Black & White Love ~ MG ~ Chapter 15, page 24, updated 24/07 - Page 12

Chapter 12 The blanket of the night

The car veered dangerously to the left. Maan pushed Geet's head down, whilst he scanned his rear view mirror.

It was a black unmarked car.

Vivek had been right.

"What's going on?" Geet asked, her voice muffled as her head rested between her legs, held down by Maan.

"Stay quiet and follow my instructions."

The piercing gunshots vibrated through her body, making her jump but she clamped her mouth shut, resisting the urge to scream. The car spun furiously before heading down an unmarked road.

Maan's eyebrows tightened as he kept one eye on the road and another on his rear view mirror.

He drove down the path until he was sure he'd lost their trail. Without warning, or even thinking, he crashed the car into a tree.

...

The sound of his phone ringing startled both him and Suhana, who were in the office. Vivek had been buried in paperwork whilst Suhana had been at her laptop.

Any work related phone calls were diverted to Suhana. No one else bothered him during his working hours.

"Answer it," she said, keeping her eyes trained on her laptop but her ears perked.

Vivek had a sense of dread, settled deep within his stomach.

It was a private number.

Answering it was a risk in itself. But not answering the call... he couldn't contemplate the consequences.

"Vivek Khurana," he spoke, aware of Suhana's presence in the room.

"It's your best friend. I thought you would like to know that you probably shouldn't expect Maan and his wife at home tonight."

He stood up. "What have you done to him?"

"You had been warned. I was kind enough to give you a heads up. I must say, you're losing your game Vivek. I thought you would have taken better precautions.

Good luck, Vivek Khurana. Now, the game begins."

The call ended, and he felt his blood run cold.

If anything happened to Maan...

Suhana noticed the sudden shift in his demeanour and rushed over to him. "Vivek, what happened?"

"I need to go. Stay here." He grabbed his jacket and his phone, a sudden panic taking over.

"Vivek, you're worrying me, has something happened?"

She followed him as he stalked to the living room, summoning everyone. Smriti and Manyata arrived from downstairs. Avni and Priya appeared from the garden where they had been lounging. Neil was at work, and Vicky stood by the door.

"None of you are to leave the house until I instruct otherwise."

"What's going on?" Priya asked.

"Just do as I've asked. Avni, call Neil and tell him to come home immediately. Vicky, start the car. We need to go." He turned, and then stopped when he came face to face with Smriti.

"Have you heard from Maan?"

She recognised the panic in his voice and the fear in his eyes.

"What's happened to him?" she whispered, her heart beating fast. A sudden lump rose in her throat.

"Nothing. I promise. I'll keep you informed. When I ring you, excuse yourself from everyone else."

He left before Smriti could ask any more questions.

...

The sound of the crash pierced her ears.

Geet took a few deep breaths, then slowly turned her head to look at Maan.

The driver's seat was empty.

She looked towards the back seats, hoping he was still in the car when the passenger door opened suddenly and a hand pulled her out.

She stumbled into him, her face pressed against the familiar black material of his clothes.

"We need to run," he whispered against her hair. "Geet? Are you listening? We need to run, as fast as we can. Whatever you do, do not look back. Are you with me?"

She nodded against him. He took her hand and they began to cover the span of the woods. Maan squeezed her hand, willing her to run faster behind him, but the fatigue of the events at the hospital coupled with their current situation was exhausting her.

"I can't run anymore," she pleaded.

He continued to run, his hand tightening around hers.

"Maan."

He came to a stop, turning around to face her.

"Can't we stop for a while? What is even happening?"

"We're not safe. We can't risk being seen."

He continued to pull her along. And then, he stopped suddenly.

...

A lump rose in Vivek's throat as the realisation of the situation settled into his stomach.

He called Chauhan, his eyes raging red.

Chauhan answered on the third ring.

"I will find you and I will kill you," he threatened, his hands gripping the wheel.

"Not before I kill your son."

And the line went dead.

...

She stood rooted in the spot where he had left her, against the wooden cladding of the abandoned cabin. Her head rested against the surface, her eyes threatening to close themselves shut.

We're not safe. We can't risk being seen.'

His voice rang in her head. She remembered the urgency of the way he squeezed her hand, the uncertainty in his eyes.

It unnerved her, to see his usual stone cold, undeterred exterior shaken.

Something was wrong, and all she prayed for was one last chance to see her brother should anything happen.

Her eyes drifted off for the smallest of seconds before a jolt started her.

Without a word, he took her hand and led her inside the cabin. It was cold, and abandoned, save for a table in the middle and a blanket against the wall.

"Sit down, and don't move."

Geet didn't need to be told twice to finally rest her feet. She almost sighed at the relief, and her head spun with a thousand questions, but the night was settling in and she was exhausted.

She drifted off, because she woke to an unnerving darkness, only illuminated by a flicker of a candle in the middle of the room. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked around, sitting up, until she saw him through the window.

He was chopping a log of wood, his eyes focused, his eyebrows strained.

He looked up, feeling her gaze, and she instantly looked away. Geet backed against the wall, wrapping her arms around her legs and stared at the wooden floor.

...

He had walked back into the cabin after scouring its radius for any potential danger, and saw her asleep on the floor. Her hair was dishevelled and she looked weary, the bags under her eyes prominent.

The past 24 hours had been difficult for him, and he was a man accustomed to evading the hands of death.

It was not a life that she had known.

He placed the blanket over her, glancing at his surroundings. Food was non existent and water was scarce, save from a bowl which was probably contaminated with bacteria.

After further inspection, he found a half burnt candle. He pulled the lighter from his pocket and set the flame, placing it in the middle.

It was unbearably cold. He needed to make provision for warmth and food if they stood any chance of survival.

There was a rasp at the door, so inaudible that anyone else would have missed it.

But his senses were heightened, and he immediately fished the gun from his coat pocket.

Maan edged towards the door, using his body to block the eye line of Geet.

After a few seconds, he opened it and was immediately pulled out by the collar.

"I told you to take precautions!" Vivek spat in his face. He was dressed in all black, almost camouflaging in the night.

"Let go of my collar." And he did, taking a step back, his face stern.

"I don't know what you're up to, Uncle, but it needs to end. And once we've escaped, I will make sure that whoever is behind this will be lying in their own blood."

Vivek looked past Maan towards the door. "This is her fault. I told you she was a liability."

"This is your mess."

"And if you were alone, you would have dealt with it. You would have turned around and shot a bullet through their heads, like you always did. Except this time, you're taking extra measures to keep her safe. She is costing us time. Your life is on the line."

"You would do the same to keep Suhana safe.

"She is at home, safe, where she should be. I told you to avoid being seen."

Vivek's eyes suddenly narrowed, his comment about Suhana ringing in his ears. He watched Maan's poker face.

"I know what this is about now. This isn't about keeping her silent."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You want to protect her. You want to save her. You'll risk your own life to ensure she doesn't come in harm's way. You're falling in love with her."

"Now you're talking shit," snapped Maan, but he couldn't maintain Vivek's eye contact and moved away.

"She's going to cost you dearly, Maan. I came to make sure you were safe. Your mother is in knots over you. Get yourself out of here at the crack of dawn. I'll send Vicky and Neil, and you don't leave unless they're behind you."