Page 107 of Addiction

“But there is no road here,” Navya said. “It’s just barren desert land with only a few vehicles.”

“Keep driving,” Vasily ordered.

“Where is he going?” Rajiv muttered, looking at the map on the car console. ‘There’s nothing on the map for miles here. Wait, this road leads to the dunes, where the desert safaris begin. Why there, though?”

“You asked her for the VIP entry to Club Poseidon, didn’t you?” Navya’s words distracted them all. “And you prodded her to ask Armaan and me to go on a double date with you.”

“Yes, we had everything set up for that night. I had encouraged Arlo to take leave. I had even put in a leave for myself,” he said. “The plan was perfect. Armaan would enter from the VIP parking, where we would attack him, and it would all be over. No one would be hurt other than him. But that night, as I was reaching Club Poseidon, I heard the brothers on a phone call and realized that thanks to Mihir, Armaan wouldn’t be going out that night. It was so damn disappointing. We were all set here, but it was going to be a colossal waste of resources.”

He continued. “However, I soon got a call from my guy in London that Vedant had stepped out without his security. It was the break we’d been waiting for in London, and we took it. By then, I’d already seen you at the nightclub. I had a feeling Armaan would show up as well, and my speculation worked. He did enter, but not through the VIP parking as we wanted. And then I saw you both fighting, and you took him out through the private exit that led straight out to the VIP parking lot, and weset our plan in motion. In one night, we managed to isolate both the brothers. What a wonderful opportunity it was to take them down. What we didn’t expect was that Vedant’s sick bodyguard would show up to fight with him, and that you would fight by Armaan’s side. My respect for you multiplied, I must say that. I hated the idea of hurting you, and when Armaan refused to see you or talk to you, I thought your chapter was finally over in his life. But you simply wouldn’t stay away. And the brothers were anyway becoming more cautious.”

A car horn sounded through the line. At least there was some traffic on the road, Armaan thought, relieved.

“You attacked two brothers on one night; of course, they’d be cautious,” Navya said.

“Drive faster,” Vasily instructed Navya.

“How? I’m anxious and scared,” she said quietly, sounding afraid. “I can’t drive on these bumpy roads. It makes me nervous.”

“Press the damn accelerator, Navya,” he ordered.

“I hate driving. Why don’t I stop on the side, and you take over?”

“No.”

“Okay, then keep talking to me. It keeps me sane,” she cried.

A few seconds later, she said, “Why didn’t you launch another attack immediately on the Oshnovs? With two brothers down, it would have been easier. Why wait till now?”

“First because I wanted to wait and see if Armaan remembered seeing me that night. I learned how he had only limited memory of that night and when he didn’t reveal my name, I knew I was safe. But I couldn’t wait for long. I couldn’t wait for him to remember everything,” he paused for a moment before continuing, “By then, your brother had also put security around Armaan in the hospital, and later Mihir further increased his security. Once Armaan was better, theychanged tactics. They started switching cars. Perhaps, they even suspected that it had to be someone from the inside who had ordered the attacks. They stopped discussing anything personal aloud around the house. Instead, they went for walks at the beach or in their gardens, places which couldn’t be bugged, thus putting a halt on all my plans. Even as their head of security, I wasn’t informed of their plan to visit Vedant in London. I learned of it only when we were en route to the airport. They made it so difficult to make a move. But today, when I saw you with them at the beach, I figured that you all were on to something. I was worried Armaan had remembered that he’d seen me that night. You bringing them to meet your brother was further confirmation of that. So, I made a move.”

“Fuck,” Mihir cursed. “He was actually listening to our conversations all along.”

“If only we’d actually suspected him instead of Arlo, then Navya wouldn’t be with him now,” Armaan said.

Armaan heard Mihir make a call to Dmitri, telling him to scan all their rooms for listening devices.

Ignoring that, Armaan asked Rajiv, “What’s the distance to them now?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“Mihir, what’s the status of the car following them?” Armaan asked.

“They’re right behind Navya,” Mihir assured him.

Navya’s voice was back on the line. “And now, what’s the plan?”

“That is for the boss to decide,” Vasily said. “Once I have you in custody, he will fly down to Dubai. A few miles ahead, a chopper is waiting for me. Once there, I will get further instructions.”

“What does Ivan plan to do?” Navya asked.

“My instructions were to bring you in alive.”

“And then what?”

“I’m tired of your questions,” Vasily said. “Be quiet now.”

“There,” Rajiv pointed, “That’s her car.”

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