Chapter 5 — Stay Close
2017 Words
Chapter 5 — Stay Close
The security alarms screamed through the penthouse like a warning siren from hell.
Red emergency lights flashed across the walls in violent intervals.
INTRUDER ALERT.
INTRUDER ALERT.
Maya Verma instantly moved toward the surveillance monitors while Mihir Raichand stepped in front of her protectively without thinking.
Both noticed it.
Neither mentioned it.
Maya’s heartbeat betrayed her anyway.
“Three men,” she said quickly, checking the cameras. “Armed. Elevator disabled.”
Mihir’s face turned dangerously calm.
“How long before they reach this floor?”
“Two minutes if they use the stairs.”
Mihir walked toward a hidden cabinet near the wall and unlocked it with fingerprint access.
Maya blinked.
“…Why does your furniture contain weapons?”
Mihir calmly loaded a handgun. “Mumbai is unfriendly sometimes.”
“You terrify me.”
“You hacked an international syndicate.”
“Yes, but aesthetically.”
Mihir almost smiled again.
This woman joked during life-threatening situations.
Psychotic behavior.
Strangely charming.
Maya turned back to the screens rapidly.
“They’re searching room by room.”
“Can you lock the floor remotely?”
“Already trying.”
Her fingers flew across the keyboard while Mihir watched the hallway camera carefully.
There she was again.
Focused.
Sharp.
Brilliant.
Beautiful.
Mihir hated how often that word appeared in his head now.
Maya suddenly muttered, “Come on…”
“What?”
“They’re bypassing the security system manually.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Your building engineers are underpaid.”
Mihir’s eyes narrowed. “You insult my company constantly.”
“It builds character.”
Then suddenly—
The penthouse lights shut off completely.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Maya cursed softly.
Backup power failed.
That meant only one thing.
“Internal sabotage,” she whispered.
Mihir immediately understood.
Someone inside AstraVex was helping Serpentine directly.
A cold fury settled in his chest.
He had spent years building his empire carefully, controlling every detail of his world.
And someone inside it was rotting it from within.
Glass shattered somewhere downstairs.
Closer now.
Maya grabbed her backpack quickly. “We need to move.”
“I’m not running.”
“You’re not bulletproof either.”
Another crash echoed.
Mihir checked the handgun calmly.
Maya stared at him suspiciously. “Why are you so calm?”
“I’m angry.”
That answer somehow scared her more.
Mihir looked terrifying when angry.
Not loud.
Not emotional.
Just controlled enough to become dangerous.
Maya quickly opened a hidden digital map on her tablet.
“There’s a service corridor behind the kitchen.”
“You memorized my penthouse layout?”
“You uploaded the architectural plans to a cloud server.”
“You hacked my architectural plans?”
“You have expensive taste.”
Mihir sighed softly. “Unbelievable.”
Another gunshot echoed below.
Too close.
Maya grabbed his wrist instinctively.
“Move.”
This time, Mihir didn’t pull away.
Not even slightly.
They rushed through the dark penthouse toward the kitchen corridor while emergency lights pulsed red around them.
The entire situation felt unreal.
Like two people balancing between disaster and something far more dangerous.
Attraction.
Maya stopped near the hidden service door and hacked the lock panel rapidly.
Behind them, footsteps entered the penthouse.
Mihir raised the g*n immediately.
Voices echoed faintly.
“Search everywhere.”
Maya unlocked the door at the last second.
“Inside.”
They slipped into the narrow corridor just before armed men entered the main living room.
The hidden door sealed shut quietly.
Darkness surrounded them.
The corridor was barely wide enough for two people.
Maya stood directly in front of Mihir.
Close.
Very close.
Her back almost touched his chest.
Mihir’s breathing slowed carefully.
Too close.
He should’ve been uncomfortable.
Should’ve panicked.
Should’ve wanted distance.
Instead…
He noticed the scent of her shampoo.
The warmth of her body near his.
The way her breathing changed slightly whenever danger approached.
Maya whispered, “They’ll scan thermal signatures soon.”
“What’s the plan?”
“We reach the underground garage.”
“And then?”
Maya glanced back over her shoulder.
“Then we disappear.”
Their eyes met briefly in the darkness.
And something dangerous passed silently between them.
Footsteps echoed outside the hidden corridor wall.
One of the intruders stopped nearby.
Maya froze instantly.
The man outside muttered, “Check the security room.”
Another replied, “Boss wants the hacker alive.”
Mihir’s jaw tightened immediately.
Alive.
Meaning Serpentine wanted Maya specifically.
Rage flickered coldly beneath his skin.
Maya slowly turned toward him in the darkness.
“We wait until they move.”
Mihir nodded once.
But neither moved afterward.
The corridor remained silent except for breathing.
Too close.
Maya became painfully aware of everything.
The heat from Mihir’s body.
His hand resting near her waist to steady himself in the narrow space.
His heartbeat.
Strong.
Steady.
Dangerously calming.
Maya swallowed hard.
This was bad.
Very bad.
Because she wanted to lean closer.
And Mihir…
Mihir wanted exactly the same thing.
His eyes dropped briefly toward her lips before he immediately looked away.
Control.
He needed control.
Maya noticed anyway.
Her pulse jumped traitorously.
Then suddenly—
Mihir quietly asked, “Why do you really work alone?”
The question caught her off guard.
Maya looked away slightly.
“People complicate things.”
“That’s not the real reason.”
“No, psychologist CEO, it actually is.”
“You avoid attachment.”
Maya went silent.
Because he was right.
Mihir watched her carefully.
“You expect people to leave eventually.”
The accuracy of that statement hit too hard.
Maya forced a laugh. “And you expect people to contaminate your existence.”
“I do.”
“You realize that sounds insane.”
“I never claimed otherwise.”
Another silence settled between them.
But softer now.
Honest.
Maya finally whispered, “When you depend on people, they become weaknesses.”
Mihir looked at her for a long moment.
“And what are you?”
The question lingered heavily in the darkness.
Maya tried to answer casually.
“I’m a professional inconvenience.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
Before she could answer—
The corridor door scanner suddenly flashed red.
Maya cursed under her breath.
“They found the access panel.”
A loud metallic bang echoed outside.
The intruders were trying to break in.
Mihir immediately stepped closer.
“How long?”
“Thirty seconds.”
“Can you open another route?”
Maya typed rapidly into her tablet.
“No signal. They jammed communications.”
Another metallic crash.
Closer.
Mihir’s expression hardened instantly.
Then quietly—
“Stay behind me.”
Maya stared at him.
“What?”
“If they get through that door.”
The cold certainty in his voice startled her.
He fully intended to fight armed men for her.
Maya’s chest hurt strangely.
No one had ever chosen her safety before.
Not first.
Not instinctively.
Another crash shook the corridor.
The door lock cracked.
Maya grabbed Mihir’s sleeve suddenly.
“We go together.”
Their eyes locked.
And for a second the danger disappeared again.
Just him.
Just her.
Too close.
Too intense.
Then the door exploded inward.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Mihir pulled Maya down behind a maintenance unit while bullets slammed into metal walls.
The corridor filled with smoke and sparks.
Maya’s heart pounded violently.
Mihir fired back with terrifying precision.
One attacker fell immediately.
The others retreated briefly.
Maya looked at Mihir in shock.
“You know how to shoot.”
“I’m a billionaire. People become ambitious.”
Another gunshot echoed.
Maya pulled a flash device from her backpack quickly.
“When I throw this, run left.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll survive.”
“That’s not good enough.”
The intensity in his voice stunned her.
Maya stared at him for half a second too long.
Then she whispered softly—
“Mihir…”
The way she said his name nearly destroyed his self-control.
He had never heard his name sound like that before.
Like trust.
Like fear.
Like something dangerously personal.
Maya threw the flash grenade.
White light exploded through the corridor.
Screams followed instantly.
“NOW!”
They ran.
Fast.
Through smoke-filled maintenance hallways and emergency stairwells while alarms screamed throughout the building.
Maya hacked electronic doors open while Mihir covered behind them.
Somehow they moved together naturally.
Like instinct.
Like they already trusted each other with their lives.
They finally reached the underground parking garage breathlessly.
Maya rushed toward her motorcycle.
Then froze.
Four black SUVs surrounded the exit.
Serpentine.
Waiting.
“Damn it.”
Mihir scanned the garage instantly.
“No clear route.”
Maya’s mind raced rapidly.
Then suddenly—
Headlights flashed from the opposite side of the garage.
A black Aston Martin sped toward them aggressively.
Mihir frowned. “That’s my car.”
The driver door opened automatically.
Maya blinked. “Your car drives itself?”
“It’s customized.”
“Rich people are so weird.”
Gunshots exploded behind them again.
Mihir grabbed Maya’s hand.
“Move.”
This time neither acknowledged the contact.
They sprinted toward the car together while bullets shattered concrete nearby.
The Aston Martin doors opened upward automatically.
Maya slid inside first.
Mihir entered seconds later.
The car accelerated instantly before the doors fully closed.
Tires screamed across the garage floor.
SUVs chased them immediately.
Maya looked back through the rear window.
“Oh good. We’re in a billionaire action movie now.”
Mihir drove sharply onto the main road.
“Seatbelt.”
“You’re being hunted by assassins and still enforcing traffic safety?”
“Yes.”
“That’s deeply attractive.”
Silence.
Mihir glanced toward her briefly.
Maya realized what she’d said.
“…Forget that happened.”
“No.”
“Mihir.”
“You called me attractive.”
“You heard incorrectly.”
“You’re blushing again.”
Maya covered her face dramatically. “This is humiliating.”
A sudden impact slammed into the car from behind.
The chase intensified instantly.
SUVs surrounded them through midnight traffic.
Maya grabbed the dashboard tightly.
“You drive like a criminal.”
“You hack governments.”
“Fair point.”
Mihir turned sharply through a narrow side street.
One SUV crashed behind them.
Another kept following aggressively.
Maya quickly opened her tablet.
“What are you doing?”
“Hacking traffic systems.”
“Can you do that while moving?”
“I can do anything while moving.”
Mihir looked at her briefly.
Dangerous answer.
Thirty seconds later, every traffic light ahead turned green simultaneously.
Cross traffic slammed directly into the pursuing SUV.
The vehicle spun violently into a divider.
Silence filled the car afterward.
No more pursuit.
Only heavy breathing.
Mihir slowly stopped near an empty waterfront road overlooking the dark ocean.
Rain began falling softly again.
Neither spoke immediately.
Adrenaline still pulsed through both of them.
Maya stared out the windshield quietly.
“We almost died.”
“Yes.”
“You seem unusually calm about that.”
Mihir looked at her.
Because the truth was—
The only thing that terrified him tonight…
Was almost losing her.
Maya turned slowly toward him.
Rainlight reflected across her face softly.
Beautiful.
Always beautiful.
And suddenly the silence inside the car changed.
Not tense.
Not fearful.
Something else.
Something warmer.
Mihir’s gaze dropped briefly toward her lips again.
Maya noticed this time.
Neither looked away.
The air between them felt dangerously thin.
Maya’s heartbeat stumbled harder when Mihir slowly lifted his hand toward her face.
Careful.
Hesitant.
Like he was fighting himself.
His fingers brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek.
Softly.
Gently.
And then both froze.
Because Mihir touched her voluntarily.
Without panic.
Without fear.
His hand remained against her face for one impossible second.
Two.
Maya whispered breathlessly, “Mihir…”
He looked at her like he wanted to forget every rule he’d ever built around himself.
And for the first time in years—
Mihir Raichand wanted closeness more than control.
- Writer
