"I am not sure this is a good idea!"

Despite my misgivings, Jeet would just not take no for an answer. I had to relent and come upstairs, after lunch. Since then, we both have been holed up in his office, working on our respective laptops, even having our dinner in here.

He looks at me, eyebrows knitting in confusion, "what do you mean?"

"I mean my staying here. It's almost midnight and want to go back home. I am sure I will be fine in my house. Besides, Zenia would not approve my staying here."

"Zee's gone to London, and don't worry, she won't mind," he turns his attention back to his laptop.

"You have yet to explain why you called me up here," I query. Since my arrival, I have noticed Jeet has been pretty distracted even while working, constantly sending or receiving messages.

There is a mysterious sense of suspense in the air. The building is unnaturally quiet, more than usual. Even the air has stilled in anticipation of something. Jeet is agitated and tense, constantly looking out the window or talking in hushed whispers on his phone. Moreover, he would not let me out of his sight for more than five minutes, always keeping a watch on me.

"Like I told you, if this guy has been following you, then he is also likely to attack soon. My security team tells me, he is dangerous."

Before I could ask him if he knew something that I didn't, a loud crashing noise and sounds of men shouting, is heard from the garden below. Both Jeet and I run towards the window to see what is going on, but Jeet catches hold of my hand, pulling me back.

"No! wait!" he pulls out his phone from his pocket and presses a number on his speed dial. He listens carefully on the other side without saying a word. I can hear muffled voices of multiple men shouting on the other end of the line. Once the speaker has finished, Jeet nods his head grimly, "Come up here," he says to the person on the line.

Within minutes, two extremely well built men, enter the room and wait near the door. They look vaguely familiar.

Jeet meets them at the door. He talks to one of them quietly, in a way that I cannot hear, with their heads bent low, before nodding to the man. Jeet walks back to me. "Stay here, till I tell you its safe. Promise me, you won't leave this room. My men are here to protect you. OK?"

"What is going on?"

"I will tell you. I promise," he cups my face tenderly, rubbing his thumb on my jaw, before letting go and leaving the room.

I look at the two men, who are staring straight ahead. "Is everything alright? Is Jeet in any kind of trouble?" I ask the man, who spoke with Jeet.

"He is fine madam."

Time seems to pass very slowly, with no sign or call from Jeet. I pace the room nervously, hoping everything is well. I can still hear some verbal spat, but it is too far away to be comprehensible. Soon sounds of police siren add to the noise below, the flashing lights of their vehicle illuminating the air above.

"What is going on? What is that shouting?" I ask the bodyguard, more nervous than ever.

"Don't worry ma'am everything is under control," he replies stiffly.

Five minutes after the arrival of the police, the bodyguard receives a call. He listens to it for a second, nods and turns to me, "Sir is summoning you downstairs. Please come with me."

One of the guards moves ahead of me, while the other hangs back to let me go ahead. Even in the lift they ensure I am covered, and they check the exits before allowing me to leave.

A sound of someone being slapped hard, and a male voice yelling to stop, gets louder as I walk near the main gate, opposite my house. A man with his back to me, is being held captive by three police constables, his hands tied at the back with handcuffs. A police Inspector is continuously slapping him across his face. Another group of men, around ten at least, Jeet's security perhaps, are surrounding the cops.

Jeet standing a little distance away, sticks out his hand for me to grasp, when I reach near him.

"What is going on?" I ask, taking his offered hand.

"Do you know this man?" he asks, as we round the group to face the intruder.

I gasp in shock, instinctively clutching Jeet's arm as I see the man's face. It is that monster, the hitman appointed to kill me. His face is repulsively grotesque. Distorted, I assume, due to the rock smashing his face. His nose is bent sideways in an unnatural manner and the left side of his face is drooping. Looking at the mud on his face and torn clothes, it appears he had a scuffle just now, before being overpowered.

He bares his teeth like a rabid animal, when he sees me; I notice two teeth are missing from his upper jaw on the left side. His face contorts in a murderous rage as he struggles against his constraints, glaring at me. There is no doubt that if he were to let loose, he will kill me in an instant.

Jeet pushes me behind him, as he steps forward, shielding me from the vile man's fury. Staring at the man, he asks once again, "Tarana, do you know this man? I believe his name is Appu."

"Oh my gosh! Yes! I cannot forget his face. This man and his partner were hired to kill me in Nainital."

Upon hearing my statement, the man struggles wildly to break free, but the cops manage to restrain him. A police inspector slaps the man again, "Were you waiting here for the last two days to kill her?"

The man, flinches but remains silent.

I gasp, "Two days?" I shudder at the thought, tightening my hold on Jeet's arm. He covers my cold hand with his reassuringly warm one, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Yes," Jeet replies calmly.

"You knew?" I look at him, horrified.

"There was nothing to be worried about, you were always safe. I had my security guards around you all the time."

"What??"

Jeet turns to the cop, offering his hand for a handshake, "I guess you have everything you need, Inspector." The cop nods and shakes hands with Jeet.

"Don't worry Mr. Grewal, you leave it to us now. We will handle this matter. You will have no more trouble from this man," the cop says decisively.

The cops start to drag the man away to their vehicle. "I know what you are going to do. Please just take me to the police station," Appu cries out. A constable bends the captive's head backward, by pulling on his hair, "don't worry son, we will send you to your destination," he snarls. His colleagues snicker in response. Their prisoner's eyes change from anger to pure fear.

Jeet gently pushes me towards the house, his firm hand on my shoulder forcing me to turn away from looking at the man. "This chapter is over in your life. The police will take care of him. He will never be a threat to anyone ever again. Come on, let's go home," he says, as he guides me forward.

"Can you explain what just happened? You knew that man was following me? And what did you mean by saying that you had security around me. Since when?" I fire a barrage of questions as soon as we reach the family living room.

"Sit down first and hear me out."

I plop down on the plush sofa, narrowing my eyes at him. Jeet seats himself on the adjacent chair, resting his elbows on his legs, leaning forward.

"A week or so ago, my security team noticed this guy suspiciously hanging around our office for a few days before he disappeared. Then again, yesterday they spotted him here questioning the watchmen of surrounding buildings and the shopkeepers. At first, we assumed it was for me or my family; we have had incidents like these before, but later we found out that he was inquiring about you, specifically."

Jeet continues, "At the time, I did not know who this man was and why he was stalking you. I had no idea he was after you, which is why I did not mention it to you earlier. I honestly thought he was trying to get to me, through you. So, I put a security detail on you, as a precaution. When we searched his records, we found out he's a contract killer and wanted in many cases in North India."

Jeet looks at me, expecting me to say something, but I am too shaken to react. He exhales loudly, "I came down to talk to you about it, this morning, when I heard you with Purvi. It all made sense after you told me your story. When you caught him following you, I guess he realised that you knew because as soon as you reached home, he started a recce of this building, looking for ways to enter, not knowing that we were monitoring him. We figured, he was getting ready to attack, either here or outside."

I can feel my panic rising, remembering the murderous look on his face in the forest and the rage in his eyes today.

"I called the Commissioner of Police, and we agreed it was best if we catch him inside the building, instead of waiting for him to attack outside, where we would have no control. I was about to call you, when you called me. So, I got you up here, and we set a trap for him." He gets up from his seat and starts pacing the floor.

"I ordered my guards to leave a gate unattended for a while, and sure enough he took the bait immediately. He sneaked into the building carrying weapons and tried to enter your apartment. That is when my men caught him and called the cops, who were ready in wait."

The throbbing in my temple starts again.

I shake my head to clear the jumble of thoughts, clanging around in my brain, confusing me, "I have to leave from here, before my relatives send someone else."

Jeet gives a sardonic laugh, "You should change your name to The Runner." I stick my tongue at him, at his unfunny pun.

"Do you think that will solve your problem? You said it yourself, your relatives would find you again. Now that they know you are alive, they will relentlessly hunt you down, to secure your property. You need to stop them before they make their next move."

I drag my fingers down my face, exhausted with this cat-and-mouse-game I have been playing these years.

"What do you suggest I do?"

"Tomorrow, we are going to Nainital and confront your relatives."

I jump out of the sofa, walking to the window, shaking my head vehemently.

"No! Never! I do not want to see them again, after what they tried to do. I am not ready to face them," I wrap my arms around myself.

Jeet walks up to me, gently prying my hands from my arms, rubbing his thumbs on the back. Exhaling a long breath, he says, "You will never be ready, if you don't resolve to be. You need to do this now. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will get to make them leave. You need to confront them now and get them out of your life for good, if you want closure and healing."

I look into his deep eyes, full of assurance, while mine I'm sure are full of doubt and pain.

"Don't worry, I am going to be with you every step of the way."

"But.. But what if they try to hurt me or God forbid, you?"

Jeet lets out a soft chuckle, "I have dealt with people, worse than your relatives. Trust me, I am well prepared for anything they may try. Which, they better not, because it will only spell greater trouble for them." He has a smile on his lips but a steely glint in his eyes.

I am still skeptical. Jeet has no idea how cunning and deceitful my relatives are. They will lull us into a sense of complacency before stabbing us in the back, or in my case, literally in my heart.

"I am not sure this is a good idea!"