Page 111 of Fixation

“You lost to a girl?” Reina clucked her tongue. “Why not fight me and see if you can get away with it?”

Vedant’s eyes glittered at her words. He gave her a subtle shake of his head. She knew she was taking it too far. Apart frombasic self-defence, Navya had been trained by Armaan to fight. Reina could hardly take this giant of a man by herself. But she needed this man distracted and talking and not waving the gun every few seconds in Vedant’s direction.

“Enough of the talking,” Karl yelled, looking riled up. He pulled Reina to him. She fell against his side, and he wrapped a tight arm around her middle, holding the gun against her forehead. From the corner of her eye, she noted Vedant move a little closer.

Karl gave her a sinister smile. “Why do I need to fight you when I can easily kill you?”

“Oh, so you’re a coward,” she said bravely, although her insides were churning in fear. “I suppose that makes sense. After all, four of you were needed to take down one man.”

“Shut up,” he howled in her ear. He pointed his gun at Vedant, his eyes on her. “I’ll kill him in front of your eyes, and then I’ll kill you, you stupid bitch.”

Karl was so busy scowling at her that he hadn’t realised Vedant had come close. Reina looked at Vedant from the corner of her eye. She stared into his eyes. Giving him a slight nod, she slumped. Karl’s hold on her loosened, and she slammed an elbow hard into his belly. The man staggered back, more from surprise than force. Before he could regain his balance, she used all her strength to trip him with her foot, just like she’d learned in her self-defence class. He hit the ground hard, and his gun went flying. Leaning down, she kicked his face.

“This is for underestimating what a woman can do,” she yelled. She kicked him in the face again. “And this is for threatening the man I love.”

The third time she tried to kick him, he crouched and caught her leg. But Vedant was already there, and he slammed his fist against the man’s face. Reina stumbled back as Vedant rainedmore punches on his face. The man crumpled and fell face down onto the ground.

At the same time, the door at the side opened, and Mihir, Armaan, and Rajiv appeared in the alley with several of the Oshnovs’ bodyguards. Apart from her brother, everyone else had a gun in their hands. Tyrion pushed Karl to his knees and pointed a gun to his head while one of the other bodyguards ushered Su Min inside the restaurant.

Reina ran to Vedant and flung herself at him. He held her close to his chest, breathing her in.

Lifting his head, he stared at her in awe. “You were brilliant, you know that. You scared the shit out of me, but you were unbelievable.”

She punched his shoulder. “How dare you put yourself in danger like that? Do you think you are a Superhero or one of those stupidGame of Thronescharacters you like so much?—”

“Moya milaya,” he said gently. “Have you been watchingGame of Throneswithout me?”

She glared at him. “Yes, andModern Family. But that is not relevant right now.” A tear fell down her cheek. “What if something happened to you?”

He wiped her wet cheeks with the back of his hand. “Hey, nothing happened. I’m fine, thanks to you, my bold and beautiful Reina. You are a true warrior,moya milaya. You saved my life again.”

She gave him a watery smile. The moment Karl had threatened Vedant, she’d lost all sensibility. She’d only wanted to hurt him for even thinking of hurt Vedant.

She looked at the man in front of her. Her heart had clenched so hard when he’d appeared in that alley. In that second, her biggest regret had been that she hadn’t told him what she felt for him. He was putting his life at stake for her, and she realised what a fool she’d been.

She looked into his face. “I love you.”

His eyes flared, and his mouth fell open. She kissed his lips. “I love you with my whole heart and soul. I loved you even before you told me that you loved me. I think I’ve loved you every single minute since I met you, and I will love you for every minute hereafter. I let my past colour my present. I’ve been so scared about telling you what I truly feel about you. But no more. I love you, Vedant Oshnov.”

His face lit up in delight. “Oh my God. I’ve waited too long for you to tell me this.”

He drew her in his arms. “Reina, I love you so much.”

He held her against his chest for a long moment. Everything around her disappeared—the people, the voices, the decisions that had to be made. This moment was for the two of them only. But it wasn’t enough. She couldn’t let go of him.

She looked to the side and saw Su Min approaching them. Shifting out of Vedant’s hold, she faced her friend.

“Are you okay?” Reina asked her.

“I’m fine.”

But Su Min didn’t look fine. She looked pale and sad. Reina took her hands in hers. “Hey, I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

“Was it true?” Su Min asked. “About Vasily? Did he do all those awful things?”

“Yes,” Vedant replied.

“How could I have misjudged him so?” Su Min lamented. Tears fell down her cheeks now.

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