A Distant Heart by Sonali Dev (33)

33

Rahul
Present day

 

Rahul watched Kimi as she twisted her ponytail into a knot and turned her back to him. He put the hat on her head and tucked the stray strands into it, wanting to stroke the back of her neck, wanting to kiss that petal-soft skin.

She waited for his touch. But he couldn’t. Not now, not when he knew what he knew. Not when she was struggling so hard to avoid what she wouldn’t let herself see. Not when a killer was on the loose and he wasn’t the only dangerous one.

He had to keep his focus.

He walked past her to the stairs and checked his phone.

“Did you jam Dr. Girija’s cellular signal?” she asked.

He shrugged. He needed the doctor to not be able to use her phone for a little bit longer, until he had made a phone call. But he couldn’t do it in front of Kimi.

“We need to find Dr. Bhansal,” she said.

“No point.” He had no doubt Dr. Bhansal had performed the surgery here in Mumbai. There was only one person who would have all the answers, but Kimi wasn’t ready to ask those questions, and he wasn’t ready to pull the rug from beneath her feet yet.

He dialed Maney and took Kimi’s hand, leading her down the stairs.

“They got into your flat in the police housing,” Maney said as soon as he heard Rahul’s voice. “But we captured two of his men. Alive. One of them’s close to singing. And, boss, you can’t go back to your mother’s place.”

“I know. I’ll find something. Make sure they don’t get anywhere near the chawl.” Rage shook inside him. “And cover The Mansion. No one leaves or enters. I mean absolutely no one.”

“Got it, boss. The bastard has pulled out all the stops. He’s hardly got any men left, but he’s lost his head. Shooting at the police housing means he doesn’t care what happens anymore. He just wants you and Kimi Ma’am. Although I don’t think he knows you’re together. Don’t trust anyone.”

“Got it. And, Shankar, thank you.”

They got into the car. They needed to find somewhere safe where he could decide how to confirm what he suspected.

Kimi had been watching him in silence, her color high. She pulled the hat off her head. “Tell me everyone in your building is okay.”

“They’re fine.”

“Call your aie and make sure.” It was an order. All the softness was gone from her.

“That will only worry her.”

“You can’t hide information from people to protect them, Rahul.”

There it was. He’d known this was coming since those images had flashed across Dr. Girija’s TV screen.

“Are you going to tell me or do I have to ask?”

When he didn’t respond, she stopped trying to rein in her temper. “Those deaths in Colaba—were they at the safe house? And you knew, didn’t you?”

“Listen, Kimi, I didn’t get a chance to tell you, that’s all.” It wasn’t like he had purposely hidden it from her. It wasn’t like her knowing would have helped anything.

Naturally, that’s not how she saw it. “Someone got killed because Asif’s men thought they were shooting at me, and you thought I didn’t need to know? You promised not to lie to me, Rahul!”

“And I didn’t.”

“Withholding information is the same as lying.”

No, it wasn’t. Things were seldom that simple. “We don’t have time for this, Kimi. Do you know anybody who lives around here that we can go to?”

“We’re in Juhu, right? Didn’t Nikhil say we could get into his cousin’s flat if we needed to?”

Bingo. He could kiss her.

Well, duh—as she would say. He called Nikhil, and Nikhil sent him instructions for how to get into his cousin’s apartment.

This cousin was apparently a big film star, and the apartment was even more white and pristine than Kimi’s bedroom had been when she was isolated. Except there were huge painted canvases all over the place that Kimi couldn’t stop staring at.

“They’re a bit dark,” he said.

“It’s no secret that I find dark and broody irresistible. God help me,” she said and then, “I’m going to go freshen up.” She looked so angry at herself, so frustrated with him, he went to her.

“Kimi.”

She turned on him. “What?”

“Nothing.”

She walked away from him, no sign of fatigue in her step, and he knew she was having a good day, health-wise. The rest was just courage. Everything she believed about her heart had changed overnight. Everything she believed about the person she loved most in the world was about to change too. It was happening again. He had reached for what he wanted. And disaster was about to follow.

He went out onto the balcony and shut the French doors behind him.

“You asked me to call you when I was alone. I am now. Kimi isn’t here.”

“You have to tell me where you are, son.”

He flinched at the word he had heard come out of Kirit Patil’s mouth so many times. The way he said the word son mapped their relationship. A burden, a lifeline. A master, a mentor.

And now, a cop and a criminal.

“We’re safe. Why did you tell everyone that Kimi’s transplant surgery took place in Hong Kong? Why did you lie about it?”

There was no more than a single beat of silence. The minister was good. Very good. “What are you talking about? Of course her surgery happened in Hong Kong. Why would you accuse me of such a thing?”

“We went to Hong Kong.” But Kirit already knew that. He had called Dr. Gokhale. Called Dr. Girija. It was obvious from Dr. Girija’s behavior today that Kirit had called her and warned her they were coming and asked her to stick with the lies.

“You had direct orders not to leave the country. You are forgetting your place, Rahul.”

“No, sir, I think I’m finally remembering my place.”

Another beat of silence. Kirit used it to completely alter his tone. “Listen, son, we aren’t on different sides here. You have to know that.”

“It’s a pretty elaborate lie to tell. All the records have been falsified.” And that was the least of it. How was Kimi going to get through this?

“Listen to me. There’s no foul play. All I was doing was trying to keep this out of the media. The plan really was to take her to Hong Kong. We had a brain-dead donor there. But then the donor heart collapsed and we were back where we started. And Kimi had no time left.

“Then a donor became available here. But if we had made that public, the media would’ve camped outside the hospital. On top of everything we were going through I couldn’t handle the media scrutiny. Do you remember how that Times journalist was on my case about how much money I was spending on Kimi’s treatment? I was a Bollywood star, for hell’s sake; did they think I’m a pauper? Not to mention the fact that my ancestors left behind a thousand acres of sugarcane plantations. Just because every politician in this country fucks his motherland to be paid like a whore doesn’t mean I do it too. I’ve never stolen a penny that wasn’t mine.”

“Money isn’t the only thing one can steal.” Kirit was good, but suddenly Rahul could see every nuance of every lie. It was like turning on a light and having it flood the darkest corners.

“Listen, Rahul, you don’t know anything about this. This isn’t something we should be discussing over the phone. I’ll come and see you. Tell me where you are.”

“You know that’s not possible. You’ll lead him straight to her.”

“I know you’ll do anything for Kimi. I know she pushed you into this wild-goose chase. Just wait until we’ve talked. Don’t do anything foolish. She’s been through enough.”

“She has a right to know.”

“No!” For the first time there was a note of panic in Kirit’s voice. “You can’t tell her. Not now. Not when she has a chance. She’s alive. She can walk down the street. Isn’t that enough for you? What are you trying to do, impress her? Why? You’re leading her on. You know what you’re thinking is never going to work. You can never be more than friends.”

“What is more than being friends?”

“Don’t play games with me, Rahul. You gave me your word.”

“I was nineteen years old, and you had no right to extract that promise.” That promise had cost Rahul too much already. “And I think you should know that I broke my word a long time ago.”

Instead of getting angrier, Kirit’s voice got calmer. “You’re right. I was wrong to extract that promise. Forget everything I said about the differences between us. I know she won’t marry anyone else anyway. You two deserve to be together. I was wrong. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I’ll convince her mother. Just don’t say anything to her until we’ve talked.”

Was the man mad? Kimi would never forgive him if he lied about this. But how was he ever going to tell her? All he knew was that he was done lying to her. Lying about his feelings, lying about what she had to know, what she already suspected but couldn’t wrap her head around. Even when she didn’t know the half of it.

“You can’t leave The Mansion. The officers posted outside will arrest you if you try. And, sir, that’s an order.”

After hanging up he checked on Kimi. She was still not out of the shower, so he went back out to the balcony and called Maney and recorded his voice. Then he dialed Nikki’s number. It was time.

He had already texted Nikhil and Nikki, and they were waiting for his call even though it was barely morning in America. “Nikki, you remember how you said you would recognize the voice of the person who sent you after Nic?”

“Of course I’d recognize him. I’d recognize him in my sleep.”

“I need a favor. Is Nikhil close by?”

“I’m here,” Nikhil said. “You’re on speaker. What’s up?”

“I have a couple recordings I need you to hear. Do you think you could tell me if one of those voices is his?”

“Do you need to even ask? Of course,” Nikki said.

“Nikhil?”

“It’s her call, man.”

Rahul needed to be completely certain about this. So, he had recorded Maney and also another constable.

He played Maney’s recording first. “Tell me where you are,” Maney said.

“Not him,” Nikki said, sounding disappointed enough that Rahul didn’t need to ask again.

He did it anyway. “You sure?”

“She’s not dignifying that with an answer,” Nikhil said with a smile in his voice, of all things. Nikhil was a handsy guy. Rahul could only imagine all the rubbing and soothing going on.

“Okay, next one.” He played Kirit’s recording.

“Tell me where you are,” Kirit said. It was an order. Not a shred of doubt in his voice that Rahul would do his bidding.

Doesn’t the dog leash get too tight? Mohit had asked him.

There was a gasp on the phone. Then silence.

“That’s him,” Nikhil said.

“Nikki?” Rahul had to be sure.

“Yes,” she said with a tremor in her voice that he felt crawl up his spine. How could it be that Kirit could inspire such terror in a woman this strong? What had he done to her?

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask. Can you listen to it one more time?”

“I’ll listen to it as many times as you want. It’s him.”

“It’s him,” she repeated three times after that, and then Rahul stopped replaying it.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “And thank you.”

“Who is it?” she asked with the tone of someone gathering up all her reserves.

“Can’t tell you yet. But I will very soon. Stay where you are. You’re safe there.”

“Thanks,” Nikki said. “How’s Kimi?”

“Fine,” he said, knowing what a gigantic lie that was about to become.

He heard the gentlest knock on the glass behind him and turned. Her hair was wet, her cheeks pink from the heat of the shower. She was wearing a T-shirt that said MAD IN MUMBAI and shorts that showed off her spectacular legs. Legs he shouldn’t notice right now. She slid the door open and stepped outside, the ocean breeze flooding with her smell. She sat down next to him and sidled into him until he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. As soon as he did it, she swung her legs over his, so he lifted her up into his lap and she placed her head on his shoulder.

She filled him up. Always had. It didn’t matter how he labeled it. Love, friendship—with her it had never been two different things. Him and her—they had never been different either. If they had, all the destruction around them would have separated them. But it hadn’t.

He had thought giving in to his feelings and reaching for her somehow had the power to create disaster. But their feelings, their oneness, that’s what had the power to shield them through the disasters. Kimi was right—the disasters would have happened anyway. But without each other, they would never have been able to get through them.

Kirit had recognized the connection. He had used it, used Rahul’s own misinterpretation of it. That promise he’d extracted from Rahul had been manipulation of the worst kind. He had fanned Rahul’s belief that anyone he allowed himself to love too much was destined for destruction. And Rahul had bought into it completely.

Now here they were again, at the threshold of Kimi’s life being destroyed again. It didn’t feel uncanny anymore. Instead of blaming himself and wanting to leave so she might be safe, he knew the only way they could get through it was together.

Her eyes were closed. Her breath was steady against his chest. If he didn’t know her better he’d have thought she had fallen asleep. But her body was awake, alert with possessiveness and loose with trust.

He felt a rush of protectiveness so violent, he would’ve done anything to shield her from the truth. Her pride in her father’s strength, his integrity, was the cornerstone of her existence. But she was more than just that. She could swallow pain and digest it until it disappeared like it never existed.

“I don’t want any more lies between us,” she said without opening her eyes.

“I’ve only told you one lie,” he said. “And you never believed it anyway.”

She looked up at him, and his phone buzzed.

“Yes, Maney?”

“Who’s Maney?” a guttural voice said, and Kimi jumped off Rahul’s lap as he stood. “Is that the bastard I had to shoot to get this phone from him?”

“Where’s Maney? If you’ve hurt him—”

“Right now I would worry about your brother, not about some cop.”

Rahul thought he was going to be sick. “Where’s Mohit?”

“He’s your brother, DCP Savant. You tell me where he is.”

Kimi was already out the front door with Rahul following close, the phone squeezed to his ear. “He’s done nothing to you, Asif. Your grudge is with me. Tell me where to meet you.” He held Kimi’s arm. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“Arrey wah, a smart police officer. Are we in a Hindi film or what?”

“Where do you want me to meet you?” He shook his head at Kimi. She needed to stay right here where it was safe.

“I’m in your home. You have twenty minutes to get here. Oh, and bring the esteemed chief minister’s daughter with you or you won’t see your brother or anyone else who lives in this shithole alive. At twenty-one minutes, if I don’t see her, I start shooting.” One click and the line went silent.

“You’re not going,” Rahul said as she slammed the elevator button.

“I heard him. I am. We don’t have time to figure this out.” She stepped into the elevator.

He didn’t move. He was not taking her with him.

She grabbed him and pulled him in. “Making it from Juhu to Bandra in this traffic in twenty minutes is going to be near impossible. We don’t have time for this. We’ll figure it out in the car.”

They ran to the car. Rahul sat on the horn and drove like he had never driven before. He called for backup. Not hearing Maney’s voice at the other end of the line turned his rage nuclear. But Maney’s second in command sounded calm and in control. “Maney-sir is in surgery. He should be fine. The bullet hit his stomach.”

“Stay in the outer perimeter of the chawl compound. And wait for my signal.” They screeched into the playground he’d grown up on with exactly two minutes to spare. If Asif Khan spilled a single drop of blood here, Rahul would never forgive himself.

Groups of children were playing on the ground. A smattering of the regulars was hanging around on the upper and lower verandas looking unconcerned. How had Asif made it into his block without anyone knowing? Kimi pointed her chin at his block, and he caught a man in a white kurta he’d never seen before leaning on the railing outside his front door. The man gave him a little wave and lifted the scarf over his hand to flash a handgun. He pointed at Kimi inside the car, tapped his watch, and beckoned them up.

No. He was not taking Kimi into a shootout with him. “Drive to the police chowki and wait for me there.”

“Don’t be crazy, Rahul. Mohit is in there. Your aie might be in there. I’m coming with you.”

That was not going to happen. “We don’t have time for this, Kimi, you’re not—”

A man tapped on Kimi’s window and repeated the move. Flashing a pistol under a scarf wrapped around his arm, he directed Kimi to get out.

“We have no choice,” Kimi whispered and unlocked her door.

Rahul ran around to her side. God, if it turned out fine, he was never letting her go. And he’d be the best bloody brother in the world to Mohit. Just let him be unharmed. Please.

The man pushed the scarf covered gun into Kimi’s back and held out his hand for Rahul’s pistol, grinning at them with tobacco stained teeth. Rahul slipped him his gun, and the bastard tucked both guns into his jeans and followed them up the stairs.

Rahul swept the area. There seemed to be only two men out here. If Asif was the only one inside the block with Mohit, he could do this.

The grandpa on the corner block asked how Rahul was, and Rahul stopped and answered him, keeping his tone normal. This was the time when the kakus and his aie usually collected in one of the blocks to make sweets and savories for their catering orders. This meant that his aie wasn’t at home. Thank God.

Kimi smiled at the grandpa, completely calm and composed. No sign of panic. He wanted to push her into one of the blocks where she’d be safe, but Asif’s goon was following close. He led them into Rahul’s home, shut the door behind him, and frisked Rahul for any more weapons.

The madman he had shot only a few months ago sat in Baba’s chair. His baby brother was kneeling at his feet, his hands bound up behind him with duct tape. But his eyes shone with calm, with that arrogance that had brightened his eyes even as a baby and as a toddler every time he leapt into Rahul’s arms.

“Perfect timing,” Asif said and tapped his gun on Mohit’s forehead.

Rahul met the bastard’s eyes. “I’m here. Let him go.”

Mohit looked at him. Rahul couldn’t remember the last time they had looked at each other eye-to-eye, as though the other were precious. Loved.

“Do you know who told me where to find him?” Asif asked through a mouth full of tobacco.

Rahul didn’t care. “What do you want?”

“Do you know I can’t move my right arm? I can’t take a piss?” He patted his right side with his left arm. “I pee into a fucking bag!” He shouted that last part.

Neither Kimi nor Mohit flinched, and Rahul felt such raw pride he knew he was going to tear this bastard limb from limb to get them out of here.

“So let them go and you can blow my bladder out.”

“Arrey wah, what a big hero you are, huh?”

Mohit caught Rahul’s eye, threw a glance at Kimi, then at their baba’s chair—the one Asif was sitting on.

It was three against three. Two men behind Kimi and him, and Asif next to Mohit.

“So what, your plan is to shoot the three of us in my home and walk out of here? What will that get you?”

“Revenge.”

“True. But the chawl is surrounded by officers, and unlike you they are armed with automatics. You’re not leaving here alive, unless you let these two go.”

“There are no officers outside.” But Asif threw a look over Rahul’s shoulder at the same time Mohit threw a look at Baba’s chair and made a quick flipping motion with his chin.

“If you don’t believe me, go ahead and shoot. Otherwise send these two out and you can walk out of here with your gun held to my head. I’ll call off the officers.”

“I said, there are no officers,” Asif repeated, and his gun shook in his hand as his agitation rose. Leaving the hospital hadn’t been the fucker’s brightest idea.

Kimi let out a pained gasp, and Rahul turned to see her clutch her heart and collapse right there in the middle of the doorway between the outside room and the kitchen.

It threw the two men off for two seconds, which was enough time for Rahul to lunge at them, turn their guns on them and fire, just as Mohit rammed his body into Baba’s chair and flipped it over. Rahul emptied what was left of the bullets into the psycho’s head as Mohit rolled away into a ball.