chapter 7

Chapter SixLines in AshDev Raichand was sleeping. But it was not a comfortable sweet sleep that people think of when someone said the word SLEEP.He woke up. He sat on the edge of the bed, shirtless, sweat sticking to his skin despite the cool of the desert night. His fingers drummed against the bedside table—restless, uncertain.The door across from him—the one that led to her chambers—remained closed.Like a locked answer.He wasn’t sure what kept him more awake: the image of the weapons cache exploding… or the way Rani had looked at him afterward.Not with fury.Not even with suspicion.But with something else.Expectation! Must be the word.As if she knew he’d eventually cross a line. The only question was: WHOSE!?Elsewhere in the Haveli. Maya paced quietly in the northern wing.She hadn’t liked the silence. Not around Rani. And especially not around Dev.He was too careful. Too still. The kind of stillness that came after surviving something too big, or doing something unforgivable.She pulled out her phone and sent the message.Track his call logs. Unmarked SIM. Don’t trigger alarms. Discreet only. — MHer thumb hovered. Then another line.And hurry. I think the Queen is sleeping with a flame.In the war room, Rani lit a cigarette she’d quit three years ago.The files were spread across the table again—more names, more red circles, more people she’d once trusted. She flipped through the pages with quiet precision.Her father’s name was among them.Faded, marked, then crossed out.She hadn’t seen him in over a decade.She wasn’t even sure he was still alive.But one thing she did know: the corruption in her bloodline didn’t start with her. It just stopped pretending.Dev entered without knocking. She didn’t look up.“You don’t sleep,” she said.He moved to stand beside her, eyes grazing the files. “Neither do you.”“We can’t afford to.”He leaned down, pointing at a route on the map. “He’ll hit this line next. Your Chennai shipment. It’s the most unguarded.”She glanced at him.“And how do you know my shipments so well, Mr. Raichand?”His answer came a little too late. “Observation. Logic.”“Mm.”She reached for the dagger on the table. Not to threaten—just to clean it. Slowly. Absently. Blade scraping against silk.“You still think I trust you?” she asked.“No,” he said. “But I think you want to.”That caught her.Just for a moment.She stood, walked to the window. The moonlight cut across her shoulder like silver paint.“Wanting makes you weak,” she murmured.He moved closer. “Wanting makes you human.”Her jaw tensed. She hated how close his words were getting. Not just to her. To something inside her she hadn’t looked at in years.“You think you’re getting to me,” she said.“I think I already have.”She turned sharply—but he was already gone.Midnight. The terrace.Dev stood in the shadows, watching the distant hills. He pulled a phone from inside a hidden pocket. A burner.He hesitated. The man said that he can call anytime. So he should. After making his mind he called.A voice answered on the second ring. Male. Cold.“Well?” the voice said.“She’s planning a move. She knows Sircar’s next target. She’s ready to counter.”“You’re falling for her.”Silence.“You always do,” the voice added, almost bored. “Every mission. Same story.”“This is different.”“No, Dev. She’s just better at pretending.”Click.The call ended.Dev stood in the dark, phone still in his hand, regret coiling like smoke in his lungs.He hadn’t lied.But he hadn’t told the full truth either.And the truth was, even he didn’t know which side he was really on anymore.Inside, Rani stared at a painting on her wall. An old one. Abstract. All color and confusion.Her mother had painted it the night before her arrest.Rani still didn’t know what it meant.But tonight, she understood one thing:Even beauty can be a warning.Even desire can be a threat.And Dev Raichand…He was no longer a stranger.He was a choice.One she hadn’t decided how to make yet.(Nxt)