I hold her gaze, not buying a single word of it.
“And even if I was,” she adds, lifting her chin stubbornly, refusing to back down, “I have no interest in your… whatever that was. Your top secrets.”
“How much did you hear?”
My grip on her wrists tightens slightly. She goes still for a few seconds before speaking up, no longer struggling now.
“I heard enough,” she says at last. “About the arms smuggling deal near the border. About GLEN. Everything.”
I curse in my head as she continues. “GLEN is the same organisation that dismantled the BAT Syndicate, right? Back in Cape Town, everyone in the mafia world knew that they killed your father and… you too.”
There’s unmistakable curiosity in her eyes now.
“So Ayaan… your brother is really the Director of GLEN?” she asks in disbelief, trying to process it all. “And you are standing right in the middle of both worlds? Feeding him intel when it suits you… and keeping the rest buried?”
“Stop,” I shout back. “Get that out of your head right now.”
She frowns instantly.“As if that’s possible.”
She tries to pull away again, but I hold her wrists tightly.
“Then make sure it stays in your head and nowhere else,” I warn her.
She stills again.
“Because if anything from that conversation leaves your mouth,” I continue, my voice dropping to a dangerous tone, “you’ll end up becoming the next target on my hit list.”
“Oh really?” She lets out a mocking laugh. “So what are you now? Your brother’s personal assassin?”
I don’t respond.
Siya exhales sharply and shakes her head. “Okay, look. I really have no interest in all of this. Nor am I going to share it with anyone. Not even with my mom. Happy? Now leave me.”
When I still don’t, her brows furrow in irritation.
“And what’s this?” she demands, glaring up at me. “You’ve already carried me twice in your arms within twenty-four hours. First at the vineyard in front of everyone, and now this, carrying me around like a sack of potato. I seriously wish Kailash Uncle could see you right now. What did he say yesterday?My boy is shy.”She snorts softly. “Shy my foot.”
There’s fire in her now.
“Urgh,” she groans in frustration. “My back is hurting already. Get off me, RK.”
I finally shift, releasing her wrists, having heard enough of her rant. But even then, she immediately pushes at my chest, trying to create distance between us. The moment her fingers pull my collar, the top two buttons of my shirt give way with a soft pop, the fabric falling open to expose more of my chest than it should.
Siya freezes completely. Her gaze slowly drops to the open collar of my shirt, intentionally lingering there. I catch the way her throat moves as she swallows. The subtle shift in her breathing. The faint flush creeping up her cheeks. Even the pressure of her hand against my chest weakens.
The moment Siya notices where her attention is, her eyes jerk back up to mine, visibly flustered.
“Get. Off,” she says again, quieter this time.
I’m about to move when something suddenly tugs sharply between us. The chain around my neck has gotten snagged on her shirt button, pulling me straight back down onto her. Our bodies collide again, even closer than before.
“Seriously?” she mutters under her breath.
I immediately reach down and try to free the chain, but the angle is all wrong. There’s barely any space between us, and with me on top, I’m unable to do much. Siya tries too, her fingers brushing mine as we both attempt to untangle it from the same spot, but it still doesn’t come off.
“Wait,” I say, moving my hand to her waist instead. I pull her upright with me in one smooth motion until we’re both standing, the chain still caught between us.
But changing positions doesn’t help. If anything, it makes it worse. Now there is absolutely no distance left between us at all. Siya’s body is pressed too close to mine, and the tension between us crackling in a way none of us can ignore anymore.
