Page 17 of Empowered

Our ex-clients who had defected to Tarun’s side were also invited. They were most likely excited because none of them had seen Tarun in years; he had been undercover all this time to ultimately take over my business. Now that he had, he was about to reveal himself to the world. It was more of a coming-out party than a wedding.

Javed followed the show-off to the bathroom and chloroformed him from behind, then he quickly injected a tracker into his arm and slipped out of the bar, taking the rest of our men with him. All our men carried spare trackers with them just for situations like this where they needed real-time locations.

They gave Jai and I a full report on what happened as soon as they arrived back at the hotel. Jai activated the tracker through his makeshift lab in the living area of his suite. He pulled up the software and found that he was on the move to a hotel nearby to the bar.

We had just found our personal invite to “the wedding of the century.”

Chapter XIV

Amelia

Icouldn’t sleep much that night. Zayn had tried to make the hideout as comfortable as possible, setting out a sleeping bag for me. There weren’t any other rooms for him to sleep in, so he slept upright on the bench that I had first found myself lying on when I woke here.

Although he was a stranger to me, my intuition told me that he wouldn’t hurt me—especially if he valued his life. He had cared for the gash on my cheek and tended to the cuts on my feet with care. I trusted that Shyam would only send his most trustworthy man to keep an eye on me. It wasn’t Zayn that gave me the anxiety nagging at me.

As I tried to sleep in the dark on the factory floor, listening to Zayn’s steady breathing, thoughts swam erratically in my mind. Tomorrow, Shyam would infiltrate Tarun’s palace, which was to be filled with the some of the most lethal criminals in the world. Rescuing Salena wouldn’t be an easy feat and killing Tarun would be even more difficult.

Logically, I knew the odds were against Shyam. No matter how large his army was, Tarun’s would be bigger and stronger now that he had secured the allegiance of Shyam’s clients. Shyam’s men would be outnumbered. I was just hours away from possibly being reunited with him, and it could be taken away from me if he didn’t make it out of there alive.

When I arrived at Tarun’s doorstep, I had feared I would never see Shyam again. Now, knowing that he was in the same city and I couldn’t reach him pained me more.

I was nervous about saving Salena. I had promised her that I would come back for her. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have been able to escape, so I needed to get her out of there.

I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen when Shyam rescued her. Would he feel anything deeper than the nostalgic loyalty he held for her? She clearly still had feelings for him. Perhaps, since things hadn’t ended well between them, she still needed closure, so for her there was still something left to the relationship. Shyam said that he was over her, but maybe seeing his ex-fiancée in person and rescuing her from captivity might ignite the sparks that had once burned. The jealously I had once held for their relationship festered inside me anew since I now had the chance to dwell on them.

Shyam didn’t want me near the wedding when he launched his attack against Tarun. I knew the palace better than him or any of his men, so I was frustrated that he wouldn’t accept my help. I understood his reasons, because they were the same reasons that I had for wanting to be with him right now. He wanted me safe. However, I was still on edge.

My impatience replaced any logical sense I had. I wanted to leave the factory to be with him. I kicked restlessly under the covers of my sleeping bag. My legs were ready to run to take me to him. My brain was on high alert to direct me there. But I had to wait.

I took a deep breath, allowing the musky air in the dilapidated building to draw down my windpipe and inflate my lungs with air. I exhaled slowly, allowing my breaths to steady my heartrate. The cyclic rise and fall of my chest stilled my mind just briefly enough to allow drowsiness to make my eyelids heavy. I let sleep take over in the hopes that the night would pass quickly, bringing me closer to reuniting with the man I had dreamed of while I was in hell.

•••

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

I squinted my eyes open to see Zayn standing over me. He was dressed like he was attending a gala, in a tailored shirt and slacks, except with all forms of weaponry strapped to various parts of his body. He no doubt had a muscular body underneath all that gear that was probably as deadly as any weapon he carried.

“What time is it?” I rubbed my eyes as I sat up.

“Nine o’clock. I figured you needed some extra sleep to help your body recover.” He seemed genuinely concerned about me. He had one of those faces that you could trust.

I fingered the bandage on my cheek. “Thanks.”

The grogginess reminded me of exactly how much my body had endured over the past weeks. I hadn’t slept much except for being drugged anytime Tarun’s, or Shyam’s, men deemed fit. The soreness of my muscles screamed at me to go back to sleep and get more rest.

He passed me something rolled up in wax paper that looked like it might have been a burrito. “I got you some breakfast.”

My stomach growled at the mention of the word “breakfast” as I took the package from him. Folding back the paper allowed aromas of spices and butter to invade my nose. I greedily bit into the soft flour wrap. The hearty taste of cheese and a spicy yet savory sauce made my taste buds crave another bite.

Zayn chuckled. “That good?”

“Mmmmmhmmm,” I managed as I stuffed some more into my mouth. “What is this?” I asked with my mouth full. I knew it wasn’t polite, but I was too hungry to be concerned with niceties.

“Paneer in roti.”

Cheese in bread.I was familiar with Indian food from living in Seattle and New York. Both cities had a large Indian community, so I ate at Indian restaurants often. I had ordered paneer tikka masala often. I loved the way the cheese was cut into large cubes and simmered in gravy. I had always opted for naan before, but I had never had Indian bread that was so thin and flaky before. It was delicious how it melted in my mouth.

“What type of roti is this?” I asked, having already consumed half of the roll.

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