Page 63 of The Redemption
“I—” she exhales, clearly annoyed. “I’m just out for a walk. Inside the estate though, so relax.”
“Where?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Where are you, Siya?” I snap.
“At the east side,” she says after a beat. “Near the lily beds… the ones that release their fragrance at night.”
F*ck!
I’m already moving before the call even ends, stepping out of the lobby and heading straight towards the forest barricades. Because I know exactly where those lily beds are. There’s only one stretch in the entire estate where they grow like that. Guests are naturally drawn to them, especially after sunset when the flowers bloom, and the air becomes thick with their fragrance. At night, the place becomes almost impossible to resist.
“Go back to your cottage,” I tell her, my voice firm. “Right now.”
I don’t want her out when there is danger lurking around. If someone from the mafia world is here for me, he won’t be walking out of this place alive. That much is certain. But I don’t want Siya anywhere near that.
“Excuse me?” she scoffs. “What is wrong with you? You don’t get to decide that. I can walk wherever I want inside this estate, Raghav. This isn’t—”
“Siya,” I cut her off. “Listen to me carefully. Do not walk any further towards the forest barricades. Turn around and start walking back to your cottage. Now.”
“But why? What is going on?” she asks, turning serious now. “Why do you sound like that? Is there a problem?”
“There is a threat,” I finally say, picking up my pace.
But before she can respond, the call disconnects.
Damn! I don’t even look at the screen. I just run. Within minutes, I move closer to the eastern stretch.
By the time I reach the lily beds, I see her a few feet ahead, walking back just like I told her to. Something inside me eases on seeing her safe and within reach. Siya looks up at the sound of my approach, and surprise flashes across her face as she takes me in, running towards her like this.
And then I see it… a faint red laser dot right on her shoulder. Everything inside me goes cold.
“Siya—”
I close the distance between us in seconds, my hand gripping her arm as I pull her into me and turn her body sharply away from that line of fire.
The shot cracks through the silence. Pain explodes in my upper arm as the bullet grazes past my bicep, tearing through the skin. Blood immediately begins soaking into the fabric of my shirt. I tighten my hold on her instead of loosening it.
Her body stiffens against mine as she gasps, the sound almost like a panicked cry. “RK—”
Siya clutches onto me. But I shift, positioning her behind me this time, my gaze snapping towards the direction of the shot.There, beyond the barricade line, just past the dense stretch of trees, is a faint flicker again. The laser resets.
My entire body goes still. He is going for another shot.
I’m about to pull Siya down and take cover before the second shot is fired, but then I notice another movement. Relief washes over me as I see Haider and his team closing in from the flank beyond the barricades, dragging the shooter out from hisposition. One of my men knocks the weapon aside before the shooter can fire again forcing him down and subduing him.
I watch just long enough to ensure the threat is contained before looking down at Siya, even as the blood continues to slide down my arm. She is still staring at me, wide-eyed and shaken.
“RK… you got shot…” she stammers, still in shock. Her hands are on my arm before I can stop her. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing,” I mutter, already dismissing it. It’s just a bullet graze. I’ve taken worse and kept moving.
But she doesn’t listen. Siya pulls the scarf from around her neck and presses it against my arm, her fingers tightening as she wraps it around the wound, pulling the fabric tight to stop the bleeding.
“We need to get you to a medic. Now,” she says, urgency taking over. “Come on.”
She catches my wrist and is about to drag me away, but I pull my arm back just enough to stop her without breaking her hold.
