SS: For You I Will - COMPLETE Page 14 - Page 6

CHAPTER FIVE

Zoya tries to brace herself in the dark car trunk. The car bounces over every bump and pit in the road. She cries out as she's tossed about. Finally the car comes to a stop. She pulls her cell phone out of her jeans pocket.

"Thank you, Phupee," she murmurs, "for making me promise to keep my phone on me at all times."

She presses the preset for Asad's number, turns on the speaker function then shoves the phone down the front of her shirt.

"Hello? Hello?" Asad's voice is unnaturally high and strained, even muffled under Zoya's blouse.

"Allah, miya, I can't allow Hafez to hear Mr. Khan," she whispers.

She immediately begins to bang on the trunk lid and yells as loudly as she can. "Let me out! Let me out!"

The trunk lid is lifted. Hafez grins down at her. He has cleaned the muck off his face but the stench of cruelty and sweat still cling to him, making Zoya cringe away. Still, she continues to speak, drowning out Asad's voice on the phone.

"I knew it was you. No one else would be as stupid or as vicious as to kidnap me. Didn't you get enough punishment back in the shanty?"

Hafez reaches in for her. Zoya slaps at his hands and tries to kick him but the small trunk is too cramped to allow her to fight him off.

"No, stop it! Don't touch me," she shouts.

Hafez catches her leg and jerks her hard. Zoya screams and tries to pull free but she has no maneuvering room in the tiny trunk.

"Not so high and might now, are you?" he gloats.

"Let me go," Zoya orders, keeping her voice loud and strong. "You had no right to hurt those poor women and children and you have no right to hold me now."

Hafez grabs her arm, directly where he'd struck her with his belt buckle. Zoya cries out and struggles with him as he drags her out.

"Where are we?' she demands loudly. "What is this place?"

"Shut up, s**t!" Hafez slaps her cheek.

Zoya's head snaps back from the impact but she keeps talking. "Stop hitting me! You have no right to touch me."

"I said to shut up!" Hafez backhands her so hard that Zoya is thrown to the ground.

She gasps as her breath is knocked out of her. She puts her hand to her heart and touches the now silent phone.

"Allah, miya, please let Mr. Khan still be on the line," she thinks. "He's just staying quiet so he can hear what's happening. I have to give him clues to find me."

She raises herself onto her hands and knees.

"Now that's a woman's position." Hafez laughs. "In the dirt, on her knees, bowing before me. It's about time somebody taught you that wearing pants doesn't make you as good as a man."

Zoya looks past him and sees several other men. They are very thin, sun-burned and many have visible bruises and whip marks.

"Who...who are all these men?" she asks, turning back to Hafez.

"These men are my students." Hafez gestures to them. "They don't know how to treat women. They think they should listen to their wives and mothers. I'm going to show them how to take control in their own homes." He turns to the men. "Take her inside."

The men hesitate. Hafez hits the man closest to him and pushes him towards Zoya. "You sniveling coward. Are you afraid of a woman? Look at her. She's helpless in front of you." He grabs the next man and also shoves him towards Zoya. "Take her!"

The men help Zoya to her feet. Hafez clicks in tongue in disgust.

"You don't have to be soft with her. She has no value." He gestures to her jeans. "Look at her immodest clothes. No decent woman dresses like that."

Still, the men are gentle as they guide her into the tiny building. Zoya moves slowly, eyes darting around.

"Pay attention, Zoya," she thinks to herself. "Help Mr. Khan find you. There's a power line running into this building. He just has to follow the power line. But which way?"

She glances up to into the sun then down to the shadow on the side of the building. The shade is on the same side as it was at the factory.

"You've gone past the factory. That dirt road is the only path leading here," she reminds herself. "Tell Mr. Khan to keep going along the road."

"Where are we?" she asks out loud. "Guspind is the other way."

"Why are you moving so slowly?" Hafez demands. "Hurry!"

He shoves her hard in the middle of her back. Zoya cries out as she trips over the door ledge and falls into the hard cement floor. One of the men bends down to help her. Hafez slaps him away.

"What are you doing?" he screams. "She's a woman. You don't coddle them and serve them. That's how they get spoiled. Show her her place."

He grabs Zoya by her bruised arm and yanks her to her feet. He throws her against the wall. She yelps in pain out when she hits the hard surface. Still, she keeps calm and looks around the small room. There is a cot made with ropes, a television, table, chairs, a gas burner, cooking utensils and a wash station. More men come into the room but they are all malnourished and beaten, huddled close together, not looking at Zoya.

"Where...where are we?" she asks, her voice high and frightened.

"This is my home." Hafez gives her a malicious smile. "You're going to be my guest for a while." He pulls his belt out of his pant loops in a quick, practiced manner. "I'm going to enjoy having you here."

"This is wrong." Zoya slides along the wall, trying to stay out of striking range. "Beating people is wrong. These men you brought with you don't want to hurt me. You've already hurt them. They don't want any more violence."

"These men are fools," Hafez snarls. "Their wives tell them what I give them isn't good enough and they have the nerve to complain. I try to control their women for them and they complain about that, too. Only a weak man allows a woman to tell him what to do."

Hafez strikes out with the belt but not at Zoya. He hits the man closest to him. The man cries out but doesn't try to defend himself. Hafez whips another man then another.

"Stop it, stop it!" Zoya cries. "Please, you've already gotten what you wanted. You've brought us here and you've frightened me. Now just let us go." She sucks her breath in on a sob. "You don't even have to take me back to the factory. I can see it from the window. It's only about a mile -- I mean kilometer, a kilometer and a half --down the hill. I can walk on my own. There is a clear path from the road to your house. I won't get lost --"

She breaks off in a scream of pain when Hafez slashes the belt against her already bruised arm.

"Silence!" Hafez yells. "I won't allow a woman, and a s**t at that, to tell me what to do! I'm in charge here."

Zoya sobs openly. "I know you're in charge. You have this nice house with electricity, running water and a satellite dish while your poor workers live in misery behind that awful factory. I can see their shanty from here."

"That's how I keep watch on them," Hafez replies. "Day and night, I see them. I know what they are doing. I know when they're working and when they're being lazy. I know everything!"

"Please let me go," Zoya pleads. "I haven't done anything to you."

"But your man did!" Hafez is so angry that spittle oozes from the corners of his mouth. "He humiliated me before my people. Do you think I'll let him get away with that? He comes here with his fancy suit, his fancy car and his fancy American s**t. He shamed me. Now I'm going to shame you in return. Do you think he'll still want you when I'm finished with you?"

"No, please don't do this." Zoya tries to slide further but she's in the corner with nowhere to go.

Hafez grabs her bruised arm and drags her out of the corner. He throws her to the ground at the men's feet. Zoya gasps as she loses her breath again. This time none of the men help her up. They shuffle away from her.

"You cowardly dogs!" Hafez yells at them. "Standing there with your tails between your legs. You shy away from this woman? Look at her. She is nothing. She's lying at your feet begging for mercy. This is what happens to women who don't know their place. This is what will happen to your women if you don't learn to control them." He laughs, high and vicious. "And your daughters. Do you want this for them?"

The men look from Hafez to Zoya and back to Hafez. Fear and horror are clear on their faces.

"What about you, Rakesh?" Hafez taunts. "It was your brat Pushpa who brought this woman. Should I drag your daughter here?"

"No, Saab-ji," Rakesh pleads. "Pushpa is only five. She doesn't understand --"

He is cut off when Hafez slashes him with the belt. Rakesh gasps but doesn't cry out.

"Control her better," Hafez screams. "Watch carefully what I do to this woman. Know your daughter will be next if she ever gets out of line again."

Hafez turns on Zoya but she's ready for him. She snatches the belt away from him before he can raise it against her. Hafez backhands her so hard that she's thrown across the room and smashes into his television set. Both she and the television crash to the floor.

"My television!" Hafez's body shakes with his anger. "You bloody bitch! You broke my television. I'll thrash the skin off your bones!"

He grabs Zoya by her hair and drags her away from the broken television. Zoya claws at his hands and kicks frantically, screaming in pain.

Suddenly, Hafez lets her go. Zoya is stunned for a few seconds, gasping for breath. Then she looks to the men huddled in the far corner but none of them have moved. She looks up at Hafez. Her mouth drops open when she sees Asad behind him, his arm locked around Hafez's throat. Hafez twists frantically, his hands clawing at Asad's jacket sleeve, trying to break Asad's hold. Asad is unmovable, his gaze locked on Zoya.

For a charged moment, there is only the sound of Asad's harsh breathing and Hafez's choking grunts as they struggle with each other. Then Zoya moans as she rises onto her hands and knees. Her damaged arm cannot hold her weight and she drops back to the cement.

"Zoya!" Asad's voice raises so high it cracks.

He throws Hafez aside. Hafez crashes into the table then falls into the chairs.

Asad rushes to Zoya's aide. He helps her to her knees but she is shaking so badly she cannot get to her feet. He sets her back and brushes the hair out of her face. Her lips and cheek are cut and bleeding, a bruise has already formed on her temple and her face is soaked in tears. He tries to wipe her cheeks but Zoya flinches and pulls away, her tender skin reddening from even his gentle touch.

"Zoya?" he says again, his voice still high and desperate.

Zoya tries to smile but the effort allows a trickle of blood to escape her mouth. Her pain is almost palpable as fresh tears soak her cheeks.

A shudder passes through Asad and he closes his eyes, his jaw locked tight. Zoya whimpers and his eyes pop open. He takes off his jacket and lays it across her shaking shoulders. She pulls it close with her good hand while cradling her damaged arm close to her body. She sobs again then bites into her bloody lower lip, muffling her crying. Asad strokes her hair lightly and looks over to Hafez.

Zoya's attacker breathes hard as he detangles himself from the chairs. The bully wheezes as he regains his breath, his neck already beginning to discolor from Asad's vicious choke hold. He stops when he sees Asad's face.

Asad rises from his crouched position beside Zoya, pure rage turning his eyes into pieces of burning coal, fiery and dangerous. His face hardens until it becomes expressionless, his gaze fixed on Hafez.

"So you like to beat women and children?" Asad's voice is cold enough to freeze water. "You like to teach people lessons? Fine. Then we'll have another lesson. But this time, I'll be the teacher."

Chapter 6: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/78428663

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for all the wonderful replies and encouragement! This is my first QH fanfic. I was very nervous about my reception, since my story isn't a romance like so many of the other fics on this site. I'm so happy to know that you like to read adventure stories because that's what I like to write!

As always, all mistakes are mine and made accidentally. This story is not intended to hurt anyone's feelings, culture or beliefs. Next update is on Friday morning (New York time).

You always leave me speechless and over the edge of my seat with your flawless writing

I love reading adventure and romantic fics and this fic is undoubtedly my favorite.

AWESOME!! AWESOME!!👏