The Tranquil Predator ✔️

Chapter 14

Patricia's Pov

****FLASHBACK****

I was really worried about him.

It had been quite some time since Vinesh and I heard the shattering sound as if something made of glass had fallen. Followed by the heavy sound of footsteps, probably Arjun's. And then there was pin-drop silence again. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of our short breaths.

I know I should stay inside and let the expert outside handle everything. But I just couldn't keep still anymore. I had this habit since I was a child. Every time someone told me not to do something I would deliberately do that thing only. In this case, it was going out of the room. Slowly I opened the door and peeked outside.

"What are you doing?", Vinesh hissed.

"Stay inside and lock the door", was all I said before closing the door behind me.

Slowly, steadily I made my way towards the main hall. The entrance door was wide open. In the middle of the hall lay Neethu's bloodied body. I felt dizzy at the sight of her so I averted my gaze and made my way towards the main door. Once I was out, I could feel the cool breeze hitting my face and pricking my cheeks.

It felt nice.

Looking ahead I saw the forest. If Arjun was chasing that murderer, he definitely must have chased him inside the forest. It was so dark and unlike me, Arjun wasn't that familiar with the woods. How do I know that? Just a wild guess. He spent his time in Munnar going through files of murder victims, I spent my time exploring the town and forests.

Why wasn't Arjun back? Maybe he was in trouble? Maybe he was dea-

I had a feeling he needed my help and so without thinking much, I dashed into the woods. There weren't any specific turns I took, I just kept running straight.

And then suddenly, I stopped. I thought I heard a voice. As if someone just yelled. I was frozen in the middle of the forest. Didn't even think about moving a muscle. I closed my eyes trying to concentrate where that voice came from.

"I PROMISE YOU!"

There! I heard it again. It was definitely Arjun. I ran towards the source of that sound. The clouds had shifted and thankfully I could see better. I ran and ran until finally, I saw a dark figure lying in front of me.

It was Arjun. I ran up to him and knelt down to look at his face. His eyes were closed and breathing was very hard. It wasn't normal breathing, it was the dangerous kind. He was shivering and beads of sweat were visible on his forehead. Looking down, I saw his white shirt darkened in the abdomen region.

Darkened with the life-giving liquid.

"NO, NO, NO!", I kept muttering as I panicked. The only thing I could do was put pressure on the wound to reduce the amount of blood that was oozing out. I had to call for help.

I removed my night robe and covered his body with one hand pressuring on the wound. With the other hand in the pocket of my night robe, I pulled out my landline. Yes, I had a wireless landline. When Vinesh called, I went up to the detective, and we left for their house. This entire time I didn't realise but I was carrying the landline phone in my hand all this time. I didn't exactly get time to put it in its place. But looks like I did the right thing by carrying it along with me. Dialing a number, I called for an ambulance immediately.

**** END OF FLASHBACK****

Arjun lay unconscious in the hospital for three hours. His wound had been patched up but due to the exhaustion, he hadn't regained his consciousness. The doctor said I was lucky I found him early. If I had been late, he would have bled to death.

It was 6 am now. I was tired, hungry, and drowsy. But all the adrenaline in my body kept me up.

"Patricia! Are you ok!", a familiar voice spoke from behind me. Turning around I saw Praveen looking at me with worry plastered over his face. I burst into tears when I saw him and ran into his arms. He hugged me tightly and caressed my head with his gentle fingers.

"I don't know what to do! Neethu is dead! I saw her, I saw her lying there. And Arjun got stabbed. Like there was so much blood. I am so scared right now", I cried.

"Shh, it's ok. I am here now. We will figure something out together ok. I am just glad you are safe. And you have been such a brave girl", he said and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. I sniffled but with him holding me, it felt soothing. I finally calmed down.

We stayed together like that for a few more minutes and broke the hug when a nurse approached us.

"The detective is awake. You can meet him now", she said.

I nodded my head and moved towards his room with Praveen following behind me. When we were about to enter, the nurse stopped us, "Only one person can go in", she said.

I looked at Praveen. He gave me a warm smile and motioned me to move forward. So it was just me who could enter.

Okay.

Taking a deep breath, I walked inside the room and closed the door behind me.

There he was. Lying on the hospital bed with his eyes closed. He must have felt my presence in the room because his eyes shot open instantly.

He looked at me with those beautiful, black charcoal eyes of his. It is weird how just a pair of eyes can show so many emotions. It's funny how your facial expressions change to show your emotions but your eyes can do the same without changing a bit. Why do I say this? Because of the way he looked at me. It was different. His eyes weren't as hard as steel representing a detective. Nor did they hold a teasing tone, the kind that represents a flirt.

His eyes were just warm, filled with an emotion I couldn't figure. But the way he looked at me, made my heart flutter.

"Hey", he said weakly.

"Hey, how do you feel?", I asked softly.

"Feel like I was stabbed and saved by a miracle"

I blushed and looked down averting my gaze. I could hear him chuckle. That sweet, adorable little chuckle. Last time I heard it, we were on the flight. 

"Now Ms. Fernandez, I don't know whether I should be mad at you for not listening to me and leaving the room. Or thank you for saving my life."

A/N:

So....don't forget to press on that little star. Hehe...