Bound by Hatred (The Singham Bloodlines Book 2) Read online

  She continued to lay in shock as she held his sweaty, trembling body in her arms, feeling the aftershocks that ran through his body, causing similar quakes within her.

  CHAPTER 20

  Dev woke up slowly to the smell of roses and sex. With a smile, he reached out a hand next to him on the bed, but his hand met with an empty space.

  His smile turned into a frown when he heard a familiar clicking noise. When he opened his eyes, his frown melted away while the sight in front of him aroused him instantly.

  Sabitha Prajapati was standing next to the bed with a thoroughly rumpled look, pointing her gun at him.

  The gun he ignored, but the woman holding the gun took his breath away.

  Her hair was a complete mess. Her lips were swollen and red, and he could see the small bruises over her neck. He knew there would be similar bruises in other places over her body.

  His body heated even more as he recalled quite clearly how she looked under the shirt she now wore. Her body was lean and tight, covered with soft and smooth golden skin that he had explored every inch of last night with his lips, teeth, and tongue.

  His eyes fell on her hips that were currently covered by her pants. But his mind clearly recalled the small tattoo of a thorny red rose on her hip.

  He had never found tattoos to be sexy in any way. But on her… he had growled like a rabid dog and gone crazy when he had seen her tattoo. Combined with the delicate chain around her waist, he found it so hot, he more or less attacked her like a starving man.

  “Get out of my bed,” her voice interrupted his lustful thoughts.

  When he didn’t move or say anything, her eyes fell on his now fully erect cock. “You are disgusting,” she said.

  Stopping himself from grabbing her and pulling her on top of him, he sat up lazily. Instead of getting off the bed as she had ordered him, he leaned back. “You know, men aren’t the only ones who have obvious signs of arousal,” he said, looking pointedly towards her aroused nipples that were visible through her shirt.

  She had spectacular breasts that were full and firm. He recalled how his mouth had watered at the first sight of them before he ended up spending a significant amount of time with them last night.

  He was glad he had ripped her bra last night along with her panties. That meant she had nothing under her cotton pants.

  “Shut up. And get out of here before I begin to shoot,” he heard her say.

  He dragged his eyes away from her chest. His eyes then fell on her plush and carnal mouth which always made him think lustful thoughts. But currently her lips were pressed together, the only indication of her anger. Her face remained blank.

  “I said, get out.”

  He yawned and stretched, and then placed his arms behind his head. Sunlight streamed in through the window next to him. He smiled when her eyes fell on his bare chest and stayed. She stared at him as though she wasn’t sure if she was mesmerized or disgusted.

  “You are getting repetitive, darling,” he said in a deliberately bored tone even though his blood heated in his veins as he recalled the memories of the previous night. “You already asked me to get out last night. But we both know how it ended.” He didn’t know why he was taunting her. But he wanted to see a reaction on her face, rather than the closed-off look.

  Her eyes moved away from his chest and fell on his face before flaring wide with anger. She re-pointed the gun towards him. And then, pressed the trigger.

  A loud noise filled the room. The cement, plaster, and wood shattered next to him. He felt a splinter piercing his arm as it lodged deep into the skin.

  Trying hard not to flinch or react in any way, he casually slid the jewelled knife out from under the pillow and began to dig out the splinter from his arm.

  “How dare you touch my knife!” she said in outrage.

  Gritting his teeth, his kept his eyes down on the task. He removed the splinter and threw it away.

  She came closer and snatched the knife away from him. “Do not ever touch my things!”

  He lost the fight to maintain his cool. He glared at her. “If you recall, last night, I have already touched more than just your knife,” he grated.

  Her neck and ears reddened visibly. “Last night was a mistake. I don’t ever want you to talk or mention it again. Now get out!”

  Dev was furious. The woman in front of him was the only one who had the capability of making him angry or upset within a split second. Before he gave in to the urge of strangling her, he got off the bed. He deliberately loomed over her in his naked and aroused state. But she didn’t step back or flinch at the anger blazing in his eyes. Her eyes were spitting equal amount of fire as she stared back.

  Fury filled him that she had pressed the trigger even though he knew she had deliberately pointed the gun a few inches away from his head towards the wall. Before he was tempted to grab her to either spank her or kiss her swollen red lips, he walked towards her office desk where his clothes were lying on the ground. He pulled up his boxers and trousers and then put on his torn shirt. He grabbed his phone and went towards the door. Then turning back to glare at her one last time, he walked out and banged the door shut behind him.

  Bloody, exasperating woman!

  He knew that even though she currently hated herself for enjoying their night together, she had wanted him as much as he did her.

  He walked into the shower in his office and stood under the spraying water. He felt the stings burn on his back where she had scratched and also bitten him in passion, reminding him of how after he had her on the desk, he had carried her to the bed where she had been with him every step of the way. They went at it all night, until faint morning light came through the windows. And even then, when their movements had turned sluggish and clumsy, they had both been reluctant to end it anytime soon. Until exhaustion had finally taken over, and they passed out in each other’s arms.

  Then why the hell was she behaving as though she had been a reluctant innocent virgin and he was a villain who had forced her into it?

  He clenched his fists in anger and frustration. He had always been a slave to his desire when it came to her. Having her only increased that desire. But he knew he needed to keep away from her as much as possible, or they would either end up sleeping together again, or she would succeed in shooting him, ending his agony.

  Right then, he wasn’t sure which choice he preferred. Being stuck in a constant loop of lust and hatred or getting shot at.

  CHAPTER 21

  “We found him.” Abhay’s voice sounded ominous over the car speaker.

  “Where?” Dev asked.

  Raidu had been like a wily fox. He had constantly been changing locations and disguises to escape the investigators. Each time there was a lead, either Dev or Abhay had flown to those places to verify. This time, Abhay had gone to check.

  “He’s at a hospital,” said Abhay.

  “Shit. What happened? Our investigators supposedly tracked him there just yesterday.”

  “Yes,” Abhay replied. “But when I flew there, we were told he hadn’t come out of his hotel room in a while. We found him lying in blood with gunshot wounds.”

  “What the hell?”

  There was a tired sigh from Abhay. “Yes. Definitely hell. But he’s alive. Barely. He’s unconscious.”

  Dev tried to think why and who would try to kill Raidu. “The hotel cameras—”

  “None at the hotel or around surrounding places.”

  “Phone?”

  “No. He didn’t carry it. He used cash and pay phones everywhere he went. He took every precaution on the earth to escape us.”

  “Who the hell tried to kill him? And how in the hell did they get to him before us?”

  “No idea, but it’s no accident. Because whoever found and shot him, did a thorough job. They left absolutely no clues whatsoever for the police or our investigators.”

  Dev felt frustrated. “Some kind of professional?”

  “Yes, definitely a professional.”<
br />
  “But that hitman or whoever the hell it was… they weren’t that thorough if they didn’t ultimately kill Raidu.”

  There was a pause. “The doctors have told me that all the shots went through areas which were non-life threatening. Almost like—”

  “The hitman wanted Raidu to stay alive,” Dev finished. “Still doesn’t make sense, Abhay.”

  “I know.”

  “So now we need to find who the hell hired this hitman who did a thorough job and yet wanted his victim to stay alive.”

  “Yes.”

  Dammit. Another search. “Are you going to stay there until Raidu gains consciousness?”

  “No. I’ll fly back soon,” replied Abhay. “I’ll bring Raidu along if he’s still alive until then.”

  “Okay. I’ll help make arrangements to release him to us. I can have some papers prepared to claim we are his family.”

  Dev’s frustration continued.

  But until Raidu woke up and told them what happened on the day of the massacre, they would be left in the dark.

  “Is everything else fine?” Abhay asked.

  “With what in particular?”

  “Nothing in particular. I was asking in general.” There was a pause. “Anything you want to talk about?”

  “No. Everything is going great,” he said. He realized that a small amount of frustration and anger leaked through. However, Abhay didn’t push him for an explanation or ask any questions.

  “Alright, I’ll get going then. I’ll probably stay at the site tonight. So call me if you need anything before you leave tomorrow.”

  “I will.”

  Dev drove to the site, while making several phone calls following up with his other commitments and businesses. He was glad he was busy enough during the day and most nights not to think too much about things that worked him up.

  But sometimes, memories of what had happened with her a few weeks ago on that particular night and the following morning after crept in, frustrating and angering him.

  Despite that, he still maintained a working relationship with her so they could get their jobs done efficiently. The only time he had to ask her a personal question was to check whether their night would have any consequences. Seeing Anika one day as she gently held her stomach while reading a book at the library made him realize that fact.

  But she had looked as cool as a cucumber when he asked her the question.

  “No,” a curt reply came.

  “Care to elaborate that?” he asked. “I didn’t use protection that night. So I’m assuming you use a contraceptive of some kind to be able to say you won’t get pregnant from our night together.”

  “What I use or don’t use is none of your business. However, I do know I’m not pregnant.”

  “How?” he demanded. “As you must recall we had sex several times that night. Any of those times could have made you pregnant. It’s still too early to find out for sure, but I need a confirmation either way.”

  Her eyes flared as she lost her composure. “I told you not to talk about that night!” she snapped. “I am on birth control pills, so you don’t have to worry about me falling pregnant with your child and ruining the precious Singham bloodlines.”

  Her taunt made him angry enough to storm out of the room.

  He was sick of moping like a jilted lover even though they had barely spent an entire night together. But he continued to brood and fret while he thought of her.

  Maybe it was the fact that he stood on the opposite side of the glass. Usually it was him who broke things off with women and the women tried to persuade him to stay.

  However, when it came to her, he was shoved out or rather shot at to get the hell out of her bed. And it happened after the best sex he ever had. It wasn’t as if he had never had good sex before. He did. In fact, most of his partners were almost as skilled as him in bed, making it extremely pleasurable.

  But then, there’s good sex, and then there’s sex that blows your mind, making a person crave it like a drug. Maybe I should erase the memory of her with some other willing woman who would be more than happy to be in my bed. That would get rid of the thoughts of her. But he knew he wouldn’t. Which meant the thoughts and memories of her would continue to fester in his mind, eating him away like a disease.

  He took a deep breath. No. I will not allow her to intrude my mind anymore. I’m done thinking about her. I’d rather focus all my energy on getting answers from the investigation and my work.

  Deep inside he knew it was a losing battle.

  CHAPTER 22

  “Madam, a fight has broken out between some of our people and the Singhams. Two people have been reported injured.”

  Sabitha frowned at the interruption. She had been speaking with her contact on the phone. “Keep me informed. Even if it is late, call me when you get any updates.”

  She ended the call and frowned at Dhruv. “Why haven’t you or one of our men stopped it?”

  “We have been trying to handle the increasing tension from the past three weeks, madam. But I feel your intervention is needed at this point.”

  “What’s the problem? Things were going fine the first two months. What happened all of a sudden?” she asked.

  “We don’t know the actual reason either, madam.”

  “Okay, let’s go.” She picked up her gun and tucked into her holster before stepping out with Dhruv.

  A crowd had formed, and several men were throwing punches at each other.

  Sabitha took out her gun and fired into the sky, making everyone freeze. She went towards the crowd and stood in front of two bleeding men who had been throwing punches at each other.

  “What’s happening here?” she asked. “Why are you not at your assigned jobs?”

  Everyone fell silent.

  “Somebody better start talking, or there will be hell to pay,” she said in a menacing tone.

  One of the Prajapati men whom she recognized stepped forward. “Madam, it’s the Singhams, they have been speaking disrespectfully to us. They feel they are doing us a favor. We—”

  “What about you all?” another man snapped. “Have you not started talking about the feud and what happened twenty years ago when there was an order passed not to?” The man who had spoken was a Singham.

  Before she could rip at both the men and people around to stop behaving like children, the crowd parted. Dev Singham strode into the circle like was the king.

  “Who shot a gun, despite the order I had passed about not allowing weapons at the site?” he demanded.

  There was silence.

  “It was me,” Sabitha answered him coolly.

  He watched her for a couple of seconds before turning towards the crowd. “Get back to your work. Even if there is the slightest of delay in the schedule, the person responsible will be answerable to me.” With that, he threw her another look before striding away with his entourage.

  Sabitha felt annoyed at his brief dispassionate look. Two weeks had passed since the night. Ever since then, they had been having cold vibes whenever they met to discuss the progress or issues at work.

  Apart from a brief conversation with him reminding her they hadn’t used any protection, they didn’t talk about that night. She had told him she used contraceptives. And instead of looking relieved, she felt he had looked at her with suspicion.

  She wasn’t offended he didn’t believe her easily. Considering, she never dated or saw anyone, it did seem odd to the outsiders. But it wasn’t odd for her to use protection. In her world, and in her position, where there were enemies ready to attack and destroy her at any moment, she didn’t want to take any chances.

  Sabitha’s eyes remained on Dev Singham until he disappeared from her vision. And then, she sighed out loud. She knew she had behaved badly the morning after their night. But at that time, she had been too shocked and embarrassed about how easily she had forgiven him regarding the past and let her basic instincts take over.

  Over the past six years, she had s
urvived due to the control she had on herself. But one touch from Dev Singham, she lost her control completely and gave in.

  Sabitha went back to her office with Dhruv. “I want to be informed as soon as possible if something like today happens again. This is important for us. I don’t want any hiccups in our project.”

  Dhruv nodded. “Yes, madam. I will. You have been busy with other things so I tried to handle it myself.”

  She frowned. “What started this tension in the first place?”

  Dhruv looked uncomfortable, which was rare. “There’s been some speculation, madam.”

  “What kind of speculation?” she asked. “It better be legitimate. You know I hate gossip.”

  Dhruv nodded. “We heard someone talking about things not being well between you and Dev Singham. Some of our people think, this project will likely be stopped before the set-up is done.”

  “I see.”

  Sabitha was frustrated. It wasn’t like she and Dev Singham had been super friendly before. How the hell did they know things weren’t as comfortable as before?

  “Have the people assemble at the usual place. I’ll address them this evening when people from both the shifts are present.”

  Dhruv nodded and left her office.

  Sabitha sat back with a sigh. She couldn’t let things get worse when so much was at stake. She supposed she had to bite the bullet and make peace with Dev Singham.

  Even though everything inside her rebelled at the thought, she knew it was the right thing to do. With that thought in mind, she strode out of her office and knocked on his door. She heard his deep voice, commanding to come in. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before opening the door and going inside.

  He was typing something on his laptop and hadn’t looked up until she reached the chairs and took one. When he looked up, his eyes flared, and he watched her with a broody look.

  His lower lip stuck out with the slightest of pout, making him appear sulky. She felt tempted to bite that lip.