CHAPTER 20
“You two stay down. We will be right back. We will be switching cars,” Neil issued a command while signaling to Narmada to move. He winced as he stepped out of the bus and leaned on Narmada as they walked toward a thick patch of shrubbery.
“How long do you think they will wait before they realize we aren’t going back for them?” She laughed helping him into the SUV hidden behind the shrubbery.
“Not long, but they have enough fuel to drive no more than fifteen minutes,” he said weakly as she put the seatbelt on him. He reached out to brush his lips on her cheek.
“I love you,” he whispered making her heart leap in her chest.
“You are an asshole.” She held his face in her hands and gave him a hard kiss. She walked around to the driver’s side.
“Stay down, you two,” she called out before shutting the car door and driving onto the highway.
“I am going to pass out in another ten minutes, but I will be fine. Just drive on this highway until you see signs for Miyyapur. Take the first exit and follow the signs to the police station.”
“No… we need to go to the hospital… now.” She was worried he had lost a lot of blood already.
“Narmada… remember to take me to the police station,” he ordered.
“Keep talking to me, don’t pass out,” she pleaded.
“I will try not to but don’t panic if I do, it’s normal. You will need to drive for approximately two hours from here.
“I can drive faster.”
“There is no hurry. Just go to the police station,” he insisted weakly.
It was getting dark, and she was freaking out, but she followed the instructions and stayed on the highway watching for the signs to Miyyapur. She passed through small towns and noticed people were stopping and staring at the vehicle. Neil was asleep, and she didn’t want to wake him up. She kept driving on the road until she pulled up behind a slow-moving fuel tanker. The tanker was moving slower than usual as it passed through another town.
She looked at the reflection of the vehicle she was driving on the rounded metal surface tanker. She gasped in surprise when she caught a better view of the vehicle when they passed under the streetlight.
“What the heck?” The words rolled out when she realized she was in a police vehicle, clearly marked as a special category vehicle. She understood why she got the looks from the people on the streets as she passed through the towns.
Was Neil a cop?
With newfound confidence, she looked on the dash for the switch that would turn on the siren lights. She fired up the sirens and got the big-ass fuel tanker to get out of the way, along with many other vehicles on the highway.
An hour into her high-speed driving, she started to see signs for the place Neil had mentioned. She looked at Neil and knew he had lost a lot of blood. Her eyes caught the bright red cross symbol. She ignored his instructions and decided to pull into the hospital, the siren blaring through the night.
No one asked her questions when she pulled into the emergency section of the hospital. She was impressed with the size of the facility and had not expected a huge hospital in the middle of nowhere.
“What happened, officer?” The doctor asked assuming she was part of the police department, and she didn’t correct the doctor.
“I shot him. Treat him,” she ordered.
She followed Neil as he lay on the gurney still looking like he could wake up and kill a few if needed. She had no fear because she knew nothing could kill him, let alone a bullet. He was built for it. She sat outside the operating theater waiting for the doctor to extract the bullet.
“Narmada?” A male voice interrupted her thoughts.
She looked up to find a man in his early thirties looking at her suspiciously.
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“Narmada, I am Joe, Neil’s brother. Very nice to meet you.” He held his hand out.
Neil has a brother? He has a family?
She gently shook his hand. He pulled his hand away when his walkie-talkie beeped.
“Excuse me… go ahead,” he commanded.
“We have a perimeter, sir,” the voice reported.
“Move the vehicle and make it untraceable,” he ordered.
“Yes, sir.”
Narmada was pretty sure the man had to be a police officer or some law enforcement agency.
“What happened?” the man asked softly.
“Can I see some ID?”
The man smiled and pulled out a card from his pocket. The name read ‘Joe Tiwari’ and the ID was of the Indian Police Service.
She took a deep breath. “He was shot almost six hours ago. He told me it was a flesh wound.”
“Yes, that’s what the doctor said… did he… did he not take you to his client?”
“Yes, he did but came back to get me,” she growled.
“I’m glad he did… he needs you in his life,” the man declared and walked away leaving her wondering what he meant.
She saw the doctor come out of the emergency operating theater and walk toward Joe.
“Is he okay?” she called out running toward the men.
The doctor nodded at them, and she put her hands around the elderly man. “Thank you, doctor.”
Joe smiled as the elderly doctor patted her on the back before leading them toward the intensive care unit. “He will need to be here for tonight, and we will move him to a regular room tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, doctor.” Joe shook hands with the doctor before turning to look at Narmada. “Neil has my team watching him. You can go home with me to change.”
“No, I’m fine.” She ran her palms over her dry but blood-stained t-shirt.
“Narmada, I will stay here with him…” His voice trailed off when she shook her head.
“Thank you, but I’m not leaving Neil.”
Joe smiled at her. “I’ll have a room arranged and get you a change of clothes.”
“Thank you!”
“Anything else I can get you?”
“A computer. I know I will be here a while, so I might as well get some work done.”
Joe smiled and nodded.
*****
“Abhay, you will not believe what we found,” Dev said as soon as his brother answered the phone.
“What?” Abhay picked up on the strain in his brother’s voice. They were still on the search for Rana.
“Based on some video footage we found, Rana was the one who shot Raidu.”
“What? How? Why?” The information sent a shiver down his spine.
“I have no clue, Abhay. Why shoot him and not kill him?”
“Did Rana recognize Raidu?” Abhay pondered out loud.
“If he did, why would he shoot him?” Dev raked his fingers through his hair.
“What did he turn into, and how is he tied to the Senanis?”
“Not the Senanis, just the girl,” Dev corrected.
“Where is this going to lead us, Dev?” Abhay wasn’t sure how he felt about the coincidences.
*****
Neil's eyelids felt heavy, and his body ached. His vision was hazy. The room was bright, and the walls were pale. He slowly averted his eyes to scan his surroundings and saw the familiar figure sitting to one side of the room. She had changed out of the bloody clothes and was sitting in front of a computer.
He tried to move his hand, but he couldn’t. He noticed the thick cast on his right shoulder and knew the doctor had mistaken his perpetual fracture as a fresh one. He tried to clear his throat and call out, but his throat was closed.
As if she sensed his movement, she turned to look at him. “Neil, you are awake.”
She pushed aside the oxygen mask and kissed him hard on his lips. His lips felt soft against her lips, and she felt tears of joy run down her cheeks. “I’m so glad you are awake.”
Neil gently pushed her away to wipe the moisture off her cheeks. “I missed you, too.”
He looked from her to the screen, and the image on the screen sent bolts of energy through his body. The black and white image of a woman smiled back at him. He pointed at the image, and she followed his gaze to her computer.
“I was getting bored with you not waking up, so I continued working on my thesis.”
“Narmada…” he murmured, and it was like music to her ears.
She gently hushed him by running her lips over his. His other hand had the IV running, and she was quick to snap it back to the bed as they deepened the kiss.
“I love you, Narmada.”
“I love you, too, but you are not off the hook for leaving me,” she warned against his lips.
“I will make it up to you, get me out of here.” He winked.
“It’s a good thing Joe told me about your tricks.” She pushed him back onto the bed pulling away.
“I hate hospitals. Get me out of here.” It was a plea that melted her heart.
“Not happening. You need to rest for at least two weeks.” She smiled settling down on the chair next to the computer.
“Who is that on your screen?” Neil had the same feeling brew up every time he had the dream of the mother and child.
““That’s her, the star… rather queen of my thesis… Neil… are you okay?” Narmada noticed the shift in his manner.
He blinked his eyes a few times. “I know her.”
“You know Devasena?” Narmada was surprised.
“I don’t know, her but I’ve seen her before.”
“Is this the woman you see in your dreams with her child?” she asked walking closer to him.
“No,” his voice was barely audible.
“What is it, Neil?”
“I don’t know how I know all these Hindu women when I grew up in a Christian missionary.” A deep frown formed on his forehead.
“What do you remember about this woman?”
He shook his head. “I can’t place her.”
“It’s okay… I don’t want you to think about it. We can talk about it when we go home tomorrow,” she comforted.
“Home?”
“Yes… the home you left years ago.”
“Joe,” he growled when he realized his brother might have told her more than what he may have told her.
“It’s fine. You can’t stay away from people you love for long.”
“Narmada… what do you know about the woman?” he asked softly.
“Neil, stop obsessing over my thesis,” she teased.
“No… I… there are a few things that don’t make sense in my life. The Ferris wheel, the man with that Senani loyalty tattoo, the dream, and this image…”
“And my anklets,” she finished laughing.
“Your anklets remind me only of you,” he crooned. “It was very clever of you to leave them behind.”
“A girl has got to try everything possible.”
“I wanted to kick myself when I saw those roll out of the dash,” he confessed.
“You deserve a kick in the rear,” she teased.
“I…” She didn’t let him complete. “Hey… you know what’s weird about the unknowns in your life?” She looked like she was onto something.
“What?”
“The tattoo on the man is a Senani tattoo, and Devasena is a Senani, too.”
“I don’t understand… eeew… I just hope we are not related and what would be worse is if you turn out to be a Senani.” Her skin crawled at the thought.
“Who is that woman in the picture, and why is she of interest to you?” Neil asked staring at her screen.
“This is Devasena Senani, the only woman born into the family, and she is my grandpa’s cousin. She was one firecracker.” Narmada held a sense of pride in her voice. “She was such a trooper, she would hunt and kill just like her brothers and cousins. When her parents refused to send her abroad to study, she asked her brothers and cousins to mail their books to her so she could read them. She was a self-taught woman who was probably better educated than her Oxford-graduate cousins. She was the most caring and giving woman. It was a match made in heaven when she married to the great Abhimanyu Singham…”
“Hold it, did you say Singham?”
“Yup. The Singhams are one of the prominent families in my ancestral province.”
“Call Joe.” It sounded like an order.
“Why?” She was surprised he suddenly seemed agitated.
“I need to know if the Singhams who are after me are the same ones.”
“The Singhams are after you?”
“I think that’s the name…”
“The Singhams are a well-known family, and our family has a weird relationship with them.”
“Weird?”
“Well, my two brothers were killed by the two women the Singham brothers married,” she declared flatly.
“What and how are you not angry?”
“My brothers were a disgrace to the brotherhood. They grew up with my grandpa and have no respect for women. All they cared about were the feuds.”
“So, this woman married a Singham and?”
“Well, it was a true love-after-marriage story. Abhimanyu Singham who was a total beast gave in to Devasena’s charm and… you’ll need to read my manuscript for that,” she teased.
“I will.”
“Why are Abhay and Dev Singham looking for you?” She went back to what he had said earlier.
“Abhay is the name Joe mentioned. That guy made it to the hut.”
“Your underground one?”
“Yes.”
“Wait, do you mean one of the Singham men showed up?”
Narmada started dialing Joe’s number on Neil’s phone. “Joe, he is up and won’t shut up.”
She put the phone away and smiled. “He’ll be here in two minutes.”
“Why do I feel like I have no control over everything that is happening now?” He kept looking at the image of the woman on the screen.
“Why does it have to be in your control, Neil? Most things that happen are beyond our circle of control.”
“What happened to her?” Neil was curious.
“Devasena? She married Abhimanyu Singham and became his strength while he ruled the province, and she took over the province when her husband and sons were killed.”
“Killed? All at the same time?”
“No… not at the same time but…Oh, remember that woman in Raj’s house?” She continued when he nodded. “Her name is Neelambari, and as per the traditions of the region, she was supposed to marry Devasena’s older son, Vijay Singham, but he fell in love with another woman, and that wedding didn’t happen. When Vijay Singham broke off the engagement, a feud broke out between the families, and in one of those attacks, Abhimanyu Singham was killed leaving behind Devasena and their two sons.”
“Hmm… what kind of feuds?”
“Pretty bad, my family was aiding the Singhams because of Devasena, and it got worse when the temple massacre happened… holy shit!” It was a scream that rolled off her lips, making Neil reach for something, anything that could be used as a weapon.
“What?” Neil asked.
“Oh my God… Oh my God… I can’t talk,” she said scrambling to pull up another document on the computer.”
“Narmada, talk to me.”
“Neil… the dream… did you tell me there was a temple and there was an explosion?”
He nodded feeling the jitter he felt every time he woke up from that dream.
“Ranadeep Singham… that was the name of the third son of Vijay Singham who was declared dead in the temple massacre,” Narmada declared, her voice wavering.
Neil looked at her not knowing how to react. “What?”
“Neil… you are Ranadeep Singham… that is the only explanation… you are the youngest brother the Singhams are looking for… Oh my God… this is so surreal.”
Joe walked in at that very moment and caught the perplexed expression on Neil’s face. “Neil, are you in pain?”
“Joe, the Singhams… Neil is a Singham.” Her voice was a lot more confident as she pieced everything she had learned about Neil in the past few weeks.
“Is that why the Singhams are looking for you?” Joe asked, his voice a whisper.
“No.” Neil was in denial.
“Neil… the Singhams have multiple teams looking for you, and the oldest Singham is looking for you personally? Is there a bigger reason? Why are they protecting that man you shot?” Joe asked.
“Hang on Joe… one at a time… Neil… the Ferris wheel, Vijay Singham had three sons, all of them born in London.” Her excitement knew no bounds. She was thrilled she was able to connect the dots based on the information she had and for it to answer all of Neil’s questions. “We should call the Singhams!”
“No!” It was an order Neil issued. “You will do no such thing. Based on the information we have, the Singhams are out there for my blood. It is a pure coincidence my dream matches with an accident.”
Rana… that was the name the woman called the child.
“Joe, tell him. This is it. He’s had too many things unanswered, and this pulls it all together.”
Joe looked at Neil confused.
“Do not listen to what she is saying, Joe.”
“Neil, she has a point,” Joe objected.
“I do not want to discuss this anymore,” he yelled.
Narmada walked closer to Neil and ran her fingers through his. “Just because you have a family out there, it doesn’t change the fact that Joe is your brother, and you love every single person in the family.”
Neil looked away from her like he couldn’t accept the fact that she hit the nail on the head.
“Neil, we don’t need to discuss this now, but we do at some point.” She ran her hand up to cup Neil’s cheek.
“I agree with her.” Joe smiled, handing the roll of newspaper in his hand to Narmada.
“What is this?” She scrunched her nose opening the newspaper. She looked at the heading of the article.
‘Mega Constructions, President and CEO, injured in a hunting adventure’
Narmada smiled a devious curve playing on her full lips. “Bastard totally deserved to get his face blown up. How dare he shoot my Neil!”
“She’s the right match for you, Neil.” Joe laughed.
“I shot him in the shoulder, and it says here that he had concrete splinters hit his face.” Narmada turned the newspaper to show the picture of the man with a bandage on his face.
Neil looked at the picture, and his eyes widened. He held his breath and stared at the picture. The equipment that was monitoring Neil’s vitals suddenly started to beep.
She dropped the newspaper and rushed to his side. “Baby, what is it?”
“Doctor,” Joe called looking at Neil staring at the newspaper that lay on the ground.
A doctor and a few of his assistants rushed in and checked on Neil. He wasn’t moving, and the doctors kept talking amongst themselves as to why his blood pressure and heart rate were off the charts.
“Joe, what’s going on?” Narmada watched the doctors give Neil medications through the IV.
“Don’t worry, he will be fine. If there is one guy who’s invincible, it’s him.” His brother’s voice held confidence.
“I’m pretty sure Raj’s dad has something to do with Neil’s past,” she whispered.