|| Deception || Chapter 12 on pg no. 11 19/09/2016 - Page 2

I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Aryaman lying on the ground like a dead body. Oh my God! What the hell is he doing here? What happened to him? Who are those people?

I hid behind some bins and tried as hard as I could to look at their faces.

It was too dark! I tried to get close, without making any noise.

"Shut...up..." the man who was hovering above Aryaman said, putting a finger on his lips. His voice held anger. He was the tallest among them; I could conclude this by his body out line. I assume he is the leader.

"Cooperate with me or you die. I want my f**king money! I have given you enough time. You don't know what you have done by betraying us. How dare you double-cross me?" Money? What money is he talking about?

Aryaman was whimpering. I can tell he had been beaten very badly. He would get unconscious any time.

"You, son of a bitch!" He started kicking him in the gut. I could hear each and every contact of his shoes in his body. I held on my mouth shut to silence my gasps. I was feeling helpless. He looked very bad.

I squinted to try to see the faces of those people, but I failed again because of this darkness and this rain was also not helping me. I had to do something. I took out my phone to call the police, but there was no network.

I was very aware now that how dangerously close I was to them at this moment, one single move and they'll be able to spot me from my hideout, so I kept still.

Suddenly, the tall guy signalled another man forward. "Take a grip of him. I want him to feel the pain he gave to my family. I hope you enjoy it." And he punched and spit at him. His voice was so loud and clear to my ears; it sent chills down my body.

He then pulled something from behind his back. A gun. My eyes widened in fear. Oh my god! Please no! I quickly looked at my phone again to check whether there is network.

No network. It said. Godammit!

He pulled the safety out and aimed at his chest. "No. Please! Manik, Let me go!" Aryaman cried. Wait, What? Manik? As in Manik Malhotra? The person Navya was talking about? f**k! This can't be f**king true! No! No! N--

"Aww...How can I let you go after what you f**king did to my people and my family? You used my money and you want some f**king time, huh?" He said laughing wickedly. His laugh was filled with horror and dread. Aryaman shook his head vigorously. "I am sorry," his laughing stopped at once "but your time is up! Go.To.Hell!" and he shot him. He had shot him. His body crashed on the floor. Lying dead. No.

Tears began rolling down my face. I couldn't do anything. I was frozen in shock and fear. I felt numb. I was already hyperventilating. My Aryaman was gone. I just stared at the dead body of my fiance. Oh no!

I needed to get out of here. Without even thinking, I took a step back, and in an instant one of the bins fell on the ground, creating a huge noise. For everyone to hear. So stupid of me. I cursed under my breath.

"What the f**k was that?" a deeper voice said.

"Go take a look." the murderer said.

Oh my God, why the f**k is this happening? I ducked my head behind the bins again. My heart beat was crushing to my chest and my palm and forehead began sweating. I couldn't breathe. Tears stung my eyes. I put a hand on my mouth to muffle my cries. I cannot believe what I just saw. How can someone shoot a person without flinching?

I am surely dreaming.

"Who's there?" one of the guys yelled and I yelped.

Pleased, don't see me. Please, don't see me. I repeated it like a prayer. I closed my eyes tightly to stop my tears from flowing.

"There! The bins! The voice is coming from that side." someone yelled.

Oh my gosh! This is the end. I am going to die. I am surely going to die. I am not going to make it alive. I heard three pair of footsteps approaching. My body suddenly trembled in fear.

Nandini do something. Do something. Without even having any second thoughts, I ran. I couldn't care less but to get away from here as fast as I can. I could sense that they were getting close. I couldn't run fast enough because of the stupid high heels I was wearing. I dropped my bag and I ran as fast as I could.

"Where are you going sweetheart?" the murderer said in a low voice and I winced as he pulled me back by my hair and knotted his fist in my hair.

"Ouch!" I shouted in pain. "Let me go! Leave my hair, you asshole!"

"Not so soon, baby!" he whispered dangerously close to my ear. I tried to wriggle away from his tight grip. I succeeded in twisting his wrist with my right hand. And his hold on my hair loosened instantly.

"You bitch!!" he cried in pain. Without looking at him, I sprinted towards the alley. "Go get her!" he commanded his men.

"Hey! Stop!" one of his men shouted.

I had not even run five steps, the next thing I knew that I was being tackled to the ground. I fell hard on the ground. I tried to find my way out of this man's arms but he held me tighter. I started thrashing, kicking my legs and twisting.

"Pull her up, Cabir." The murderer ordered. The Cabir guy pulled me up to my feet by my arms roughly. I struggled more against his grip, as he held both my hands twisting it behind my back. "Stop fighting, you will end up hurting yourself." Cabir said as I cried in pain.

"Please," I begged. The tears spilled from my eyes and ran down my cheeks. "Just let me go!"

"Tsk, tsk...isn't it a proper etiquette not to overhear someone's conversation?" Manik said in a very low voice slowly walking towards me and smirking. That's when I saw him for the first time, when the moonlight revealed his face...clearly. The rain had stopped, and only the mist was falling and drops from the trees.

I almost died looking at him. If looks could kill, I would be seriously dead by now. Standing in front of me, was the sole epitome of perfection. This type of person deserved to be in movies or in magazines. His lips were thick and pink, cracked from the cold weather by the look of it. I would have never guessed that this decent looking man would be involved in the Mafia. Everything from his strong chiselled jaw to his dark, wavy, and wet hair spelt out power and superiority. He was much hotter than Arya--. Wait! What are you thinking, Nandini? How could you? I immediately looked away from his captivating gaze.

I could sense he was staring at me. Then suddenly I felt someone's warm hands touching my cheek. He was caressing my left cheek. He was coming closer to me. That made me open my eyes and without even thinking, I did the most unbelievable thing. I spit at him. Guys, can you believe it? "Go f**k yourself!" Shit! Shit, Nandini! I should not have done this.

He just wiped it off, glaring down at me with his intimidating eyes. His jaw clenched and his hands turned into fists. Oh no! He is going to kill me now. The unnamed man looked surprised at my action. Manik suddenly gripped my face tightly, forcing me to look at him. "How dare you raise your voice at me? Watch the mouth of yours or I won't even hesitate to kill you." He said in a low voice, held with anger. He was digging his fingers on my jaw, making me yelp in pain.

"What do we do with her, Manik?" Cabir said.

"We should just kill her." The other one said and he instantly left my jaw. I sighed as I got relief from the pain in my jaw. Then I registered what the guy just said. Kill me.

"Please no! Just let me go! Don't kill me!" I shouted and I started struggling again, resulting in tightening of his hold on me. "We will take her." I instantly looked at the owner of this voice.

No, he can't take me.

"What?" Cabir and the other man shouted.

"We can't take her. There's too much risk. We can get caught." The unnamed man continued.

"I said we will take her." Manik said firmly. Cabir cursed behind me.

"PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T DO IT! PLEASE!" I begged. "Help! Somebody! Please help!" I shouted, hoping someone would hear me. "HELP! HEL--" before I could even complete my sentence, the unnamed man's fist came up to my face hitting me hard. I let out a sob before darkness engulfed me.

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