The next day, Anika was at the clinic jotting down the list of supplies before setting them up. She was checking for the side effects of one of the medicines when she heard her name called.

It was Abhay. He was back home early, and for some reason he sounded angry.

Heart pounding loudly, she started running out of the clinic towards him. A week ago, she would have probably run the other way at his bellowing of her name, but she somehow knew he wouldn’t hurt her. As the voice came closer, she heard the urgency in his tone along with anger.

Her feet stumbled and slowed down when she saw him.

Abhay was carrying an unconscious girl in his arms. She realized it was Sonu because Meena was walking next to him barely able to stand on her own feet.

“Oh my God. What happened?” Anika asked as she rushed towards them. “Get her inside the clinic. Lakshmi, bring in hot water and the first-aid kit.”

Meantime, Abhay placed Sonu on a bed that she pointed to. “Lakshmi, help clean up Meena while I check Sonu,” she instructed.

Her hands shook as she checked Sonu’s pulse. There was dried blood on the girl’s lip and several bruises all over her face and neck. She somehow suspected there might also be at other places.

Who could do this to a child?

She began cleaning the surface wounds and applied antiseptic to the bite marks.

“Is she going to be okay?” Abhay asked.

“I think so,” she said based on Sonu’s pulse.

“Go get me that bastard,” Abhay told someone. She heard the shuffling of several footsteps as the men left.

Meena was lying on a bed next to Sonu. Even though she was conscious, she lay very still staring blankly up at the ceiling in shock while Lakshmi cleaned her wounds.

“What happened, Abhay?” Anika asked as she continued cleaning the bite marks and scratches on Sonu.

“They were taken by the Senanis, and by the time someone heard and found them, they were already tortured.”

Anika sucked in her breath. “Abhay, can you wait outside? I want to check whether they have been… touched.” She couldn’t use the word rape when it came to these innocent girls. She had grown so fond of them and their innocent jokes.

She saw the rage in Abhay’s eyes as he felt equally tormented at the thought of the girls being violated in that way.

“I’ll be in the courtyard,” he said before walking away.

Anika checked Sonu first. She felt immense relief when she found the proof of her innocence. She stood next to Meena who was still staring blankly up at the ceiling.

“Meena,” she said, placing a gentle hand on her. “You are okay now. You are back home and safe.”

Silent tears rolled out of Meena’s eyes as she continued staring at the ceiling.

“Are you in too much pain, Meena?” Anika asked gently. “Let me know, so I can give you something to help.”

Meena broke into soft sobs. “I feel so dirty,” she said.

Anika’s heart clenched. She held Meena’s hand and squeezed in reassurance. “They took us from the mango orchard,” Meena said between silent sobs. “Sonu and I go there often during the season. We were in a tree, plucking a few mangoes and eating them, when we saw the two men waiting below and smiling at us. We tried to escape, but they grabbed us. They kept laughing and touching us when we fought back and started to scream for help. One of the men was about to do something bad to me, but he was stopped by the other man. That man said virgins would get a higher price when they sold us and that there were other ways to have fun. So he…”

Anika clenched her fists as she heard the details of the abuse the child had to suffer at the hands of those animals.

“You are okay now, Meena. You have been so brave. I am proud of you.” Anika gave her a pain medication along with a mild sedative that would help relax her.

Anika stayed by the girls, allowing only a few people to check on them. The whole household was tense and outraged.

A few hours later, both the girls gained consciousness and were able to talk a little. Anika had warned the people not to ask the girls about the attack.

When it was almost dark, and she had just finished having a small meal with the girls, she heard shouts.

A few minutes later, the door to the clinic crashed open.

Gasping out loud, Anika stood up. Abhay was covered in blood and standing at the clinic doorway.

“Abhay… ” Anika froze at the rage she saw in his eyes.

“Sonu, Meena, come with me,” he said quietly.

Anika went towards him and stood at the doorway. “Abhay, the girls are resting.”

“They can rest better after they see this.” His voice held a grim purpose, scaring her.

“Abhay… please. They are just children.”

“Anika, get out of my way.” The look in his eyes made her want to step aside, but she didn’t budge from the doorway.

His eyes flared at her resistance. She thought he would shove her aside and grab the girls, but he looked behind her. “Let’s go,” he said softly.

To Anika’s utter shock, Sonu and Meena were standing right behind her with a determined look on their faces.

Anika stepped aside allowing them to go. She felt helpless, but she couldn’t stop them from going if they wanted to.

They walked towards an open courtyard where two men were tied to a pole.

“Were these the men who touched you?” Abhay asked the girls in dead calm.

Sonu started crying. “Yes! He hurt me!” She pointed to one of the men.

The men were badly beaten and were bleeding profusely.

“Hurt him, Sonu,” Abhay instructed gently.

To Anika’s utter shock, Sonu wiped away her tears and went towards the man. Someone handed her a long metal rod. She took it into her hands and swung at him.

There were sick thudding noises and screams as the rod met with the tied man’s flesh.

When Sonu got tired and was panting while watching the man with satisfaction in her eyes, Abhay looked at Meena.

“Meena, your turn,” he said simply.

Meena didn’t wait. She moved towards the other man in fast strides. She took another rod and began hitting hard. Sonu joined in on the beating.

Over the next few minutes, the sick thudding noises continued until both the girls stopped and panted. The men were slumped against the poles. Were they dead?

Abhay strode to the men and checked their pulses. “Wake them up,” he instructed in a chilling tone.

A couple of women brought in containers filled with water and splashed the water against the tied-up men, but the men remained unconscious.

“Anika, wake these bastards up.”

She jumped as she heard Abhay speak to her.

“What?”

“Wake them up. We are not done with them. Everyone needs to be made aware of what happens when they touch innocent girls.”

Anika felt torn.

“Wake him up, Dr. Singham,” Sonu pleaded.

Anika was stunned by the heartfelt request from Sonu. The tied man had violated her in the worst way possible. Even though he had not raped her in the technical sense, the fact he stole her innocence was equally bad. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. “Lakshmi, please bring my medical bag.”

Ten minutes later, Anika gave both the men adrenaline shots.

The men slowly gained consciousness. After being splashed by more water, they began to beg for forgiveness.

“Please, don’t. I’m sorry. I won’t come into the Singham lands again. It was a mistake. I won’t touch another Singham girl.” One of the men cried and pleaded, wetting himself.

“Please,” the other man begged. “It was a mistake. I thought she wanted it. In fact… she… goaded me… she even called me there and—” He stopped when he saw the rage on Abhay’s face.

“After tonight, you both won’t touch any girl, let alone a Singham one,” he promised.

He picked up a long leather whip and hit them. The whip sliced into the men’s flesh, flaying it open. Screams filled up the air again. Soon, there was silence. Both the men were slumped against the poles.

Abhay didn’t ask Anika to wake them up again. And seeing the pallor on the men’s faces, she knew the adrenaline shots wouldn’t work on them anymore. They were gone, and strangely, the fact didn’t bother her.

When Abhay threw the whip on the ground and stepped away from the men, Sonu and Meena ran towards him and hugged him from both sides. “Thank you, Abhay,” said Sonu as she cried softly.

“The animals that hurt you both are dead,” he said softly. “You don’t have to worry anymore. Just make sure you take someone with you whenever you are going far from the estate.”

The girls nodded.

Later that night, Anika checked on the girls one more time before going up to the bedroom.

Abhay hadn’t returned yet. She knew he might have been instructing his men to clean up the bodies and blood from the courtyard.

She had taken a shower and was freshening up in the bathroom when she heard the door to their suite open and then the bathroom door.

He was still in his bloodied clothes. But unlike last time, she wasn’t scared and didn’t feel hate for him.

She went closer to him.

He was trying to unbutton his shirt but his fingers were stiff from the dirt and blood on his hands.

“Let me help,” she said softly.

He stood still, and didn’t say anything while she slowly opened each button on his bloodied shirt. She pushed the ends apart and away from his broad shoulders. She couldn’t completely remove it due to his height, so he helped by shrugging out of his shirt.

Meantime, she tugged open the button on the waistband of his trousers. He froze when he felt her fingers, but didn’t say anything.

She looked at him quietly for a few moments, before walking towards the sink to wash the blood off her hands.

She saw his reflection from the mirror above the sink as he stepped out of his clothes completely and walked towards the shower.

He was completely naked as he washed the blood away. Unlike last time when they were in a similar situation when she was in the tub and he in the shower, she could now see his entire body and not just a partial view.  Her eyes took in every ridge over his muscular body as he moved.

And also unlike last time, she was not terrified. In fact, she craved him at that moment. She wondered what he would do if she opened the door to the shower stall and joined him.

Taking a deep breath before she gave in to her crazy impulses, she dried her hands and walked out of the bedroom.

A few minutes later, Abhay joined her on the bed as he lay next to her. He was staring at the ceiling lost in thoughts.

Slowly and tentatively, she moved closer to him and placed her arm on his bare chest.

He stiffened at the touch, but slowly his body relaxed. He didn’t say anything.

She curled her arm properly around his waist and fell into a deep comforting sleep.

 

*****

 

Sometime during the early hours of the morning, she stirred awake. She turned her head and felt a keen disappointment when she didn’t find Abhay lying next to her.

She sat up slowly and saw him slipping a gun into the holster around his waist. He was completely dressed.

He lifted his eyes towards her as though he felt her gaze. Slowly, he came towards the bed and stood next to her.

He cupped her face with one hand and began to lower his head watching her the entire time, as though waiting to see whether she would pull back at some point, but she didn’t.

Her heart thudded in anticipation as she waited for his kiss. As soon as his lips met hers, she sank into it completely. She closed her eyes and met his tongue as he kissed her deeply, but before she could touch him and pull him closer, he pulled away.

“I have to go now. I have people waiting for me downstairs,” he said gently.

She felt disappointed, but she nodded.

“I’ll be gone for a week to sort an issue with permissions for one of our manufacturing units. Will you be okay?” he asked.

She nodded again. “Yes,” she said, even as she felt the loss of presence already.

He watched her face for a few more moments before turning back and leaving their suite.

Anika fell back on the pillows to go back to sleep, but she couldn’t. She slowly touched her lips with a finger still feeling the tingles from the kiss.