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Sheena couldn’t believe her daring, but Navya faced her assailant as bold as ever. Armaan stared at her for a whole second before he stepped back, laughing.
“I like fire in my women,” he said.
“You can fuck off,” Navya spat before rushing to sit next to Sheena.
“One of our brothers is going to come,” Sheena warned both men.
“You may think you’re powerful, but so are they,” Navya said. “You can’t hold us captive for long.”
“We can do whatever we want, my little hellion,” Armaan drawled.
Navya glared at him.
“I’m actually waiting for them to show up,” Mihir added. “You came aboard uninvited, and now someone has to pay the price for that and all the damage you have caused. Besides, I do like bargaining with rich men. I like them owing me favors. So yes, you will get to leave once your brothers show up, but not before I get to bargain with them. Until then, you will be our guests.”
Sheena sank into her seat, exhaustion washing over her. Even though she was putting up a brave front, she was scared. So scared. She didn’t know how long they’d be kept like this. Hours likely, since both Kabier and Rajiv were in different countries, far away.
A third man joined the other two. He wore glasses and had the same cold eyes behind them. The three of them conversed in a foreign language fluently—Russian, she assumed. The new entrant must be the third brother, whatever his name was. He pointed at the girls and said something to the guards, who had also joined them. The guards took their purses away. God. Her phone was in her bag. Now she had no means of communicating with anyone outside. A few minutes later, a plate of food and water was placed on the table in front of her. And then, all of the men, including the guards, left.
Even though they were alone now, Sheena’s heart continued to boom in her chest. She didn’t believe they were safe from these men. Her instincts had been right; they never should have come here. Fuck. After her escapade tonight, she deserved to be locked for not following her gut and instead marching head first into trouble. And not just any type of trouble, but the most dangerous kind.
Despair threatened to overwhelm her, but she pulled herself together. Navya wrapped an arm around her and put her head on Sheena’s shoulder. She, too, was scared. Sheena knew that. Sheena grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Everything was up to Ananya now. The sooner she got hold of one of their brothers, the faster they’d be out. Sighing, she leaned against the sofa and shut her eyes, praying hard.
20
Rajiv reclined against the sofa in Aaryan’s house, watching Aaryan play the electric piano, a gift from Rajiv. Vihaan sat beside Rajiv quietly, looking as mesmerized as he was. The tune was haunting yet beautiful, and he was certain his friend had composed it himself. Aaryan was too damn talented. He ought to be playing on center stage in some musical opera. Unfortunately, fate had deemed it to be otherwise.
Rajiv considered himself one of the lucky few who got to watch and hear him play. So many times, he’d insisted on buying a proper piano for Aaryan, but his friend had refused every single time. Firstly, their small home didn’t have the space for it, and Vihaan had told Rajiv once that at some point, Vihaan wanted to be the one to gift his twin a grand piano. And that’s why, Rajiv didn’t push this offer any further.
His friends’ realty company, KeyStone, was growing slowly, but because neither of the brothers could step out in the open, they hesitated to take on big projects, which was definitely impairing their progress. Nothing would give him more pleasure than to see his friends succeed, and he prayed that one day they would live their best lives. As of now, the siblings all lived together in this small three-bedroom apartment in Green’s Dubai. But one day, he hoped to see Aaryan play the grand piano in Aaryan’s own home. Rajiv sighed. He could do so much for them, yet they wouldn’t allow him to. They wanted to succeed on their own, and he respected them all the more for that.
The notes rose in crescendo and Rajiv shut his eyes. He’d just landed from Rotterdam after spending a month touring his European bases, and he’d come straight to meet his friends. It had been the first time in a very long time that he’d spent a month apart from them, and although they had reassured him daily that they were well, he had wanted to see it for himself that all of them were indeed alright. Ever since he’d promised to look out for the Rajpoots nearly seven years ago, he’d never left Dubai for long durations of time. But now, thanks to her, he had broken that self-imposed vow. Sheena Sehgal—his addiction, his fixation, his obsession.
Even taking her name in his head made his heart thump a little harder. He’d thought that staying away from her would reduce her allure. He’d imagined that he’d stop thinking of her if he removed himself from her vicinity. Unfortunately, love didn’t work like that. The distance made him miss her more than ever. It made him fall even harder for her than he already had. Her laughter, her smiles, her constant sass, the way she challenged him, the way her touch set him on fire—he had forgotten none of it. In fact, he ached even more for her now. He wanted to feel her in his arms, kiss her tempting mouth, fit her body to his, and hear her needy moans when he made her come. He chugged out a harsh breath.
God. He was so bloody fucked.
He lifted his phone and reread the message she had sent him.
Hey. Can you call me? I need to talk about something important.
For one month, he had tried to disappear from her life and take control of his feelings. Oh, what a colossal failure that had been. Knowing her stubbornness, he’d expected her not to call him or text him after the way he’d left things unfinished between them. He wanted her to be mad at him. To forget him and move on.
But she’d finally texted him a short while ago, and he was so tempted to call her back. He wouldn’t, he told himself. That path was a road to disaster, and he’d already walked it. He needed to stay away from her. That was the only way to end this.
A hand pressed on his knee. He pocketed his phone. His friends were watching him. Aaryan was now seated in the armchair in front of him, while Vihaan sat next to Rajiv. Shit. He hadn’t even noticed when Aaryan had stopped playing. Once again, Sheena had managed to dominate his thoughts, withdrawing him from his reality.
“You look like shit,” Aaryan said, his tone quiet yet firm, as always.
“Thanks,” Rajiv pressed a hand down his aching neck, “You do realize I’ve just landed after an eight-hour-long flight and come straight to meet you guys.”
Vihaan snorted. “You didn’t have to.”
“I recall both of us telling you individually and daily that we are fine and safe,” Aaryan stated.
“And yet, you wouldn’t believe us,” Vihaan put forth.
He was already tired and irritable, and now these guys picking on him because he came to check on them was bugging him.
