Page 151 of Obsession

“Shaurya,” Mihir began. “You can run point on all the teams and keep a watch out for the police. Call your contact within the police. We may need them to come in after we have rescued Anna. I don’t want to call them in advance and risk her in any way.”

Shaurya nodded. “On it.”

“Vihaan,” Mihir began. “I need you to find a position from where you have a clear view of the entrance. I’ll ensure they meet me there.”

“Done,” Vihaan said.

“Just one thing, brother,” Armaan said. “That warehouse has only one entrance, and all the windows face only the front.”

“I know…” Mihir sighed. “Which means, while we can tackle the men outside, we cannot know how many men are stationed inside. I’m assuming that is where they will hold Anna. That is the only thing I cannot plan for.”

“We will get her back, Mihir,” Rajiv said. “No plan is a hundred percent foolproof.”

“Chekov, call Anton and get the teams ready,” Mihir said. “Anton and you are with me. We leave in five.”

As everyone began filing out, Mihir touched his racing heart. Just a little while longer, and Anna would be with him. He would get her back. He’d make the world a safer place for Anna and his babies. That was the only way this was ending tonight.

41

“Why have they halted?” Devina whispered to Ananya.

The two of them were seated in the back of an SUV, alone, now that Ivan, the driver, and a third man who’d been holding a gun at them had stepped outside. They’d been traveling swiftly on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway, until suddenly, the vehicle had stopped, and everyone from their car had stepped outside. Through the dark-tinted glasses, she could make out another vehicle parked next to them. Ivan was standing outside, talking to a huge, bald man. She squinted. They looked to be arguing. Finally, the other man left Ivan and started talking on his phone.

“What is going on?” Devina whispered.

Ananya threw her a glare but refused to talk to her. She looked at the bald, tattooed man pacing in front of the SUV she was in as he spoke to someone on the phone. He looked… familiar. She finally recognized him. He was the same guy Mihir had met at that warehouse all those months ago. From their conversation that night, it hadn’t seemed like he’d been colluding with Ivan then. But now… well, now, clearly, he was.

She saw him return to Ivan. They spoke some more. Ivan kept shaking his head, but it was obvious that he wasn’t the one in control now. This other guy ran the shots. But why? What did he want with Mihir? And why was Ivan working with him?

Her breath hitched. In Moscow, Mihir had taunted Ivan about money. That the Oshnovs had stopped all his money channels. Which meant, this other man was the one currently funding Ivan to hurt Mihir through her. But…

Devina clasped her arm. “Ananya, say something.”

She shrugged away from her hold. “I’m in this situation thanks to you, so be quiet. I have nothing to say to you.”

The other woman blanched. “I’m so sorry.”

“You’ve ruined my life twice now,” Ananya said scornfully. “You deliberately gave away private details about Mihir and me to a stranger. Zeeshan and you were my closest friends, and both of you deceived me. You destroyed my relationship with Mihir because of your greed, and now you are doing it all over again.”

Devina looked at her hands. “I was jealous of you, you know...”

“Of course you were.” Ananya looked outside the window. “Jealousy—the easiest excuse in the world to destroy a friendship.”

“You had everything—money, looks, and then Mihir. I’d been trying to get his attention for weeks, but he never saw me, and then you came along, and it was game over. He never saw another woman after that. I tried to dissuade you initially from being with him. You never listened. But I was wrong, Ananya. After we learned of Mihir’s death, Zeeshan and I promised to do better by you and for ourselves. We changed. We stopped doing drugs, we worked hard, and became better.”

Ananya sighed. “And yet, the moment Ivan found you and decided to use you again, you agreed to help him to get to me. You thought of yourself first.”

“He threatened me to go public with the images of me using drugs from the past.”

“That’s just it. You never changed, Devina. You continued living with the jealousy you harbored for me. That’s why it was so easy for you to agree to help him. You were never a true friend, and I will never forgive you.”

The doors opened, halting their conversation. Ivan sat in the passenger side at the front, while his men seated themselves into the SUV. He didn’t utter a word, but his body posture spoke volumes. He was pissed.

The car took off, following the other SUV. A few minutes later, the first SUV slowed down and moved to the side near a petrol pump, while the car carrying her and the others continued on its way.

A little distance down the road, they took a U-turn. They drove for a good fifteen minutes before turning onto a road that led to a private compound lined with palm trees. The small single-level shed came into view, and her heart jerked. She knew where she was. She hoped Mihir did, too, and that, somehow, he was involved in her being brought to this location.

The car halted, and they waited in silence. Ten minutes later, the first car joined them.

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