Page 16 of Born in Sin

He didn’t answer her, only glancing at her with those serious, grave eyes of his.

“Save it,” she told him.

When his eyebrow quirked in response, she added, “The lecture, the advice, the pep talk, you have ready for me? Save it. I make my own decisions now and this one is all mine.”

He nodded, taking a deep breath. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a jug of lemonade. “Want some?”

She shook her head. He poured himself a glass and filled a glass with chilled water for her, handing it to her. Their fingers brushed against each other’s and for a moment, everything inside of Cara stilled. She pulled her hand back, firming her fingers around the glass, allowing the chill condensation on it to ground her in the present.

“So,” she asked, keeping her voice determinedly casual. “What’s next?”

“Mr. Narendra Mehta is having a meeting with the DD’s as we speak. He’s been gambling at the big boy tables and steadily losing money over the last few weeks. He’s now in a hole large enough to require someone to bail him out or he’ll lose everything.”

Cara sat down on a single chair beside the couch, crossing one leg over the other. She took a sip of water, allowing the cold water to trickle down her throat. “And?”

“He works for Majid’s company. He’s going to reach out to the accounts department for a loan early next week. Hopefully it’s a line that Majid will tug back on.”

“He has a daughter?”

“A very pretty, very young second wife.”

“Hmm.”

A small smile touched his lips sending a pang through her.

“That’s your ‘thinking’ hmm,” he murmured.

The familiarity of the moment was too much, and Cara cleared her throat, straightening. “I’m assuming there is nothing on their phones or emails that was of use.”

“It would be illegal to access their phone logs and emails without a warrant.”

“So, the answer is no, there was nothing useful.” Cara swung a leg as she thought this through. “They’re using burners then?”

Virat nodded, that smile on his lips making her want, desperately, to lean over and kiss it.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, raising his glass of lemonade to his lips.

She got up, walked over to the board, her gaze scanning it all and landing, once again, on her face.

“It sounds like you guys have been on the backfoot this entire time. I think we should take this fight to them.”

“We?”

“We.” Cara smiled, her gaze still on the picture of a younger her, a picture of Celina. Maybe it was time for Celina to come out and play after all.

“Why Cara?”

Again, that name on his lips. It hurt so deeply, she wondered if the wounds from it would forever bleed.

“I don’t sleep. I can’t sleep.” She reached out with one finger to trace the face of the smiling, happy girl in the center of that horrific board. “I’ve been prescribed medication to help with it, but I still don’t sleep. Not much anyway.”

She turned to look at him. “I want to sleep again, Virat. I want to be able to close my eyes and not see their faces. I want to be the one to see the fucking prison doors close on them. Then, maybe I’ll sleep again.”

His face went blank, every inch of emotion wiped from it. But when his eyes met hers, they blazed an unholy fire.

“Tell me what you need.”

“They’re not the only ones who can get burner phones. Get me one.”