Page 11 of Born in Sin (Phoenix #3)
Chapter Six
CARA
“I’ll handle cleanup.”
She stared at where the gun dug into his worn t-shirt, scrunching the material up. Fatigue rolled through her in a wave that threatened to drag her under. She dropped her hand, checked the safety on the gun and slipped it back into her handbag.
“When did you learn to shoot?” he asked her quietly.
“As soon as I started making my own money and didn’t need my mother’s approval to do something.”
She noticed him stiffening like he always did at the mention of her mother. Some things never changed. Her mother would probably have the same reaction if Cara mentioned Virat in front of her.
“And you, Mr. Jha? I’m assuming shooting is just one of many skill sets you’ve acquired over the years.”
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.”
“Celi-“ He checked himself with visible effort. “I apologise. Cara, what are you planning to do with it?
“Celi is fine for this,” she told him, a weight, she hadn’t known existed, lifting off her chest with those words. “This is something Celina is going to do. Not Cara. So, Celi is fine. But only in private. In public, Cara is all I am.”
She smiled, a fierce baring of her teeth. “Call your friends, Virat. We’re going to have only one shot at this. Let’s do it right.”
“They’re your friends too,” he said quietly.
“Maybe at one point they were,” she replied, her smile dimming. “Not anymore.”
He started to say something but stopped, the words dying on his lips. And a long-lost hope she hadn’t known she’d even nurtured, one that had told her that there had been some explanation for what had happened that night, died.
“That’s alright,” she said. “I’m not here to be a friend to anyone either. We all need each other until this is done. Once it is, you can disappear from my life again. All of you. Just like last time.”
They stared at each other for a long moment, before she said softly, “Call them, Virat. It’s time to put this to bed.”