Chapter 26: The Hunt Begins

The hospital was quiet.

Too quiet.

Diya sat by the window, watching the city lights flicker against the darkness.

But her mind was a storm.

She had spent the past few hours trying to convince herself that Abeer's darkness didn't terrify her.

That his bloodstained hands didn't change the way she felt about him.

But the truth?

The truth was that Abeer wasn't just dangerous.

He was a man who didn't hesitate.

He didn't kill out of necessity.

He killed because it was the only way he knew how to protect her.

And Diya?

She had let him.

She had let herself belong to him.

A shiver ran down her spine.

Was she really falling in love with a monster?

BEEP.

Her phone vibrated.

A message from an unknown number.

"You should've let him kill me when he had the chance."

Diya's blood ran cold.

Tara.

Diya's heart pounded as she reread the message.

Tara was alive.

And that meant the people she worked for were still out there.

She gripped the phone, her breath coming in shaky bursts.

She needed to warn Abeer.

She turned—

Only to freeze.

Abeer was already there, standing in the doorway.

Watching her.

His expression was unreadable.

But his eyes?

His eyes were pure, deadly fire.

"You're trembling, jaan," he murmured, stepping forward.

Diya swallowed.

He stopped right in front of her.

Close enough that she could smell the faint scent of gunpowder and whiskey.

Close enough that she knew—

He already knew about the message.

She held up her phone.

"Abeer," she whispered. "She's still alive."

His lips curled into a slow, dark smile.

"Not for long."

The basement smelled like fear and sweat.

A man sat in a chair, bound, broken, bleeding.

His breath was ragged. His body was shaking.

He had already seen too much of hell tonight.

But hell wasn't done with him yet.

Abeer leaned against the metal table, rolling up the sleeves of his black shirt.

His movements were slow. Careful. Calculated.

"Shall we begin?" he asked, his voice almost amused.

The man whimpered.

"P-please," he stammered. "I already told you everything!"

Abeer tilted his head.

"Did you?"

He picked up a knife from the table.

"Then tell me..."

He pressed the blade against the man's throat, just enough to make him flinch.

"Where is Tara hiding?"

The man gasped. "I don't know!"

Abeer sighed. "Wrong answer."

And then—

He pressed down.

A scream filled the room.

Diya stood in the corner, her hands clenching into fists.

She knew this was necessary.

She knew these men would never stop coming for them.

But watching Abeer like this—so calm, so unaffected—sent a chill through her bones.

The man sobbed.

"O-okay! Okay!" he choked out.

Abeer paused.

"Go on."

The man coughed, gasping for air.

"Warehouse... old docks... sector five," he rasped. "She's there!"

Abeer smiled.

"See?"

He patted the man's cheek, as if he hadn't just sliced into his skin.

"That wasn't so hard."

Then—

BANG.

The man slumped forward, dead.

Diya flinched.

Abeer turned toward her, his dark eyes calm.

"Are you scared of me yet, jaan?" he asked softly.

Diya couldn't answer.

Because the truth was?

She wasn't scared of what he had done.

She was scared of how much she still wanted him.

The black SUV pulled up near the abandoned warehouse.

Abeer sat in the front seat, his fingers drumming against his gun.

Aditya was beside him, watching the docks through his scope.

"It's quiet," Aditya murmured.

Abeer smirked. "Not for long."

Diya was in the back seat, gripping the edge of her seat.

This was it.

Tara was inside.

And when Abeer found her?

There would be no mercy.

Abeer turned toward Diya.

"Stay in the car."

Diya shook her head. "No. I need to see this through."

Abeer's jaw ticked.

He hated it.

Hated the idea of her anywhere near danger.

But he also knew—Diya wasn't just his to protect anymore.

She was his equal.

His partner in blood and fire.

So he nodded.

"Stay close to me."

Diya exhaled.

"Always."

And then—

They moved.

Straight into the lion's den.