Rise of the Devil - Part 40

PREVIOUS PART

Chapter 40

Arnav’s POV

It strikes me how utterly gorgeous my wife is… my Queen.. my Khushi… Kissing her is the best activity of my life but this time, it turns out more. Last night I shouted at her unnecessarily when all she wanted to do was comfort me. Whilst the whole day I was busy sorting out the mess which Jaipal’s sudden death has created in the dark world, there wasn’t a single moment when I didn’t think of returning home to apologize to my wife. When I came here, finding Khushi in the bathtub, so close to surrendering, I was tempted to erase every distance between us but she showed her tantrums and asked me to get out. It took me so long to convince her and also promise that I wont repeat this again. And now that we are both on bed, with me on top of her petite body, kissing her hungrily, it does things to my lower body which cannot be ignored.

I pull away from Khushi for a moment to look in her eyes. She’s heaving… breathless and totally at my mercy but I won’t go ahead until she approves this.. until she approves ME..

“I want you,” I whisper, conscious of her cheeks turning red at my statement. “All of you..”

She looks at me with heavy eyes, its hard to read if she is going to accept my demand when the phone rings..! That EFFING PHONE! I would have ignored every call, every distraction to hear her response first but I know the situation is not in my favor. Jaipal’s death is still a mystery and I have a lot to handle. So without her reply, I get off her and down the bed reaching for my mobile which is on the bedside table. It’s Akash and I cannot ignore him.

Khushi is still lying on the bed as if she’s been told to stay there.. like that. I swallow painfully as our gazes meet again.

“I have to take this call. Get some rest..”

She nods weakly and I stride out of the room, to answer the call.

“Akash” I speak first.

“Bhai its over..” he exhales. It’s not the words but his tone which tells me something is serious.

“What’s over?”

“This mission Bhai.. Jaipal’s death has completely ruined it. I tried to explain the superiors but .. they don’t think we should go ahead with this..”

“Hold a second” I interrupt. “What do you mean we can’t go ahead with this mission?”

“We are asked to abort it,” he snaps. “Completely. I think the superiors will form another plan and another team to look after it from here.. We are nowhere going to be part of this.”

“What the F***” I scream.

I don’t like this at all. I pace the room, thinking of every other alternative.

“It’s over Bhai. I am asked to handover all the details of this mission in two weeks and all our teams will withdraw subsequently which means all that extra protection we have offered so far to all the agents will be withdrawn too, including Shashi Gupta, Khushi and you..”

I fist my fingers.

“They are making a mistake. No one knows this mission better than us” I scowl.

“I know that but we are binded by their orders.”

“F*** those orders Akash and listen to me very carefully. I have spent more than a decade in training and taking up this role for the mission. If they think they can snatch it all only because we had a temporary failure, they are wrong.”

“You can’t challenge them.. It’s their headache now.. We will be re-assigned to something else and..”

“And you think that’s so easy Akash?” I growl back.

I can hear Akash exhale again.

“I am not quitting this mission.. They cannot take away the controls from my hands yet.”

“Wait wait wait..” Akash snaps. “Don’t make that mistake Bhai. You can’t continue.. You will have no support from the system..”

“So be it.. I don’t need their support to finish this mission and succeed. I can do it on my own.”

Saying that I disconnect the call. This is bad news but like Akash accepted it, I wont. Everything I have so far is in line for this mission. If the agency has stopped protecting me, I have other troops to do that. I don’t need their support. Until I find my mother’s killer and end this dark world which I am still the King of. I will not let myself consume by my helplessness. I am anything but that. I might never have been fully prepared for a situation like this, but I still have a backup plan. I have men, heavily armed, whom I have befriended with and who can assist me to bring this dark world down if the Government doesn’t support this mission anyway. But that would mean I am going rogue. I might still be protecting the law and order but against the commands of my superiors but if that wipes off the evil from my country, I was ready to take up this challenge.

Making that decision in my head, I quickly decide to reform my sources, army and the rest of the stuff. We have still two weeks until Akash handovers the commands of this mission to someone else. After that, I am on my own!!

*****************

Khushi’s POV

I hate this feeling. Devil made the most sensitive demand of our lives, wanting to consummate our marriage and before I could even say anything, he had to leave me to attend a call. I don’t like that a bit. It’s been a week now that he is gone. I have a feeling the call was important. Jaipal’s death has really messed up bad both in his professional and personal life. Arnav had passed a message to me through Dad before leaving and asked me not to worry. Seems he had to do some reformation of his forces and ever since he has left, I am madly waiting for him to return. Dad looks sad too and after a bit of poking, he finally told me that mission is aborted. A part of me was happy thinking Arnav was finally free from this dangerous mission but I knew he won’t be leaving it unfinished like that.

Now the question was, how will he do all this alone? I don’t want Arnav to end up in any problems only because he has no support from Akash and the rest of his superiors.

In this one week, Arnav has messaged me once every day, telling me he is doing fine and asking me if I am doing well or not. How can I do well when he is still in danger? Though I messaged him everyday about my wellness, I still can’t stop thinking about how this sudden closure of the mission is going to change our future. But apart from all that, I don’t miss the self-defense training every morning. Now I am used to that routine. I think I have learnt quite good moves and know what to do if I am attacked. I can’t wait Arnav to see how well I can fight now. Obviously, there’s still so much to learn. My body aches every day but I feel my muscle power increasing. I can sustain this pain as its for my own good. I have also started enjoying some cooking. I can prepare a meal without assistance. All thanks to Buaji and the cooking videos. But apart from spending so much time in these activities, I get bored. I have wanted to shop a few things or at least go and meet Payal who’s got a new job in Delhi but it’s Devil’s strict orders not to let me step out of Chandra Mahal’s vicinity.

I feel caged already but I know he is doing this to keep me protected. Though Jaipal is dead, he is not willing to take any risks. It’s evening when I am flipping the pages of my mafia romance book. It’s almost coming to an end.. an end which I don’t enjoy much considering that the female lead is forced to stay away from the male mafia on the name of protection. Something I can relate to.

I get a call on my phone and it’s Aman.

“Aman? Hi..” I stutter, hoping he doesn’t have any bad news for me.

“Hey.. How are you?” He asks.

“Fine.. Not so fine in fact. Devil is not home so…”

“I understand.” He sighs. “He is not ready to back down Khushi. I know he never will until he succeeds but if he goes rogue like this, and reject the superiors’ orders, we will have to abandon him. I mean, whatever happens to him after this, we will no longer be responsible. Do you know what that means? It’s really scaring me.. I don’t want to lose a friend like him only because he doesn’t want to stop.”

Aman’s words have elevated my worries. I put the book away.

“I wish he was ready to understand our helplessness in this situation. Akash and me cannot support his actions further.” Aman adds.

I swallow nervously.

“Anyways that’s not why I called. Just spoke to him a while ago and he has some strict orders for me. You pack your bags and get ready. Someone will come around 08:00 pm and pick you up. The Jet is on standby.”

“Wait,” I interrupt. “Jet? Who.. who is going where?”

“Arnav has ordered us to evacuate you, your father and his step-mother from Chandra Mahal. He wants you to shift to a safe location until he handles everything.”

“WHAT?” I shout.

I can’t believe this.

“I know.. However bad it sounds, he is thinking practically. Almost the whole dark world knows that place where you all stay and now without much support of the Agency, its risky for you to stay there. So, Arnav wants to shift you at the safe house. I can’t share the details of that place on phone but its surely not in the same country. You know what I mean..?”

Safe house? Not in the same country? Means he is sending us abroad? Without him??? Why didn’t he call and tell me that before? He could tell Aman and not me directly?

“I am not leaving without him Aman.. Tell him that if he calls again but please send someone to pick Dad and Buaji..”

“Khushi, don’t be mad..” He shouts. “Arnav is doing the right thing by..”

“It’s my life and its my decision what to do with it.. If I leave, it will be with him. Not otherwise.”

“But..”

“Tell him that too.”

Saying that, I disconnect the call. I am sure Aman is going to pass on my message loud and clear to Devil.. If Arnav thinks I am going to let him fight here alone, he is wrong. I might be doing nothing to help him in this mission but I want to be his support. I want to be there for him to see him win and ending things forever to start a fresh life. He has to give me that because this time I am not asking.. I am demanding.

An hour later, Dad explains me not to make this mistake and travel with them but I deny him too. Buaji is already in tears but I assure them we will be fine. If they too don’t leave now, Arnav will be mad and it will only divert him unnecessarily from the mission. So unwillingly, they agree and when Aman’s people come to receive them, they leave. I don’t know where they will fly tonight and when will I see them again, but I am glad they are safe… They will be safe..

*****************

The house suddenly has begun to bite me. Chandra Mahal is locked after Dad and Buaji left. But Kate and the other guards are there to protect me. Aman didn’t call me again neither Devil but I have this intuition Devil knows I didn’t follow his instructions. Aman must have told him. So, I am not sure what’s going to happen next? With that thought running in the back of my head, I lay on the bed, thinking about Devil again and the way he had wanted ‘All of Me’. Damn hell!! All this week I have wondered how differently that day could have been had Akash not called. I would have let Arnav have his way with me because no matter there are still so many secrets between us, I am still ready to take this step forward with him.

I hear the sound of footsteps and I freeze. Someone is in the house.. Who? Who can enter the Villa without the guard’s knowledge? Could it be someone from the Dark world? Devil’s enemies? I quickly scan the room and pick the knife which I usually keep at the bedside table these days ever since I have started the self defense training. Though I am afraid of the situation, I am not going to hide in fear. I will fight because that’s what queens do. I won’t lose until I fight till my last breath. I tiptoe to the back of the door and wait for it to open. As soon as the door cracks open, I see a shadow of a man entering the room. I am about to stab his back when the man grabs my wrist, twirls me and in a second, hauls me to his hard body.. The knife drops from my hand and I am about to bite this man’s shoulder to continue my defense when he shuts my mouth and pins me to the wall behind. It’s so dark that I cannot see his face. He is too strong to fight too. Think Khushi.. Think.. My subconscious screams. What else did Kate taught me? Oh yes!! I remember. Kicking in between his legs.. I am about to raise my knee to do that when he joins our bodies, and I finally feel … all of him.. He’s not a stranger.. not my enemy.. He is Devil.. My husband and the man I am in love with..

The lights are still Off when I feel his lips on my jaw and I am drowned to whatever he has to offer me more. He places an open mouthed kiss on my jaw.. cheek and neck and only when I think he is reaching for my lips, which I desperately want him to, Arnav pulls away and turns on the light.

I see him.. In a black shirt nicely tucked inside a dark blue jeans, with the gun holster around his waist, he looks so handsome and delicious that I would never want him to change his dressing style ever. When my gaze meets his again, I realize he is mad!! A lot lot lot Mad!!

“You didn’t go?” He shouts.

His tone is deathly scary making me wonder if I should even put forth my reasons or stay quiet?

“There is one thing I want from you and that is your safety Khushi.. And you always defy me there.. WHY?” He growls. “Why didn’t you leave to the safe house?”

“Would you leave me to fight alone and be safe? Only because I wanted you to be safe and away from this dark world?” I ask.

Three steps is all it takes for him to reach me.

“Don’t reverse the situation Khushi. You have no effing clue what’s happening right now. I am not in a position to choose.. I don’t even know how long I will take to end this all alone and.. I don’t want you to be hurt or b in any kind of danger in the process. That’s exactly why I wanted you to board that Jet and leave the country with your father.”

“And I chose to stay, Devil.” I interrupt, cupping his face. “You don’t have a choice, but I do. And I want to stay with you even if it means the death of me..”

The next instant, his lips crash on mine and I believe he doesn’t need more reasons. This is enough.!

To be Continued.

NEXT PART

Connect me on Instagram 

Connect me on Twitter

Note: 

1. I was almost short of 5 followers to reach 500 Followers in Instagram and only because of you guys, I completed that in next 30 minutes I posted that note here two days ago.. Thanks to all for following me on Instagram. 

THANK YOU POST HERE

2. All those who have read my books, can you please also rate/review them on Amazon? As a writer, its always blissful to see reviews from my readers and I will be glad to read them and know how much you have loved the book. So, if you can please take some of your time to review my books on Amazon, it will be great. Thank You. Amazon Link HERE

________________________________________________________________