A Stranger's Affection Page 3

  “Stop. I’ll tell you everything,” he pleaded between sobs. His chin dropped to his neck as he cried.

  “I’m listening.” Nishani stepped back, accepting the rag Victor handed her. She wiped the blood off her hands and stared at the bleeding pig. “Lie, Thaddeus, and I’ll cut out your tongue and send it to your wife as a pizza topping.”

  He looked up. “Rajah—”

  That name elicited a spark of a thousand voltages. Her blood boiled. “His name is Jiten Rai. Not fucking, Rajah.” Dropping the knife, Nishani lashed out with her fist, striking the man’s jaw, his stomach, and then his cheek.

  “I’m sorry,” he shrieked.

  Chest heaving, Nishani stepped away as Thaddeus coughed to regain his breath. Fingers clenched, she paced the floor behind him and looked up when Victor cleared his throat. He always knew when Nishani was on the verge of losing her cool. With a quick nod to him, she stepped around Thaddeus once more, picked up the knife, and glared at him. “Continue.”

  He spat out blood then looked up. “Rai has houses in New Jersey, Greenville, and Jericho—”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  Thaddeus’ head shook violently. “No. I-It’s the truth. He throws parties twice a month, but the venue is always a s-secret until an hour before.”

  “So, no one can rat him out?”

  He nodded. “N-no one will, though. T-the men he invites have lots to lose. He also moves the girls twice a month.”

  “Addresses.”

  Thaddeus inhaled deeply. He struggled to breathe, and his lids drooped heavily. Nishani slapped him across the face. “Wake up, Thaddeus.” He mumbled the addresses which Victor took down. “How many girls?”

  “I-I don’t know how many girls. I swear. He doesn’t give us that information, and I’m not a business partner—”

  “Just the party animal, right?”

  He looked up, blood oozing out his wounds and Nishani almost pitied the sad excuse for a man. Amazing how they could strut their stuff when the girls were tied down. Put into the same situation, and they pleaded for their lives as though it were more important than anyone else.

  “F-for what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

  “Do you honestly think I give a rat’s ass about your apology.” Her lips thinned. “Let me guess. You apologize, I accept then Victor lets you go, and we’re all hunky-dory. Then you go back to doing what you do best. Fucking up innocent girl’s lives.”

  Dread wrinkled his brow. “Please, let me go. I promise I’ll never lay a finger on another girl.” His breath wheezed out between hard pants. He probably guessed he wasn’t leaving this place alive.

  “Hate to break it to you, Thaddeus, but that’s not the plan.” She circled the man then stopped to face him. “I’m your judge, jury, and executioner today, and unfortunately, they’re all in agreement that you’re guilty.”

  “You killed the other guys, didn’t you?” Thaddeus swallowed a couple of times, his gaze scared and haunted.

  Nishani’s mirthless laugh sounded eerily creepy to her ears. “You lasted longer than your buddies, though. They either refused to speak or succumbed to my knife quickly.” She tilted her head and studied the man. “I know what you’re thinking. That I’m cruel, evil, sick? You men did this, Thaddeus. Took away my right to live—made me the miscreant I’ve become. I’ve no idea what my future holds.” She shrugged. “We all die someday, right? I just gave your friends an earlier farewell.”

  “You’re going to kill me,” he whispered. Nishani didn’t answer. Thaddeus coughed hard, and she suspected the knife wound to his chest had gone deeper than expected. “Jiten knows someone’s killing his friends. It’s only a matter of time before he realizes it’s you.”

  “Like I care.”

  “You won’t get away with this.” The man took a deep breath as though it were his last. “Rajah will—” The rest of his sentence spewed out in garbled screams as Nishani’s knife sliced through the hilt of his cock.

  “I. Hate. That. Fucking. Name,” she bit out. The man’s eyes rounded in stunned silence. Nishani rammed the dick into his mouth. “Suck on that, asshole.” With another quick flick of her wrist, her blade tore his skin from navel to crotch, then side to side resembling a cross. “This is for all the innocent girls you raped,” Nishani snapped. His guts spilled out his ripped stomach, and while his body spasmed wildly, the tip of her blade sank into his neck, slicing from ear to ear like a warm knife through butter. When the man’s screams muted into gurgling groans, then nothing but raspy breathing, Nishani stood back and eyed her handiwork.

  “Satisfied?” Victor came up behind her.

  “Not until that last bastard is lying six feet under.” She couldn’t wait to get her hands on Jiten Rai. “Make sure Leo gets those addresses.” She referred to their NYPD contact. “Hopefully, they get there in time to save the girls.” Taking the gun Victor held out, she placed the muzzle to Thaddeus’ brow and pulled the trigger. His head jerked with the force of the bullet. She wasn’t taking any chances on him surviving the knife wounds. Not like he would. Nishani handed the gun back to Victor then wiped her knife on a rag. “Time to get rid of the trash.”

  “My favorite part.” Victor slipped off his shirt and smirked like an evil son of a bitch, the muscles beneath his inked skin flexed in apparent anticipation.

  Nishani chuckled. Victor might be good-looking and oh so fuckable, but he possessed a bizarre sense of humor. The way he’d gotten rid of the previous bodies, led the cops to believe it was the work of a serial killer with cult tendencies. She’d wondered about that. Victor hadn’t volunteered any info, and she hadn’t asked.

  Now, as he untied Thaddeus from the chair, dragged him to the floor and nailed his hands and legs to resemble Christ on the cross, she understood. When Victor hoisted his work of art, Nishani shook her head at the gruesome sight with a satisfied smile. It would take his family days to pick up the pieces of Thaddeus. Given the approaching rats on the beams above, she doubted the animals would leave anything by the time cops found his body. She grinned. Payback was a bitch and its name: Nishani.

  Chapter Three

  Present Day – May 2019

  NISHANI EASED SLOWLY into consciousness, one breath at a time. She couldn’t remember what happened, her mind refusing to focus on anything specific, but she accepted it wasn’t right. Her body throbbed—not with physical pain but more from exhaustion—an agonizing ache that threatened to pull her back into the darkness—holding her there forever.

  Then, Clara’s voice filtered through the offending obscurity—warm, soft, and safe—like a snug blanket keeping Nishani wrapped securely and everything else out. “I’m here, sweetheart. It’s just a dream.” Her fingers gentle against Nishani’s hair.

  She tried to say Clara’s name, but the knotted fear in her throat kept her firmly in the dark pit of hell. Sweat trickled down her cheeks and pooled at her neck. Nishani let the memories flood back like a merciless disc that refused to stop spinning. Terror of the first chase. Panic when they’d grabbed her. When her eyes opened to the sordid stares of old obese men, then the old man’s claim over her and the realization of his intent—to make her his forever. And finally, the recognition that darkness would become her savior—her solitude.

  Nishani dragged in a deep breath and opened her eyes. While she accepted the nightmares might not stop, it had no bearing on her desire for revenge— vengeance ruled her life.

  “Another bad dream, sweetheart?” Clara sat at the edge of her mattress, her gaze as gentle as the first day Nishani met the older woman. The day Clara became Nishani’s adoptive parent after rescuing her from the cage Jiten Rai aka Rajah, had kept Nishani captive for more than a year.

  With an impatient grunt, she nodded and raked a hand through her hair—the annoyance stemming from her inability to nail that sick son of a bitch. The old man would pay—one day.

  “It will get better, I promise.” Clara sang that tune every time she woke Nishani from
her dreams.

  “I don’t want it to get better—”

  “I know. It’s your ammunition for revenge.”

  She eyed the older woman. With her sparkling green eyes, a sultry accent, and a caring smile, it was hard to imagine Clara as the daughter-in-law to a sick bastard like Jiten Rai. And while Nishani could never get vengeance on the old man out of her head, she was grateful Clara had come along when she did and saved her, giving her a new life.

  “You need to live, sweetheart. You’ve been bitter for so long. You need some happiness. Forget about Rai—”

  “Never...”

  The sudden peal of a nearby alarm clock jolted Nishani’s thoughts. Startled, she opened her eyes. Her gaze darted all over, quick, and alert. It took a minute before recognition sank in. She was in her room, back home in Darien with her parents. “Shit. It was just a dream.” Wiping the sweat of her brow, she stared up at the ceiling. She remembered that morning like it were yesterday.

  Nishani had woken from a recurring nightmare—she’d suffered since escaping captivity, and as usual, Clara was there to comfort her. But that morning was different—it was the day after she’d failed to trap Jiten Rai. Had it not been for Victor and his swift reaction, Jiten and his henchmen would’ve captured Nishani. The bastard had slipped through her fingers once more. Reaching him had grown difficult once he discovered someone had killed his friends, and he was next.

  Sighing, she inhaled. Clara’s voice sounded so real, Nishani could’ve sworn the old woman had visited. Only, her dear adoptive parent was locked tight in a cell.

  The sharp ping of her mobile signaled an incoming message and pulled her out of her musings. She reached for the phone on her nightstand, opened the text, and smiled. Ashni had agreed to meet her for brunch. Hardly believable that she was back home, and her life was regular again.

  Four hours later, Nishani set her coffee cup on the table and grinned at her sister. “I know you’re skeptical, Ash. You’re a cop, it's natural, but he’s the one. I can feel it.” She’d just offloaded her secret news to her sister, who didn’t look pleased.

  Eighteen months ago, stuck within the cogwheels of an existence that didn’t matter, she’d almost killed her sister, Ashni, the cop responsible for arresting Nishani and Clara. For eleven long years, Nishani had blamed Ashni for her kidnapping. Learning that Ashni had looked for her all those years came as a shocker. Although Nishani hadn’t given in quickly, she agreed to social rehabilitation as the judge called it. It took almost a year before she accepted the new way of life.

  “I’m not skeptical, Shani. You barely know the guy. Marriage is a big step.” Ashni interrupted her reflections. “Besides, we’ve just found you again.”

  “You don’t think seven months is long enough?”

  Ashni shook her head. “Considering where you met him, I’d say it’s not.”

  Nishani threw back her head with a laugh. “So, because we’ve been in the looney bin together, we need to take more time to fall in love?”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Ashni interrupted her musings. “Anyway, I wouldn’t call it a looney bin. The judge granted you leniency based on the ordeal you suffered as a young girl and the resultant damage. You lived with criminals for so long you needed the rehabilitation—social rehab mind you.”

  “Yeah yeah.” She grinned, and Ashni flicked a sugar sachet at her. Somehow, she and her sister had settled into a routine like the last thirteen years never happened. “If you’re so worried, why don’t you do a background check or something...” she trailed off when Ashni bit her lower lip. “You’ve already run one, haven’t you?” Nishani tried for anger but failed. Nothing about her sister surprised her anymore.

  “Call it vested interest.” Ashni shrugged. “I know I’m overly cautious around you, Shani but, I swore I’d never let anything happen to you again.”

  She reached across the table and squeezed her sister’s hand. “I’m grateful.” They were twins. Alike, yet so different—from temperament to life experiences. They’d both killed men. Ashni in the line of duty and she—for survival. “So, what did the check reveal?”

  Ashni eyed her over the rim of her coffee mug then set it on the table. “Nothing.”

  “See, I told you.”

  “Yeah, but sometimes an overtly clean background could mean something worse. Did Liam tell you that he lost his parents on his twenty-second birthday?”

  Nishani nodded. “His dad died while working on a case, and his mum had a heart attack. Liam didn’t seem keen to share more details, and I didn’t push. Although he didn’t admit it, I think his father’s death, among other things, was key to his rehab stint.”

  “Do you love him?”

  Nishani shrugged. Love for her was just a four-letter word. Something she’d accepted and lived with for a long time. “Do two people need to be in love to marry?”

  “I guess not everyone shares the sentiment.” Ashni sighed. “If you’re intent on this marriage, I need you to be careful, okay?”

  “Yes, sis.”

  “How are the nightmares,” Ashni asked. Nishani shrugged. “Shani, while you can ignore them, you can’t deny they exist.”

  She stared at her sister, then looked outside. Her past still affected her some, and while she accepted it would never change, Nishani wished for something different to make her forget and live. Maybe her marriage would. “I know. All in good time, I guess. No shrinks though, I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime.”

  Ashni laughed. “When do you plan on telling Mom and Pops?”

  “We’re meeting for dinner tonight. Join us?” Nishani smiled.

  Her sister read right through her façade and laughed. “Nope. You’re on your own on this one. Anyway, Avinash has a business dinner I promised I’d attend with him.” Ashni referred to her husband.

  Nishani stuck out her tongue. “Traitor. You’re supposed to be my wingman.”

  Ashni laughed. “Yeah, I am. But not when a sudden marriage is on the cards. You’ll be fine.” Her sister stood. “I need to run. Duty calls. Stay safe, okay.” Ashni dropped a quick kiss to Nishani’s cheek and left.

  She stared as Ashni disappeared into the crowded streets of Manhattan. Her sister was married to a handsome billionaire yet still chose to work as a cop. A position in which she excelled. There were times Nishani couldn’t believe everything was normal again. Although she’d escaped captivity, fear and the safety of her family prevented her from returning home. Life as a criminal became second nature, and love hadn’t featured in her wayward existence. Eventually, she learned to sift out the bad from the good quickly.

  With a soft moan, Nishani tugged her mind away from her troubled thoughts and glanced at her ringing mobile. Liam. Boyfriend? Future husband? She wasn’t sure what to call him now. With a smile she couldn’t conceal, she answered.

  “MARRIAGE?”

  Nishani stared at her father, hopeful then nodded. She’d just given them the news and expected his shocked reaction. Eleven years was a long time to lose a child, and when they finally found her, her marriage would mean losing her once more.

  “Are you sure, sweetheart?” her mother asked.

  “I know it’s not what you guys want to hear right now, but Liam is perfect. Besides, I’m not getting any younger.”

  “I’m not going to stop you, sweetheart.” Her father’s relaxed features settled her nerves. “We just want to make sure you’re making the right choice. We’ve only met the guy twice. Not enough time to get to know someone.”

  “Ash ran a background check. He’s clean,” she blurted out.

  Her father chuckled. “Trust your sister.”

  Nishani grinned, drinking in the sight of her parents. No matter how many times she’d seen them since returning, it always felt good. Richard Callahan was a gorgeous man with soft cerulean eyes, and brown hair dusted with gray flecks. Her mother, Shivani, was still a stunning beauty with large brown eyes and thick raven hair. Both daughters had inherited th
eir father's baby blues and their mother’s shiny black locks. Where Ashni wore her’s long, Nishani settled for a shorter style that grazed her shoulders.

  “Mom, Pops, I’m grateful to be back home with my caring family, but I’m twenty-nine. Most of my life belonged on the streets hiding from the law just to stay alive. For the first time, I have a chance to experience normalcy—I think I’m in love, and when Liam proposed, it was natural to say yes. We don’t want anything fancy. Just a small ceremony with close friends and family.”

  “But—”

  Anticipating her mother’s argument, Nishani held up a hand. “Mom, I’m still fitting in. I don’t know everyone and vice versa. A huge wedding will be a waste of time.”

  Her mother heaved a lengthy sigh. “Okay, sweetheart. Can I at least plan a small dinner party then?”

  Nishani laughed. There was just no stopping her mother. “After the honeymoon, okay?”

  “Where’s he taking you?” Her father bit into his steak with a soft smile.

  “The only thing I know is we’re heading to Africa. The rest is a surprise.” She laughed, loving Liam’s secrecy.

  Her mother’s eyes widened. “If it’s a secret, how would you know what to pack?”

  “We’ll pack the necessities and get the rest when we get there.”

  The next hour passed in happy chatter about the wedding. Later that night, when Nishani slipped into bed, she couldn’t contain the excitement. Her life was just beginning.

  Chapter Four

  TWO WEEKS LATER, NISHANI slipped into the rear seat of the car and smiled. She glanced at Liam as he instructed the driver. He promised her an exclusive dinner and a night to remember. It was the end of the first day of their honeymoon, and she looked forward to the next three weeks.

  While expecting him to consummate their marriage last night, she was surprised when Liam guided her toward the Vegas check-in counter at the airport. A change in the plan she hadn’t seen coming. The delayed flight resulted in a late dinner, a quick tour of the Vegas Strip, and then dropping into bed in exhausted heaps.