by M. V. Kasi
A few minutes later, she let out a sigh of relief when cool water fell on her heated skin. She must have been dehydrated. After her shower, she should grab a drink of lemonade or orange juice.
She frowned when she suddenly recalled Monica entering her room the previous evening with orange juice. She was getting ready to go to the club. And she recalled why.
Her father had slapped her because she refused to seduce Anirudh Shaurya. In that anger, she had made a stupid plan to seek out the stranger in the club and ask him to lend her money.
It was indeed a stupid plan, and she was glad she ditched it and ended up sleeping early.
It would have been a disaster had she met up with the handsome stranger at the club with the request. Like most men, he would have been quick to take advantage of her situation. He would have most likely asked for sexual favors in return for the money he lent.
Naina sucked in a harsh breath as her body tingled. Shockingly, the thought of being in a sexual affair with the handsome stranger from the club had her throbbing.
Dammit! What is wrong with me?
He was a stranger. She didn’t even know his name! And yet, her body, heart and mind gave out conflicting signals. Her body wanted him and had re-lived their kiss a million times. Her heart told her she liked him. But her practical mind warned her not to trust anyone.
Strangely, she decided to go with her heart. She didn’t know if it were even possible, since she was leaving home that evening. But if her stranger ever decided to seek her out again, she would open her heart to him.
CHAPTER 1 3
“Congratulations.” Shiv shook the hand of the groom.
Shiv was barely the kind to attend weddings. Even if it were a wedding for which he was personally invited to by some of the most powerful men, he still didn’t attend. He only sent a memorable gift.
But this particular wedding was something he couldn’t miss. It was the second wedding he was attending in over a decade. The first one was Vijay’s when they were much younger, and now, it was his other best friend’s.
“Thanks.” Anirudh looked tense with a grim look.
Some of the grimness must have been sensed by Anirudh’s bride because Aditi Somraj, who now became Aditi Shaurya, looked as though she would shatter at the slightest provocation.
Excusing himself, Anirudh stepped away from the wedding festivities and joined Shiv and Vijay.
“Somraj looks miserable,” Vijay stated, looking at the bride’s father.
There was a satisfied look on Anirudh’s face.
Shiv was glad on behalf of his friend once again. “You know he isn’t going to accept defeat easily. He’s going to try something.”
Anirudh nodded. “Yes. I asked my men to be on alert. Not just with Somraj, but I’m thinking Bhasin will get desperate too.” Anirudh looked at Shiv. “Bhasin is going to reach out to you. You know that, right?”
Shiv nodded. He fully expected the disgruntled Home Minister to go into damage-control mode for losing a powerful alliance.
“Are you sure you want to join us tomorrow?” Shiv asked, regarding the business trip to Mexico.
“Yes. I’m going to take a detour to Columbia from there.”
Shiv wasn’t surprised that Anirudh was going to join them on a business trip the day after his wedding. Ten years ago when they had made a deal in their college dorm after the three of them lost their loved ones, they knew their main goal held the utmost priority. Things like marriage were only necessary evils.
Although, based on how Anirudh was watching his bride, Shiv doubted whether this particular marriage was purely for their goal.
Suddenly, another face flashed in Shiv’s mind. The one he had been watching the entire previous night.
Yet another time, Shiv was thankful that Anirudh decided to marry Aditi Somraj and not Sunaina Bhasin. Things would have been difficult as hell for Shiv if he had to deal with Naina as his best friend’s wife.
Images of Naina with a sweet yet sultry smile and the things she did on his bed the previous night will continue to haunt his nights for a very long time. During the early hours, after he had checked her pulse and breathing, both of which were normal, he decided to smuggle her back into her room at the Home Minister’s mansion. He recalled how reluctant he had been to leave her after he had placed her carefully on her bed and changed her into her nightclothes.
Dammit!
Shiv shook his head, pushing away the thoughts of the woman who was beginning to consume his mind more often than was advisable. He knew it was going to be a tough fight to do as his mind ordered, especially with what was coming up next.
He would need every bit of his will power.
“Mr. Jaipal,” a man’s voice called to him when he was heading back to his car in the parking lot.
Shiv turned and immediately recognized the man. “Yes?”
“I’m Tejas from the Central Bureau of Investigation.”
***
“Tell me, Mr. Tejas. What can I do for you?”
Shiv knew he was taking a risk by asking a CBI agent to join him inside the car. But the other man had been hounding him for so long, Shiv wanted to humor him and see what he had to say.
“I want to help you.”
Shiv smiled. Surya Tejas was only twenty-six-years old, but what the guy lacked in experience, he made it up with enthusiasm for his job.
“Help me with what exactly?” Shiv drawled.
“I know what you do, Mr. Jaipal.”
“Oh? And what do you think I do, Officer Tejas?”
The policeman promptly replied, “Illegal weapons, drugs and human trafficking.” Then with a shrewd look, he also added, “But sometimes, you destroy your own shipments and the ones carefully hijacked and sent back most likely contain humans.”
Shiv didn’t let his surprise show. It was easy for a nosy cop to find out about the illegal businesses, but what was surprising was that the young cop caught on to the part where the devils destroyed their own shipments.
Shiv raised a brow. “I don’t think I understand your point, Officer Tejas.”
The young cop puffed out his chest. “I think the devils are not the villains after all. They are only pretending to be evil for a larger cause.”
Shiv sighed. “You have a wonderful imagination. Have you considered a career in fiction, perhaps? Heard those jobs are much more lucrative than what you must earn being an honest officer.”
The remark found its mark. The cop’s jaw clenched.
Shiv smiled darkly. “Don’t mistake me as a savior or some sort of a Robin Hood, Officer. You will be disappointed.”
“No! I know the three of you are putting on a show! I have tracked you and the rest of the two devils for nearly a year. And the reason I’m here is to help. You will need insider information to achieve your goal.”
“What makes you think we don’t already have access to insider information?’ Shiv asked.
The policeman’s chest puffed out. “You might have it already, but I can still help. I might not be high up in the ranks as others who might already be helping you, but I have the zeal. And I also have knowledge and access to the technology. I passed out top of my class in computer science. The CBI recruited me because of what I can do. I can track anyone and anything. That’s how I got to know about all your shipments and business dealings too.”
Shiv fell quiet. He already knew what the cop was saying was true. The first time Surya Tejas began snooping, Shiv had the new recruit cop investigated. He knew that the guy came from a proper middle-class background, and his father was a police inspector. Unlike his father, Tejas worked hard, wanting to make a name for himself and passed out topping the Groups.
Shiv watched the policeman quietly. The younger man fidgeted only slightly at the heavy stare.
“I’m sure you already know that once you get into my world, there’s only one way out…when you are dead.”
The policeman swallowed slightly, but he nodded. “Yes. I know tha
t, but I still want to help.”
Shiv knew that Tejas wasn’t bluffing when he said he was one of the best when it came to using technology and tracking a person. The fact that Tejas was a cop wasn’t the problem. It was the fact that Tejas wasn’t a dirty cop like the ones who were on the devil’s payrolls.
But Shiv’s gut instinct made him want to give the young cop a chance. “Fine. I’ll take your help. Help me track a man. A Russian man named Vicktor.”
Tejas frowned. “Who is Vicktor?”
“A man I killed once. The one I want to kill again… before he gets to me first.”
Barely a couple of hours later, just after Shiv gave the details to Tejas, he received a call.
“Mr. Jaipal, this is the Home Minister’s office. Mr. Bhasin would like to speak with you on an important matter.”
CHAPTER 1 4
One week later, Shiv was seated across the Home Minister in the older man’s office.
Vijay was also present at the meeting.
The Home Minister was the one to break the tense silence. “Mr. Jaipal, as you already know… your friend, Mr. Shaurya was to marry my daughter. Even though there wasn’t a signed contract, there was a verbal one between Shivdhar Shaurya and me. And since you were supposed to marry Mohan Somraj’s daughter, which obviously can no longer take place, I would like to make a proposal.”
Shiv knew what Narayan Bhasin wanted to propose. Anirudh had married Aditi Somraj, and now there was a huge power vacuum that the politician was desperate to fill with another powerful alliance.
“And what proposal would that be, Mr. Bhasin?” Shiv drawled.
An ingratiating smile covered the older man’s face. “I would like to propose an alliance between you and my daughter. If you marry my daughter, I will offer the entire law enforcement on a platter to you.”
Shiv sat back watching the Home Minister. “Isn’t your daughter too young for marriage, Mr. Bhasin?” he asked.
Narayan Bhasin continued his ingratiating smile. “No, my daughter is twenty. She is quite mature for her age too. Unlike Somraj’s daughter who had a boyfriend and grew up with western upbringing, my daughter is an innocent. She is a virgin. Pure and untouched by any man. She was barely exposed to any men all her life and is quite meek and timid.”
Shiv’s mind threw images of Naina meeting him for the first time and asking him boldly for a dance and a drink. And then, their second meeting where he stole a kiss from her sweet lips, and she had responded to him in a passionate way. And their third meeting where she held his hand between her legs as she writhed nakedly in passion on his bed.
He continued to maintain an indifferent look on his face even though his body stirred.
“While I’m flattered that you are considering me to marry your daughter, I have to decline.”
There was shock on the Home Minister’s face. Even Vijay, who was seated quietly next to him threw him a look. Shiv knew even Vijay must be surprised by the refusal of the proposal.
“Why?” the Home Minister asked. “I’ll agree to any terms you put in the contract. There are very high chances for me to be the next Chief Minister. The combined power with our alliance would be unmatchable!”
The older man was right.
“Unfortunately, the timing is not right for me,” Shiv continued.
“You don’t have to marry my daughter right away. Just sign a contract, or I’m even ready to settle for a verbal one with witnesses.”
“Sorry, Mr. Bhasin.”
The Home Minister looked downright furious and insulted. But the older man also knew that the devils were powerful enough to destroy him if he dares to challenge them openly. So he simmered quietly.
Shiv knew he had just made an enemy.
As soon as he stepped out of the Home Minister’s mansion and got into the car, Vijay broke the silence. “Why?” his friend asked.
“I know we need the political alliance, and I might have made it harder to achieve our goals without this alliance, but I can’t think of marrying anyone right now.”
Vijay watched him closely. “I don’t think Sunaina Bhasin is just anyone to you.”
Shiv shrugged. “I met her barely a month ago. She was meant to be just another pawn like the others. There’s nothing more to it.”
But Vijay didn’t give up. “You know Bhasin will arrange another alliance for her. He’s going to use her to form an alliance that will help him achieve his political ambitions.”
Shiv’s jaw clenched. “That’s not my problem. She is nothing to me.”
Vijay didn’t say anything, he didn’t have to. Shiv knew Vijay was highly insightful. The reason Vijay was successful in what he did was because of his high acumen. But still Shiv refused to discuss the topic.
All he had to do was train his mind to stop thinking of the woman he claimed was nothing to him.
CHAPTER 1 5
“You look tired. Is everything all right at home?”
Naina nodded at her friend, Pooja. “I’m fine. Just a restless night.” She tried not to blush recalling her strange dreams she had been having over the past week.
“Hmm. Is it because of Shiv?” her friend asked.
“What?” Naina was shocked. She and Pooja were close, but she hadn’t told her friend how the man from the club had broken into her bedroom and stolen a kiss.
Her friend laughed. “Well, I’m sure he must be keeping you awake with the thoughts of him and maybe because he is intruding in on your dreams.”
“No. It’s not him,” she lied. She had only met the man two times, but he still managed to haunt her nights. And the dreams she had of him didn’t just end with a kiss,they were getting raunchier and raunchier by the second.
“Are you sure?” her friend asked.
“Yes. There’s just too much on my mind. I’m thinking about our exams and graduation and my mother.”
Her friend fell quiet. Pooja was the only friend who knew that she didn’t lead a charmed life being the daughter of the Home Minister. Pooja knew about her long-term plans to escape with her mother.
“I spoke to my brother,” Pooja said softly. “I told him that you are the topper of our class. He said the job offer stands as long as you graduate with merit.”
“Thank, Pooja. That’s really of great help.”
Pooja had a brother who had his own company in the United States. Naina intended to take up the job offer as soon as she graduated.
“How is your mother?” Pooja asked.
“Still the same. I wish I could spend more time with her.”
Pooja looked at her with sympathy. “Don’t worry. I know things will get better soon. Just one and a half more years, and we should be done with our studies.”
“I know.”
Naina tried to think positively to make that time bearable, but it was hard.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll see you later. I have to call my father.”
She dialed her father’s number on her phone. It barely rang a couple of times before it was answered.
“Why didn’t you answer my calls earlier?” her father demanded.
“I was in the middle of my classes. I called as soon as I could.” Naina had received a call when she was in a class. She usually answered the calls in case it was someone calling about her mother. But when she saw her father’s number flashing on the screen, she ignored it.
Now, after the classes were done, she returned the call knowing her father would be furious if she didn’t.
“Come home tomorrow,” her father bit out. “You are done with studies.”
Shock passed through her. “What?”
One thing she always took for granted was that her father would allow her to finish her studies. It would be a huge embarrassment for him if he were to be questioned as a man who aspired to be the Chief Minister if he didn’t allow his daughter even a basic college education.
“Manu Solanki,” her father bit out. “You will marry him in a month. Solankis are not as powerful as
the devils. But at least I will get undivided support in parliament because of this alliance. They want you to stop your studies because it will interfere with your marriage.”
Naina felt her face pale. She had heard of the Solankis, and not because of politics. In politics, they weren’t as powerful compared to her father, but it was Manu Solanki who everyone had heard of.
Most of the country knew about the brutal case where Manu Solanki had violated and mutilated two teenage girls along with his friends in a farmhouse. It was also proven that it was not his first time taking part in such brutal, sadistic activities.
Due to the huge public outcry the case received, he was arrested and placed in jail despite his father’s political connections. “B-but he is in jail,” she whispered.
“Yes. The boy spent enough time rotting in jail. I helped him get bail yesterday.”
Her stomach turned. “I won’t marry him,” she whispered.
There was silence, and she could imagine her father having a cruel, satisfied smile. “You don’t have a bloody choice.”
CHAPTER 1 6
Loud techno music filled the air at the club. Glasses clinked, and there was laughter and the buzz of conversation as people waited for the newly-wedded couple to arrive.
It was strange that Shiv wasn’t having a good time. He had just returned after a week-long trip to Russia where he was chasing the leads Tejas had provided to him. Despite making good progress, he was frustrated.
He wanted to forget the frustration by having a good time in the club while throwing a party for the newlywed couple. But right then, he hated being there. He felt too restless.
“Shiv darling. Have you been ignoring me?”
Shiv turned to look at the woman who seemed quite familiar. He recalled dating her a few months ago, but he couldn’t recall her name, and neither did he make an effort to.
