The Arrangement

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Hunted

Years later, when I thought back to this night, all I could remember was how numb I had been. Numb with fear, you might say, but I was mostly surprised. I was in disbelief that something like this could happen. That the world would allow a woman to disappear like this.

As I lay on the ground, my arms pinned above my head, I was surrounded by men. They all stared down at me. I was held down in every place, with no room to struggle. Kunj knelt by my arms, the blade ready in his hand. I felt the cold tip press into my wrist. I closed my eyes and tried to think of Farhan, to die with good memories. But as the metal dug deeper, drawing warm blood, all I could think of was that I didn't want to die. My life couldn't be over so soon. 

Please, please, please, please, I wanted to say, but my mouth was sealed. 

That was when another set of headlights shone down on us. Everyone looked towards it and I tried to lift my head to see. It was a police car. I inhaled sharply and tried to yell. 

"Silence!" Kunj hissed, rising to his feet. 

Another car pulled up beside the police, one I recognized. Relief swept over me, so great that I whimpered. Farhan got out of the car, still dressed in his party clothes like me. A man climbed out of the police car, taking in the scene before him. 

"Aditi!" Farhan called out. He rushed to the man's side. "I told you, they were going to kill her. You need to arrest them now!"

Kunj looked down at me. I met his eyes, expecting fear. Instead, his face was pleased. "Your boyfriend is an idiot," he murmured, smiling. "He should've left when I told him to."

He turned and walked towards the officer. I tried to struggle uselessly. What did he mean by that? He didn't know what he was talking about. We would be okay. 

"Let go of her," Farhan was saying, pointing at the men holding me. "Step away from her right now." He was about to walk towards us, but the officer held out a hand and blocked him. He had his gun in his other hand, but he wasn't aiming it at anyone, simply holding it by his side.

"A bit of a mess you've created here, haven't you?" he said to Kunj. 

"A mess is what I was trying to prevent." Kunj gestured to me. 

"Her buddy here called the police as soon as he left your house. He saw you leave in your van. You're lucky I was the one on duty tonight."

"What do you suggest we do now?"

The officer waved his gun. "Shoot them. Hide the bodies. I'll find a way to list them as missing. No one will ever know what happened."

"You're the one who responded to the call."

"I never found anything."

Kunj nodded once. "Alright." He turned to his men surrounding me. "Line them up."

"No. You're supposed to help us!" Farhan shouted. A couple of men grabbed him, taking his cane from him first. Farhan wavered on his feet a little, then began to struggle as they brought him to my side. I was lifted off the ground and put on my knees. Farhan was placed next to me. Our eyes met. 

"It'll be okay," he said, though his voice shook. 

I wanted to reach for him, but my arms were bound. Farhan's hands were free though, and he managed to wrap his hand in my mine. The officer came and stood before us, gun ready in his hand. He stared between us, as if deciding who to shoot first, and lifted his hand to aim at Farhan. 

No.

I closed my eyes, my heart thundering in my chest. I couldn't watch Farhan die. I couldn't.