by MV Kasi
Suraj’s heart began to thud. He got up from the chair and hurried out of his home office. “Where is it?”
“Should I ask them to bring it here?” Radha asked.
“No! Take me there.” Fear began to grip Suraj’s heart, imagining the worst. Ever since Nina had been taken, he could barely sleep. His anxiety and worry increased even more due to lack of sleep.
The package was lying on the dining table. Slowly, with heart thudding, he opened the top of the package.
Inside was his wife’s beautiful lush hair, chopped and thrown carelessly into a cardboard box.
At once, relief passed through him since he had been expecting the worst. His Nina was still alive.
“There’s a printed message.” Radha frowned at the small piece of paper.
“What is it?” Suraj asked, taking the paper. A link was printed on it.
Suraj hurried back to his office desk and typed the link on the laptop browser.
There was a video recording.
As soon as the brief clipping finished, Suraj was angry. Some sadistic bastard had his wife and was torturing her.
Suraj immediately knew it wasn’t money the man was after. It was something else.
“Get the IG on the phone right now!” he ordered.
CHAPTER 16
Nina pushed opened the door to the hotel room that was slightly ajar. It was a large two-room luxury suite built on top of the hotel that was booked by honeymoon couples or VIPs.
Her heart began to thud. Where was everyone? It was supposed to be a party. Did everyone leave already?
She couldn’t hear anyone. Maybe they left.
She was about to leave as well, but stopped when she heard something. It sounded like a grunt.
Cautiously, she threaded softly through the large living area and went towards the bedroom. The bedroom door was closed.
“Move, you bitch. Don’t just lie there,” a man’s drunken voice said. “Move!” There were more grunts and noises of flesh hitting against flesh.
Goosebumps broke on her skin and every self-preservation instinct told her to run away from there. With heart thudding loudly in her ears, she turned the knob of the bedroom door.
It was open.
When she pushed the door open, the sight that met her eyes shocked her.
Nina jerked awake.
She was breathing fast once again, and shivers racked her body. But unlike most times when he had this dream, there were no tears in her eyes. At least no tears of grief.
Because instead of seeing Devi’s face, Nina had seen herself in the dream.
The woman lying naked on the bed with dead eyes was her and the man violating her was her captor.
Being alive is better. Being alive is better. Being alive is better.
Nina repeated those words as she got up from the bed and went towards the bathroom window to stare out at the trees in the forest.
A week had passed since Nina’s last escape attempt, and she had been confined to the room since then. Her meals continued to be brought in by the old man.
Nina had tried to engage in conversation with him several times, but each time she spoke to him, the old man simply bent his head down and murmured an apology to her.
She was frustrated by the lack of any communication.
After her first bath, each day she was allowed into her captor’s room for ten minutes where she continued to take unsatisfactory showers with the small bucket filled with the metallic smelling water. The only thing that had changed was that she was given three additional sets of clothes.
So, after her shower and when she went back to her room, she washed the used pair in the small sink of her bathroom.
Meals. Shower. Washing. Sleep.
Those activities were on repeat mode each day.
Nina should have been relieved that she was left alone, but she wasn’t. She hated being kept in the dark, not knowing what was coming next. Each time she went to sleep, she was always in an alert mode, bracing herself for an attack from the captor.
However, she hadn’t seen or heard her captor for the the week. She knew he had left the cabin the very next day of recording a video to be sent to Suraj.
And once she had realized that it was just the old man guarding her, she had considered attacking him to try and escape once again, but the holster with the gun which the old man deliberately displayed held her back. Somehow, she knew her captor must have ordered the old man to wear it each time he visited her room.
The gun did give her a pause, because she knew if she failed, she would not only sign her own death warrant, but possibly even Suraj’s.
She had seen the hate shining in her captor’s eyes. She somehow knew that her captor was not the kind to give up on his revenge just because his captive managed to get herself killed.
He thought Suraj was responsible for the death of someone he loved. Nina kept wondering who that person was. Was she a wife? A sister? Or a girlfriend?
And how was Suraj responsible for that person’s death?
She kept racking her brain, going through every possible way Suraj could have inadvertently hurt a woman. And what really shook Nina was the fact that she didn’t know whether or not Suraj was really responsible for a woman’s death.
Nina loved Suraj. She trusted him with her life, but did she think he was capable of murder? If not with his own hands but allowing someone to take another’s life?
Yes.
Suraj had seen and covered up a murder before. For her.
That fact made Nina love him even more, and made her want to protect him with everything she had.
Over the week, she had a lot of time to think. Obviously, her captor was going to be extra alert around her. She could no longer use a surprise attack as a tactic to escape. She had to think of a different way.
She came to a conclusion that in order to be set free and also save Suraj from whatever her captor had planned, she had to get to a point where her captor would listen to her.
Although she didn’t know him well or spend much time around him, she knew he would be a tough nut to crack. There were two other men involved as well—the old man and the other man named Vikram. Between the three men, her captor seemed to be the one who made the decisions, and also the ultimate one to decide what her fate was to be.
She needed to find a way to get into his good graces.
Her captor had threatened Suraj with videos of her being forced by him. He probably thought that Suraj’s honor existed in her body.
But he was wrong. The bond and love Suraj and she built and shared over the last decade was unshakeable.
She knew Suraj would love her no matter what happened to her or what she did for her survival.
And it was truly amazing how the human mind worked when it was in a survival mode.
Morals, ethics, or shame—they no longer applied in the same way as they did when one was safe and secure.
It was clear what she had to do.
She wasn’t going to allow her captor to violate her body and soul. Before that happened, she was going to offer him her body.
In fact, she would make the first move. She would initiate the act. She would be the one who would allow things to proceed according to her plan and pace.
He will not be able to steal from her what was being given willingly.
Her captor could try and break her, but she wouldn’t break. At most, she might bend. But before that, she’d do everything in her power to break him first.
CHAPTER 17
Gaurav was waiting in his SUV, outside a seedy bar and restaurant. He had just received information on the special delivery having reached Suraj Bhupati. Gaurav hoped the bastard was going crazy with worry and fear for his wife.
But that wasn’t enough. Gaurav wanted Suraj Bhupati to be ruined completely. Gaurav already knew from the security cameras that Suraj Bhupati was barely sleeping. He was also turning the police force upside down for not finding any clue about his wife’s whereabouts.
He had even hired the best private investigators his money could offer.
The ring of a phone interrupted Gaurav’s thoughts. Seeing the number on the screen, he answered it immediately.
“Where are you?” Vikram’s voice asked.
“I’m waiting outside the bar. So far, no show.”
Vikram and he had spent most of the week hunting down the identities of the rest of the bastards involved in Shruti’s murder. So far, they identified two of the three men. Unlike Rohan, the three men were not known to Shruti, they were hired goons.
Shruti’s murder was planned in such a way that even if it was somehow proven that she did not commit suicide, the real murderers wanted the alternative to seem like it was a random home invasion.
Gaurav was frustrated that the whereabouts of those goons was hard to track. Usually, such goons had no loyalty, and they worked for whoever was offering them more money.
“I think they all got information about Rohan’s death. There are going to be in hiding for a while. The guy I am tailing has not returned to his usual place either.”
The suicide of an award-winning investigative journalist wasn’t front page news. And so far, there was no article written to indicate that it was anything but a suicide. But still it was covered widely enough for the concerned people to remain alert.
“Any new article or investigation going on to raise suspicion?” Gaurav asked.
“No. They’ve all ruled Rohan’s death as a suicide. There was no forced entry or struggle or any fingerprints.”
“Then why would these goons suspect?” Gaurav asked in frustration.
“They have been criminals for so long, they usually go by their instincts. Let’s just give them few more days before we strike again.”
Gaurav was impatient. He hated the wait. But he had already waited for several months, so he supposed waiting a few more days shouldn’t matter.
He reversed the SUV and began heading back.
AS HE NEARED the forest cabin, Gaurav allowed himself to think of the captive.
Khan had been providing updates to him on a daily basis. So far, the captive hadn’t tried anything, which was good, because he had given orders to Khan to shoot her if she did. Not a fatal shot, but enough to warn her about the consequences of trying to escape.
He stopped the SUV and parked it about half a kilometer away from the cabin and walked from there.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Khan in the kitchen, preparing a meal.
Khan saw and greeted him. “I’m almost done making breakfast. Please be seated, sir.”
After driving all night, Gaurav wanted to freshen up first, but he was hungry enough to put off a quick dip in the lake until later. He pulled out a plate from the rack above the kitchen sink and sat on a dining chair.
“Sir…” he heard Khan say in a tentative tone.
“Yes?”
“Sir… madam has stayed downstairs all week. She hasn’t caused any trouble. Since you are back, can I… ask her to join us for breakfast?”
Gaurav frowned at the request. Madam wasn’t a bloody guest they had invited over. She was their captive, but he knew Khan had a soft heart.
“Fine.” He supposed she wouldn’t dare try to escape once again.
A few minutes later, she was escorted to the dining room by Khan.
As soon as his captive saw him, instead of looking fearful or cautious because of their last encounter, she stretched her lips into a small smile. “Hi,” she greeted softly.
Gaurav had already begun eating and froze mid-bite. A frown marred his forehead.
He didn’t bother greeting her back. It wasn’t her bloody drawing room, for her to still follow etiquette. She was abducted and being held forcibly.
She sat in the chair opposite to him and smiled at Khan while he served food on her plate. When Khan was done, she thanked him softly and started to eat her breakfast.
Gaurav noticed that despite the ill-fitting borrowed clothes, the hair he’d cut in a shirt, jagged manner, and lack of eating utensils, she still appeared elegant while she ate in smooth, graceful movements.
He continued to eat while he watched her. In between bites, she kept throwing small glances his way while her eyes slowly took in his features and body. Whenever their eyes met, she quickly lowered her eyes as though she was feeling shy.
It wouldn’t have been very obvious to a regular person, but Gaurav was experienced and also had very good natural instincts.
Nina Bhupati’s shy, sweet, helpless damsel-in-distress act was just that. An act.
Every little move of hers was planned and deliberate.
By the time they finished dinner, he knew what her next plan was.
His captive wanted to seduce him.
CHAPTER 18
Nina waited until the man was done with his dinner. And when he got up from the chair and was about to leave, she got up as well. “Can I go outside for a brief while?” she asked. “I haven’t gone out in the past week.” She gave him her best smile.
“No.”
Just one word, and his expression remained granite hard.
Nina’s smile faltered.
Nothing seemed to move her captor. And she thought she could actually seduce him? He didn’t look like he ever smiled, let alone know or feel passion.
Based on his looks, she had thought he would be used to getting attention and also maybe being with a lot of women.
He was handsome. But not the way Suraj was. Her husband was stunningly handsome with classical polished looks, and he gave the women around him the vibes of being safe and protective.
Whereas the captor, although handsome, looked dangerous and unpredictable. Maybe it was due to his buzz-cut and sharp, rugged features. And the heavy stubble combined with the stitches on his face and arm further added to the dangerous aura.
Some women preferred the dangerous, sexy vibes in a man. But Nina would never willingly want someone like him in her life, let alone be intimate with him. But she had to stick to her plan.
She kept the smile pasted on her face and tried once again. “Please, I promise I won’t try to escape. You can be the one to escort me.”
“I said, no. The only place I’m going to escort you is back into your room. Let’s go.”
Even though Nina expected her request to be denied, she still felt disappointed. She nodded and followed behind him down the stairs towards her room. Just before she reached the end of the stairs, she tripped and bumped into him.
He caught her around the waist and straightened her.
“Thank you,” she said in a breathless voice, keeping her eyes locked to his.
His nostrils flared, and she saw the dilation of his pupils.
At that moment, she knew he found her physically attractive. Her plan to seduce him didn’t sound way too impossible now. All she had to do, was turn those sparks of attraction he felt towards her into roaring flames.
She deliberately walked very close to him within the narrow corridor, until their sides kept brushing against each other.
Suddenly, he grabbed her elbow and more or less dragged her the rest of the distance into her room. Then he picked her up and banged her against the wall and wrapped her legs around his waist.
She gasped as his fingers dug into her thighs as he moved his hard body in between them. The next instant her lips were captured in a brutal kiss.
She moaned in shock and pain. Barely a few seconds later, he pulled away. “Is this what you were after?” he asked, rubbing against her, letting her feel his hard arousal.
Her lips hurt, and her throat closed up in fear. She braced her hands on his shoulders to push him away.
His eyes were cold, and his mouth was twisted into a cruel smile. “It’ll take me less than two minutes to take you against this wall,” he said. “And even if I end up fucking you, it will not make any difference or alter the plans I’ve already set into motion. Do you still want to proceed with your ill-advised seduction plan?”
Nina’s heart thumped faster as she shook her head.
“Yes or no?”
With great difficulty, she somehow got her voice to work. “No,” she whispered.
He watched her for a few more moments before he slowly let go of her knees and moved away. “Then behave,” he warned.
Her legs shook so much that she collapsed on her knees as she watched him in fear.
With another cold glare, he left the room, slamming the door shut.
Her heart continued to thump erratically and it took her a while for her legs to stop shaking and the rest of the fear to dissipate completely.
Slowly, she stood up and lay on her bed. She took several deep, calming breaths until she could think rationally once again.
God! How was he able to read her mind so easily? And who was this man?
His unpredictable personalities confused her. Was he the same man who had cut off her hair and clothes, threatening her with rape and torture? Or was he the guy who turned her down, even though he knew she had wanted to seduce him. She had more or less thrown herself at him.
Was her captor a good guy or a bad guy?
A bad guy would have taken her offer immediately. He would not offer her a choice and warn her off.
She might not be a raving beauty, but she was not bad to look at either. If he wanted to get back at Suraj, wouldn’t having sex with his enemy’s wife be a bigger revenge?
It was strange.
Even though he might not be a bad guy, he was still the guy who wanted to destroy Suraj. And so, she shouldn’t let down her guard with her captor.
Nina took a deep breath, trying to sort out through the mess that was in her head.
After a while, she came to another conclusion.
She wasn’t going to give up her current plan of seducing him. She had always thought of herself as street-smart and be able to read people easily. And she knew even the hardest of people let down their guard with intimacy offered through seduction.
But unlike the obvious seduction, she was going to approach it differently with her captor.
