Staying away for one month had helped her calm down and think over things...but after setting foot here... all her anger come back !... She sighed... She could not believe she was doing it after all the devil had put her through... Brushing away her negative thoughts, she stepped in the Den...
No one was in sight, she noticed...She paved her way directly towards his room... A sense of familiarity engulfed her.
Opening the door without a knock, abiding by her authority, she darted toward him... but suddenly stopped in her tracks upon seeing his lying form...
There he was... peacefully lying in his bed... eyes closed...posture relaxed. Her gaze softened seeing him in this state. He was only wearing black sweatpants, leaving on display his muscular chest ...but also the bandages that were covering his upper chest and right shoulder.
Seeing the bandages Sanyukta, snapped out of her trance, remembering why she had come here in the first place. ...Oh he was going to hear from her...! She marched toward him with a determined expression.
"What the f*cking hell were you thinking you brainless moron ?!!!!!" she yelled at him.
Randhir's eyes snapped opened hearing her voice...they landed right on Sanyukta. Time stopped as both looked in each other's eyes...transfixed. Randhir could not believe it...she was there...Sanyukta was there...she had come... they were seeing each other after one month... one long month... They kept on staring at each other... hypnotized...
Sanyukta was the first to break the eye contact, she was not here for lovey dovey eyelocks and gushy mushy talks...NO ! ...She was out for murder ! The idiotic fool could not do one thing right, she muttered.
"Do you even have something in your upper floor...?!!!" she demanded, gesturing towards her head to make her point...
Randhir tried to get up, but the movement made him hiss in pain.
"OH don't even think about that !!!" she hissed at him, making him lie back on the bed with one hand.
"You have already done enough ! " she said eyes throwing daggers. "Am running low in patience right now... and am barely restraining myself from murdering you...so it's really not the right moment to get on my nerves !" she spoke sharply.
Randhir only looked at her... he would have never thought that one day he would be saying that...but... he had to admit... he had missed this attitude of hers.
"Well...if it makes you feel any better... know that I lost a lot of blood" he informed her.
"And am going to suck the remaining amount out of you if you don't SHUT THE F*UK UP !!!" she snapped.
"Don't speak ! Don't move ! and above all, DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID" she added sharply pointing a finger at him.
Randhir intently stared at her, with a glint in his eyes, making Sanyukta uncomfortable under his intense gaze.
"What ?!!" she barked. "Why are you looking at me like that ?" she asked.
"Hmmm oh nothing... I was just thinking... how would it would feel... you know... having you suck the blood out of me" he told her, a smirk playing on the corner of his mouth.
"Your lips on my neck...sucking...sliding all the way down to my shoulder...brushing my skin...tasting it... your tongue liking down my torso...drinking my blood..." he said in a husky voice making her shudder. The image that came to her mind made her blush.
The guy had her all hot and bothered ...with only some f*cking words ! That was so unfair ! So... so unfair ! Why such favoritism even existed ?! ...For instance, Why was it that when some person woke up in the morning, they looked like they just came out of some magazine... but when you woke up, you looked like some Frankenstein experiments that turned wrong...?!!! ...And why was it that, after getting wet by rain, some person's hair looked classily wavy while yours looked like an old worn out mop carelessly dropped over your head ?!!! ...And when you actually wanted to curl them...it always turned out like a wig of some governor or monarch from the Middle Age... Why, why, why ?! ...Life was truly unfair ! She concluded in her mind. But now was not the time to sulk over the unfairness of life, she had a gangster to scold !
"You think so smart of yourself...?! ...What was the bloody need to hold a shoot-out just for an IMPACT" her words got louder with each words...
"Do you even realize if that bullet shoved off your organs...you would have been swept off from the face earth...just in order to make an IMPACT..." She wasn't just going to let that word get out so easily...what was even on their minds... stupid dimwits !
Randhir just kept gazing at her... gaping at her outburst... one month ago she had left the den, mad as hell... but one call...one call and she was here panting and ranting... just for him...throwing orders and commanding him... showing her hidden concern... To say he was touched would be an understatement... He was feeling something beyond that... He was simply living in the moment...
He very well knew it shouldn't make a difference... he very well knew he shouldn't be expecting anything from her... hell he even knew there was no way he could get involved with her...she was out of his league ! ...way out of his league ...and most importantly she didn't belong to his world...he really shouldn't ! ...but despite everything and against all rational thought, he found himself drawn to her, anything she said or did actually made a difference... why was it that a tiny little smile from this woman made his heart skip a beat, a tiny little tear fallen from her eyes sent him into fury...
The consequences of their proximity had alarmed him... that's why after some time, he had stopped chasing her... thinking it was better that way for both of them... but it seemed that fate had something else in store for them...as they were once again standing face to face. Well...more like lying and standing, but you got the point.
"You have to admit, fate has a tendency to reunite us" said randhir looking at her.
Sanyukta looked at him and scoffed. "Please ! ...Don't confuse fate and bad luck" she retorted scowling at him. She was not in the mood for some stupid pick up cheesy line at the moment... What she really wanted to do right now ? ...Give him a high five...on his face...with a chair !
Sanyukta dashed forward and kept shouting curses...
"Look here mister..." she started pointing a finger at his chest.
"Ahh..." he winced in pain, as her finger dug into his injured region...
"I'm sorry..." her tone mellowed in seconds while Randhir looked at her in awe...her concerned face... so close to him... it made him forget all about the pain...all he could feel was the warmth inside his heart at the concern she was showing at him... he closed his eyes in bliss.
Sanyukta carefully adjusted the pillow behind him, trying to make him as comfortable as she could...Her fragrance lingered near him, clouding his senses... How much he had missed her mist... He smiled at her softly.
"What are you doing here?" he couldn't help but ask... he needed to know...he needed to know that what he saw on her face was real... he needed to hear her say it... to confirm it.
Her expressions transformed yet again... The question took her off guard, as she went from surprise to confusion and finally to discomfort.
"I...uh... came to see...See Vidhushi..." She stammered...looking for a perfect answer to veil her concern for him...
How he loved when she did that...
"Liar..." he spoke huskily... he was continuously genuinely smiling at her, which didn't help either. She wanted to grab him and hug him tight there... She had missed him.
"Oh really ?!...well never mind what I am here for... What were you thinking ?!" she asked diverting the subject.
"Going all ninja on Raghav...you could have died you brainless barbarian " she scolded him.
"Be careful darling... You almost sounded concerned for me here" he spoke fixing his dark brown iris on her...
"What ?! ...Concern for a someone like you... Oh Puh-leeezzz ! Concern is for those who you care about ! And I don't even give a damn about you..." she taunted him. Him being on bed rest after being shot was no excuse for him to escape to her taunts, she was still mad at him, she was definitely not going to let the matter slip over some silly bullet... hell no !
At that moment, the door of Randhir's room creaked open letting a nurse enter, carrying a few medicines and a sponge in a tray...
"It's time for your bath...Sir..." she said smiling at Randhir.
Sanyukta looked at the nurse, examining her. She was wearing a tight fitting white blouse, with 2 of the top buttons open, her jet black hair were slightly curled, her face was covered with a really thick layer of makeup and her over done smoky eyes were shamelessly checking out Randhir. ...WTH...How dare she ! The nerves of this black and white panda !
"You bath with her ?!" Sanyukta asked raising her eyebrow toward Randhir. As if challenging him to say yes. ...Funny how when a woman said something, there was always a hidden meaning to it, thought Sanyukta. ...Like right now, indeed behind this four words simple question was hidden a long and way more deadly threat : Be careful on what you are going to say, for your own sake I hope the answer is no, because if in any case it's a yes, then am gonna pull your eyeballs out of their socket and play marbles with them ! ...yeah that was exactly what was hidden behind the innocent looking question. ...Woman were such weird species...
"Actually I bath with the sponge...and she handles it...there is a slight difference you see" he mocked her...
Sanyukta glared at him and looked back at the approaching panda. The nurse extended her hand toward Randhir's shoulder, but before she could touch him Sanyukta grabbed her hand and stopped her midway.
"Keeps your hands to yourself panda." said Sanyukta scowling at the panda. If this panda-woman thought she could just step over Sanyukta and touch the devil, she was highly mistaken... not that she cared... obviously...
"And how is she supposed to give me a sponge bath without touching me..." pointed out Randhir, amused by the situation.
Sanyukta once again glared at him. The basterd was taking pleasure in this situation... Had he forgotten who he was dealing with ? ...wait for when I am finished with the panda, I'll personally deal with you, she thought to herself. ...Clearly he didn't know what were the consequences of arguing with a pissed off woman... Arguing with a pissed off woman was like being arrested, anything you said or did, could be and would be definitely used against you later on.
"You know what..." She spoke looking straight at the nurse with a deadly glare, "I will do it ! " she announced.
"You will do what...?" Randhir asked smirking at her... even though he very well knew what she was talking about.
"I will wipe that smirk off your face if you don't shut up !" Sanyukta told Randhir and then faced the nurse...
"Will you excuse us?" she said rudely thus shooing away the panda.
The panda looked one last time at Randhir and finally went away. ... At least she knew what was good for her... some had tried defying her... well... let's just say that it hadn't ended well... for them !
After the nurse's exit, Randhir turned toward Sanyukta.
"I love when you behave wild and possessive..." he smirked at her...
Sanyukta scoffed and said "You have NO idea what you've gotten yourself into..."
Randhir only smiled at her. Sanyukta turned around to grab the his medicines when she heard him.
"So...you don't care...right ?!...Then obviously my personal hygiene should be of no concern to you..." he mocked her
"Keep quiet will you...?" she said annoyed with his questions.
"So...you are actually going to trouble your perfectly manicured hands to bathe me up..." he wasn't giving up on these is he... Oh no, it was not every day the cool and confident Sanyukta was uncomfortable !
"I said KEEP QUIET !" she retorted
He knew she liked him somewhere but was she really here for him, to see if he was ok ? Did it really matter to her ?...Was she really serious when she said she was going to give him sponge bath ? ... was she really jealous of the nurse ?... there were so much unanswered question... Their relationship was one weird twisted thing. They would be shooting at each other and cuddling the next moment and it would be totally normal. One moment they were keen on murdering each other and the next they put their own life in danger to save the others...Nothing was expected, everything was uncertain...There was absolutely no rule... It was purely anarchy !
The more Randhir spent time with her, the more it became necessary for him to clear the doubts... he needed answers !
Sanyukta sighed, advancing to unbutton his shirt.
"Move away" she told him, sitting on the bed next to him.
Her hands came in contact with his skin as both instantly looked up in each other's eyes... The jolting effect was still there.
Randhir wanted to tease her, but held himself back. He should not push his luck considering what he did to her last time. She was still angry and he still needed to apologies... although he had absolutely no idea on how he was going to do that !
She took the sponge in her hand and slowly slided down his arm. Randhir's body stiffened at the gesture.
Sanyukta instantly looked up, thinking she may have hurt him. But his eyes held no pain, they were ardently staring right back at her, taking in her each and every movement. Sanyukta lowered her eyes under the intensity of his stare, and focused back on her task. She slided it up again and move toward his shoulder...then his chest. She went toward the other arm and then back up. Eyes still lowered. She could feel his gaze on her, burning her.
She ran the sponge on his abdomen...over his 6 packs...she briefly closed her eyes. The first thought that came to her mind : shred the bloody sponge into pieces as it was blocking free access to his delectable chest. She re opened her eyes, calming her hormones. She advanced toward him to rub his on his back. As she put her hands behind him, she was practically hugging him, she tensed, sensing the position she was him.
She felt him move under her. His hands slowly snaked her waist, as his head went ot rest on her shoulder. Sanyukta heartbeat quickened. She hated the way her body always reacted to him. Traitor. ...And was he doing anyway ? she was not a f*cking pillow that he could hold on and rest on ! ...She finished rubbing his back... Ok now what ? was he planning on leaving her anytime soon ? ...you know that awkward moment when you are hugging someone and you don't know when to break the hug...well now was definitely this moment.
She awkwardly entangled herself from him. As she was going to put some distance between them, Randhir jerked her toward him...their faces close to each to each other...their lips just inches away from each other. Randhir's hand came resting on her cheeks as he leaned in trying to close the distance...but suddenly Sanyukta turned her face away...denying him a kiss.
Yes she had come back, yes she had been scared for him...but it did not change the fact that he had hurt her...he had said things to her that had been craved on her mind...he had insulted her... he had crossed every limit...she was not going to forget that easily. If she had given in today, she would have never been able to face herself, she would have lost her self esteem. He had done wrong and he needed to realize just how much his words had hurt her. She quickly got up, distancing herself from him.
Randhir's fist clenched as she denied him. ...He hated it when she denied him. He took a deep breath calming him down. He had already done enough damage, he didn't need to worsen the situation. He kept his anger in check.
Sanyukta was about to leave the room when Randhir grabbed her hand.
"Tara is not your real daughter" came his voice.
Sanyukta went still. How did he know ? ...and more importantly why was he bringing it up now ? Her mind thinking about all the plausible answers.
"How do you know ?" she finally asked, still not facing him.
"Karan told me" came his calm reply. Karan had told him she had been through a lot ad somehow it was related to Tara's mother.
Thinking about Tara and her mother, tears gathered in Sanyukta's eyes. Even after 2 two years it hurt as much as the first day. She swore never to be helpless again, she swore to face everything with her her chin high, she swore she would never ever let anyone hurt her. Remembering the vows she took, she jerked her hand out of Randhir's grip.
"Well that's none of your business !" she said and stomped away.
***
Sahil entered Randhir's room only to find him fidgeting with his phone,
"I brought you soup..." he placed a bowl next to him
"Where's Sanyukta?" Randhir asked back. She had not back since this morning.
"Umm She's gone...why ?" asked Sahil curious.
"Gone? ...Where...?" demanded Randhir completely ignoring Sahil inquiry.
"I don't know"
"Hmmm ok" he said...
She had left !
So she was just here to see him and not actually be with him... A sudden sadness caught him but it was instantly replaced by anger and frustration...Because he knew...she had power on him ! She did brought the worst in him but she also helped him see a side of life he had not seen till now... he didn't know much about relationship but it had been a long time since someone cared that way for him... and it felt good !
***
One week later, Bhayandar, Lal's Cafe, 4 pm
Not only the blunder they did landed Randhir's gang into trouble but also it meant more security for Raghav and less chances to take him down... It was already hard to locate him and now it would be even harder to break in.
She sipped her coffee, her fingers clicking over the keypad. her mind concentrating over her mission to spot Raghav and track him down... Luckily she found out one of his transactions to a hotel, on double checking records she found out it to be Raghav's destination. Unfortunately the name of the hotel was not mentioned.
Keeping her cup down she noticed that she forgot to eat the complimentary cookie along with it... "Choco-nutty" she realized it was Tara's favorite... "I should check on my baby too..."
Deciding to go back to Mumbai she mentally prepared a tally to meet Randhir and Tara on her way back...
***
Mumbai, Karan's place
"Welcome...Welcome, aye Maharani saeba, Aapko finally time mil hi gya..." Karan opened the door spotting Sanyukta in the frame...
"Very funny ! Karan, I did drop by last week but you were at work..." She justified...
"And I know you're super busy" Karan mimicked her tone and mocked her...
"Where's Tara...?" Sanyukta asked looking around.
"She's gone to her grandma..." Karan told her... "Come in"
"Nah thanks... Is should get going then..." Sanyukta turned to leave...
"You both are so similar..." She heard him say...
"Both who...?"
"Randhir came here..." Karan started...
Oh yeah, thought Sanyukta. She remembered Randhir mentioning Karan.
"Yeah now that I remember... what the hell did you tell him about me ?!" she frown at him.
"Well I hummm... he came here looking for you, you know" he informed him.
"What ?! really ?..." she stepped back to him surprised... her face held a new expression... Karan could make out the glow that dawned upon on mentioning his name.
"Yes...one month ago, the day you left... He came looking for you"
It was hard to believe for her, he came to look for her...So NOT Randhir... "Then ? "she asked with curiosity.
"He was quiet worried and even mean...to ME... but in the end I assured that you're a nut... a cracked nut and your methods are stupid..." Karan joked.
"You're kidding right ?" she asked him still not believing that Randhir came after her.
Upon seeing Karan's blank face, she huffed in frustration.
"I can't believe it !" she exclaimed. The devil had come after her... after badly insulting her. As if...as if he cared ? she thought in astonishement...No way ! she could not believe it. That day before they parted ways, he had made it perfectly clear what he thought about her and that de didn't give a damn about her.
"I don't understand him at all !... he was the SOLE reason for my exit ...and then...then he comes seeking me ?!... I'm totally confused here... Kabhi janab koi kasar ni chorte mujhe tang krne ki...aur kabhi khudh meri help krta hai... Uff... his mood swings...pregnant kahi ka" she huffed like a kid
"You know... You over think a lot Miss. Hacker" Karan told her calmly
"What do you mean...?" Sanyukta rolled her eyes
"Nothing just pay him a visit if you haven't... you two really need to work out on this..." Karan advised her...
"There is nothing to work on..." Sanyukta answered back.
"On the contrary darling...they is A LOT !" he told her as she left.
***
Sanyukta sighed... Circumstances... how they change and throw you back to square one... It was like she was in a video game, repeating the same task again and again just changing the difficulty each time... Level one... cleared...Level two...cleared...let's attack level three...May be at the end on the game she will find the princess...like Mario always did...she sighed.
She entered the Den to find Sahil in the living room, "Where's Randhir?" she asked him.
"He isn't here... He's went out...hum to deal with some issue" he told her unsure.
"what the hell ?! The guy got shot just two weeks ago for god sake !" she exclaimed.
"It was kinda urgent..." said Sahil weakily. He knew better than to argue with Sanyukta. If the boss had a hard time dealing with this girl... Sahil knew he could not hold a candle in front of her.
Sanyukta rolled her eyes, The nerve of this guy. "What was that old idiom..." she thought, "Habits take long to depart..." Arrogance and carlessnes was in his blood kese woh chor skta hai...
***
It was past mid-night and he was still not back... Her rational brain told her not to wait anymore and sleep but her heart assured her he would be back... Stupid heart, always getting in the way. She wondered what part of the heart was actually responsible for such insane behavior ? the aorta ? the apex ? the coronary artery ? bus ek bar guilty part haath me a jaye na... ...cause if she actually found out the source of the problem she could get rid of it. ...Yeah that would be great ! ...Yeaaahh then no more getting senti or feeling guilty...she could even turn her wildest fantasies into reality...one of which being : torturing Randhir till he admit how she was superior to him in everything ! ...Now that sounded more and more appealing. She will have to have a word with some scientist, see if they could conduct an experience in this way. Yeah definitely on her to-do list !
Finally, her heart won when the door opened and he entered... Surprised would be an understatement... He was shocked to see her sitting over his couch upright and angry... Not a good sign...
"What the freezing monkeys were you thinking...when you stepped out of this den...?!!!" she marched toward him, shouting at him.
"Freezing monkeys ?!" he asked her in disbelief, she had a very colorful dictionary.
"Shut up, leave the freezing monkeys alone, what were YOU thinking ?!" she asked him, pointing a finger at him.
"You just got shot for god sake !" she yelled at him.
Randhir grabbed her finger and jerked her toward himself. His other hand secured itself on her waist, stilling her against him. He was touching her after a long time... he wanted to run his fingers all over her...but more than that he wanted to feel her lips against his, to taste her again.
Without waiting for her to react, he closed the distance crashing his lips down on hers into a passionate kiss. The moment his lips came in contact with hers, he lost all control. His hands slided up her waist, to bring her closer to him. He wanted to feel every inch of her against himself. He kissed her hungrily, satiating his month long thirst. His hand went on her hair pushing her face more into his. The kiss was rough...hungry... primal... he was greedily taking all he could have.
Finally getting out of breath, he broke the kiss. Both were panting heavily.
"I missed this attitude of yours..." whispered Randhir
Hearing his voice, Sanyukta came back on earth, leaving the work of ecstasy she just experienced. She remembered that she was supposed to be angry at him. She quickly pulled away, taking a few steps back, putting a safety distance between them. It seems that safety distance was a must in their relationship... because everything they didn't respected the security distance it ended up in accident !
Calming her herself, she scowled at him and asked him the question that was eating her alive from this morning. Where the hell did he go when he was still injured !
"Where were you ?" she asked him.