Bound by Hatred (The Singham Bloodlines Book 2) Page 2

  She nodded and got up from the chair.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Grandfather,” she said, before kissing him lightly on his cheek and walking to the main door.

  She tried to wipe away the stains of coffee with the wet napkin that was offered to her. “Shit, these stains are not going to disappear, and I don’t have time to change now. We have to be there at nine.”

  Handing back the wet napkin, she strode to the SUV that was waiting for her outside.

  “Sanjay,” she addressed the man waiting next to the SUV. Sanjay had been working at the Prajapati Mansion for a while—almost three decades. He was the caretaker of the estate and handled issues within the province.

  “Yes, madam?”

  “About the discussion we had last night… I want you to go ahead with it.”

  “But madam, we had also discussed that it’s very risky, and that—”

  “Do it,” she said softly, cutting him off.

  Sanjay inhaled sharply, but he didn’t protest. He nodded his head. “I’ll be done by the time you return home.”

  “Good,” she said and climbed into the SUV. “Let’s go,” she ordered.

  As soon as the SUV drove out of the Prajapati Mansion’s tall, iron gates, Dhruv began to brief her about the day’s schedule and the details surrounding it.

  When Dhruv finished, he had a small frown on his face. “I’m not sure if this will work out, madam. All of our people hate the thought of working with the Singhams. Personally, even I think—”

  “Stop,” she said quietly, cutting off whatever he was about to say. “This project is critical to our people. I want you to take the lead responsibility for maintaining peace as the work progresses. Understand?”

  “Yes. I understand, madam.”

  “Good.”

  Sabitha looked ahead as the SUV was driven along the dusty roads towards the canal construction site.

  She knew what Dhruv had voiced was a legitimate concern. It wasn’t going to be easy for the Prajapatis to be working alongside the Singhams. But like she had said, the project was critical for the Prajapatis—not just for their development, but also for their future survival. The drought had taken a toll on the people. Unlike the Singhams, they did not have good access to drought-resistant crops or other modern technologies.

  A feeling of guilt and helplessness rose within her for not being able to provide those to her people. Unlike Abhay Singham, she did not have the necessary education or even the contacts to bring such developments to her people. All she could do was pump in money to get basic necessities such as food and water transported to the Prajapati province along with exporting the ethnic goods. Even she knew with the way things had been happening lately, it wasn’t a sustainable plan because her share of the Prajapati money wasn’t entirely bottomless. But it was all she could do.

  Until now.

  With the canal project finished within a year or so, there would be water for the crops. And the manufacturing units would ensure the people were properly employed and busy, keeping them away from the feud.

  Sabitha sighed internally as the SUV drew closer and ultimately stopped in front of a temporary structure right next to the Singhoor Dam.

  Immediately, her eyes fell on a figure of the tall, well-dressed man.

  Standing outside at the construction site, lording over everyone, was the person she hated the most in the entire world.

  Dev Singham.

  CHAPTER 3

  Sabitha stepped down from the SUV, feeling the palpable tension in the air.

  After Anika Prajapati and Abhay Singham’s wedding, the relationship between the provinces had improved significantly, but whenever Dev and her came together, people braced themselves for fireworks.

  Tamping down the need to shoot the man in front of her, she walked towards him.

  “Singham,” she greeted.

  “Prajapati,” he greeted back in a similar tone.

  On the outside, they both appeared civil for the sake of their people. Hundreds of families depended on what would transpire between the two of them. For that reason, Sabitha shook the extended hand offered to her. A large, tanned and surprisingly rough hand enclosed hers.

  Sabitha felt her skin crawl with the brief, firm shake. At least she told herself it was disgust, and refused to let any other thoughts bombard her mind.

  “Follow me.” Dev Singham showed her a polite hand and led the way to the large structure.

  She gave his three-piece suit a quick cursory glance. Even though Dev Singham looked as though he stepped out of a magazine cover, she also knew he was a violent, blood-thirsty bastard.

  Her people feared him and were also in awe of him. She recalled how a few years ago when he and his brother had moved back to their ancestral home, despite her aunt’s orders not to attack the Singham family, some of the Prajapati men had still gone ahead and attacked the Singham brothers while they were riding on the lands with their grandmother.

  Dev Singham had responded by going at the men with an axe he had apparently found nearby next to a tree. Apparently the Prajapati men mistook his skill because of the way he was dressed at the time.

  Sabitha had personally seen the aftermath of what he had done to the men.

  Since then, Dev Singham had bloodied that particular axe several times in a gruesome way, until Abhay Singham intervened. And to keep him out of such bloody battles, Abhay Singham sent his brother to the city.

  Sabitha knew that unlike his cool-headed, sensible older brother, Dev Singham was a hot-headed, cocky, arrogant, brutal bastard. He was also a privileged playboy used to the luxuries and comforts afforded to him. Even though she had heard he managed several such projects and units before, she had severe doubts about his capability to be able to manage the entire project without his brother intervening multiple times.

  “The workers’ area,” a deep voice explained.

  Sabitha entered the large temporary structure the Singhams had built next to the site. She was still surprised at the generous gesture Abhay Singham had extended to the Prajapatis to be able to share the canal and manufacturing units. She had heard the offer had been extended to the Senanis as well. However, the Senanis had declined.

  Dev Singham stopped briefly inside a large common room. He explained that the workers could meet and rest there. He then took them out towards the back where there were several rooms built that were to be used by the management.

  He led her to one of the rooms and opened the door. There was a decent-size office along with a small semi-private bed and bath at the back.

  “This is my office. You have a similar one next to mine.”

  She gave a curt nod.

  He asked her to follow him inside. “Be seated,” he said, indicating to a chair while he went behind his desk. He shrugged out of his jacket before he sat on a throne-like leather tufted chair.

  A soft click of the door indicated it had closed automatically behind her, shutting them both from rest of the world.

  “What’s the matter, Singham?” she said. “Too delicate for outdoor work? You need a bed inside your fancy office for your beauty rest?”

  She knew it was childish to snipe at him, but his entire demeanor grated on her nerves. He was acting as though he was in charge, and she was his underling who was there to work for him.

  “I can afford it, Prajapati,” he said with a sneer on his annoyingly perfect face. He eyed her coffee-stained clothes with disgust. “But don’t worry, I won’t send you the invoice for all the luxuries I put in your fancy office.”

  Sabitha’s jaw clenched. “Whatever this entire project is costing, you know damn well that the Prajapatis are pitching in their fair share.”

  “Yeah, yeah, we’ll see how long before you ask for a small loan.”

  She refused to dignify that with an answer. “What did you want to talk about?” she demanded.

  He opened a drawer and pulled out a few papers from a file and placed them in front of her. “Go through thes
e documents.”

  She frowned at the papers in front of her. “We already finished signing the necessary paperwork a few weeks ago.”

  “Just a few more simple additions about our workers’ schedules. Read them and approve it now, so I can confirm today.”

  She continued frowning at the papers. “I’ll call my lawyer and ask him to take a look at it first.”

  “That’s not necessary. These are just informal documents you need to be made aware of. Your signature is not required. You just need to convey the message to your people.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe, but I’d still prefer someone other than me to look at it first.”

  He was quiet, and then his eyes slowly scanned her face before falling to the documents in front of her.

  He did that a couple more times until his eyes slightly widened as though he figured out something shocking.

  “Fuck! It is true, then. You are illiterate. You can’t even read or comprehend a simple—”

  Before he could finish, she stood up and whipped out her gun before pointing it towards his head. “Don’t push your luck, Singham,” she said. “Or your brains will be splattered all over your fancy office desk. I’ll just call it an unfortunate accident.”

  She saw his hands clench and the next moment, he grabbed her wrist, and she was shoved back into the chair.

  “Don’t ever point your weapon at me again,” he hissed, getting up and coming around the desk towards her.

  She watched him impassively. “That’s going to be hard because each time you open your stupid mouth, I’m tempted to draw my weapon.” She let a small smile play around her lips. “Sometimes, not even that. Just your mere presence is enough.”

  He leaned closer, putting his face barely a few inches away from hers. “Well, darling, the feeling is mutual. However, I suggest you control yourself. Or your people will soon have to resort to begging or fleeing your province.”

  She placed her palm on his chest and pushed back, shoving him away from her before getting up from the chair. Immediately, she rubbed her hands on her thighs, wiping away the feel of his warmth and heartbeats.

  “You don’t have to worry about my people,” she said coolly. “I will. Just keep your mouth shut when it comes to my personal things. Unless you have something to discuss about our projects, don’t communicate with me.”

  She picked up the papers from the desk and strode to the door, opening and shutting it behind her and feeling his burning glare all the while on her back.

  CHAPTER 4

  Dev was agitated.

  He was tempted to either go on a rampage with his axe, or break open a scotch bottle at nine-thirty in the morning—just to maintain his cool and not strangle her.

  Sabitha Prajapati brought out the worst in him.

  He could hear her voice through the office walls as she softly questioned one of her men who read the document aloud to her.

  What was Abhay thinking when he had asked Sabitha Prajapati to personally oversee the project on behalf of the Prajapatis?

  Dev was fine when the offer was extended to the Prajapatis, but what he hadn’t expected was having to work with her on a personal basis. He had expected the Prajapatis to hire someone on behalf of them to oversee the set-up.

  Sabitha Prajapati.

  Every encounter with her always had her ridiculing him or undermining him. She also had the power to mess with his head.

  His temple throbbed where she had pointed a gun at it a few minutes ago, forcing him to recall the last time she held a weapon and similarly threatening him. It was quite ironic he had been celebrating the occasion of getting all the necessary approvals for this very project.

  ***

  ONE YEAR AGO…

  Dev splashed water on his face to remain awake.

  It was only ten at night, but he was damn tired. The past week, he had been working long hours to finish some critical tasks within his units while also balancing his evening and night hours socializing with the high-profile bigwigs in the city.

  Abhay was not easily accessible and preferred to stay in the family home, so most of the social interactions were carried out by Dev. He didn’t mind. He knew Abhay had his hands full trying to maintain peace within the Singham province.

  So it was up to Dev. He used his persuasion skills, his natural charm and the skills he learned from business school to build and strengthen his network. Dev already knew most of the bigwigs personally and was also able to pull the necessary strings to get the jobs done.

  Dev was just glad his and Abhay’s hard work was going to pay off. Singham province was soon going to have the necessary projects to bring in water and employment to its people.

  Abhay, in his usual style, decided to celebrate the occasion by having a quiet evening at the Singham Mansion. For a change, Dev had wanted to do the same as his older brother, but just as he was about to drive back to Singham Estate, he had been ambushed.

  Kritika, a well-known actress he had been dating for few months had come to his office. He had been canceling their dates over the past few weeks due to his workload. So, she had insisted that she join him at the Singham Estate.

  Dev had never brought any of the women he dated to the Singham Estate. He preferred to keep both those worlds apart, but this time, he had made an exception and agreed.

  Since he hadn’t wanted to take her to his ancestral home or the Singham Lakehouse, he took her to one of the five other lakeside cottages within the Singham Estate.

  Big mistake.

  He sighed as he looked at his tired face in the mirror.

  This particular cottage held other memories from eight years ago which were clouding his brain. He felt a strange kind of unease, but was determined not to recall that deceptively innocent face with striking eyes.

  “De-e-v-v. I’m waiting, baby. Come out soon,” a seductive voice of a woman called out from the bedroom.

  He sighed again as his doubts about having to spend a weekend with Kritika grew stronger. Until then, they had been meeting for only a few hours at a time. Like all his dates, he took her to a few social events with him, after which she took him to her place where they spent pleasurable time in her bed. He usually left soon after. And like his usual dates, they hadn’t had an opportunity to talk much since he was busy socializing with other contacts at the events.

  But now, after having spent time with her in his car while driving from the city to the Singham Estate, he realized they barely had anything in common. In fact, he found the one-sided talk about various topics of gossip and shopping, quite annoying. She was also too clingy.

  Even though he had made it quite clear that he didn’t do serious relationships and only dated casually, she was still planning events months into the future.

  He sighed. He was going to let her know it wasn’t working out. It would be awkward as hell as he would have to accompany her on the drive back to the city.

  With that thought in mind, he opened the bathroom door and strode into the bedroom.

  Shit!

  Kritika was sprawled over the bed in a seductive pose wearing lingerie that revealed way more than it covered.

  “Do you like it, Dev?” she asked with a sultry smile that earned her millions of fans across the country.

  He slowly grinned. “Love it.”

  I’m such a bastard. I’m definitely going to hell because of this, he thought.

  And to hell with those other memories, I’m going to enjoy myself and create new memories here.

  Those were his last thoughts before he took up her tempting offer.

  He should have guessed it was easier said than done. Because, fifteen minutes later, he was having a tough time.

  “Dev! Oh my God! Dev! You are the best, Dev! The best!”

  What the fuck?

  Never in his twenty-six years did Dev have any performance issues. Closing his eyes, he tried to remain hard as he moved over the woman under him, trying to shut out the annoying noises and those damn memories of
those thick-lashed, dark eyes.

  But the woman’s moaning and groaning continued to get even louder and dramatic. “Oooh, Dev, you are the man! Take me like you can’t help yourself!”

  Had she always been this way? Making such fake noises? Dev wondered.

  Fuck, I’m going to bloody deflate completely if she keeps it up. And why the hell am I feeling guilty because of those bloody memories?

  A minute later, unable to bear it any longer, he moved away and sat up.

  “Baby, why did you stop?” Kritika whined with a practiced pout.

  “Listen, Kritika. I’m sorry, but this is not working out. I think we should take it easy—”

  Before he could finish speaking, Kritika began screaming. The sound was so loud and shrill, he thought his eardrums would shatter.

  What the hell?

  He realized a few seconds later that she wasn’t looking at him, but at something behind him. Before he could turn to investigate, he felt a sharp object placed under his throat.

  He froze immediately.

  Kritika continued to scream shrilly, making his head throb.

  “Shut up,” a soft command was issued by a vaguely familiar woman’s voice.

  Immediately Kritika stopped screaming, only to break into terrified muffled sobs.

  Mindful of the knife at his throat, he slowly drew the blanket next to him and threw it over Kritika, covering her nearly naked body. The next instant, he was grabbed from behind and thrown into the chair and held down by two burly men.

  Sabitha-fucking-Prajapati stood in front of him with a small smile playing on her face as she twirled a red and green jeweled knife in her hands.

  It was almost like she had been conjured there because of his memories of her that night. He almost didn’t recognize her since he hadn’t seen her up close for nearly seven years. But her thick-lashed eyes remained the same. He also recognized the small diamond nose ring and her long hair she wore in a similar plaited style as before. But the soft, rounded cheeks of a teenager were gone. They were replaced by prominent high cheekbones. And unlike the traditional clothes she had worn the last time he had seen her, she now wore a cotton shirt and khaki trousers.