Page 149 of Obsession

“But they don’t know that Anton is following them,” Vedant added. “So, if Andres does agree to meet you, then they will have to stall their plans, giving us enough time to locate Ananya through Anton.”

“Exactly,” Mihir said, refusing to think of any other alternatives. He had to get to her. He would ensure she and his babies were safe. Any other option wasn’t a possibility. He wouldn’t survive without her, and Ivan obviously had figured that out. That’s why he’d taken her.

“Someone needs to call Rajiv,” Mihir said.

“I’ve told him,” Navya said from the entrance to his bedroom. He hadn’t noticed Reina and her standing there. “He’ll be here soon.”

Both the girls looked worried, their faces wet with tears.

“Can one of you explain what is going on?” Reina asked. “You all were speaking only in Russian, and we couldn’t understand a thing.”

Armaan told the girls everything as Mihir left to go to his study. “Armaan, once you’ve updated the girls, meet me in the study.”

Vedant went with Mihir.

In his study, Mihir switched on the TV, connecting his phone to it. He navigated to view Anton’s location on the maps app. Behind it was another dot—the car with the men Chekov had sent to back up Anton. They were still quite a distance away from Anton, who was on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway.

“They’re headed to a private airstrip,” Armaan said as soon as he entered, looking into his own iPad. “There’s nothing else there but that.”

“Fuck,” Mihir swore. If Ivan got her out of the country, then… then…

He halted that thought. Ivan wanted him, not Anna. He’d taken her as a last resort because Mihir had refused to meet Andres. Ivan wanted O-Corp and everything Alexander had bequeathed to Mihir and his brothers.

Mihir paced in his study, waiting for Andres’ decision. His study door opened and Rajiv rushed inside, followed by Dev Luthra and three other men Mihir had never met before. Rajiv looked ashen; his face tight.

Mihir looked beyond Rajiv and Dev to the other men. Two of them, both with their arms crossed over their chests, looked similar, while the third waited at the side.

“What are you all doing here?” Armaan stepped forward. He clearly knew who everyone was.

“We’re here to help,” Dev said. “Ananya is important to us too.”

Dev introduced the three men to Mihir. Mihir barely registered their first names, but he was relieved to know that the Rajpoot brothers, friends of Rajiv, were their allies in this battle with Ivan.

Rajiv addressed Mihir, “Tell me everything from the beginning.”

Mihir explained everything to him, including about Andres and Ivan and their supposed connection. All the men listened quietly, asking questions where they needed answers.

“Anton’s stopped,” Vedant said, looking at the TV screen. “Wait, I’m calling him.”

Vedant faced them all once he disconnected the line. “Anton says that Ivan stepped out of his SUV and is arguing with someone. He can’t make out who from where he is, but he thinks it is Andres.”

A moment later, Chekov rushed into the study, his phone in his hand. “It’s Andres.”

The whole room fell silent. Mihir took the phone from Chekov and put it on speaker.

“Hello, Andres,” Mihir said, keeping his tone light. Casual. “I heard you want to meet me.”

“And I heard you’ve refused to, despite knowing that I came all the way here to meet you,” Andres said. “I was just about to leave Dubai when your man called.”

Armaan pointed to the screen on his iPad, which showed the private airstrip. They had been planning to leave, indeed.

“As I’m sure you can hear from my voice, I’ve been a bit unwell,” Mihir appeased him. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I know where your cousin Ivan is.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes,” Andres said. “But I will give you all the information I have in person. Come and meet me.”

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