The Velvet Healer (The Roys, #1) ✔

Chapter 10- Telltale

For a good ten minutes Priyasha tried to ignore the presence of her fear, but failing miserably because of her restlessness, she began fidgeting leaning on the passenger seat. Other cars and motorcycles ran past their car one after another. The wind whipped across her hair. She was at a loss, unsure of how to start questioning him. Then it dawned on her. The dread she had been trying to avoid, which she had wished profoundly to ignore altogether, it had been following her around all this time, ready to squeeze air out of her lungs.

Abhiraj on the other hand, had the radio turned on. Radio Mirchi was playing some beautiful songs sung by Anupam Roy. She even heard him crooning along the beats. She noticed his fingers drumming on the steering. It made his staid demeanor much more animated than she thought was possible.

However, when she kept quiet longer than necessary, he understood her silence.

Both remained quiet running thoughts inside, trying to prolong the wait for the upcoming confrontation. Eventually Abhiraj cleared his throat in an attempt to start the expected talk when Priyasha asked, "The Girl was in the fair, wasn't she?" She paused and glanced at him. "You came here to execute the plan for her abduction? Didn't you?" Abhiraj's jaws clenched as he increased the speed of the car. Priyasha clasped the seatbelt watching the road ahead. "I saw you talking to Aslam, and if I'm not wrong, he's too involved in this conspiracy."

Abhiraj clenched his hand around the steering, his knuckles went bloodless in a blink before he pulled over the car at one side then banged on the steering turning toward her. "For heaven's sake Priyasha, will we ever have a decent talk?"

She kept quiet for she didn't know how to answer that. But she realized their conversation this time might leave her broken if not anything else.

"I know truths are always hard to take in, and you're doing that for quite a long time, but that doesn't permit you to blame me every time for every misconduct setting grounds around. Why do you always interpret the worst relating me?"

"I thought you know the reason." She noticed the weather was becoming overcast just like her spoiled mood. She turned her eyes toward the road watching more cars whiz by.

Abhiraj sighed audibly.

Not working, Mr. Kidnapper!

"Correct me, if that wasn't what I figured it was!"

He shook his head, then reached forward, opened the drawer in front, grabbed a chewing gum stick, tore off the wrapper and popped into his mouth.

She noticed him running hands through his hair. Perhaps trying to put his explanations in precise words. After a few seconds, his shoulders sank down. "Abduction is not the right word applicable here. We need her but aren't intentional to hurt her in any way."

"Then why are you risking her life?" She had this constant fear that what-if, what-if the girl would go through the same battle as hers? What-if the same hurt would drown another vulnerable person? A recognizable feeling of being helpless crept up her spine. The more she was spending time with Abhiraj, the more it was driving her nuts.

"This is strictly business. The person who's helping with the dispute of Permabell, seems to have a personal-professional interest on this girl. I don't really know." Abhiraj shrugged slightly. "Currently he's out of town. So, he asked us to look for her whereabouts. That's all."

"I'm not deaf or blind, Abhiraj. Tell me one thing. Don't you have any sense of guilt in giving up an innocent to a criminal?"

"How can you say he's a criminal?"

"For, whatever he's engaged in, it is clearly giving out his nature," she snapped.

"I can't help it. To me, the lives of thousands always have the higher importance than a single person."