Tani.
What would she say if she knew? What would she think if she saw him like this? Weak, helpless, hopeless…
He didn’t have to wonder long. He knew her better than he knew himself. She’d roll up her sleeves, pull her hair into that messy bun she swore wasn’t intentional, and take over.
She’d create a plan of action, a colour coded one with the best of her glitter pens. She’d map his every step from this moment until the day he collapsed in a rocking chair somewhere.
She’d fix everything he was too broken to fix. She’d always fixed everything, including him.
He turned his head, pressing his cheek to the sheets, staring through the huge window framing the dark city. Somewhere out there, she was laughing. Dancing. Being celebrated. Being loved.
Somewhere out there, she was alive in a way he hadn’t been in ages, in a way he hadn’t been since he’d pushed her away, shoving her out of his life.
And God…God, how he wished he could be with her. Even for a second. Just to stand near her and feel the world lighten, to soak in her happiness like sunlight, to bask in the simple, devastating joy of her presence.
He blinked hard, but the burn behind his eyes didn’t fade. He would take anything. A glimpse. A smile. A caress.
Just his Bug. Just for a heartbeat.
Even from a distance, it would be enough. She was always enough. And she didn’t even know she was the only thing keeping his heart beating. Even now, when he could feel it drowning in grief.
His phone rang again and this time he reached for it, answering without glancing at the display. “Hello.” His voice was brusque, laced with exhaustion and desolation.
“Kabir.” Vikram’s tense voice cut through Kabir’s mental fog.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting up, already looking for his wallet and car keys.
“We need you.” Someone shouted in the background, the sounds coming through aggressive and loud.
“I’m on my way. Where are you?” Kabir was already heading for the door.
Vikram’s next words had Kabir’s blood chilling, dread sliding through him like ice.
“The police station,” Vikram said, his voice tight and thin. “I’m texting you the location.”
“Vik-“ Kabir’s throat closed up as he walked through the halls of Il Cuore, praying he didn’t encounter any of the family members. Just this once, God was listening to his prayers. “Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Vikram sounded distracted. “On the whole yeah.”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Kabir hissed as he reached the front door, cracking it open as quietly as possible.
For a moment there was silence and then Vikram said, “It’s just that…they’ve arrested Tani.”
Kabir pulled the phone away from his ear, staring disbelievingly at the screen. Then he put it back to his ear and roared, “WHAT?”
Another shout echoed from somewhere behind Vikram. “Get here fast,” Vikram said urgently a second before the line went dead.
And Kabir abandoned all pretence of stealth and ran.
CHAPTER 26
TANISHA
She wrappedher jacket around herself tighter, hunching in the corner of the damp, dimly lit room they’d made her wait in. Ignoring the lecherous gaze of the constable in the corner, Tani forced herself to take deep breaths and stay calm.
Outside the room, she could hear Vikram’s raised voice and she winced at the stress in it. Yelling wasn’t going to help. She knew that from experience. She’d learned it from watching her dad. The angrier he got, the quieter he got, the frost of his fury silencing the person instigating it.
She shivered, a sliver of fear working its way through. There was nothing to worry about, she told herself. Her dad would come and everything would get sorted. They’d be on their way home in no time.
