Page 40 of The Pursuit
“As I was saying,” Ayaan continued, “we need a team on standby in case things go south with Raghav. Local police too. What do you think?”
I nodded firmly. “Absolutely. They’ll be ready.”
Ayaan rubbed his palms in excitement. “Excellent. Now, let’s go over the plan one more time...”
As the discussion continued, the thoughts of our kiss haunted my mind again. That kiss had shattered the carefully constructed walls I’d built to keep her out. I shook my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. But the memory of Trisha’s lips, her touch, her taste—it was all I could think about.
Just as Ayaan and I were going over the mission plan one more time, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Ayaan called out.
Trisha entered, her gaze briefly meeting mine before she turned to Ayaan. “Boss, I’ve shifted my stuff to the other guest room downstairs. That’s the key to my previous room.” She handed the keys to Ayaan.
I felt a pang of confusion. She had changed rooms? Moved downstairs?
“Great,” Ayaan said. “I hope you’re comfortable in your new room. Let me know if there’s anything else.”
Trisha nodded. Ayaan’s phone rang, and he quickly excused us and walked out of the room to answer. Trisha turned to leave, but I couldn’t stop myself from speaking up.
“You changed the room?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even. “Not interested in even sharing a wall between us now?”
Trisha paused, crossing her arms as she faced me. “Isn’t that what you asked me to do? To stay the fuck away from you?”
Her words struck a chord, and I was suddenly reminded of the cruel, bitter things I’d said to her last night after our heated kiss. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
“I’m just obeying the Director’s orders,” Trisha continued, her tone clipped. She turned to leave, but I reacted instinctively, reaching out to grab her arm and whirl her back around, pinning her against the door.
“You’re obeying the orders, but you’re also raising suspicion in the eyes of the people around,” I warned, my face mere inches from hers. “I don’t want Ayaan or Meher to know what we had between us, Trisha.” I paused, my gaze boring into hers. “Or rather, what I thought we had, but you never cared.”
Trisha’s eyes darkened with the same intensity as her voice.
“I shifted my room because Meher insisted,” she replied. “The shower in my room wasn’t working, and she urged me to move downstairs. I agreed, thinking that was the best I could do to follow your orders of staying away from you as much as possible, Krish.” She tilted her head slightly. “But why do I sense you’re not happy with it? Isn’t this what you wanted—for me to stay away?”
I was speechless again, cursing my own conflicting emotions. Trisha’s gaze dropped to my lips, where the faint bruise from her passionate bite last night was still visible. She quickly averted her eyes, meeting mine again.
“Yourbehaviour can make it obvious to them that something is wrong between us, not mine,” she said. “You need to keep a check on your feelings, Krish. Because I’ve learned to do that a long time ago.”
With that, Trisha gently pushed me away and walked out, leaving me perplexed. What did she mean by that? Did it mean she was hiding her feelings from me?
I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. Everything about Trisha and our relationship was so goddamn complicated. One moment, I couldn’t stand to be around her; the next, I was craving her touch, her kisses, her warmth. And now, she was the one maintaining a distance, following my own orders to stay away.
“Tough day!” Ayaan’s voice broke through my thoughts. He had returned, a sympathetic look on his face as he scrolled through his phone.
I let out a humourless chuckle. “You have no idea.”
I was sure he didn’t hear anything that Trisha and I spoke.
Ayaan clapped me on the back. “Well, at least we’ve gota plan in place for ‘The Roost’. Hopefully, we can get some answers from Raghav and move this whole Bat gang investigation forward.”
I nodded, grateful for the change in subject. “Yeah, let’s hope so. The sooner we can wrap this up, the better.”
As Ayaan delved back into the mission details, I tried to focus, but my mind kept drifting back to Trisha’s parting words. Had she truly learned to control her feelings for me? And if so, did that mean she cared about what we once had?
The thought filled me with a strange relief. But I pushed it aside, knowing I needed to have my head in the upcoming mission.
****************
A week later
