Mithapur Haveli, Outskirts of Jaipur
The sprawling lawns of the 17th century haveli had never looked better. The renovations to the two-storeyed Rajasthani haveli, replete with its decorative arches, jharokhas and corniches, by the best architect in town had cost a pile of cash but Harisingh Rathod could not complain about the splendid work. The architect’s team had complied with every requirement and had done a superlative job of maintaining all the traditional highlights while adding modern embellishments and luxuries to the interiors.
Rathod surveyed the group of Westerners who were being feted and fawned over by his staff and family members. For many of the Europeans, this was their first time in India, and they were totally bowled over by the old world charm of the haveli and the hospitality being lavished on them. He had left no stone unturned to ensure that every day provided at least one unique traditional experience. If everything went well, he was certain his renovation expenses would be paid back many times over. Tomorrow, the group would proceed to Sonagarh where the curtain would rise on the final act of their plan.
Only one worry remained – the Ranveer Khanna issue. Anxiously, he pulled out his cell phone from the pocket of his waistcoat. He walked briskly down the pathway to his personal suite of rooms, locked the heavy doors before speed dialling Suraj Pratap Singh’s number.
‘Suraj, I hope you have fixed the problem!’
Rathod’s mood turned dark with every word his friend spoke. The lines on his forehead furrowed deeper and the curve of his mouth straightened to a rigid line across his jowly face. A few more seconds passed before the words exploded out of him like bullets fired from a pistol.
‘Bloody hell, Suraj! Didn’t I tell you I’d handle Ranveer, but no, you had to go and poke your head into it and make a royal mess!’
After letting off steam for a bit, he said, ‘OK, do me a favour and don’t screw up the arrangements for the polo tournament, will you? The group will be in Sonagarh tomorrow by mid-day. I will try and see how best I can salvage the situation. What about Suhas? Is he arriving or has Ranveer’s death scared the little prick?’
Seemingly satisfied with the response, he added, ‘Getting away from Delhi and the media circus till the story dies down is definitely a good idea. Suhas has finally got himself a good political advisor. Talk later.’
The conversation with Suraj had unsettled him. He still couldn’t believe that Ranveer was dead. He’d known Ranveer ever since they, along with Suraj and Suhas, had attended Doon School. The glue that had kept them bonded together was their love for horses. More recently, their friendship had forged into a business relationship. Ranveer, with his pseudo-socialist leanings, however, often clashed with the hot-headed Suraj. Things had got out of hand when Ranveer suddenly developed cold feet over their current project of roping in European investors. He had truly believed they would patch up. But Ranveer wanted out and that’s when the trouble began. Rathod’s motto was simple: when it came to business, never let anything come in your way – not friendship, not your conscience, nothing.
Things had gone from bad to worse with Suraj and Ranveer slanging it out. He should have known Suraj, with his hair-trigger temper, would do something reckless. The fellow lived in the past; what with all the ji huzoor sycophancy of his acolytes he often forgot he was a Prince only in name. Now with Ranveer dead and his wretched tablet missing, they would all be dragged into a murder investigation before anyone could even say Sonagarh Rajkumar Huzoor Suraj Pratap Singh ki jai ho!
If the device was found by the cops, it could snowball into an avalanche of revelations that would bury them all. The thought gave him the shivers and he paced the room agitatedly. If it came down to the wire, he would have to cut himself loose from his friends. But for now, he had too much riding on this deal and without Suraj, it wasn’t likely to happen. Whichever way he looked at it, the stakes were too high and one false move could be the end of his dreams to expand his business into the foreign market.
Storming out, he signalled to an attendant who was passing by with a tray of drinks for the guests.
‘Bring Rishi Mathur to my office at once.’
In a matter of minutes, a bedraggled Rishi Mathur was shown in.
‘Sit down, Rishi. I hope we can quickly settle this matter and then you will be free to leave.’
‘What do you want from me, Sir, and why have I been locked in a room for the last ten hours?’
Rishi’s voice quivered with a mix of fear and antagonism.
‘You weren’t locked up, my friend,’ Rathod smiled genially. ‘You were kept there for your own protection.’
Disbelief and anger battled on Rishi’s face.
‘See for yourself.’
The large wall-mounted plasma TV flickered on at the press of a remote control. The story of Khanna’s murder was still ‘Breaking News’ on several channels. The CCTV footage of Qiara fleeing the club played out followed up by information about Rishi Mathur’s possible involvement in the businessman’s murder.
Rathod flicked off the TV as soon as he saw the horror spread over Rishi’s face.
‘Sir, why am I being implicated? I simply did as you instructed.’
‘If you had followed my instructions, you would have made life easier for yourself.’
His tone was one of regret, rather than threatening.
This scared Rishi even more. ‘I…I did, Sir. I put her on the train but she got off. I don’t know why.’
‘You were supposed to retrieve the tablet from her before putting her on the train. That was crucial.’
Rishi started blathering. ‘N…no...I...I was not told about any tablet, Sir. I swear on my mother, Sir.’
‘Calm down. And listen to me carefully.’
Rathod’s quiet voice shut up Rishi immediately.
‘You have the girl’s number, don’t you? Ask her to meet up with you here. My men will take care of the rest. Do you understand?’
‘Sir,’ Rishi pleaded plaintively. ‘I have been trying to reach her every fifteen minutes. Her phone is switched off.’
Rathod’s fleshy jowls trembled as he tried to control the rage building inside him.
‘Right at this moment, you’re a suspect in the murder of Ranveer Khanna. All I need to do is make one call to the cops. I’d advise you to think about your situation long and hard and you might find a way of saving yourself.’
Flicking his fingers, he signalled for Rishi to be taken away.
Hawamahal Bazaar
Kabir ended his call with Aman Sir and looked around for Qiara. She was nowhere to be seen. The place was swarming with camera-toting tourists and vendors plying their wares. He pushed his way through the never-ending stream of people and stopped mid-stride. The heavy beat of his heart echoed in his ears. He scanned the crowds closely but she had disappeared into thin air. Trying not to let his emotions run out of control, he hurried down the pavement, till it merged with the busy road ahead. A movement at the peripheral vision of his eye made him swivel around.
There she was…pushing her hair away from her forehead, her fingers skimming through her hair in that oh-so-familiar way. A surge of relief mixed with hot anger at his own insane reactions coursed through him. He walked up to her. With every step he took, he felt the tension radiating off her. She looked shell-shocked. He broke into a run and was next to her in seconds.
‘Where did you disappear to?’
He tried to keep the anxiety out of his voice.
She looked at him as if his words hadn’t registered. The utter desolation in her eyes was like a spike through his heart.
‘Qiara?’
He grabbed her hand. It was ice-cold.
His warm touch seemed to revive her and she looked at him beseechingly. ‘We need to talk,’ she said quietly.
‘Sure. There must be a café…’
‘No,’ she cut in anxiously. ‘Somewhere private.’
A few minutes later, after riding through a maze of traffic-clogged streets, they reached a small bungalow tucked away in a quiet alley.
The watchman at the gate saluted smartly and said, ‘Kabir Saheb, bahut din baad. You have not been to Jaipur in some time.’
Anxious to get Qiara inside, he cut short the pleasantries and steered her into the sparsely furnished one-storey house. He watched as she plonked down into the couch that had seen better days. A book case stood in one corner, with most of the shelves empty barring a few magazines and newspapers. The place was utilitarian at best. It would have been stuffy hadn’t the windows, with heavy grilles on them, been left open. Dull brown curtains hung at the sides. The walls had not seen a coat of paint in a long time. At the far end, there was a kitchen and the door adjacent to it had a huge lock dangling at the bolt.
He wished he could have taken her some place more luxurious than this run-down government quarters where detectives like him would occasionally hole up for a few hours’ rest or hold a meeting when secrecy was paramount.
‘What’s this place?’ Qiara asked
Kabir went to the window and drew the curtains shut.
‘Just a place we can talk quietly.’
Qiara’s eyebrows shot up.
‘Is this where you conduct secret meetings?’
‘You wanted to talk about something,’ he reminded her.
She fidgeted nervously, twirling a lock of silky hair around her fingers. The innocent gesture made him feel curiously on edge.
‘Kabir, what do you know about my father?’ she asked.
His jaw tightened imperceptibly and she didn’t miss his reaction.
‘Not very much, apart from the fact that he works for Sonagarh’s royal family.’
She gave him a penetrating look.
‘Is that all you are going to tell me?’
It had taken him a hell of a long time to erase the bitter memories and talking about him was not on his agenda…now or ever.
‘He is your father. Why are you asking me?’
‘Because what you just told me is more than what I know about him.’
Her cheeks were flushed and she was struggling to keep her emotions under check.
After a brief pause, she continued, ‘Didn’t you say he’d threatened to ruin your lives? It seems to me you knew him even before you met him that evening.’
He glowered at her for a long moment. ‘Yes, I knew him when I lived in Sonagarh.’
She got up from the couch and stood in front of him, ‘And…?’
‘And, nothing!’ His words came out in an angry hiss. ‘This morning, you were not interested in talking about the past. What has changed in these few hours?’
Her eyes flashed fire.
‘A lot. I need to know what happened. What are you hiding from me, Kabir?’
He felt cornered. All of a sudden he seemed to be crashing into his past at every turn.
‘He was the Dewan of Sonagarh royal palace, and I was someone who was simply not good enough for his daughter.’
Her gaze burned right through into his soul. But he knew talking about the events of his life was not going to bring any catharsis. It would only rake up old wounds and make them bleed.
She jabbed an angry fist into his chest. ‘Not you too. God damn you, Kabir.’
But before she could turn away from him, he grabbed her by her arm and pulled her into him. And the floodgates of tears burst open. Sobs wracked her body and the small sounds of sorrow twisted his gut.
‘Qiara, what’s wrong?’
She rubbed the heels of her palms to her eyes and sniffed like a child.
‘My mother was my entire world. She was my best friend, my ally, my partner. We were more like sisters rather than mother and daughter. Now, I feel like I didn’t know her at all.’
‘Why do you say that?’
Kabir gently wiped her cheek with the pad of his thumb.
‘She lied to me.’
Her eyes were swimming with fresh tears and her soft mouth turned down like a wilting flower.
Kabir cupped her face in his hands, ‘About what?’
‘Who knows…about everything, maybe. Me, her, my fa…’ Her voice trailed off but Kabir knew she was talking about her father.
She pulled at her shirt and pushed it down to reveal the tattoo.
‘She had always told me, this was some kind of a family tradition…every girl who is born in my father’s family is inked with it. And you know what I learnt today?’
He looked at her intently. Her eyes held a flame-like intensity.
‘This,’ she hissed, ‘is how girls are inked when they are sold to buyers.’
Her words sent shockwaves down his spine.
‘Who told you this?’
‘The tattoo man in the bazaar.’
She told him the story he’d narrated about his lost sister.
‘You don’t know for sure, Qiara.’
‘You’re right about that. I don’t know anything for sure. I wonder what else my mother lied about? She hated talking about her past. She never mentioned anything about her marriage or my father’s family. And because it would upset her so much, I stopped asking.’
‘What about your mother’s side of the family?’
‘They disowned her after she married my father who was a lot older than her. What is strange is that my parents never got along. I barely saw him when I was growing up. He was like a stranger who visited us once in a couple of years for a few days. And when he did, my mother would go into a shell, would rarely talk to him or even to me. I think I began hating him then. I wanted my fun-loving mother back, the one who always had a smile on her face and a song on her lips. I’d count the days till he went back to wherever he came from.’
She turned around in the sofa and faced him. Her face was inches away from his.
‘Kabir, I no longer know who I am. Who is my father? What does this tattoo mean? What if…’
She stopped as if afraid to voice the question. After a beat, she whispered, ‘What if, I was sold by my real parents?’
She grasped at his collar and took a shuddering breath.
‘I need to know the truth. Or, I’ll go crazy.’
Kabir put his finger on her lips and looked deep into her eyes.
‘Shhh!! I promise you, you will have your answers.’
‘Yeah, right, as long as you get to keep your secrets.’
She tried to wrench herself away but he kept her in place. Pulling her into arms he touched her face softly.
‘I wish it were that simple. Sometimes life doesn’t give you the opportunity to bare your heart and when you do get the chance, things are no longer the same.’
She heard the catch in his voice. ‘You’ve never told anyone about that evening, have you?’
A nerve jumped in his jaw. ‘The only person I could have told was you. But you had gone.’
‘Kabir…’ Her voice was choked with emotion.
He stroked her cheek with his thumb. ‘Then there are some secrets that you want to treasure for ever. Like the time we spent together,’ he said huskily.
The conversation had shifted gears. The atmosphere became sensually charged.
‘You thought of me during these years?’ she whispered, unable to pull away from his mesmerising gaze.
His hard lean thighs brushed against hers. She rocked ever so slightly towards him and his mouth founds hers.
Taking her hand he guided it to his muscled chest. The scent of her was driving him crazy. His heart pounded against her palm.
She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.
‘How could I not? Do you even know your own powers?’ He nuzzled her face, planting light kisses on her hot, honeyed skin. ‘I have been dreaming of doing this to you forever,’ he growled. ‘And last night you showed me a little piece of heaven.’
Her breathing had turned shallow. Her long lashes swept down, veiling the passion he saw burning in them.
His hand strayed under her shirt and lovingly fondled the lace-covered tip of one breast as he steadied her against him with the other.
‘All I’m able to think of is getting inside you,’ he whispered pulling her roughly against his hard length.
Her pliant curves moulded into his hard planes, electricity sparking between them.
He brushed aside the fabric of her shirt, exposing the soft skin of her abdomen and laved his tongue lovingly.
‘The sexiest belly button I have ever seen.’
His voice was raspy as her skin quivered under his hands.
She fisted his hair and moaned. ‘And you are some kind of authority on belly buttons?’
‘That’s my secret to keep,’ he muttered, continuing to seduce her with his words and body.
His tongue found the sensitive spot behind her ear and he began a slow, sensuous exploration. After a few moments he pulled away and started peeling off his shirt.
‘So what else do you want to know?’
‘This is so not fair,’ she groaned.
‘Exactly my sentiments. You have shot my resolve to pieces.’
His mouth found the base of her throat and she arched her neck to give him better access.
‘Here I was, going to be all professional about solving the case and keep my hands off you. But you’re simply irresistible.’
He luxuriated in the lust-drenched look she gave him.
‘So are you,’ she whispered.
His hands travelled down her body till they were under her bottom. He pulled her closer until she could feel the full force of his hard length.
‘You are simply the most enchanting woman I have ever laid my eyes on. Have mercy on me…I can’t take this any more. If you want me to stop – say it now, Qiara.’
His words propelled her into action. Swivelling her waist ever so slightly she ground her hips against his. Her fingers found the zipper of his trousers.
‘Don’t you know when to shut up?’
This was pure, unadulterated torture. His sexy, low laughter mingled with her breath.
‘Make me yours, Kabir. Now.’
He groaned in frustration. ‘Honey, I don’t have a condom.’
She edged closer to him. ‘I’m on the pill.’
It was as if he had been handed the keys to heaven. The clothes peeled away from them and all that remained were the barriers of flesh, bone, muscle. Their bodies melded, blood pounded, urging them on to a climax that pushed them deeper, faster, higher into a rocking rhythm of desire and need. The secrets of their past fell away leaving behind only the truth of the moment.