Page 36 of Twisted Alliance

She spent the entire night held against him.

It was much later when she saw the soft light of dawn outside the bedroom windows that her eyes began to droop with tiredness. Finally, she slipped into a restless yet deep sleep.

I hate him. I’m going to get to the truth about him soon.

CHAPTER 11

“Unless there is an image or description of the goddess statue, it’s going to be hard to track it, Shivay.”

Shivay was standing on his balcony talking on the phone. His gaze was directed towards the garden below.

“Yes, I know that, Nakul. But get as many leads as possible.”

“The team is collecting quite a few leads. Most of them point to some high-level bureaucrat, delegate, or even a damn monarch’s home having the statue as a part of their antique collection.”

It was harder to track something that was not a part of the public domain. Had the goddess statue been inside a museum or other public place, it would have been easily located.

“Any leads on the assassin from Africa?” Nakul asked.

Since the investigation for that was happening locally in Singoor, Shivay had more updates.

“So far, none of the locals recognized the assassin.”

“Hmm… that’s quite strange. Although, they could be lying too because of the consequences.”

Shivay knew that was a possibility. But the investigators had hired locals to gain their trust and offered enough monetary compensation if any of them found the assassin’s identity.

“Is Rishab back from Africa?” Shivay asked.

Rishab was taking care of the copper mine that was purchased in Zambia. Although it had been less than three months since he had been there, it felt much longer.

“Not yet. He is coming in later today.”

“Any security breaches?” Shivay asked.

“None so far. Although, Chitti might have noticed the additional security at her university. She called me yesterday sounding outraged and demanding to know if I have someone following her and her boyfriend.”

Shivay’s mouth twisted in amusement.

“And what about you?” Nakul asked. “I know you have security on standby at a nearby city. But are you sure you don’t need them at the Thakvar mansion?”

“I’m fine.”

The only person he needed to watch out for at the mansion was the woman feeding the peacocks and rabbits in the garden.

He watched as Ishani Gujjar moved gracefully along the garden. Soft laughter floated in the air as she let a rabbit eat from her hand. He couldn’t see her face because she was wearing the veil over it, but he knew it was her from the dress he had seen her wear that morning.

That damn dress was as contradictory as the woman wearing it. Her entire back was nearly exposed and covered with just thin strings. He could even see her small and narrow exposed waist.

Even though he was used to seeing women dressed in lesser clothes and even completely naked, the sight of her bare back and waist was distracting as hell.

Watching her made him think yet again that the woman he married was a strange combination of innocence and danger. One moment, her huge eyes would fill with tears of terror, and the next, she would be wielding a weapon against him with an intent to kill.

Unfortunately, his damn brain didn’t seem to get the message that she was dangerous and untrustworthy because each time he saw her, despite his anger, he saw her beauty, and his body reacted painfully with desire.

Ever since she had attacked him with the scissors, he held her against him and slept. Although she thought he was punishing her by holding her in his arms each night, it was more torturous to him. Because it only led to his frustration and a cold shower in the mornings.

The woman was a menace to his peace of mind.

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