Jai knows too that the other man doesn’t have a choice. He needs this too much.
Bombay 2 is the only hope for the displaced population of this country. If things didn’t improve in this city then it may even be the only refuge for Mikhail himself in the future.
Turning to the giant, Mikhail barks, "Get Ariana. Now."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When I walk in the door, it’s to find Mikhail standing by the table, his arms folded over his chest. The protests at being pulled out of a particularly important training session that morning die in my throat at the look on his face. His pale eyes blaze green, almost silver with hidden emotion. He’s angry but there’s something else on his face. A look I cannot fathom like he’s hurt, but something deeper as if I’ve deceived him. Lied to him.
Is he still sulking that I hadn’t kissed him back the last time?
And then I see the other man.
And forget everything else.
He stands looking out the window, legs slightly apart as if he’s bracing himself for what is to come. His back broad enough to stretch the shirt he’s wearing, the sleeves clinging to his upper arms, outlining the strength of his biceps. He turns around and the breath rushes out of me.
My heart speeds up and the world whirls around me as I take in his features. I grip the back of a chair to steady myself.
Jai doesn’t say anything, just runs his eyes over me. His gaze sears my face, my neck, my breasts, sliding down my legs and then back to my lips where it lingers a second longer.
His skin glistens, burnished dark brown. He’s filled out since I last saw him, his shoulders broader as if he’s been working out. He’s lost weight on his face, and his cheekbones jut out more than I remember. Looks sleeker. Features more drawn than I remember. He looks the same and yet not. I almost don’t recognize him.
Then the breeze blows through the window and brings with it his scent. A familiar, sharp-sweet cinnamon and pine smell, and I know it is him. His essence hasn’t changed. That part which always reached out to me and locked into me and pulled at me. That’s still there.
He is here.
Sensing the click of recognition in me, his eyes swivel to mine and hold. His nostrils flare and those amber eyes catch fire, igniting an answering spark in my belly. And then he clamps down on it, whatever he’s feeling. A shutter falls over his eyes and his features freeze but not before I see his throat move as he swallows.
"Well?" I turn to Mikhail. "Are you going to tell me why I was called?"
It’s Jai who answers. "You’re coming to Bombay with me to help out with the refugee situation." He says with little preamble.
"What the fuck is he talking about?" I ask, and the look on Mikhail’s face says it all.
I swear inwardly and feeling my knees weaken, grip the chair tighter. A feeling of the inevitable closes in on me. I close my eyes, trying to shut out the room and his face. The face I’d wanted to see again but not like this. Not. Like. This.
A touch on my shoulder and I know it’s Mikhail.
I shake his hand off in anger, step away so I’m halfway between the two men and bite out, "So this is why you agreed to my joining your team. So you could barter me with them."
Mikhail's jaw hardens, but doesn’t disagree with me. And I know he’s thought about this that I’ve hit upon the truth without realizing it. And that I’ve lost someone I was just beginning to trust.
In that moment I hate Jai and wish he’d never turned up like this.
No, that’s not true. A part of you is secretly pleased he’s here, that he’s finding a way to get you back.
Before I can decide what to think, Jai cuts in with, "He doesn’t have a choice. And neither do you."
His voice is authoritative enough to make me want to stamp my foot and say a flat "no" and damn the consequences.
He’s moved closer. Close enough for his words to shiver over my skin. Close enough to make that shimmering attraction between us hard to ignore.
And that makes me mad.
Crazy mad.
"How dare you!" I turn on him, meeting his gaze.
When his amber eyes blaze back, I don’t blink. Don’t show how much it’s affecting me to see him again.
I want to lean into the space between us and fling myself at him.
Raising my hand I slap him instead but he doesn’t flinch. He’s not even surprised.
He goes on as if I’m not standing there, so furious that I can barely breathe.
"It’s not personal," he says. "You have to understand this is larger than you and me, it’s about our future, about all our futures," Jai replies, his voice calm.
He’s trying to be soothing and that pisses me off even more.
"It’s not enough that you turned your back on me once, now you want to turn my life upside down, again?" I hiss.
Before Jai can reply Mikhail says, "He’s right, Ariana, only you can do this for us."
Not able to believe my ears, I turn on him. "Surely you don’t believe him too?"
Mikhail goes on, a frown marring his forehead. In his eyes I read confusion. But if this is the one chance to find a more permanent solution for the refugees, a home away from home for our people, he’ll take it. I know that.
"You are the only one who knows both sides," Mikhail pleads. "You’ve lived in the East and the West. You are the bridge, Ariana. Someone our people will trust. Enough to move when Bombay 2 is complete." His voice is coaxing. But, a thread of steel running through his words implies otherwise.
"Bombay 2 will be ready soon enough within weeks of our reaching the city. We can’t delay the move either, for the shifters have grown more menacing over the last few years." Jai’s voice is stripped of all emotion.
He steps back and it’s as if all the heat is sucked back with him. He’s wrapped that essence of him back inside so tight, that I can’t feel him anymore. Cold. He feels cold.
Seemingly unaware of my thoughts, he continues, "We have managed to negotiate a temporary truce with the shifters. Giving us just enough time to move the refugees to a safer place. Right now, they are too vulnerable in the Jungle.
"Bombay 2 is a self-contained satellite town, where we can guard the refugees better."
"A prison," I say, the words coming out sharp, bitter.
"A secure space," he insists, "while we figure out how to rehouse them within the city."
"You expect me to believe that you are finally finding homes for those you’ve turned away all these years."
The way you turned me away.
This time he winces as if he’s heard my unspoken words. "Believe what you want," he says, voice flat.
"We need you, Ariana," says Mikhail, a thread of desperation creeping into his voice. But I don’t want to hear it. Don’t want to weaken in the face of his appeal.
What about me? What I need?
"No, you don’t," I insist. "Get someone else. Get Aki, the refugee leader to do this. He’s senior, has more experience at this. They trust him."
"No," Jai insists, forcing me to once more turn my attention to him. "It needs to be someone trusted by both the refugees and…by the council."
And that brings me up short. I snort in disbelief. "Why would your Council trust me?"
"Because I trust you."
And that effectively shuts me up. It’s the last thing I’d expected him to say.
Jai’s become good at negotiating. At not playing fair.
I’d been hoping to provoke some kind of response from him. Anger? Hurt. But not this.
Trust.
He’s turned the tables on me. Flung that into my face. Making it impossible for me to refuse. Not that there was an option in the first place.
And this time when I look him in the eyes I flinch. The amber flares are gone. Replaced by ebony-colored flints which give no hint of the poet he once was. His face carved in stone. And I know he’s stepped into the persona of the soldier he was meant to always be. One who’s used to overcoming all
those who stand in his way.
I miss him all over again.
"Fuck you, Jai," I say, my voice harsh.
Turning, I walk past Mikhail, blanking him, ignoring the hurt look that flashes across his face. I know he doesn’t have a choice. Hell, I might even do the same in his place, but even that thought doesn’t make it better.
All I know is I’m being pulled back into Vishal’s clutches, back into that nightmare I’d hoped I’d left behind. The one that’s going to turn my life upside down, and there’s nothing I can about it. Not if I want to ensure my sister’s safety.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
I look up from the deck of the ship where I’ve spent most of the day, half-bent over the side, being sick. Two sea trips down and it still takes me more than forty-eight hours to find my sea legs.
It’s going to take another twenty days to reach Bombay. Just the thought of it makes me feel faint again. Then the deck rolls and I grab my stomach as a wave of sickness washing over me.
Sinking down, I rest my head against the side. Closing my eyes, I wish I were dead already.
I sense rather than see him sink down next to me.
"Don’t come too close," I groan through half-dry lips. "I stink."
"Here," he brings a straw to my lips and I take a few sips of the water, sighing when it drips down my parched throat.
‘This doesn’t mean I forgive you," I half-snarl.
He sighs. "I had no choice but to agree to you coming, Aria. You know that. If I had any other way…" His voice fades and for a few seconds we just sit there. "You know how much a space like Bombay 2 will mean for our people. And they need rare earth metals, which only I can access for them. Don’t you see? I. Didn’t. Have a choice," he bites out, tension radiating off him.
I know he’s doing what it takes to ensure the future of our people.
The sea breeze blows over us, fanning my flushed cheeks. I still don’t open my eyes.
"And it’s why I am here. With you," he says.
"Yeah, you couldn’t trust me to be with him," I say, trying to sound bitter, but already the anger is sliding out of me. Leaving me frustrated.
The truth is I’m glad Mikhail came along, for it means I don’t have to be alone. With Jai.
Because I know how Mikhail feels about me.
And a part of me is using Mikhail to make Jai jealous.
Even as this realization sinks in, Mikhail says, "He wouldn’t have accepted anyone else in your place. And I wasn’t going to let you go alone."
Something in his voice, a touch of frustration, anger and helplessness all rolled into one, makes my eyes fly open but already he’s moving away.
"Besides, I’m more needed here now to make sure they deliver on their side of the bargain too."
He jerks his head at some of Jai’s crew gathered in the corner, who are going through their morning drill.
"Rare earth metals? That’s what this is about?" I lean back with a sigh, feeling marginally better.
Some of the fog that’s occupied my mind since getting seasick lifts a little. I squint up at Mikhail, who’s still towering over me. Looking around him. He’s restless. He doesn’t trust anyone on this ship.
"It’s never just about people," he says, his voice bitter. "There always has to be a commercial agenda to these things." He sinks down next to me, resting his back against the wall of the deck. "You should know that by now, Aria."
Sure I know it.
It’s another reason Jai is able to justify asking for me to come along on this trip. That he needs me there to speak to the refugees in person and convince them about his plan for Bombay 2.
He’s become good at that, Jai, smooth with his arguments.
He’s spent the last two years not just building his body but also apparently growing into his role as the Chief Commander of the Guardians. His standing up to Mikhail and deft overriding of all my objections makes me wonder if he’s a lot more like his uncle than I’ve possibly thought before.
A part of me mourns the loss of that innocent person I had met in Bombay.
The ship rolls again and the flicker of nausea makes me wince.
"I suppose I should be grateful you made sure Lily’s taken care of while I’m on this mission," I finally say and my voice sounds hoarse even to my own ears.
"She’s one of us," he says simply. "And I trust Samoen to make sure she’s safe."
He’s right. The giant is one of the gentlest, most caring people I know, and Lily had taken a shine to him almost immediately. He’d be able to protect her better than me too. For a second I feel bereft at the thought of being replaced so easily. Then I push that thought away. It’s only a temporary separation after all and before I know it I’ll be back, with Lily.
I hope.
"You still don’t trust me, do you?" I look at him through still-watering eyes. "You think I’d team up with him, turn on our own people."
Mikhail turns to me and I flinch at the look in those pale eyes. "Aria, I—"
"Ariana."
I look up to find Jai standing not far away. He’s dressed in black, the sword by his side giving him a dangerous, edgy appearance. Even half-delirious with seasickness he looks good.
Jai’s eyes flash from me to Mikhail, then back. "You’re needed for our strategy meeting."
The way he says "strategy" in that flat, emotionless manner makes me want to refuse.
Sure, we need to plan how to break the news of Bombay 2 and the new home that the refugees will be getting. And that I’m the new "link" between the two groups. Still, I don’t like the command in his eyes. Don’t like him ordering me about.
Above me, Mikhail stiffens
Ignoring his helping hand, I stumble to my feet, then walk past him, past Jai.
"I need a shower," I mutter to no one in particular. "I’ll see you in the planning room."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I look around the room at a different set of faces. Four men. One woman. Most of them are openly hostile. Jai’s team is as unhappy as me about my presence on the ship.
The only person they hate more than me is Mikhail. I flick my eyes to where he’s standing at one of the windows of our so-called "War room’, a meeting room which has been set aside for finalizing our plans for when we land in Bombay.
Jai hasn’t arrived yet. Not that I want to see him again particularly, either. I resist the temptation jump to my feet and run out of the room. I’ll be damned if I let their anger get to me.
"It’s good to have you with us, Ariana, it’ll make a difference to how we find a solution to the migrant problem." This is from one of the less sullen looking men in the room. "We are just managing to contain them on the outskirts of the city. But their numbers are growing every day. We must find a more permanent home for those who have arrived. And I am sure you can help us."
I tilt my head, nodding my gratitude at the man. He’s older than the others, in his mid-thirties with graying hair. Like the rest he wears army fatigues, but the band around his right bicep is black, which shows he is senior to the rest who wear yellow.
"Always the diplomat, Kabir," the woman replies. A thread of amusement in her voice,
"Not all of us have forgotten basic humanity, Neela," Kabir answers, a thread of anger in his voice.
Neela goes on as if she hasn’t heard him, "Not that I don’t appreciate having another female on board but you’ll forgive me if I don’t trust you yet."
Her jet-black eyes snap at me, the muscles in her arms flexing as she folds her hands on the table in front of her. She has a tattoo running up the side of her neck, a sheet of letters written in a language I don’t recognize. Her hair is cut close to her scalp, a severe crew cut which should have made her look masculine but it’s had the opposite effect. It throws her cheekbones into relief. Beautiful, yet deadly.
Another voice snarls, "She’s one of them. Why is she even here?"
Snarly Voice looks to be the youngest of the lot; he’s tall and well-bui
lt with a thick, muscled neck and corded biceps with tattoos running up one forearm. Silver studs glint in his ears.
"Wearing your sister’s T-shirt?" I ask in a bored voice, looking pointedly at his nipples pushing up against the thin material. After a moment of surprise a titter runs through the group.
He gets to his feet, hands bunched into fists, a threatening look on his face. Mikhail steps away from the window, his hand on the gun by his side.
At the same time, Jai’s voice rings out, "So I can’t trust you'll to carry out a single meeting without me? Are you so immature that you can’t put aside petty differences and work towards a solution? Remember this situation affects not just them but all of us."
The whip of authority in his voice makes me start but I don’t turn around. Every other face in the room looks to him. Everyone except Mikhail, who looks at me first before tearing his eyes away.
I am very aware of Jai walking over to stand at the far end of the table.
The older guy says in a placatory voice, "We were just getting started, Chief."
Jai doesn’t acknowledge him. Instead he stares down Snarly Voice, who has a mutinous look on his face. "You should know better than to get angry at the slightest provocation, Cy," he snaps.
Once more I hear the authority in his voice. An edge, a hardness that hadn’t been there earlier. Jai pulls up a chair, then looks to Mikhail, who crosses over to the table. He doesn’t sit down, though. Just stations himself behind me. He places his palms on the back of my chair, a light touch, one that signals to the room that he’s there to protect me. One that implies a sense of ownership too. A keep-your-hands-off-my-girl kind of touch. For once, I don’t protest. Right now Mikhail is the only person I know here. And I need all the help I can get.
I lean back against the chair and let my hair brush against his fingers. Mikhail stiffens. The gesture is not lost on Jai either. His jaw hardens, an angry look forming in his eyes. A glint of amber sparks in them, tugging on a curl of desire in the base of my belly.
Jai addresses the other guy.
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