Page 83 of The Redemption
But the moment he reaches me, the shock in his expression disappears, replaced by something far more urgent.
“We have a problem.”
I barely process the words at first. My head is still full of Siya. Her mouth. Her touch. Her moans against my lips. Then Haider speaks again, and I snap back into the present.
“The weapons consignment,” he says sharply, “is crossing the border in four hours.”
“What?” My entire body goes still. “That shipment wasn’t supposed to move for another two days.”
“The Reddys changed the schedule,” Haider replies quickly, already pulling out his phone. “Looks like they don’t want to risk holding the cargo there any longer.”
My jaw clenches hard. This is bad, especially since GLEN still has no intel on this. Ayaan had asked me once if I had anything on a possible movement, but I held back the information. And now, an entire arms consignment is set to leave the country in just four f*cking hours.
I turn sharply and stride out of the temple grounds with Haider beside me. Whatever haze Siya had pushed me into shatters instantly.
“Call every man we have near that route,” I order, my voice hard as steel. “Nobody lets that shipment cross the border untilweget there.”
Haider immediately starts dialling our men.
“I want eyes on every vehicle connected to that consignment,” I continue. “Track the movement of their convoy. Every checkpoint. Every f*cking road leading them out of the country.”
Haider nods, already speaking into another phone simultaneously.
“And get the chopper ready.”
“It’s on standby,” he replies, dialling our men.
“And Haider,” I say darkly as we descend the valley’s uneven slope towards the waiting car. He looks at me instantly. “Tell them that even if one crate of those weapons disappears beforeIget there… somebody dies for it.”
Haider gives a single nod as we finally reach the vehicle waiting below, both of us heading straight for RK Estate, where the helicopter is already prepared for take-off.
But beneath all of it, beneath every tactical calculation running through my head… I can still feel Siya’s lips on mine.
It irritates me how badly she has gotten under my skin. I don’t have time to deal with this right now. But when I get back after handling this mess, addressing that situation will be my only priority. Because one thing has become clear with absolute certainty. That kiss has changed everything. For both of us.
Haider is still coordinating with our men over the phone when I finally pull mine out and slam my foot harder on the accelerator. I need to call Ayaan. GLEN has to know about the border movement before this turns into an internationaldisaster. There’s no hiding this anymore. I already know how this conversation is going to go. Ayaan is going to lose his mind the moment he realises I sat on information tied to an illegal arms route while he kept asking me for updates for days. And the worst part? I did it knowingly.
And Ayaan? He does not forgive betrayal easily. And when it comes from me, it will be his biggest nightmare.
SIYA
Esha drives me back to RK Estate, but my mind never really left that temple backyard. A part of me feels trapped there, caught between Raghav’s hands, his mouth, and the feel of his breath against mine. And the way he kissed me… God. It felt as if he wanted to consume every breath from my lungs and without caring about the consequences.
And I kissed him back with the same madness!
Thankfully, Esha remains silent during the drive, but I know she noticed enough tonight. Haider too. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the entire valley had seen what happened.
I groan, mortified.
First, I placed that lily garland around Raghav’s neck in front of everyone like some possessive lunatic. Then I ran from him afterwards as though I had committed some unforgivable crime. Maybe I have. Because I still cannot understand what possessed me to do any of it.
And the kiss?Where the hell did that come from?
As soon as we reach RK Estate, Esha parks near the side pathway leading to the guest cottages. The second I step out of the car, Esha starts softly. “Siya Ma’am—”
But I shake my head before she can continue. I can’t talk about this right now. Without even saying goodbye, I hurry towards my cottage, my heartbeat growing louder with every step. Right now, all I want is to lock myself inside my room before anyone sees my face and realises something inside me has changed forever.
But the moment I turn the corner towards my cottage, I stop dead. Every single guard outside my cottage turns to look at me at once.
