by P. G. Van
I moved slowly to plant a kiss on his cheek before settling into the crook of his arm. I lay awake with Nick’s steady breathing fanning the top of my head. I tightened my hold on him, and that shook him out of his sleep.
He pulled me closer into his arms even in his suspended state.
“Nick. I’m so glad we took this trip… I like this.”
He kissed the top of my head and mumbled, “Anything for you, love.”
I tried to go back to sleep fighting an uneasiness that wouldn’t go away. I shut my eyes taking in Nick’s masculinity and let his heartbeat lull me back to sleep.
Chapter 11
“Nick, move your hot butt… I’m hungry,” I teased running my eyes on his wet and bare torso as he stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Are you sure you don’t want me for breakfast?” He walked over to where I sat holding the journal in my hands. He stopped inches from me. “Put the journal away, Mrs. Bhatia. I want to kiss my wife, and I don’t want to ruin the old journal.”
I smiled up at him and put the journal back in its box before standing up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, but he stood still looking into my eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just wondering how I got so lucky.” He smiled brushing his lips on mine.
I tightened my hold on him and pushed my body against his warm hardness. He ran one hand up to cup my neck and took the other one to my chest. My skin tingled when his hand pushed aside the silk fabric of my dress to reveal my chest.
He ran his thumb over the bruised skin on the curve of my breast. “I’m sorry, baby. I got carried away.”
I smiled and went up on my toes to kiss him on his lips. “I like it… I’ve missed the man who held me to him like I was unbreakable. It was good to be with him last night.”
“Sweetheart, I shouldn’t have…” I placed my lips back on his and silenced him. Nick’s lips froze for a second but softened. He sucked in my quivering lower lip between his teeth and delectably pressed down.
“You like this?” he mumbled, and I could only gasp in response.
I shut my eyes and let the swirl of sensations suck me in. Just as I was getting lost in the whirlpool of wonder, I was stripped of the pleasure when Nick’s phone blared next to me. The sound didn’t seem to bother Nick, and he ignored it, but something told me it was a call he should take.
“Nick,” I mumbled against his lips when he continued to ignore the phone and wrapped his arms tightly around me.
I moaned, pulling away from him when his phone wouldn’t quit ringing. “Nick, who is it?”
He picked up the phone and scrunched his nose. “Why is Sanjana calling me?”
“Answer it.”
I listened to the one-sided conversation as Nick responded to her questions with one-word answers. I could tell he somehow suspected her of fraud when it came to the trust fund, but something told me she was the only one we could trust. I wasn’t ready to ignore Nick’s gut feeling.
“Why did she call?” I asked after he ended the call.
“The Board members want to meet you, and they are gathering in Hyderabad. She wants us to join them for dinner.” His tone was cold.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Last minute plan?”
“I don’t know, but we should go,” Nick declared.
“Nick, I know you have the meeting later tonight with the team in Brazil. We can skip the dinner.” I put my arm around him.
“No, it’s fine. I want to meet the so-called Board,” Nick snarled.
“Nick, we don’t need to meet them if you don’t want to.”
“My initial reaction is not to go, but I think we will know more about what the Board knows or even what Sanjana and her brother know about the treasure.”
“Okay. Do we need to leave now?” I asked remembering how long it took us to get to the palace from Hyderabad.
Nick pulled me closer to him. “I will take you to dinner after I’ve had you for breakfast, lunch, and snack time.”
“Take me to the garden first.” My skin tingled at the point of contact when he groaned his response.
“Why do you want to go to the rose garden… I would rather be here with you.” Nick ran his lips along the column of my neck.
“Nick, baby… I want you to kiss me in the rose garden. I want us to have our own moment there.”
“Sweetheart, why are you so tempting.” He groaned.
I dug my fingers into the muscles at his shoulder as his lips trailed lower to the neckline of my silk tunic making me breathless.
*****
Later that evening, I was fumbling with the hooks on the back of my fitted blouse in the bedroom. Nick had disappeared into the library to attend a meeting. I grunted attempting to reach for the last hook on the blouse that had an opening in the back. So much for the fashionable blouses that wouldn’t close without someone helping you.
“Hey, isn’t that my job?” Nick chuckled walking into the bedroom.
“Perfect timing.” I slumped my shoulders feeling the strain in the muscles.
“As always… how could I miss the favorite part of my job.” I felt his warm breath on my shoulder as he ran the tip of his tongue along the neckline of the blouse. He clipped the last two hooks on the blouse and ran his hands over my bare midriff.
“You look beautiful.” He laid a flurry of kisses on my shoulder.
“Don’t get me started again. We have to go.” It was a half-hearted plea.
He took a whiff of my skin and moaned like I was the most delectable thing there was around. After the pregnancy, I had gotten mushy around my belly, and my curves deepened. I no longer owned the fitness-instructor body I did a few years ago. I had changed the way I dressed, conscious of my bottom that had magically widened, but every time Nick moaned, I saw him catch his breath when he saw me. I felt like the most beautiful woman on earth.
“I love what you are wearing because I get to touch every bit of the softness.” He pulled me back into his arms like he couldn’t let go.
A forty-five-minute helicopter ride brought us back to the city. The gathering seemed to be more than a few Board members. It was more like a family gathering, and the Board members happened to attend. Nick and I were greeted by Sanjana and her brother at the entrance of a historical royal residence that was converted into a restaurant and banquet hall.
I looked up admiring the magnificent Belgian-cut chandeliers, and the exquisitely handcrafted elements transported me several centuries back in time as I walked hand in hand with Nick.
“Is little Sameera here?” I asked, gently putting my arms around Sanjana. I couldn’t explain why I felt such affection for her even though I’ve met her twice and talked to her a few times prior.
“Yes, she is playing with her cousins inside.”
“I didn’t realize it was a family gathering,” I said, smiling at her.
“You weren’t the only one surprised. My dad wanted a grand reception for you,” Sanjana said.
“It’s very nice of him.”
“You guys go ahead, I will meet you inside.” Sanjana smiled.
“Sameera, look at the older couple to the far right…” I wasn’t listening to him as I had started speed walking toward the older couple—my grandparents.
I hugged my grandparents and shed a few happy tears with them as I hugged them together.
“How did you guys get here, and why didn’t you call me?” I whined like a little girl.
“Nick told us it would be more thrilling to see you like this,” my grandma teased.
“He is in trouble.” I laughed as my eyes wandered to find the man I loved.
Nick was deep in conversation with Sanjana’s dad, and as if he sensed my eyes on him, he looked in my direction. I blushed when our eyes met, and he sent a sexy wink my way.
Nick and I spent the next hour or so talking to family and friends and moved around t
he massive banquet hall. I was in the middle of a conversation with Sanjana when I heard her father speak into the microphone.
I had goosebumps on my skin just hearing about Rajaram and all the philanthropic work he did and how the trust is continuing to do what Rajaram wanted for decades after his death. As if Nick sensed how overwhelmed I felt, he stepped closer to me wrapping his arm around me.
Sanjana’s dad continued to talk about how we made contact and how the Bhatia’s have been looking for Nethra and me. He closed his speech by inviting us to join him on the stage.
I dug my fingertips into Nick’s palm as we walked over to the stage. I was happy to meet everyone and talk to them, but none of it answered the question I had in my mind.
Why did Rajaram leave the woman he loved? Based on what I heard and read about him, he wasn’t the man to want to go back to the luxuries in life, and even if he did, why abandon his family?
In my daze, I accepted the documentation of ownership with Nick’s and my name on it and a pendant—a pendant that looked very much like the one Nick had around his neck but slightly different.
On the older gentleman’s insistence, Nick put the pendant that was on a black leather string around my neck, and the crowd applauded. I was surprised to see the pure joy in the everyone’s eyes. It almost felt like they were relieved to find the family Rajaram lost. It was very evident at that moment he was loved by all as the great-great uncle who pined in silence for his lost family.
Almost two hours and a grand dinner later, Nick and I stood on the balcony holding hands.
“Are you happy, sweetheart?” Nick nuzzled my cheek in the moonlight.
“Yes, I’m happy I found my family but…”
“What is it, love?” He gently turned me by my shoulder to face him.
“Why did Rajaram leave his family? It breaks my heart to spend time away from our babies, knowing I can get back to them any minute I want… but…”
Nick silently pulled me into his arms and rocked me to comfort. He spoke after my sniffles died down. “Everything I have learned about the man makes me wonder the same thing. I promise to find the answers for you.”
“Nick, you’ve done enough. Maybe there was no reason for him to leave his family. Maybe he intended to return, but his family thought they were abandoned and moved away, and he never found them.”
“It is possible, and if that is really the case, I still want to give you that concrete answer. It is the least I can do for the woman I love and the one who has given me everything I ever wanted and more.” He kissed the top of my head.
“I love you, Nick.”
“Baby, you…” his voice trailed off when he heard a beep, and I noticed the sudden shift in his manner. “We need to go.”
He was literally walking me away from the balcony but not into the banquet hall.
“Nick, my grandparents.”
“They will be taken to the palace, and I’ll send Sanjana a message about us leaving.” His breathing was ragged as he led me down a dark hallway before bringing us back to a side door. It almost made me wonder how he knew where we were heading in a building we had never been before, or has he been in this building before?
Before I could ask him, what was going on, I heard the sound of tires screeching on cement and then saw the headlights of the approaching cars. All vehicles were identical, and the first vehicle came to a stop a few feet from where we were.
Nick pulled open the door and shoved my body in before sliding in with great urgency.
“Nick!” I was out of breath from how fast my heart was beating.
“Move it, Mitch!”
“Mitch?” I looked at the rearview mirror and saw the familiar eyes of the man who would put his life at risk to protect Nick, his bodyguard and friend.
“Ms. Nick… good to see you, too.” I could tell he was smiling from the crinkle on the side of his eyes in the mirror.
“Mitch, when did you come to India, and where are you taking us?”
“Sameera, relax…” Nick stopped short and looked at Mitch. “You captured?”
“Yes.” Mitch’s voice was soft, and before I could ask, I heard the sound and felt the movement in the back of the SUV that sent chills down my spine.
It had to be the voice of a person, and when I leaned back to look at the back on the SUV, my heart sank. A young woman lay in a fetal position, a gag in her mouth with her hands and legs tied, struggling to free herself.
“Mitch, please stop the car. This is wrong,” I yelled unable to control my anger.
Chapter 12
“Mitch, keep going. We’ll talk when we get to our destination,” Nick ordered, and I looked at him in disbelief.
“Nick, who is she, and why is she being treated that way?”
“Ms. Nick, she and a few others have been spying on you two since you guys got here,” Mitch said in a calm tone.
“Why?” I turned around to look at the woman who had her eyes trained on me. “Let her go…”
Nick took a deep breath and moved closed to me to cup my face in his hands. “I promise, we just need to talk to her.”
“What do we need from her?”
“We only want to find out why she has been following us,” Nick said softly.
“Where are we taking her?”
“Sameera… let’s talk when we get to our destination.” Nick’s tone burned me, indicating he didn’t want to talk about it further, but the way he pulled me close to him made the anger melt away.
I rested my cheek on his chest and shut my eyes. The squirming and the kicking from the back of the vehicle turned into a slight whimper as I drowned into oblivion.
My body felt sore from the anger and shock of having an abducted woman in the same car. Every muscle objected to my movement as I opened my eyes. We were stopped at a train crossing, and my head was resting on Nick as he held me closely.
“We are almost there,” Nick whispered.
“Where?” I sat up to look at him.
“You’ll see.”
I turned around to look at the body of the woman and saw she had her eyes shut.
“Nick, why do we have to treat another human in this manner? Can’t she ride in the car with us?”
“Baby, we are almost there,” Nick said and just as he said that, the vehicles pulled off the main street and continued onto a mud road lined by large trees.
A few minutes down the narrow road, the cars pulled in front of a high-fenced compound with a house built in the middle of the high-walled lot.
Nick got out of the SUV and held out his hand to help me out. I looked at him in silence before taking his hand.
“I have the same million questions you have, but we both know Mitch wouldn’t do anything without a solid reason,” Nick said as if to address the turmoil in my head.
I took a deep breath and took his hand. I stood by the car as Mitch opened the truck door and let the woman out of the back of the SUV. Something twisted inside me when I saw her weak body lean against Mitch for support.
On instinct, I took a step toward her to help her walk, but Nick pulled me back.
“We need to talk to her now. If she is innocent, we apologize and let her go,” I managed to say in a stern tone.
Nick and I followed Mitch and a few other men dressed in private security uniforms as they helped the woman indoors. I looked around taking in my surroundings but had no interest in finding out where we were or why we were here instead of going to the palace.
The men in the security uniforms stopped and stood by the main door. Mitch continued into the living room of a moderately modern home. An elderly man and woman stood to one side of the living room looking at Nick.
The older man and the young woman didn’t seem to be fazed by the fact that there was someone in the room whose hands and legs were bound. I watched them leave the living room when Nick looked at them and gently shook his head.
Mitch sat the woman on the couch and took out the gag in her mouth but did not
untie her hands or her legs.
“What do you want?” Nick was quick to ask her questions.
The woman looked at Nick and then turned her eyes to me, and I gasped at the amount of hatred I saw in her eyes.
“She needs some water,” I uttered, and Mitch walked out of the living room and came back with a few bottles of water. He opened one bottle and placed it between her hands. She hesitated for a moment but slowly took the bottle to her lips and gulped down the water.
The woman had to be in her twenties, maybe late twenties, and it made me wonder what she hoped to achieve by watching us. I looked at her taking in her features, and a strange sense of familiarity hit me.
“I’ve seen her somewhere,” I blurted out.
“Sameera…”
“Nick, she looks very familiar.” I turned away from Nick to look straight at the woman. “I’m sorry you are tied up, but we need to know why you were following us.”
When the woman continued to stare at me, Nick looked at Mitch. “What do we have on her?”
“We don’t have a lot on her. Staying at a motel indicating she is not from around here. In spite of how discrete we have been, she seemed to know where you were at all times,” Mitch snarled under his breath.
I took a step toward her. “What do you want from us?”
“Ms. Nick, if you’re wondering why we had to put her in the back of a vehicle… she hasn’t uttered a single word since we caught her spying on you two.”
I looked at her as she gave Mitch the death stare. The blazing eyes and the way her jaw clenched was way too familiar. It was like déjà vu. I took in the heart-shaped face and the elongated chin and knew why she looked so familiar. “Reetu…”
The moment Reetu’s name rolled off my lips, almost in instinct, the woman turned to look at me.
I smiled at her. “You know Reetu… a close relative?”
“Reetu?” Nick sounded surprised. “She was an only child, and the only family she has is in California.”
“There is no other explanation, the similarities are uncanny. She’s got to be a sibling we haven’t been told about.” I was confident.