Page 26 of Chasing Hope

‘The other night, “Masked Man” and I saw Himesh in possession of a similar-looking bookbinder.’ Ethan shifted closer to her and the backs of their hands touched. In an instant, Hope clutched his hand in a deadly grip, intending to never let go.

Hope’s shoulder stiffened against his chest. Ethan pressed his palm to her spine, granting her courage. After a moment’s hesitation, Hope lugged in a deep breath. The second she turned over the cover, all the colour drained out of her face. She stood motionless while Ethan took over and hastily flipped through the pages.

A throb settled in his temples as page after page of images of naked young girls barely in their teens stared back at him. Painful pangs clutched his chest as the haunted look in those eyes sucker-punched him. Ethan’s hand stilled as each and every photograph yanked at his heartstrings. The music, cheer and everything else around him sunk into a void. Lodged among the pages was one photo of an innocent girl who had a distinctive bruise on her left cheek and her fair-skinned wrists were marred with the imprints of ropes. The loud thunder of his heart beats threatened to blow off his eardrums.

‘That motherfucking bastard is trafficking innocent girls.’ Ethan's voice ramped up with fury.

‘Oh my God, Ethan. I knew that man was scum. But this was beyond anything I imagined. And believe me, I imagined the worst of him.’ Hope’s voice reverberated with intense rage. ‘I’m going to peel his hide. The son of a bitch—’

Ethan pounced and curled his arm around her waist, stopping her from barging out the room. ‘This is not the time to act irrationally. For fuck’s sake, Hope. Stop to think for a moment.’ Ethan banded his arm around her.

‘Let me down, Ethan. I swear to God, that snake deserves the worst possible punishment,’ Hope ranted, struggling to escape his solid hold. The heat from her ear seeped into his cheek.

‘For once in your goddamn life, Hope, gauge your consequences. Your impulsive actions can work against us. Hauling the book at him isn’t going to prove shit. If anything, it will caution him to stall his operations. I want nothing more than to paralyse the monster from the waist down. But we need to think this through,’ Ethan said, his voice tight with controlled fury. It was his adamantine willpower that restrained him from bolting out of this crapyard and bashing his fist to the bastard’s face.

Hope went slack in his arms as Ethan’s word hit the mark. Her shoulders sank and her head fell back on his shoulder.

‘You’re right, Ethan… those girls need our help. We need to channel our rage to work in our favour,’ she said with a tremble in her soft voice. ‘Put me down, Ethan. I promise I won’t do anything crazy.’

Ethan closed his eyes and sighed in her neck. Hope palmed his arm at her waist and went silent as all the immediate rage left her system. In a matter of minutes they were both breathing evenly. Ethan let her down and stepped away.

‘We need to take pictures to run background checks on these girls,’ Hope said. Her eyes mellowed as she fingered her cross. ‘May God be with us. It is him who led us to find this book. It is him who will help us save them.’ Ethan snickered inwardly. He wasn’t delusional. God had no say in his life. He lost that right the day he let his mother die in his arms. Ethan strapped on his defensive armour and kept his thoughts to himself. Hope’s beliefs were none of his concern.

‘I will mail these pics to my source. Hopefully, someone might have filed a missing persons report. We can lead from there,’ Ethan said, retrieving his phone from his pocket. In silence they worked quickly as a team. As Hope flipped the pages, Ethan snapped the pictures. There were around two dozen photos. With each click Ethan's heart twisted painfully. A slight tremor caused his hand to freeze as another girl’s discoloured face came into frame. Her eyes screamed out for help. Hope’s finger moved along the girl’s bruised face and a sob pumped out of her chest. Ethan swallowed the ball of emotions choking his throat.

Hope lifted her head to meet his gaze. The ache in her eyes sucked the breath out of him. ‘Ethan, we need to save them. We won’t let him get away this time. Please, Ethan, promise me you will do everything in your power to save these girls.’ Her voice broke as tears rolled down her cheeks. The need to hold her was so intense that Ethan thought he would die if he didn’t feel her warmth.

Though distant, a clear rush of footsteps approached them. Acting on pure instinct, Ethan circled his arms around Hope and hoisted her on the desk slamming his body into her. Quickly, he shifted her to sit on the binder. Without giving it a thought, Ethan fisted his hand in her hair and brought her mouth to his for an urgent, hot kiss. Startled, Hope froze her eyes wild with confusion.

‘They are onto us,’ Ethan whispered urgently a second before his mouth captured hers again. A quick flame leaped into his eyes. Understanding the situation, Hope buried her hands in his hair and opened her mouth to kiss him back. Ethan’s heart juddered back to life. He muted everything around him and all that mattered was the woman in his arms. The woman who haunted him every night since the first time they kissed. The woman whose taste was embedded in his memory. Sweet and tempting like the forbidden fruit. Breathless, she participated, giving it her all. There was nothing soft or slow about the kiss. It was a clash of pure emotions. Hard, intense and greedy. She consumed him with her touch and feel. His heart asserted itself again, thunderously beating. Ethan burned for her everywhere. Blood gushed up his veins. His hand clenched in her soft hair as he drowned himself in her scent. Ethan growled the same instant Hope moaned as her soft breasts pressed up against his chest. Her hands enclosed around his neck while she took the kiss up a notch. He poured everything he had into that kiss. None of them pretended any longer.

This was real. This was primal.

‘Care for some company?’

Sidetracked by the raw emotions coursing through him, Ethan forced his mind to pivot into the current moment. Ethan’s eyes latched onto Hope. Panting, they struggled to catch their breath. Unwilling to let go of her, Ethan grazed his cheek against hers.

‘Hope, please stay calm and let me handle this, ok?’ Steady, in control and calmer now, Hope nodded. Ethan pressed his lips to the pulse fluttering below her ear one last time before stepping out of her embrace.

Ethan got one look at the pompous bastard and his body tightened in malevolence. No matter how many long breaths he took, the throbbing in his heart refused to abate. ‘We like to keep it intimate. Haven’t you heard the saying three is a crowd?' One shapely brow lifted at Ethan’s cutting wit.

‘Well, well, well…’ Himesh’s mouth twisted in a cruel smile as he crept closer to them. ‘I don’t take too kindly to people who use my office as a sex room. I wouldn’t have minded so much if I was invited to the party. I love exploring my sexuality. On the contrary, I believe the more the merrier. And the younger the better.’ His belly shook as he laughed arrogantly. Rage unlike anything he’d ever felt before lit up Ethan’s entire body. His hands tightened into fists. Taking cover behind Ethan’s broad form. In one stealthily move, Hope slid off the desk and slipped the book back in the drawer nudging it close with her hip.

‘Come on Ethan, let’s get home.’ Hope made an attempt to step forward.

‘Not so fast.’ Himesh lifted his hand in warning. He sucked on his blunt, inhaled deeply and blew out a cloud of rancid smoke into the air. Tension gripped Ethan’s shoulders. ‘Hope, you think I’d call you over and not keep an eye on you?’ Ethan grasped her hand and she curved into him. Himesh grinned and ran a hand down the length of his multicoloured silk tie. Ethan’s nostrils flared as the asshole's obnoxious scent hit him. ‘I let you have your fun. I like me a healthy competition. It lacks excitement if the opposition has nothing much to play with.’ The steely glint in Hope’s eyes showed she was not afraid of his threats. Ethan took pride in the fact that she was one badass woman.

‘Mark my words, Himesh. You won’t be the one having the last laugh.’ Her stentorian voice rocked the air in the room.

Himesh’s mouth bowed in a cynical smirk. ‘Good luck putting the pieces of the puzzle together.’ He licked his lips, rubbing his palms together. ‘This should be fun. Everything is fair in love and war. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ He wagged his finger at them and it took a mammoth amount of effort for Ethan to keep his anger in check.

His voice hardened with conviction and resolve. ‘I promise you, Hope. I will bring this bastard down on his knees. Even if it is the last thing I do.’

Chapter Sixteen

The sun beat down upon her as Hope made her way through the narrow lanes of the chawl – a residential building, similar to a tenement and generally associated with poverty, that housed hundreds of Mumbai residents in each sector. Hope hunched as she passed small-sized homes spanning either side of the lane. The place was always charged with activity. Hope tugged down her hood and adjusted her oversized sunglasses. She couldn't be seen here. It wasn’t so much for her as it was for the safety of her informant, Amar. Her pulse raced as she scurried along. Sweat trickled between her breasts. Hope ducked as she passed a row of metal stairs leading to more houses cramped on top floors.

Amar and Hope met almost a year ago when Hope had saved his life. At the impressionable age of nineteen, Amar got in with bad company and attempted to steal from Hope. Good thing he didn’t have the proper skills to carry off the theft. Scared to death that Hope would report him to the cops, Amar promised her that he would do anything she asked. The sight of the lanky boy begging for forgiveness was etched in her memory. Something in the boy’s pale grey eyes had pulled at her heartstrings. Everyone deserved a second chance. Hope took pity on the boy and excused him on the condition that he would check in with her once every week to keep her updated on his life. This way she could make sure that he didn’t fall back into his old ways. It took him a while to pull out of his messy past, but Hope took him under her wing, assisting him along the way. A year later, Amar was secure and earning a decent wage for himself and his sister. Gossip moved fast in these circles, and Amar worked on the side helping Hope with crucial information.

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