Secret Passions (17 page)

“You’re here to punish me for leaving home.”

He nodded. “But why do you run?”

She stood tall. “I don’t want to die. I’m happy here. I’ve created a good life. I work hard. I make my own way and I’ve found love.”

“I know, I’ve been watching you. Is he good to you?”

She felt herself shaking, but tried to control most of it by holding her hands together in front of her. “Yes, he’s a good man. I wish more than anything to wed him and have many children.”

He nodded. “I’ve seen you two together. I think he takes good care of you.”

She was confused. Had he been watching them? How long?

“Palatu, I’ve only come to see you are happy. If you were not happy, I was going to take you back home. To your mother. She worries so.”

She looked at him and in the dying light she couldn’t quite read his face. Was this a trap? Why was he talking like he was trying to help her?

“I don’t understand. What about Anish?”

“Anish? He is here.”

She was more confused than before. 

“
Anish, he said he was here to take my money, that the family had suffered because I left. That I had to be punished because I left you with nothing.”

Her father stood still and finally, as the clouds disappeared for a moment and the full light of the stars and the moon hit him, she saw his face for the first time. He looked older. His black hair was streaked with silver and looked thinner on the top. She noticed wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He looked tired.

“Anish has talked to you?”

She nodded. “He threatened me. He hurt someone close to Mitchell. He broke into my apartment and broke everything.”

“Anish did this?”

“I thought you had helped him.” She took a step closer to him as she saw the sadness come into his eyes.

“No, I knew of nothing. I’ve been following you. Trying to decide if you were happy. We came here together, but shortly after we found where you lived, he took off. I followed you here and have been here since you arrived.”

She thought about it. “You aren’t mad at me? You aren’t here to kill me?”

“No, my pet. I could never hurt you. Your mother and I, we only want to know if you are happy. When you left, you took our heart. We realize we were wrong, trying to force you to marry Ishat. We didn’t know he requested the
mādā janānga vikrti until the day after you were gone. We would have never let him harm you.
”

Her heart mended the rip that had been torn for so long. Realizing all the years she’d believed her parents didn’t care caused the guilt to sink in.

Just then they both turned as another voice chimed in. “Finally.” Anish stood next to a tree breathing hard. “Good, you’re both here. It’s easier to take care of things this way. I’ve waited for a long time to get the two of you together. Ever since my father was imprisoned I’ve thought about my revenge.”

Sandi realized he had a gun in his hand when the moonlight reflected off its barrel. She gasped and took a step back towards her father.

Anish continued talking and walking slowly towards them. “You, Haidar, I’m going to kill you for sending my father here in the first place. You only thought of Sannidhi. She was just a stupid girl. Yet you sent your brother across the world and look at where it got him. Life in prison like a common thief.”

Sandi tried to think. If she ran, she knew Anish would shoot her. Then there was her father. She didn’t know how fast he could run, but after having Anish chase her through the streets of Manhattan, she knew she would have a hard time staying in front of him. She wished Mitchell was here.

“Sannidhi, I’m going to enjoy killing you. I think I will seek vengeance first. Take my time and enjoy it. I’ve always had a thing for you, you know. Besides, what good are you for? You’ve caused my family nothing but pain. Everything I have was taken when my father was incarcerated.”

Her heart stopped as she realized how evil her cousin was. Her father pulled her back another step, holding her still in case she tried to run. She knew he thought the same thing, that neither of them would make it very far.

“Anish, put the gun down. This is not how you deal with your family. I’m the head of the family. I’ll take care of my daughter myself.” Her father stepped forward, putting his body next to hers. They stood shoulder to shoulder.

She heard it then. Mitchell’s voice screaming her name over and over again. Her cousin heard it, too. He swung his arm and head towards the house and then he spun back around and pointed the gun at her chest. Just before he squeezed the trigger, she was pushed aside by her father.

She screamed as she felt her father’s body jerk and land next to her on the rocky ground. When she looked up again, her cousin stood over her, a twisted smile on his face.

“I’m going to kill your man when he gets here. I’ll make you watch as his body is drained of life, then I’ll take you next to his cold body. I’ll slit your throat and have your family’s money to line my wallet.”

Just then Mitchell ran into the clearing. When he saw Anish standing over her, he growled as he sprinted towards them. Her cousin turned, starting to aim the gun at Mitchell. She viewed it all like it was a movie in slow motion. Fear closed her throat so that she couldn't even scream.

Using all her strength, she kicked out and landed a blow to her cousin's legs. Anish fell forward just as the gun went off. Grabbing hold of him, she rolled with a kick, taking her and her cousin towards the edge of the cliff. Not knowing where the gun was, she continued the motion until she heard Mitchell scream her name, but she didn’t stop until she felt her body start to fall.

“
I
’ve
got you.” Mitch was gripping Sandi’s arm, praying for the strength to hold on. His side stung where the bullet had grazed him, but he wouldn’t let go. Couldn’t let go.

As he looked down, he saw her cousin's body twisted at the bottom of the small cliff, his neck at an odd angle. Focusing his eyes on Sandi’s face, he started pulling her up towards him. She kicked her feet, trying to dig into the mud and rocks, dislodging them as she tried to pull herself up. Finally, when she was back on solid ground, he pulled her close and held on for a moment.

Then she was pushing him away, and running to her father’s side.

“No! Pita.” She knelt over him, tears falling from her face. She said something else to him in Hindi and Mitch noticed the blood pooling around the man’s chest.

“Mitch? Help me.” She looked up into his eyes and he would have done anything for her.

Kneeling beside the man, he took off his jacket and placed it over the hole in his chest. Applying pressure. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and dialed 911.

“Pita! I don’t know what to do. Please stay with me.” Sandi begged. “Don’t go.” She cried seeing her father’s face go ashen. She knew he was beyond help. There was something in his eyes that told her he was ready to go.

“Palatu, Sannidhi, my daughter, my light. I’m sorry I caused you such fear. I never meant to hurt you. Can you understand this? I only wished to see you happy. When I was younger, I was blinded by my brother and the desire of money. He talked me into binding you with Ishat’s family because they had money and power. But what he started, I couldn’t stop. When my brother shamed our family, I knew then that I had to find you. To make things right with you. I saw your painting in
Bhubaneswar. I knew it was yours. It took me months to find the dealer. When I came here, I did everything to find you. I never meant to scare you.” His hand came up and cupped her face. “Never to scare you my pet. I love you, my daughter.”

The tears fell from her face as his hand went limp in hers and then dropped from her face.

Mitch watched the scene, and his heart broke a little as Sandi cried over her father’s lifeless body. He stood there, not sure what to do, not exactly sure what had happened.

He knew the pain of losing family, but there were no words he could say to take some of it away. Instead he knelt there, looking down at the scene, wishing that her freedom hadn’t cost her so much.

By the time the police arrived, Sandi and Mitch were standing in the driveway, Sandi silently crying on Mitch’s shoulder. She stayed back at the house with a female officer as he walked the police out to the scene. Four officers followed him, asking him questions as they went. His jacket still lay over her father’s face. The gun was still by her cousin's body at the bottom of the cliff.

Once he’d shown them the bodies and described what he’d seen, an older office walked with him back to the house. They were asked the same questions over and over. An hour later, he made a pot of coffee, passing out cups to all the officers still on the scene. It seemed every police officer in the small town was at the house now.

When the coroner’s van came, he tried to keep Sandi from noticing as they carted the bodies past the front of the house. The female officer was a big help in keeping her occupied. She asked questions about Sandi’s paintings and tried to keep Sandi’s mind from what was happening outside.

Several officers helped him put a wood plank over the broken glass, closing up the back window in the door until it could be replaced. He called Carter and explained everything, His friend was glad that they were okay and told him not to worry about the door, that he’d have it replaced later that week.

Finally, hours later, when everyone had left, they walked upstairs. It felt like his body was at past exhaustion. He imagined that she felt the same way.

Walking into the bathroom he started the bathwater, making sure to add some of the bath salts he’d bought her from a local shop. Then he walked into the next room and when he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her hands, he pulled her to her feet. Her eyes were dull and red-rimmed from all the crying. Her face was a little pale and her hair was a tangled mess. He wanted to gather her up and kiss away the pain.

“I thought...I thought he...” She started to sniffle.

“Shh, I know. We both did. I’ve drawn you a bath. Come on, I’d like to clean these cuts on your hands.”

She looked down, and he could tell she’d long forgotten about the small pebbles embedded into her skin. She nodded her head and when they entered the bathroom, he helped her undress, taking care when he noticed her knees were also cut.

When she stepped into the tub, steam rose from the water and she hissed at the warmth.

“Too hot?”

“No, it’s fine.” She sank into the water, and he watched as she ducked her head under. She ran her hands through her hair, scrubbing her scalp before surfacing.

He walked over to the cabinets, looking for something to help clean her palms. Finding a new pair of tweezers, he grabbed a small container of Neosporin from the shelf and a small hand towel off the rack. He moved a stool beside the bath tub and gently took her hand.

“Relax. I’ll try to be as gentle as I can.” He set to work, removing the small rocks from her skin. By the time he was done with one hand, she looked completely relaxed floating in the water. Her hair was fanned out around her face and her eyes were closed. Since her other hand was across her body, she had to sit up as he worked on her left palm.

“I’m sorry about your dad. I didn’t understand everything he said near the end, but from what I could gather he didn’t mean you any harm?”

“No, he came here to make sure I was happy. Only to see if I was happy.” Her voice hitched, and she closed her eyes on the pain.

“I’m sorry.” The realization that her father had not been the evil person he’d assumed made him feel even worse.

“He saved me. He stepped in front of the bullet. If it wasn’t for him...”

“Shh.” He gathered her up in a light hug, getting his shirt wet and not caring.

“Mitch, I’m getting you wet,” she said a few seconds later.

“I don’t care. All that matters is that you’re safe. I don’t know what I would have done.” He shook his head, stopping himself. “Here.” He stood and grabbed a towel, holding it up for her to walk into.

They walked into the bedroom. “Are you hungry?” When she shook her head no, he walked over to the window and stood, looking out at the darkness.

“I meant to tell you sooner.” He turned back towards her. She sat with her hair dripping wet, holding the towel closed with her hands clinched to her chest.

He walked over and knelt before her. “Sannidhi Rangan, I love you more than life itself. I don’t know what I would do without you. I’ve never trusted someone as much as I trust you with these words, with my heart. I love you.”

She lifted her hand and touched his face.

“I love you, too, Mitchell Kovich. I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you over five years ago. I’ve dreamed of being with you, of starting a life with you, since that first night.”

She smiled down at him. “I could never imagine my life without you.”

He smiled up at her. “You will never have to.”

The next morning they spent a good deal of time cleaning the house, preparing to leave. Sandi had insisted that they leave it cleaner than when they had arrived. His fingers and back said he’d worked hard enough to get it there, and the place seemed to shine. Sandi had packed up all their new items in bags. It took several trips to get all her artwork out to the car. The canvases filled the entire back seat.

“I hope we can come here again. I think I could spend my whole life here and not feel like I’ve captured the beauty completely.”

He pulled her close and kissed her, enjoying the feel of her melting into his arms. Just then his cell phone rang.

Looking at the number, he stepped away and answered. Five minutes later he walked back over to her.

“The authorities are sending your father and cousin’s bodies back home for burial. Since they were here under diplomatic immunity, there is a huge pile of paperwork and legal tape they have to go through. But they think they have enough from us. They just wanted to let us know that we’re clear to head back home.” He smiled. “I guess since we have their permission, we can leave now.”

She nodded. “Mitchell, I’d like to go back and visit my mother. Maybe help her bury my father.”

He smiled and pulled her close. “I think a trip to India is just what we need. I’ll arrange everything when we get back.”

She looked up at him and smiled. “For the first time in my life, I’m looking forward to going home.”

The car ride back to the city seemed to go faster than the trip up to Maine had. The leaves had all fallen and when they reached Boston, a light dusting of snow was actually falling.

As she listened to the wipers cleaning the flakes from the windshield, she imagined what life would be like a year from now. They hadn’t talked about marriage, but knew that was the path she wanted to take with him. Looking over at him as he drove, she smiled and thought about what their children would look like and wondered how many they would have.

“Four.” She said out loud, shocking herself. He turned and looked at her and she blushed, turning her head towards the window.

“Four what?”

“Nothing.” She laughed nervously.

“Oh, no. You don’t get to play that game. Come on. Spill. Four what?”

She turned back to him. “Fine, I was thinking about our future. Do you want kids?”

He choked a little. “Well,” he said recovering. “Sure. I haven’t really thought about it.” He tilted his head and stole glances at her as he drove. “Four, huh?”

She nodded her head, biting her bottom lip.

“
I could do four.” He smiled at her. “I guess we’re going to need a bigger place, though. Maybe someplace away from the city.”

“That would be wonderful.”