Page 20 of Empowered

“Yes,” he replied.

“Zayn’s ETA?”

He checked his phone. “Fifteen minutes away.”

I looked over to my brother, who waited for my signal. I placed my hand on the handle of my door and pulled until it clicked, opening the door. “Then let’s pay our respects to the groom.”

Chapter XVI

Amelia

Ibriefed Zayn on what I remembered of the layout of Tarun’s house, paying particular attention to the path to the dungeon. From what he told me of the plans, they were hoping to attack before Salena joined the ceremony. Hopefully, she would be left in the dungeon, safe from any flying bullets or explosions.

It was hot inside of the silver four-door sedan that we rode in to Tarun’s house. I placed my hands on the air vents, desperate to feel air.

“It’s not on,” Zayn said with his eyes trained on the traffic in front of us. Indian roads seemed to always be filled with mopeds, bikes, and pedestrians.

“Does the AC even work?”

“Yes, but the car is old, so I save it for when I really need it,” he said, still focusing on the road.

“So…this isyourcar?” I asked, surprised.

“Whose else would it be?”

“I guess I expected you to have something more—showy.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you don’t like my car?” he teased.

“No, no,” I corrected him nervously. Embarrassed that I had put my foot in my mouth, I continued, “I just meant that since you worked with Shyam, I expected you to have something flashy like him. He seems to collect fancy cars like toys from the inside of cereal boxes.”

A quizzical expression formed on his face. “Cereal boxes?”

I guess that expression doesn’t translate well.“It’s an American thing.”

“It’s my car, but only for when I run missions. It’s better to use a car that doesn’t stand out when I’m supposed to be unnoticeable. I have other, morecomfortablecars at home.” He smiled.

“Do you live in Punjab too?” I knew it was where Shyam and Jai had their base and I assumed Zayn would live nearby too if he worked for them.

“I do.”

“How did you meet Shyam and Jai?” I asked.

“My father worked for their father.”

I had no idea their history went that far back. “Oh, wow. Did you always want to follow in your father’s footsteps?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” he said. “My father fell on hard times after my mother died when I was younger. He met Shyam’s father, who gave him a job and a house. My father ended up becoming his closest employee and we were even treated like family. I grew up with Shyam and Jai and their mother looked after me like I was her own. After my father died, I took over his role for the family.”

“You felt indebted to them?” I asked.

“Never. Shyam and Jai are my brothers. It was never even a decision to make. I would always stand by them because theyaremy family.”

I admired his loyalty. I could see why Shyam trusted him. He seemed sincere whenever he spoke. The glint that never seemed to disappear from his eye added to his likeable personality. He was built like a warrior but could be warm and approachable when he spoke of things that mattered to him, like the Sethi brothers.

Gazing out my window, I noticed the roads looked familiar. My heartrate spiked as I recognized some of the same pink buildings from when I had been brought here as a prisoner weeks ago.

My breathing increased as my heart dropped into the pit of my stomach. I gripped the handle on the door tightly. My inhales and exhales were audible and blocked out the sounds of the noisy streets.

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