Page 5 of Chasing Hope

‘Too bad.’ She shrugged her narrow shoulders. ‘That’s the only one I got. Besides, I've taken a liking to him. I like his spunk. Makes me think of a romantic moonlight rendezvous.’ She spun around and strode to the door. Ethan struggled to retain a straight face.

Holy fucking shit. This woman will be the death of me.

Ethan cleared his throat. He didn’t want to comprehend the look in her eyes. It caused his gut to tighten. He fetched for a change in topic. ‘And how do you recommend I get Rishi Saxena to go on a date with the lucky draw winner? That was a cheap stunt you pulled by the way.’

‘Who said anything about playing by the rules?’

Hope tucked her hair behind her ear and slid him a look over her shoulder. His eyes drifted over her tattoo. The black ink stood stark against her ivory skin. As much as he hated to admit it, the woman was fucking gorgeous. If only she’d just learn to keep her rebellious nature in check. Hope’s expression was a look of pure innocence. Ethan knew better. On the contrary, she didn’t have a single innocent bone in her body. Despite his resistance, his dimples made an appearance. Hope’s mouth twitched as she said, ‘Pull some strings.’

Chapter Four

‘Shh…’ Hope shook her head at another wasted attempt at making her friends quieten down. ‘Guys,’ she hissed. Their chatter continued like Hope wasn’t even there.

‘Aww, look at this beauty,’ Mahika Bhaat said, scrolling through some random pictures on her phone.

‘Turkey is such a gorgeous place,’ Anjana Kumar whispered, her gaze fastened on the same screen.

‘Guys!’ Hope all but yelled at her friends. She almost lost her footing and grasped the branches with both her hands to prevent her fall. Her heart juddered, knocking the breath out of her. Hope gathered her wits and let herself drag in a long whiff of the sweet perfumed air. ‘You two are supposed to keep an eye out for me. That’s the reason I asked you guys here. Not to gossip over a bunch of Instagram pictures.’ She lowered her voice as she realised she was on the verge of shouting.

‘I agree to disagree.’ Mahika flipped back her blue-streaked hair and narrowed her eyes at Hope. ‘You left us with no choice. I had to cancel ahot date to join you for this ridiculous stakeout. Do you have any idea how much my heart wept when I had to call Nilesh for a rain check?’ Her face fell on a shuddery sigh.

‘Oh, stop it, drama queen,’ Anjana grinned and tilted her head back, way back to look at the most unreasonable person in their group of three. ‘And you.’ She lifted a haughty brow at Hope. ‘I do not intend for this night to end with you in a cast. Get your stubborn ass down that tree before you— ’ A chain reaction of gasps echoed in the silence of the night.

‘I’m fine. I’m fine,’ Hope frantically assured them as her shoe skidded over the slippery branch. Her friends glared at her and threw a round of colourful cuss words that would make a sailor proud. Hope adjusted the band of her Nikon draped around her neck and ducked her head to hide her grin. She was not called the stubborn mule for nothing. She tugged on the hood of her black windcheater and water droplets splattered on the back of her palm. The drizzle had turned heavy in the last ten minutes. Mighty waves crashed against the rocks, warning them of an incoming storm. Thunderstruck, loud and angry. Mahika jumped, screeched and sprang into Anjana’s arms. Taken by surprise, Anjana's heels slipped on the grimy soil and they both toppled to the ground. They made enough commotion to wake the dead.

‘Oww,’ Anjana groaned as Mahika’s elbow connected with her hip. Hope closed her eyes and gazed up at the starless sky. What possessed her to bring these two along, she now had no idea.

‘Lord my saviour,’ Hope mumbled under her breath.

‘Oh I’msosorry. I’m petrified of thunder,’ Mahika said.

‘Since when?’ Anjana ranted on a snort.

‘Since the last fifteen years we’ve known each other. Oh, come on—’

‘Guys! Do you not understand the meaning of a stakeout?’ Hope spoke through clenched teeth. She settled her ass firmly in a groove between two sturdy branches and glared at her friends through a haze of rain. ‘Mahi, grow up. And Anj, for God’s sake, who wears heels to a dangerous mission?’ Hope was about to throw her hands up in the air but released just in time that she was up an enormous tree. Her palms scraped against the rough branches. She winced. ‘What if we have to run for our lives? What—’

‘I can run a marathon in heels,’ Anjana said in a smug tone. Her otherwise voluminous hair fell flat down her back. Her fawn-colored pencil skirt and white silk top were now ruined with patches of mud. At least Mahika had the foresight to wear a pair of shorts and a tee, a fluorescent yellow one at that. Hope let out a long-suffering sigh and massaged her temples. So much for trying to blend in. Her friends were always show stoppers. They did not understand the definition of understated dressing. Neither of them had any sort of jacket to protect them from the rain. Their wet clothes clung to their bodies. Anjana dug her heels in the soil and sliced Mahika with an angry look. ‘It’s just cause of this klutz—’

‘Excuse me? Whom are you calling a klutz? You—’ Hope cringed as she observed Mahika and Anjana getting into a staring match. Not a day would go by without these two having an argument. However baseless, they would argue and later patch up like long-lost lovers. The roar of an engine distracted her and Hope spun around to detect the source. A black Porsche surged to a halt outside the massive electronic gates.

‘He’s here, the fucking bastard has arrived,’ Hope said, her voice full of contempt. Anjana and Mahika silenced their argument and crouched behind the tree. At her elevated position, Hope was the only one who could view the sights beyond the tall gates. The hundred-crores-worth mansion was a fortress. The sea-facing property was impenetrable. Each and every detail guarding him and his house was vetted personally byHimeshhimself. Hope’s heartbeat sprinted as she lifted her camera, adjusted the lens and took sight of Himesh Choudhary. Angry breaths ripped through her lungs. The evil bastard stepped out of the driver's seat and jogged around the bonnet to the passenger's door.

‘Now, now, now. Who do we have here?’

A bodyguard rushed forward with an umbrella as a stunning woman dressed in a midnight-blue skintight dress – who from the looks of it seemed no more than twenty-five – rose on her toes and glued her mouth toHimesh. Himesh’shands roved over her body and grabbed the woman’s ass. The bodyguard holding the umbrella was a witness to a live porn movie. Ripping his mouth from hers,Himeshdragged the back of his hand over it to wipe off his slobber. Overcome with a strong urge to gag, Hope swallowed hard.

‘This is definitely going up on the net.’

‘What do you see?’ Mahika yelled over the raging winds.

‘Bastard is cheating on his wife with a woman half his age.’ Another roaring thunder shattered the sky and the branches swayed violently in the strong winds. Unaffected by the pouring rain, Hope’s hand fisted around her camera as she snapped a train length of shots. She had a friend, who had a friend, a gossip columnist who was certain to have a field day with these images. But coming here tonight to dig dirt on Himesh had nothing to do with juicy gossip-worthy news, and had everything to do with getting sufficient proof to nail the bastard.

Hope had visited the hospital again that morning for the fifth time in that week to plead with the boy’s mother to give her statement. Terror-striken with threats for their life, the mother refused and banished Hope from ever coming to see them again. A clear case of power dynamics. The powerful smothering the voices of the powerless. Hope ground her jaw as her blood pumped furiously through her veins. It sickened her to the core that such filthy people likeHimeshretained such elevated positions in society. Now more than ever Hope had tightened her resolve to groundHimeshto dust.

‘Guys I’m scared,’ Mahika whimpered and clutched onto Anjana’s arm.

‘Hope, sweetheart. I’m not liking this one bit.’ Anjana’s voice sounded stained. She hugged Mahika tightly as the ground shook with another thunderbolt.

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