Page 116 of Right Where I Belong

“Why am I here?” she asked. “By now, my brothers must know that you have taken me. They will find you and kill you.”

He shrugged. “Many have tried and failed. They can try too.”

He touched a strand of her hair. She jerked her head away. Fear scraped along her nerves, but she refused to let him see it. She locked her gaze on his, her jaw set.

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this,” he said, his voice low and venomous. “Fourteen years is a long time to settle what you did. But tonight, I’m going to make you pay. My men will?—”

A sudden crash sounded in the hallway and made him pause. Shouts followed, and then a clatter of boots. Gunfire crackedthrough the air. The two armed men beside JD spun toward the door and bolted outside. JD’s head snapped in their direction.

Seeing him distracted, she drew the knife from her pocket and drove it hard into his chest. His eyes went wide as he staggered back, shocked.

“You… you…” He attempted to scream, clutching his chest.

She didn’t wait. She ran, coming to a halt outside. There was chaos everywhere. In the dim light, she saw several men in police uniforms and several bodies strewn across the floor. Up ahead, she saw VJ grappling with a gunman, while beside him, Rithwik was in a headlock with another one of JD’s men. To Rithwik’s right, Aditya was hammering his fist into a man’s jaw.

Her knees almost buckled as relief surged through her. Aditya was here. He’d found her.

A noise from the side made her turn. Two men were fighting with her captors with precise, controlled force. One of them broke off and rushed toward her.

“Are you alright, Miss?” he shouted over the din.

“I’m fine,” she managed, breathless.

“Where’s JD?”

“In that room…”

He sprinted past her. A second later, she heard gunfire in the distance. Before she could process it, a movement to her left caught her eye. One of JD’s men had his gun aimed straight at Aditya.

“Aditya!” she screamed.

He spun toward the sound. A shot rang out. He staggered back, dropping to one knee and then fell on the floor. Sabrina’s heart stopped.

“Aditya!” Sabrina’s scream tore from her throat.

She scrambled toward him, her heart hammering so hard she could barely breathe.No. Please, no.Tears blurred her vision as she knelt next to him, running her arms over his chest.

“No, no… NO,” she yelled, covering her face with her hands. She’d done this. It was all her fault. She never should have allowed him into her life. If only she’d been firm on staying away…

Aditya would have still been alive.

42

“Hey… hey, I’m here.”

The voice cut through the ringing in her ears. Sabrina lowered her hands to see Aditya pushing up on one knee, whole and breathing. Her heart clenched so hard it hurt.

“You’re alive…” she whispered, then threw herself into his chest, knocking him backward. He fell with her, his arms closing tight around her as sobs wracked her body.

“I’m fine,” he murmured against her hair. “Just a graze. See?”

Pushing to his feet, he helped her up, showing her his arm. A thin line of blood streaked his sleeve.

Sabrina cupped his face. “When that shot went off, I felt like my world ended. In that instant, I knew I could never breathe in a world without you.”

Her voice shook, but her words were clear. “I love you, Aditya. You are my heart, my home, my safe place. I can’t survive without you.”

Aditya’s eyes softened. He drew her close again. “I can’t survive without you either.”