Escape.

That one thought dominated Nina’s mind as she ran through the forest. Thorns and stones poked through her bare feet, but she did not slow down.

“Nina, stop!” a man’s deep, commanding voice shouted from a distance.

On instinct, her mind was prepared to listen to his order. Just like she had been listening to over the past three months—during her captivity.

That same deep voice had also soothed her sometimes, frightened her sometimes, and the rest of the time… made her yearn. Her heart thumped even harder in her chest as she controlled her overwhelming mixed feelings and kept running.

The heavy footsteps continued behind her. “Nina. I said, stop!” There was anger and betrayal in Gaurav’s voice.

Nina shook away the feelings of guilt. She had to escape. She owed her loyalty and love to Suraj. He was her husband, and they had been married for ten years.

Then what about Gaurav? Don’t you owe him anything? And what about to yourself?

Her chest tightened at the thought of never having to see Gaurav again.

But he was her captor. He had snatched her from the life she had known, and took her to hell and back with him. But somehow, along the way, in the three months she had known him, he had also showed her things that she otherwise would have never experienced in her life. Things that made her feel alive.

No! I need to get back to Suraj.

A shot went off, resonating loud in the quiet forest. The next instant, Nina felt a sharp object piercing her arm. She gasped as she felt a blinding pain that threatened to paralyze her entire body.

Determined, she still forged ahead. She kept running through the dense trees.

Another shot went off. This time, it hit her in the shoulder. Her body flinched hard before she fell on the ground with the impact.

God, no! No! I can’t fail. I have to get back to Suraj.

With great effort, she tried to get up. But she couldn’t. She tried to grab onto a hard root of a tree and crawl through the forest floor.

But before even she could move, rough yet gentle arms held her in a firm grip and turned her.

“Nina!”

She tried to look at him. But her vision was beginning to blur and darken at the corners. “Please…” she said in a weak, fading voice. “Don’t… hurt… him…”

And then, with every ounce of the remaining energy, she slowly raised her hand and held it to the cheek of her captor. She felt the familiar shape of his face. Her fingers touched his cheekbones, his nose, his heavy stubble, and his firm yet soft mouth.

“Gaurav…” she whispered.

“Nina,” he agonizingly whispered into her palm.

I love you. The words remained unsaid from her while her hand slackened and fell to the ground. Soon, darkness took over completely.

 

“WHY THE HELL did you shoot!” Gaurav shouted as he frantically carried Nina’s limp body into the house.

“She was escaping, Gaurav.”

“So what? I told you to hold off the fire after your first shot!”

“I didn’t hear you.”

Gaurav didn’t believe him. Vikram was like his brother, but Gaurav wanted to kill him right then. But first, he needed to save Nina’s life.

“Get me the first-aid kit and some clean hot water. Hurry up!”

Gaurav placed Nina on the bed before cutting off her bloodied shirt from her body. He then cleaned and disinfected the bullet wounds.

Nina’s skin had paled considerably, and she was lying completely still. She barely flinched when he took the disinfected knife and cut her flesh to dig out a bullet from her shoulder. The other bullet had passed through.

He dressed the wounds before putting fresh pair of clothes on top of her.

Vikram was standing silently near the bedroom door. “What do you think is going to happen, Gaurav?” Vikram asked after a while. “You know damn well that by the end of our mission, you’ll have no choice. You are just delaying the inevitable. Let her die. Only then will you be able to live.”

“No!” Gaurav shouted. “She’s going to live. I will not let her die.”

“Gaurav…”

Gaurav looked at his closest friend and confidante. “I love her. If she dies, then there’s no point in me wanting to live either.”

Vikram stared at him in shock. “What kind of madness has gotten into you, Gaurav? She’s married! And to your enemy who was responsible for the deaths of not only your mother and sister… but also your brother!”

Gaurav closed his eyes. “I know.”