CHAPTER 1
Patience is a virtue, one that a hunter needed, and he had an endless amount of it. He was good at what he did which earned him the title ‘The Hunter.’ His prey was no match to his nimbleness, and his job was usually finished before his victim realized what had happened.
He waited in the shadows of the trees outside the extravagant mansion. It was a few minutes before the distraction, and he knew he would be in and out in no time.
Women and children were never part of his hunt. It was his only policy, and he made an exception for the first time. It would be the only time, and it was because it would get him closer to his target. A target he has been chasing for years.
The stopwatch started to count down as he stepped out of the shadows and walked between the parked cars. He was dressed for an event. He walked purposely, the dark suit filled to capacity by his broad shoulders.
The man dressed in black, who stood by the gate with several other men, looked at him suspiciously as he walked tall toward the entrance. He flashed a fake smile when he felt the stopwatch buzz in his pocket.
The loud boom surprised everyone except him. A large explosion followed making the ground reverberate. A moment later, the brightly-lit mansion went dark as the fire blazed from a distance.
“Showtime!” he murmured under his breath as he slipped past the men flashing a badge they all recognized. They were too distracted to check the authenticity of the badge as they all stared at the high fire and the dark smoke that rose into the dark sky.
Men ran in the opposite direction as he strode toward the entrance to the house. The house was filled with people, and he put on his night vision glasses as soon as he went up the stairs. The layout of the house was familiar to him, and knew where he could meet his ransom.
Narmada Senani.
Never in a million years did he expect to see her again.
*****
Narmada woke up to a muffled yet gruff male voice. Her body felt sore even as she lay on a soft bed. She opened her eyes to a dimly-lit room that was unfamiliar. When her eyes adjusted to the lighting, it was even more evident that she was in an unknown place.
The heavy earrings she had on dug into her cheek as she lay on her side.
Where was she?
The last thing she remembered was getting ready for a wedding—a fake wedding of a fake friend. It was her escape plan to get away from her family. She clenched her teeth cursing her family for thinking of forcing her into a marriage.
It was more of a feud deal.
She was not going to give into her family’s will and wish for her to marry whoever they choose. She had attempted to run away from it all. To her disappointment, she was brought back and was drugged through a few of the ceremonies so she would look like a complying and overly shy bride. Luckily for her, the wedding was called off.
She knew she would be forced into another marriage and had planned to run away with the jewelry she had on claiming to attend a wedding.
Narmada lay on the bed without moving a muscle trying to remember where she was and how she ended up in an unfamiliar place with no one around. She took a deep breath and moved her shoulder to lay flat, but she could not.
A shiver passed through her spine when she realized her hands were tied together and bound to the metal headboard of the bed. Her heart thumped erratically while her brain went into overdrive with fear.
Instinctively, she tried to pull her knees into her stomach and realized her legs were tied, too. Her heart was beating so loudly, she no longer heard the man’s voice that woke her up. She felt the fear grip her body as she slowly turned her body, holding her hands over her head to look around the room.
The room looked extravagant with silk drapes and heavy antique furniture, but it was not a place she has ever been to before. Her body shuddered as she realized she had been kidnapped. The loud explosion and the fire right outside the mansion all made sense. Someone had caused a distraction and had kidnapped her.
But why? Ransom?
She looked down at her chest and wondered how all the jewelry she had on was still intact if she was kidnapped for ransom. A shiver ran through her when she thought through other reasons of why she was kidnapped.
A shadow fell on the door that was slightly ajar making her want to scream. She bit her tongue and held her breath. Her eyes were tiny slits as she watched the shadow move closer. She watched in horror as a tall man filled the frame. She suppressed a gasp and pretended to be asleep. The man was tall—taller and bigger than her brothers.
Tears gathered at the thought of her family even though she had hated every single one of them the past few weeks. They had blackmailed her and threatened her, and it hit her that she was at least safer with them.
“Wake up.” It was an order, and she winced.
Her mind went numb as she kept looking at the silhouette of the man. There was enough light outside the room to cast a shadow but not enough to see the man’s face.
“I need you to be quiet. One squeak, and I will gag you.” He kept talking from the door.
“Why am I here? Who are you?” She tried to command, but her voice trembled.
The man did not respond, and instead, he started walking toward her.
“You have the wrong person.” She was convinced it was a mistake. “Take my jewelry and let me go.”
“Shut up.”
The man was standing next to the bed a foot away from her, but she still couldn’t see his face clearly. She felt the tug on her hands first, and a moment later, they were free. She slowly sat up debating if she should make a run as soon as he frees her legs. Her heart drummed in her ears as her feet were free.
“Change into the clothes that are in the bathroom. I don’t care if you trash your jewelry or keep it, but you have ten minutes to change,” the man declared and left without another glance her way. She sat on the bed gently rubbing her wrists for a few moments before setting her feet on the floor.
The embellishments on her skirt jingled as she walked toward the bathroom. She didn’t want to attempt an escape without understanding her landscape. She was born into a family of strong women, and she wasn’t going to go down without a fight, but she didn’t want to act out of desperation.
She stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light squinting at the sudden burst of brightness. She stood in front of the mirror looking at herself. Her eyes were red, and the makeup that was piled on her skin was a total mess. She didn’t care how she looked, she just needed a way to get out.
The first thing she did was to look for a window. When she saw a small glass window to one side of the bathroom, her happiness knew no bounds. She quietly walked to the window and pushed it open, and the sight in front of her made her freeze. The street below looked like a black strip of tape, and the people walking looked like ants. She had to be in a high-rise building, and the place she was last at, there were no high-rise buildings. She was at her ancestral home in a rural area, so she had to be in one of the major cities that were at least a few hours away.
Sadness enveloped her as she looked at the street below, people walked to their freedom, and she was captivated. She stood frozen looking out of the window.
“It’s not worth it,” a male voice interjected her numbness.
“Let me go,” she demanded looking down not wanting to look at the man.
“You have five minutes.”
The words rang in her ears, and on instinct, she picked up the small metal flower vase that was within her reach. She turned and flung it at the man in rage.
Her large, dark eyes met familiar dark brown eyes clouded with mockery. The man glared at her when the vase hit the floor at his feet, but she was going into shock. The man who stood in front of her was no stranger. She almost didn’t recognize him as his sweet boyish looks were replaced with a ruggedly handsome face, and his chiseled features were intimidating. He was broader now, but most of all, it was the grim way he looked at her that made her wonder if he was the same person. He had a look in his eyes that scared her, the look of a man who had no qualms about taking a life, a cold-blooded killer.
“Change!” he ordered like he didn’t recognize her.
“Hey, it’s me, Narmada!” She surprisingly felt relief sweep over her in spite of his manner. She was sure he was messing with her. She leaned against the counter running her fingers through her hair. “Who is playing the prank?”
“Shut up and change,” he growled.
The relief evaporated with the raw threat in his voice, but she was convinced it was part of the prank one of her friends was playing on her.
“That’s enough fun. I give up. Take me home now. How did you get roped into this, and where have you been all these years?”
He moved closer to her, and his every stride killed her confidence. “What part of ‘shut up and change’ do you not understand?” He came to a halt less than a foot away from her.
“Hey… it’s not funny anymore. Stop it.” She turned to walk out of the bathroom.
She had barely taken a step away from him when she felt a vice-like grip circle her waist. Her back crashed into his chest, and she felt his warm breath on the nape of her neck.
“Last time… I need you to change into those clothes.” He pointed to a small stack to one side of the counter.
“I fucking don’t care what you bet with my friends, I’m not falling for the tricks,” she snarled, stepping on his toe with her heel to get away from him.
She felt the pressure on her chest before she heard the ripping sound. One of the necklaces around her neck fell to the floor with a loud clang, but that did not catch her attention. Her fitted cropped blouse was falling off her shoulders as it was opened in the back.
She pressed her palms to her chest as he spun her around to face him. “Either you do it, or I’ll do it for you.”
“No!”
She shuddered at the look in his eyes and wondered if he was the same person she knew six years ago. He looked so innocent then, but there was no innocence in his eyes now. He looked at her with cold and angry eyes.
He took another step toward her, and in response, she flung her hand across his face. She saw the shock in his eyes for a moment, and it was replaced with something scary—a raw anger that threatened to burn her.
She felt the burn on her chest before his hand came up around her throat. Her gasp was lost in his growl as he held her in a punishing grip. She growled her objection as she felt the pain he intended to inflict on her.
“Neil…” she managed to say, and he froze.
He had not been addressed by that name in years. He was ‘The Hunter.’ No one knew him as Neil since the day he started his hunt.
She picked up on the shift in his behavior and gathered the strength to push him away. “What the heck are you doing?”
He raked his fingers through his dark hair but did not respond.
“Stop this nonsense. What is going on? Why am I here?” Her voice shivered, but her skin tingled at his touch. It was as if her body remembered the moments she had with him years ago.
“Narmada, I am not the same person you’ve known from the past… change and move.”
“I’m not moving from here until you tell me what’s going on.”
He looked at her for a long moment before taking a step away from her to reach for the clothes on the counter. She looked at him as he moved into her private space holding the clothes.
“If you don’t change, I will change you.” He reached for her blouse intimidatingly, making her jump.
“Fine, I’ll change.” She crossed her arms over her chest protectively, her eyes filled with fear.
“You have two minutes.”
“I need five minutes,” she managed to say.
“Fine, five.” He turned away from her angry for breaking his own rules. He only knew how to kill and should have never agreed to kidnap. Kidnap, especially a woman, was never on the list of things he did or had planned to do. He was compelled to do it, and once he takes on a job, he will finish it.
Someone wanted someone killed, and he was the man for the job. The entire underworld knew about him, but very few knew how he looked. His prey never had a chance to look at him—he was born to kill. He just hoped this job wouldn’t derail him.