Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Chapter 39

39

“ H ello, Karl.” Reina spun around at the sound of Vedant’s voice. Her heart rate tripled. Why the hell was he here? She watched in mounting fear as Vedant made his way toward them.

What was he doing? Why was he putting himself in danger like this? Wasn’t it enough that she was already in this situation? Couldn’t he see that Karl still had the gun pointed at her? Karl didn’t want her; he wanted one of the Oshnovs, and this stupid man was offering himself on a platter.

“Go away, Vedant,” Reina yelled. “Don’t come closer.”

Yet, he kept walking toward her, making her pulse pound in her ears.

Karl sneered. “There you are. I was wondering if you’d actually let your lady love out of your sight.”

Vedant raised his hands up in the air. “I’m here, and I’m unarmed. Ivan doesn’t want these women; he wants to hurt my brothers and me. So, take me and let the ladies go.”

Karl waved his gun in Vedant’s direction, and her chest constricted with fear. She wouldn’t let him do this. Vedant would get himself killed. Goosebumps spread on her skin. She would never let that happen. There had to be another way.

The Estonian tipped his head to a side alley. “Let’s all move there. Vedant, you first. I’ll follow with the women.”

The empty alley curved around the side of the restaurant. Nestled between two tall skyscrapers, the place was significantly quieter and darker, as if the afternoon sun’s rays couldn’t penetrate this narrow passageway. In the far corner, she noted a van, probably the car used by this murderous-looking man who was pointing a gun at her.

Vedant stopped at the centre and turned. “Fine, we’re here. Let the women go.”

Karl studied Vedant. “I expected you to be in far worse shape. I thought Paul barely left you alive. He’s been gloating over how he overpowered you, while I barely managed to hurt your brother. Maybe I can show Paul how it’s done. I could just shoot you and end?—”

“—you couldn’t hurt Armaan because my sister fought alongside him against you and your men,” Reina interjected. From the corner of her eye, she noted Su Min shaking her head in fear. But Reina wouldn’t sit quiet when the man she loved had put himself in danger for her. She needed to give time to the others—Rajiv, Mihir, and Armaan—to plan something.

“Your sister is barely a fighter,” the man said. “I tossed her around like a ragged little doll.”

“That’s not the story we heard,” Vedant said, clearly understanding what she was doing. “As per my brother, his woman fought you like a tigress.”

Karl swore in a foreign language, the words harsh and heavy.

“You lost to a girl?” Reina clucked her tongue. “Why not fight me and see if you can get away with it?”

Vedant’s eyes glittered at her words. He gave her a subtle shake of his head. She knew she was taking it too far. Apart from basic self-defence, Navya had been trained by Armaan to fight. Reina could hardly take this giant of a man by herself. But she needed this man distracted and talking and not waving the gun every few seconds in Vedant’s direction.

“Enough of the talking,” Karl yelled, looking riled up. He pulled Reina to him. She fell against his side, and he wrapped a tight arm around her middle, holding the gun against her forehead. From the corner of her eye, she noted Vedant move a little closer.

Karl gave her a sinister smile. “Why do I need to fight you when I can easily kill you?”

“Oh, so you’re a coward,” she said bravely, although her insides were churning in fear. “I suppose that makes sense. After all, four of you were needed to take down one man.”

“Shut up,” he howled in her ear. He pointed his gun at Vedant, his eyes on her. “I’ll kill him in front of your eyes, and then I’ll kill you, you stupid bitch.”

Karl was so busy scowling at her that he hadn’t realised Vedant had come close. Reina looked at Vedant from the corner of her eye. She stared into his eyes. Giving him a slight nod, she slumped. Karl’s hold on her loosened, and she slammed an elbow hard into his belly. The man staggered back, more from surprise than force. Before he could regain his balance, she used all her strength to trip him with her foot, just like she’d learned in her self-defence class. He hit the ground hard, and his gun went flying. Leaning down, she kicked his face.

“This is for underestimating what a woman can do,” she yelled. She kicked him in the face again. “And this is for threatening the man I love.”

The third time she tried to kick him, he crouched and caught her leg. But Vedant was already there, and he slammed his fist against the man’s face. Reina stumbled back as Vedant rained more punches on his face. The man crumpled and fell face down onto the ground.

At the same time, the door at the side opened, and Mihir, Armaan, and Rajiv appeared in the alley with several of the Oshnovs’ bodyguards. Apart from her brother, everyone else had a gun in their hands. Tyrion pushed Karl to his knees and pointed a gun to his head while one of the other bodyguards ushered Su Min inside the restaurant.

Reina ran to Vedant and flung herself at him. He held her close to his chest, breathing her in.

Lifting his head, he stared at her in awe. “You were brilliant, you know that. You scared the shit out of me, but you were unbelievable.”

She punched his shoulder. “How dare you put yourself in danger like that? Do you think you are a Superhero or one of those stupid Game of Thrones characters you like so much?—”

“ Moya milaya ,” he said gently. “Have you been watching Game of Thrones without me?”

She glared at him. “Yes, and Modern Family . But that is not relevant right now.” A tear fell down her cheek. “What if something happened to you?”

He wiped her wet cheeks with the back of his hand. “Hey, nothing happened. I’m fine, thanks to you, my bold and beautiful Reina. You are a true warrior, moya milaya . You saved my life again.”

She gave him a watery smile. The moment Karl had threatened Vedant, she’d lost all sensibility. She’d only wanted to hurt him for even thinking of hurt Vedant.

She looked at the man in front of her. Her heart had clenched so hard when he’d appeared in that alley. In that second, her biggest regret had been that she hadn’t told him what she felt for him. He was putting his life at stake for her, and she realised what a fool she’d been.

She looked into his face. “I love you.”

His eyes flared, and his mouth fell open. She kissed his lips. “I love you with my whole heart and soul. I loved you even before you told me that you loved me. I think I’ve loved you every single minute since I met you, and I will love you for every minute hereafter. I let my past colour my present. I’ve been so scared about telling you what I truly feel about you. But no more. I love you, Vedant Oshnov.”

His face lit up in delight. “Oh my God. I’ve waited too long for you to tell me this.”

He drew her in his arms. “Reina, I love you so much.”

He held her against his chest for a long moment. Everything around her disappeared—the people, the voices, the decisions that had to be made. This moment was for the two of them only. But it wasn’t enough. She couldn’t let go of him.

She looked to the side and saw Su Min approaching them. Shifting out of Vedant’s hold, she faced her friend.

“Are you okay?” Reina asked her.

“I’m fine.”

But Su Min didn’t look fine. She looked pale and sad. Reina took her hands in hers. “Hey, I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

“Was it true?” Su Min asked. “About Vasily? Did he do all those awful things?”

“Yes,” Vedant replied.

“How could I have misjudged him so?” Su Min lamented. Tears fell down her cheeks now.

“I think we all misjudged him,” Vedant said. “He was the head of our security, and we trusted him immensely. He betrayed our trust and belief in him.”

Reina squeezed Su Min’s fingers. “I know it’s hard right now, but one day, it will get better. Know that you’re better off without a dangerous man like him in your life.”

Su Min nodded.

“I’m so sorry, Su Min,” Reina said softly. “You’ve been a good friend, and I cut all contact with you thinking that you may have been working with Vasily. But you were just trying to protect me and keep me safe. Thank you for that.”

“Earlier, in the restaurant,” Su Min began. “How did you guess it was Laila working for that man and not me?”

“Laila came a half an hour earlier than when I had asked her to. She kept looking at her phone slyly, and her tone was off, like she was trying to be cheerful but finding it hard to do so. Besides, amongst the four of us working for Vedant, she was the one always going on about money. It just made sense that she’d do just about anything for money, including pretending to be nice to me when I knew she disliked me right from the beginning.” Reina smiled at her. “You’ve always been telling me how I should be more aware of everything around me. Well, I finally listened, and see, it worked.”

Vedant put an arm around Reina. “That was quite clever.”

“Thank you, Reina, for believing in me,” Su Min said. “I could never hurt anyone like Vasily did.”

“I know that now,” Reina said. “Are you going to stay a few days? I’d like to catch up.”

“I’d like that as well.” Su Min looked beyond Reina and Vedant. “I think they need to ask me some questions.”

Reina gave her a hug before she left. Both Vedant and she watched her return inside the restaurant from the side door.

“I’m glad it didn’t turn out to be her,” Reina said. “At least there are some good people left in the world.”

She looked at Vedant. “Can we go somewhere and be alone? Or do your brothers need you with them to question that scumbag?”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again,” he said.

Reina looked in the distance while Vedant spoke quickly to his brothers. The van that was parked ahead was no longer there.

Returning to her, Vedant kissed her hand and whisked her out of the alley and into a waiting car. She put her head on his shoulder, her heart at peace now.