Page 77 of Addiction

“When I tell you to run, you run and go inside,da?” he told her quietly.

Fear crept over her. Who were these men? Why were they after Armaan and her? They looked deadly and determined to injure, and from the way they were surrounding them, there was no way she was getting past them. Armaan was trained to fight, but could he take on four at a time? She exhaled. She wasn’t leaving him alone. She knew how to fight too. She’d learned from the best—him.

“Let me help you,” she whispered. “You know I can.”

He gave her a slight nod. “But the first chance you get, you run. Understood?”

She didn’t reply to that. Her heart rate was escalating by the second. She wouldn’t leave Armaan alone, no matter what. She calmed herself. They were going to be fine. She had Armaan by her side, and he was a brilliant fighter. Together, they could face these miscreants. But leaving him alone was something she wouldn’t be able to do.

In front of her, Armaan spun in a slow circle, assessing the men. He removed his jacket and tossed it aside, folding his sleeves quickly. “You know you don’t want her. You only want me, right? So let her go, and we can sort this between ourselves.”

A tall, beefy man with a huge circular tattoo on the side of his neck stepped forward.. Their leader, she assumed.

“No one is getting out of here alive,” the man said in accented English. “Our instructions are to kill you, and we don’t leave witnesses behind.”

Her stomach hollowed. These men wanted to kill Armaan? Why? Had he known he was in danger? Her mind was buzzingwith questions but she focused on the men in front of them. She’d need all her wits about her to even engage with them.

Armaan’s jaw tightened. “Well, then, none of you will leave alive tonight.”

He lunged forward. Three of the men charged at him at once, while the fourth one aimed for her. She had no time to focus on Armaan. She swung her leg out in an arch, catching the man’s legs as he came at her. The man toppled forward on his knees, looking shocked that she had confronted him like that. Before he could get up, she kicked him in the face. He went down and didn’t get up. That’s when she realized that her heel had gotten stuck in his cheek, and blood began to ooze out of that hole. Ugh. Gross. The urge to throw up overwhelmed her. She had never hurt anyone in her life like that. But now was not the time to think of that. She had to focus on the adrenaline humming inside her. She kicked off her other heel and turned. Her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Shit. She had completely forgotten about it. She lifted it out to make a call. Armaan roared, and she looked up at him.

Her jaw dropped as she watched him. He had a rod in his hand and was fighting the three men by himself. Fuck, he was poetry in motion. He was quick on his feet, ducking as they tried to get a hit on him, hitting when they least expected it.

Frustrated by him, one of the men sprang forward, his chain swinging. It caught Armaan in the chest. Armaan’s face contorted in pain. He brought the rod down hard on the man’s head. The man swayed before he hit the ground and went still. Two men down, but they still had two more left to fend.

Armaan looked at her for a brief second. “Run, Navya. Go.”

That second cost him. One of the men hit Armaan in the head, while the other plunged the dagger in his shoulder. Navya screamed. Armaan staggered back, ripping the knife out of his shoulder. Blood dripped down his forehead and from hisshoulder. Her heart fell. More fear engulfed her. Oh God, what was happening here?

Both the men lunged for Armaan together. While he was managing to defend himself, he was getting tired and seemed to be in pain. Anger overwhelmed her. Pocketing her phone, she lifted the chain from the floor and rushed to help him. She swirled the chain in the air. It hit one of the goons back. It was their leader. He swirled. The look he gave her was filled with pure hatred and violence. She swung the chain again, and it hit him in the chest.

He roared as he charged at her. Panic made her lose her breath as she saw the huge man lunge for her. She swung the chain again. This time, he caught it and tugged on it hard. She slammed into him. The man held an arm over her throat in a chokehold.

“Fucking bitch, you’re going to die,” he growled.

He squeezed her windpipe hard. Her throat ached; fear sat like a weight on her chest as her oxygen supply began to dwindle. She couldn’t breathe. She struggled against his hold, scratching his arms, but she couldn’t shake him off. Spots danced in front of her eyes, and her vision began to darken.

Armaan’s loud scream rented the air, and in the next second, she was flung down. Pain shot through her body as she hit the ground. She breathed in and out, needing the precious oxygen. Her vision was fading; her breaths coming in choppy gasps. She tried to move, but even that was hard. She shut her eyes for a brief second. When she opened her eyes, her vision was clearer. She shot to her knees. It took her a few seconds to notice that Armaan had taken down the man he’d been tackling earlier and was now sparring with the man who had attacked her.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled Ananya.

“Ananya, I need help, NOW,” she screamed. “VIP entrance, parking lot. Get security.”

She didn’t even wait to hear her sister’s response. Her entire focus was on Armaan. His white shirt was spattered with blood at multiple places. His movements also seemed far slower than before. He took a few punches, and then he headbutted the huge man and smashed his jaw. The man fell to the ground. Armaan rushed to her.

Worry was etched on his face. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, I think,” she said, her voice rough.

He helped her stand.

She assessed him. He was bruised in so many places, and blood continued to pour down his forehead and shoulder, and there was a gash on his stomach where the dagger had cut through the shirt and his skin.

He held her shoulders. “Why didn’t you run? Why did you stay? What if something had happened to you?” His voice rose a notch with every word that came out of his mouth. “Are you mad, Navya? Did you not see how dangerous those men were?”

A tear fell down her cheek and then another. “I couldn’t leave you alone. I couldn’t.”

He frowned, and then his face tightened as if he suddenly remembered their previous altercation. “Why?”

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