Heeriye

Two.

Sidharth

"I want two teams on this!" I roar. "Three, four, ten, I don't give a fuck what it takes—I want as many fucking teams out there as it takes to get Jahan back."

Kanan is already on his phone, calling in the cavalry. I'm storming towards the elevator doors, trying to keep my anger from getting the better of me.

Two junior execs approach the elevator just as the doors are about to close. "OUT!" I yell and they spring back. Kanan slips in behind me and we plummet towards the ground floor.

"Well?" I demand when he hangs up.

"I've got three teams heading in Shehnaaz's direction now. They're going in from different routes so they'll be able to box the kidnappers in. We'll find him;I swear it."

I know he's being confident for my sake, but this is still Mumbai. We're looking for a needle in a haystack.

I'll take those fucking odds.

"Why?" I growl as we rush to my SUV. "Why the fuck would anyone take the boy?"

Kanan takes the passenger seat as I get behind the wheel. "Well, he is the one kid you've spent a lot of quality time with lately."

My second-in-command is right. All those boxing lessons at the gym... I was a fool to think those moments would go unnoticed. Nothing I did is ever innocent where my enemies are concerned.

"FUCK!"I spit, furious with my own short-sightedness. "If anything happens to—"

"Nothing will happen to him," Kanan insists. "We're going to get him back long before anything happens."

"Keep your eye on Shehnaaz's location. The kidnappers can't be too far from her. And get Shehnaaz back on the phone."

He nods and does as I say. The ringtone grates on my eardrums, but her voice when she answers is like honey. "K-anan?"

"Sidharth's here, too," my second explains. "You're on speaker. Where are you exactly?"

She names the road in a shaky tremor. "Pretty sure I caught sight of the black car a second ago but I can't be sure."

I can hear soft sniffling in the back."Are the girls with you?"

"I couldn't exactly leave them in the parking lot." Before I can rip into her about putting herself in this situation in the first place, Shehnaaz gasps. "I see them! The black car with the dirty windows! They just turned down toward the street."

I veer between cars and catch sight of the target. No license plate. Bingo. "I see them."

"Sidharth—get him back," Shehnaaz begs. "I just want him back safe."

"Kanan," I growl, hitting the accelerator. "Hang up."

The line goes dead and the lights turn red. I come up next to the black sedan, staying far enough behind them that the front of my SUV is in line with the back of their car. The kidnappers have no idea that I'm right beside them.

But Jahan does.

His eyes go wide when he catches sight of me. I put a finger to my lips and he nods.

Smart kid.

I tap at my own seatbelt, indicating to Jahan to put his on. He nods once and, immediately afterward, the light changes and the sedan speeds off.

I pursue. Kanan's eyes veer towards me. "Do you have a plan?"

"I always have a plan. This one just happens to be somewhat unconventional.

"Fuck me." Kanan leans towards the dash. "He just picked up speed. I think they know they're being followed."