Page 69 of A Royal Deception

Fuck! I began to panic dial Shivina’s phone, but she didn’t answer.

CHAPTER 26

SHIVINA

Within minutes of the petrol bombs rolling into Diya’s beautiful studio, the whole place went up in flames. I knew we had to get Kuhu to safety before the place blew up, even if we had to jump out of the windows.

I grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to put out the fire, but it was spreading too fast for me to handle alone. And at that moment, all I could think of was that I was never going to see my husband again. Ranvijay had become the centre of my universe in such a short time, and now I would never see him again. Life was so fucking unfair!

“Let’s get Kuhu out of here,” yelled Isha. “We can do this!”

She was right! We were going to make it out of here, no matter what, I decided firmly. I had to tell my husband that I was falling in love with him, and I had no intention of getting shish-kebabed in the studio before I did just that.

I pointed the staff to the fire exit before Isha and I helped Diya get Kuhu down the stairs. I also found some shawls andsoaked them under the tap before I draped one over Kuhu and handed another to Diya.

“I’m terrified for my baby,” she whispered.

“We’ll get her out,” Isha promised.

With great difficulty, we got Kuhu out just before the studio went up in flames. We could hear the distant wail of the fire engine siren, but no help seemed to be forthcoming. Ranvijay declined my call for some reason, but Isha got through to her brother and then to Veer.

“The roads leading here are all blocked,” she said after she ended the last call. “It will take them ages to get here.

Meanwhile, Kuhu began to cough.

“Guys, I really need to get her to a hospital to have her checked out. She didn’t inhale much smoke, but I want to be sure she’s fine.”

Thankfully, Ranvijay called just then, and I was able to speak to him. The sound of his voice was so reassuring. And if he said he was coming to get me, I knew he’d fulfil his promise, no matter what. But the trouble was that we couldn’t wait for him to get here. We had to rescue ourselves because that was the only option.

Before I could tell him that, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye and dropped my phone as I jumped up to drag Diya and Kuhu behind a car. The next minute, a hail of bullets rained in our direction. Isha jumped out of the way in time, but we were shaking with fear.

“What the fuck is happening? Why are people shooting at us?”

“Long story,” said Isha grimly. “No time to explain now. We need to get Kuhu out of here.”

“Where is Diya’s security team?” I cried.

Isha waved towards the parking lot outside the studio. Diya’s guards and my chauffeur were engaged in a firefight with agroup of around ten men in jeeps. Our men were outnumbered, but they kept us covered.

“My car is over there,” said Isha, pointing to a red Mini Cooper parked in a corner. “I’ll drive us to the hospital.”

We ran to the car, and Diya jumped into the backseat with Kuhu on her lap.

“Shivina, you get in with them and keep the baby safe. Make her lie on the floor if you have to,” ordered Isha as she jumped into the car.

“Wait! Do you have any guns on you?”

She gave me a wide-eyed look.

“Do you know how to shoot?”

I nodded grimly. We were not likely to get out of here without being noticed, and I had a feeling those men were going to come after us. I was going to get Diya and Kuhu to the hospital safely, even if I had to take out each of those murderers. Because that’s what they were. Murderers. They had tried to kill us. The very thought made me furious!

“Open the boot and lift up the tarpaulin sheet,” she said, hitting a button on the dashboard. “Hurry!”

I ran around to the back of the car when the door of the boot slid up and lifted the blue tarpaulin sheet. When I realised what I was looking at, I gasped in shock. This wasn’t a gun… this was a fucking rocket launcher. A tiny one. But still a rocket launcher!

“Is this even legal?”

---