Chapter 7 — Don’t Touch Her
1691 Words
Chapter 7 — Don’t Touch Her
The words shattered the room like glass.
“They found Naina.”
For one terrifying second, Maya Verma couldn’t breathe.
The world narrowed violently.
Rain outside.
Thunder.
The sound of her own heartbeat.
Then—
“Where?”
Her voice came out dangerously quiet.
Mihir Raichand watched her carefully. “My security team intercepted movement near your apartment.”
Maya grabbed her tablet instantly.
Hands shaking.
That alone alarmed Mihir.
Because Maya never shook.
Security cameras flooded the screen one after another.
Apartment hallway.
Street view.
Parking lot.
Then—
A black van.
Two armed men dragging Naina toward it.
Maya’s face lost all color.
“Naina…”
Mihir saw it immediately.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not for herself.
For someone she loved.
Maya slammed commands into the tablet furiously, tracing routes, hacking traffic feeds, searching live surveillance.
“She’s still moving,” Maya whispered rapidly. “Eastern express highway— warehouse district maybe—”
“Maya.”
“No, no, no, they’ll hurt her because of me—”
“Maya.”
She froze.
Mihir stepped closer slowly.
“Look at me.”
Her eyes lifted instantly.
And Mihir’s chest tightened painfully because she looked terrified.
Not hacker Nyx.
Not sarcastic Maya.
Just… scared.
“They took the wrong person,” Mihir said softly.
Something cold entered his voice after that.
“Because nobody touches what’s yours and walks away.”
Maya stared at him.
Then blinked.
“…What’s mine?”
Mihir realized what he’d said.
Too late.
A strange silence followed.
Maya’s heartbeat did something deeply unprofessional.
But Mihir continued before either could think about it.
“We’ll get her back.”
Not try.
Not hopefully.
We’ll.
Absolute certainty.
And somehow…
Maya believed him immediately.
—
Twenty minutes later, the safehouse underground garage transformed into controlled chaos.
Black vehicles.
Weapons.
Encrypted communications.
AstraVex security teams moved rapidly around them.
Maya stood near the central monitor station tracking every traffic camera in Mumbai simultaneously.
Her hoodie sleeves were pushed up.
Dark hair messy.
Eyes sharp with panic and rage.
Mihir watched her quietly while loading another magazine into his handgun.
Beautiful.
Even furious.
Especially furious.
Dangerous thought.
One of the security officers approached carefully.
“Sir, police response teams are requesting involvement.”
“No police.”
The officer hesitated. “Sir—”
“No leaks. No delays.”
His voice turned lethal.
“And no mistakes.”
The officer immediately nodded and left.
Maya glanced sideways at Mihir.
“You trust your people more than the police?”
“I trust efficiency.”
“You sound like a villain.”
“You hacked government satellites once.”
Maya blinked. “How do you know that?”
Mihir calmly holstered the weapon. “I read your classified file.”
“You have a classified file on me?”
“You have six.”
“That’s honestly flattering.”
Despite the situation, Mihir almost smiled.
Then Maya’s screen flashed.
Location match.
An abandoned shipping warehouse near the docks.
Maya’s expression hardened instantly.
“Found them.”
Mihir moved beside her immediately.
The surveillance image enlarged.
Four guards outside.
One inside patrol.
Naina tied to a chair near cargo crates.
Alive.
Maya visibly exhaled.
Mihir noticed everything.
The relief.
The guilt.
The fear underneath both.
Then Maya suddenly reached for weapons from the nearby table.
Mihir caught her wrist immediately.
“You’re not going in recklessly.”
“I’m absolutely going in recklessly.”
“Maya.”
“That’s my best friend.”
“And you’re emotionally compromised.”
Her eyes flashed angrily. “Excuse me?”
“You’ll rush in without thinking.”
“And what exactly are you doing?”
Mihir went silent.
Fair point.
Maya stepped closer.
“You don’t get to protect everyone alone.”
The words hit harder than expected.
Because that’s exactly what Mihir always tried to do.
Control everything.
Carry everything.
Handle everything himself.
And now this impossible woman was standing in front of him acting like she belonged beside him in danger.
Mihir lowered his voice carefully.
“If anything happens to you—”
Maya interrupted softly.
“Then don’t let it.”
Their eyes locked.
Too intense.
Again.
One of the security men awkwardly cleared his throat nearby.
“Sir… vehicles are ready.”
Both stepped apart instantly.
Maya looked suspiciously pleased by that.
Mihir looked mildly homicidal toward the interruption.
—
Rain hammered the city roads as the convoy sped toward the docks.
Inside the lead vehicle, Maya hacked into the warehouse electrical systems while Mihir sat beside her watching tactical maps.
The atmosphere inside the car felt charged.
Not just because of the mission.
Because of them.
Everything between them had changed tonight.
The almost kiss.
The confessions.
The way Mihir touched her now without instinctively pulling away.
Neither knew what to do with any of it.
So naturally—
They argued instead.
“You’re holding the g*n wrong,” Maya said casually.
Mihir looked offended. “I trained professionally.”
“Yes, but emotionally you’re holding it wrong.”
“That sentence means nothing.”
“You’re too tense.”
“We’re driving toward armed kidnappers.”
“Exactly. Relax.”
Mihir stared at her in disbelief. “You’re insane.”
Maya grinned faintly. “You like it.”
Silence.
Then Mihir muttered quietly—
“That’s becoming a problem.”
Maya’s heartbeat stumbled again.
She looked away toward the rain-covered window quickly.
Coward.
Absolute coward.
The convoy approached the docks minutes later.
Dark ocean waves crashed violently against the concrete harbor while massive cargo containers towered around the abandoned warehouse district.
Maya immediately activated drone feeds from her tablet.
“Five heat signatures now,” she whispered. “Two more arrived.”
Mihir checked his weapon calmly.
“We move quietly.”
Maya smirked slightly. “You saying ‘quietly’ while carrying enough guns for civil war is adorable.”
“Maya.”
“Fine.”
The security teams spread carefully through the shadows.
Rain soaked everything instantly.
Maya and Mihir moved together behind stacked cargo containers toward the warehouse entrance.
Mihir noticed Maya shivering slightly from the cold rain.
Without thinking, he removed his jacket and handed it to her.
Maya blinked.
“You’ll freeze.”
“I’ll survive.”
The exact words she’d once told him.
Maya realized that too.
Something warm flickered painfully inside her chest.
She took the jacket slowly.
It smelled faintly like expensive cologne and sanitizer.
Oddly comforting.
Inside the warehouse, dim yellow lights flickered over rusted machinery and shipping crates.
Voices echoed nearby.
Maya spotted Naina immediately.
Tied to a chair near the center platform.
Terrified but alive.
Maya stepped forward instinctively.
Mihir grabbed her hand quickly.
“Wait.”
His fingers tightened slightly around hers.
Maya looked down at their joined hands for half a second too long.
Then back at him.
Mihir’s expression remained cold and focused.
But his thumb brushed lightly against her knuckles unconsciously.
The tiny movement nearly destroyed her concentration.
A loud voice suddenly echoed through the warehouse.
“Well. The billionaire came personally.”
A man stepped from the shadows slowly.
Tall.
Scarred face.
Black gloves.
Cold smile.
Maya’s expression darkened immediately.
“Raghav.”
The man grinned. “Nice to see you too, Nyx.”
Mihir instantly noticed something.
Recognition.
Not fear.
History.
“You know him,” Mihir said coldly.
Maya didn’t look away from Raghav.
“He used to work in cyber intelligence.”
Raghav laughed softly. “Before your little hacker destroyed three years of operations.”
Mihir’s gaze sharpened dangerously.
“You targeted her before AstraVex.”
“Nyx has always been valuable.”
Raghav looked toward Maya with unsettling amusement.
“Especially now.”
Mihir stepped slightly in front of her instantly.
Protective.
Instinctive.
Raghav noticed.
And smiled wider.
“Oh,” he said softly. “Now I understand.”
Maya’s stomach dropped.
Raghav looked delighted.
“The untouchable Mihir Raichand finally found someone he’d bleed for.”
Silence.
Cold.
Heavy.
Mihir’s expression became terrifyingly calm.
“Release the girl.”
“Or?”
Mihir slowly raised the handgun.
“Or I remove your ability to breathe.”
Even Maya felt chills from that tone.
Raghav chuckled.
“You’re in love with her already, aren’t you?”
Everything stopped.
Rain.
Movement.
Breathing.
Maya’s eyes widened slightly.
Mihir went completely still.
Love.
The word hung violently in the warehouse air.
Raghav looked between them knowingly.
“That’s unfortunate.”
Then suddenly he grabbed Naina violently and pressed a g*n against her head.
Maya stepped forward instantly.
“Don’t touch her!”
Raghav smirked. “Drop the weapons.”
Security teams tensed around the warehouse shadows.
Mihir’s jaw tightened hard.
Maya’s breathing became uneven.
Naina looked terrified.
“Maya…” she whispered shakily.
Raghav’s eyes remained locked on Mihir.
“Choose carefully, CEO.”
Mihir’s finger tightened slightly against the trigger.
Then—
Maya noticed movement above.
Warehouse crane system.
Unstable cargo hooks.
An idea flashed instantly.
Dangerous.
Reckless.
Perfect.
Maya whispered barely loud enough for Mihir to hear.
“Three seconds.”
His eyes flicked toward her.
Understanding immediately.
Mihir slowly lowered the g*n.
Raghav smiled victoriously.
Wrong move.
Maya suddenly slammed a command on her tablet.
The warehouse crane activated instantly overhead.
Massive cargo containers swung violently across the ceiling.
Chaos exploded.
Raghav shouted.
Gunfire erupted.
Maya sprinted toward Naina while Mihir fired precisely at armed guards.
The entire warehouse descended into madness.
Metal crashed everywhere.
Sparks flew from shattered lights.
Maya cut Naina’s restraints quickly.
“You okay?”
Naina immediately hugged her tightly.
Maya froze for one startled second before hugging back fiercely.
Then—
A gunshot exploded nearby.
Mihir turned sharply.
Raghav had aimed directly toward Maya.
Everything slowed instantly.
Mihir moved without thinking.
He shoved Maya hard out of the bullet’s path.
The shot slammed into Mihir’s shoulder instead.
“Mihir!” Maya screamed.
Raghav disappeared into the chaos immediately afterward.
But Maya barely noticed.
Because Mihir staggered backward, blood spreading rapidly across his shirt.
And for the first time since meeting him—
Pure panic hit her.
- Writer
