Detached

CHAPTER 79

*RIYANSH'S POINT OF VIEW*

Exhaustion didn’t quite cover what I felt as I sat on the edge of my bed. I’d just been to work for sixteen hours straight, and my body was hurting like hell. I flopped onto my back and glanced over at the clock; it was only eight in the evening. Unable to resist, I picked up my cell phone and texted Meera, the same as I did every day.

‘I had a hard day at work today. I really would love to talk to you. Please call me. I love you, always x’

I sent it and closed my eyes, not even bothering to get undressed, and fell to sleep immediately.

I woke just after nine in the morning to my cell phone ringing on the bed next to me. I grabbed it quick and answered it, hoping it was Meera. “Agent Bhut,” I croaked, my voice thick with sleep.

“Riysnsh, it’s Officer Rai.”

I frowned. “Yes, sir?” I replied, sitting up quickly. He never called me; I wasn’t assigned to him anymore.

“Riyansh, I’ve just heard something, and I thought you should know,” he sounded remarkably stressed and I felt my body tense up. “Miss Singhania’s been taken, her guards are dead. They think it’s James Smith.”

My tired brain immediately registered what he’d said. Meera. Meera was in trouble. “WHAT? WHEN?” I cried, jumping out of the bed, stripping out of my uniform and grabbing the first clean clothes that I saw, throwing them on.

“Just a couple of hours ago. One of the agents managed to call through to the Farm House for backup, but by the time they got extra staff there, everyone was dead and she was gone,” he said sadly.

Anger made my teeth ache as I clenched my jaw. I was angry at James, angry at myself for not being there, and I was also angry at Meera for sending me away in the first place. I should have been there, I could have stopped this. Out of frustration, I kicked my chest of drawers, taking my anger out on that. When that didn’t help, I grabbed it and pulled it over, spilling everything over to the floor, making a loud crash as the mirror broke and my possessions scattered all over my floor.

“Do they know where she is?” I asked.

He sighed. “No, they have no idea. They don’t think she got on a plane, they’ve been monitoring the airports, but she could be anywhere by now,” he replied.

My heart was in my throat, my hands shaking with rage. If he touched one hair on her beautiful head, I would rip him to pieces! “I need to go, sir,” I stated, not even waiting for an answer.

I disconnected the call and dialled Meera’s number. It answered immediately. “Who’s this?” a man’s voice asked.

I felt the snarl try to rip itself out of my mouth. “Who the f* *k is  this and what are you doing with Meera's phone?” I growled as I threw a change of clothes into a bag along with my guns, ammo, knives and my other tactical gear.

“This is Agent Arora,” the voice replied hesitantly.

“This is Agent Bhut. Why do you have Meera’s phone?” I asked, trying to control my breathing; all I wanted to do was smash everything, and that wouldn’t help at all.

“Miss Singhania didn’t take her cell phone; it’s here in the apartment.”

I closed my eyes and groaned. They couldn’t even track her through her cell signal. Why hadn’t I ever thought about getting a tracking device on her body or something? I could have suggested it to her dad, I’m sure he could have commissioned something small enough to attach to the back of an earring or necklace.