the parking lot and…”
Naina was not listening anymore. Samraat had driven off in her car. The keys were clipped to her bag she had left in his living room when she was told about Monica. She nodded, acknowledging the car was hers as her heart sank into her stomach.
Chapter 11
Naina sat on the chair next to Monica’s bed watching the girl stare at the ceiling as the sound of the alarm still played in her ears, minutes after it was shut off. She could not believe what Samraat had done, and she could not understand why he left. Did something about what Monica did scare him? She knew his parents had both committed suicide and wondered if the incident triggered something inside him.
Distant voices shook her out of her daze. When she looked at Monica thinking she had imagined them just like the blaring alarm, she was surprised to see the girl attentive as well. The voices got louder, and then she heard footsteps. Naina got up from her chair and walked to the door. She let out a gasp of shock and surprise when she saw Samraat walking toward her carrying a small box and the guards following him. She was surprised the security even let him back into the facility after he pushed around a couple of the guards on his way out.
“Samraat, where have you been?” Naina demanded, but he ignored her and walked past her into the room. She was still confused as to why the guards weren’t stopping him from entering Monica’s room.
She watched as Samraat walked to Monica’s bed and placed the box he had in her lap and said, “My parents left me when I was eleven. You should be happy you have parents. I need you to stop thinking about what happened in the past and live your life without blaming your parents.”
“Samraat, don’t talk to her like that. She needs…” Her voice faded as he flipped open the top of the box, and a puppy popped its head out causing Monica to squeal in joy. The puppy jumped out of the box onto Monica, making the girl laugh like Naina had never heard in the six weeks she had spent at the wellness center.
“Samraat, the puppy is so cute. What is its name?” Monica hugged the small animal.
“Whatever you want to name him because he is yours now. You need to take care of him because he has no one to look after him. If you are not around to take care of him, he will not survive.”
“What?” Naina and Monica said in unison.
“Monica, if you cannot take care of the puppy, give him back to me.” Samraat tried to take the puppy from her, but she held the small animal to her.
“Samraat, we cannot…” Naina tried to interject, but Samraat hushed her as he looked at Monica.
Monica held the puppy to her, and said, “Sameer always wanted a puppy, so we could play together. I can play with this cute guy now.”
“Are you going to take care of the puppy?” Samraat’s voice held command, and Monica nodded, smiling.
“Samraat, she cannot have the puppy at the facility. It is against the rules,” Naina chimed in.
He shrugged, smiling at her. “I know, but Monica is going home tomorrow, right?”
“Yes,” a hissy response from Monica made Naina look at her in surprise. Monica held the little dog’s face in front of hers, and said, “You and I will be best friends. I will take you everywhere I go. You are so cute.”
Naina looked at Samraat in utter surprise, and he smiled. “Send her home. This is not the place for a young girl. She needs to be with her family and friends.”
Naina did not respond to him. Instead, she turned to look at the head of security standing with the other guards quietly watching everything. “What is our next step here, Brother?”
The older man nodded, a grim look on his face. “Mother, Mr. Samraat Kumar needs to be released, and Guru wants to see you.”
Naina nodded, knowing that Samraat would need to leave for leaving the premises on his own without prior permission. “Please start his release process but wait for me to come back.” She turned to look at Monica, who seemed to be lost in her world with the adorable animal before looking up into Samraat’s eyes. “Don’t leave without me.”
He nodded, and she turned away from him to meet Guru. She knew she was in trouble for more than one
reason, but she could not deny the fact she was relieved to see Monica smile.
Six weeks of the girl spending time at the wellness center didn’t help with what an adorable animal did in a moment. As she walked away, she stopped at the door and turned to look at Samraat standing in the same spot, his eyes trained on her.
A smile lit up his face when she looked at him, and her lips curved up inadvertently. “I’ll see you soon.”
Back at the residence assigned to him, Samraat packed his things into the duffle bag as two guards stood by the two doors. “Guys, what is taking Naina so long? Can someone find out where she is?”
Samraat heard the guard chuckle. “Mother’s name is Naina? I thought it was something else?”
He stopped packing and looked at the guard. “What is her real name?”
One guard looked at the other. “Ara, right? Kiara.”
“Kiara?” Samraat asked, pretending to be surprised. He had wondered more than once why she gave him a fake name when that was her legal name, if not her real name.
The guard smiled and nodded. “Let us know when you finish packing.”
“I am not leaving until my car shows up.” Samraat sat on the couch stretching his legs on the center table, inviting the guards to get comfortable on the chairs.
Almost thirty minutes later, Samraat heard light footsteps and walked to the door. Naina stopped when she saw him. She held the duffle bag close to her and said, “Let’s go.”
“Where?”
She looked at him for a long moment. “Let’s go.”
Samraat knew not to ask further questions based on her grim expression. He had called the hotel where he had previously stayed to make a reservation since he was being forced out of the facility for breaking the rules, many of them.
He followed her to the main lobby. After a few minutes of paperwork, they both stepped out of the building looking at her car parked in two spots.
“You still have the keys?” she asked without looking at him.
