Page 89 of Fixation

“You fucker, you broke her heart,” Armaan said. “And then you refused to let her leave the house.”

“How could I, Armaan?” Vedant queried. “That nurse—Vasily’s girlfriend—had already left. I thought keeping Reinawith me would be safe for her. What if Ivan got to the nurse and convinced her we were the bad guys? What if she was already working for him? What if she knew that Reina was becoming important to me? What if the others knew as well? I was letting Dr. Jones go too. I behaved badly with Reina in front of Dr. Jones so that she’d never think that Reina was important to me. I was also hoping she’d never speak of Reina and my name in the same sentence to anyone who might be probing.”

“And now what?” Armaan splayed a hand out. “You have this grand realisation that you’re in love with her, and you expect her to welcome you with open arms?”

“It was only after I lost Reina that I realised how empty my life was. Seeing her last night made me accept what I had been trying to deny for the longest. I love her, and I want a chance at a life with her, if she will have me.”

“Fucker, what if she doesn’t want you?” Armaan asked. “What if she’s not in love with you?”

“Then help me find out. I need a chance, Armaan. Just one.”

“Let me also remind you that our situation hasn’t changed,” Mihir pointed out. “We still don’t have any information on Karina. My sources are still trying to locate her, but it may take them weeks. Plus, Ivan is still a very big loose end. We don’t know where he is or what he plans to do next. All I know is that he’s been silent for too long. Given all this, do you still want to bring Reina into your life?”

Fear rolled like a tsunami inside him. Reina. Being with him was unsafe, but without him also she was not safe, simply by virtue of being Navya’s sister. Besides, for how long would he and his brothers live their lives in fear? Armaan and Navya had embraced this situation they were in. Well, then so would he.

He addressed his brothers. “You know this fear is exactly what Ivan wants us to feel. He wants us to be afraid of him. He wants us to live knowing that he can and will hurt us and thepeople we love—if and when he chooses. And to that I want to tell him a grand fuck you.”

Mihir frowned. “What do you mean?”

“We need to announce Armaan and Navya’s engagement to the world. Let it be splashed on every paper, magazine, and news site. We need to show off our successes, our joys, and our wins to him. Let him know that we don’t fear him. That we will battle him when he comes. Let our happiness be a dare to him. A challenge. It will frustrate him and infuriate him. That’s when he will make a mistake, and that is when we will catch him.”

“I agree,” Mihir said, a long moment later. He looked at Armaan. “But this is your decision to make, brother.”

Armaan stared at Vedant for a long moment. “I’ll talk to Navya and Rajiv. He has to agree too. Everything we do affects him and his family.”

“Of course.”

“But I agree,” Armaan said. “I’d really like to show off our happiness to that fucker and dare him to come get us. I’ll let you know what pans out. But let’s circle back to Reina and you.”

“I really do love her,” Vedant repeated. “I’m suggesting this as much for her as well. None of us will be safe until we catch Ivan and the two men working for him. Nor can we sit around and wait for him to act.”

“I’ll talk to Navya about you. But those sisters are thick as thieves. You hurt one, the other two will mark you as the devil.”

“And their brother?” Vedant asked.

Armaan sighed. “The girls have decided not to tell him anything for now. But if… No. When he finds out that Mihir kidnapped his baby sister and you broke her heart, then, like I said, even God won’t be able to help you both.”

Vedant nodded. He’d deal with that situation when he reached that point. Right now, he wanted to ensure the woman he loved gave him a second chance to make things right. Andthat started right the fuck now. He turned to his brothers. They were the only ones who could help him win her back.

31

The early morning swims at her brother’s sports club were just the best. While they had a pool at home, it wasn’t as big or as deep as this Olympic sized one. Reina’s swimmer heart was never happy swimming in a small pool. But here, she was delighted. Reina glided through the water, feeling at ease. The lapping of the water against her skin, the systematic strokes—all of it helped calm her raging mind.

She felt bad for the bodyguard assigned to her. He was forced to wake up early in the morning to drive her for her daily swim session. But this time of the day was all hers. And her brother’s club was safe. He’d installed a high-tech security system so members had to swipe a card, put in their thumbprint, and input a code to enter the premises.

She swam a few lengths, refusing to think about the previous night andhim. He was here in her city, and for some reason, he wanted her back. The jerk. How dare he think he could simply click his fingers, and she’d return to him?

Stop, Reina, you’re not thinking of him, remember.She focused on the synchronised movement of her arms and legs. She continued swimming to the other end. Last night, aftershe’d gone home, she’d made a call to Navya and finally told her sisters everything. Navya had also put Armaan on call, and now, he too knew of her disastrous and short-lived affair with his brother. She had requested her sisters to keep their brother out of this whole sordid mess. Telling him was like opening Pandora’s box. She didn’t want her situation to ruin Rajiv’s relationship with Armaan because one of his brothers had gotten her kidnapped, and the other had broken her heart. Which meant she was going to keep Vedant a secret from her brother.

Vedant—even thinking of him made her heart ache. His face flashed in front of her eyes. Her mind remembered every line, freckle, and wrinkle on it. Her skin remembered every touch. Her body remembered the way he made her feel, and her heart recalled how she felt when he was near—only when he was near.

A head bobbed up next to her. Her chest seized. Fear made her lose her momentum and she plunged beneath the water. Panic made her forget to breathe and her lungs burned with the need for air.

Warm hands caught her shoulders and pulled her up. She coughed and sputtered, gasping for air. Her eyes widened as she found Vedant watching her, his gaze filled with concern.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” she yelled. “You scared the life out of me.”

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