Saving Mr. Khan

Prologue: Once Upon A Time...

24 June 2010

Saba, Arnea

I groaned quietly and pulled myself up off the floor.

It took some effort and it hurt immensely, but I managed anyway. As soon as I was standing on both feet, I wrapped a trembling arm around my ribs and limped out of the well-lit, beautifully decorated living room.

The space would forever be tainted with the memory of my father beating me, as were most of the rooms of several of his properties. At least, now that I am almost an adult, I can afford a life of my own.

I winced when I heard him yell again and pushed the elevator button frantically, fearing that he might not be done with his lesson of the day. But he was still on the third floor, now shrieking his complaints for the world to hear.

For me to hear.

"…such a useless excuse for a son! I can't f*****g believe you come from me, that I could ever create something so worthless, so weak! If I'd known you would be such a disappointment, I would have let you die at birth…"

The arrival of the elevator on the penthouse floor kept me from hearing much more, and I hobbled inside as quickly as I could before he got his hands on me again. The doors closed and I released a sigh of relief, closing my eyes briefly in exhaustion.

I turned to the mirror behind me and caught my reflection. I didn't linger on the shiner around my eye or the large cut on my bottom lip.

I did, however, remove the little package of tissues from my pocket and gently wiped my face. I spat the blood in my mouth into another rectangle before balling them up and placing them in my breast pocket for safekeeping.

I was lucky to have gotten out of that with just two punches and a few very well-placed kicks to my ribs - which hurt like hell, but were thankfully still intact. I forced my arm away from my middle and pulled myself together.

Deep breath in, long breath out.

He does not determine my worth. Do not let the hurtful things he says get to you.

The elevator doors slid open, letting me out on the basement level. The residents of Phelim, myself included, parked their overpriced cars down here while they went about their business upstairs.

As you'd expect, it was brightly illuminated and the cameras were perched in strategic corners so they could record everything that happened down here. There were also security guards everywhere. Measures put in place to keep thieves away and keep the residents safe.

Exhausted, bloodied and beaten, I took my time walking to the section where my car was parked. My footsteps were quiet because of how slow I was moving and my–

What on earth?

I froze in place, frowning deeply.

Quietly, I watched, as a young woman fiddled with the door of my car. I stood behind a black SUV and was several metres away from her, so I was safely hidden from her occasional glances around the space.

She wasn't very tall. Maybe just around average height for a woman of Britu. Her curly mane moved with each jerk of her body, every alert lift of her head. But that was all I could see of her from this distance.

Curious, I moved closer.

She cursed and bent low as she worked the lock. Clearly an amateur. If she were better skilled at this, she wouldn't be making so much noise.

There was still some distance between us, but I closed it while she was bent over and peering into the window.

"Excuse me?"

She startled, turning urgently in my direction. I saw alarm in her dark eyes, apprehension creeping through the fake smile she plastered on her angelic face. My grin is slow to come, but it is the most genuine thing I've done all day. It hurts like a b***h because of the split lip and bruised cheek, but that was a minor blip in this otherwise lovely moment.

"Oh, hello. I'm just trying to get my doors open. I must've locked the keys in the car or dropped them somewhere…"

Her gaze swept over me, and she frowned a fraction before asking, "What happened to you? Are you alright?"

I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. But deep down, I was touched that this thief could take a second from her criminal exploits to ask about my bruises.

"I'll live. This is the price you pay for picking a fight with a bully."

Her head did a weird thing, then she quietly said, "At least you had the courage to stand up to him. Most people just walk away from the fight. I mean, it sucks for your face… because it's a nice face."

The stranger relaxed visibly when she realised I wasn't a threat. She seemed to be about my age, maybe a year younger. The longer she looked at me, the closer she inched. She actually adjusted the strap on her shoulder and leaned forward, then flipped her hair over her shoulder. I couldn't tell if her flirting was terrible or if she was really that awkward a person.

"Thank you. It usually has fewer bruises on it," I blushed, too aware of how close we were standing.

Then I cursed inwardly because this was the same person who'd been trying to steal my car. I removed my keys from my pocket and asked, "Don't you have a spare?"

"I'm so scatterbrained, I forgot where I put them. You know, you think you won't need something and then suddenly you do," she laughed, the sound so flat I struggled to keep my amusement hidden.

"Yeah. Funny how that goes. Although, I think you don't have a spare because…"

I pushed the lock button on my remote. The lights of my Mercedes C300 flashed and the car beeped, signalling it was unlocked.

Now, I was expecting a mild protest. Maybe she'd pretend she forgot where she parked her car or something along those lines. But she did something I wasn't really expecting. She slowly blinked at me, then turned on her heel and bolted. In seconds, she was wading through the other cars, setting off alarms as she went.

I could have just let it go. It was obvious from the way she was dressed that she'd been trying her luck, hoping to steal an expensive car and sell it for a few thousand cromas. She didn't actually do any harm…

So why was I already giving chase, running after her and quickly closing the distance between us? She let out a terrified squeak when she realised I was closing in, then grunted when my hand closed around her arm. Her slender back crashed into the concrete wall, her breath leaving her body in a loud exhale.

This close, I could smell the vanilla of her skin, the subtle cinnamon notes in her unruly curls. I could also see the very light dusting of freckles on her face, the little beauty spot on her collarbone. But it was her eyes, instantly ablaze with emotion, that gave me pause.

"Get off me, you creep."

I grunted in agony when her knee made brutal contact with my testicles and I immediately let her go, falling to my knees.

"f*****g hell. What the f**k?" I muttered, the words hardly more than a whisper. I rolled onto my back and glared at her through narrowed eyes. "Why would you do that?"

"I know I was going to steal your car, but that doesn't give you the right to just grab me. Besides," she shrugged, obviously proud of herself. "I didn't actually steal anything."

She had a good point. About the touching thing. I might have been a bit too familiar with her, which would alarm any woman. I wanted to address the attempted theft, though, because that really wasn't okay. But I could barely breathe, I was in so much agony.

Then, as if things couldn't possibly get any more embarrassing, she walked over to the discarded keys on the floor and picked them up. Her smirk betrayed her pleasure at the circumstances and she glanced at me, mischief plain in her eyes.

"Don't you dare–"

"Sorry, handsome. A girl's gotta eat."

Unbelievable.

She walked away, her steps quiet in the lot. I squeezed my eyes shut and made an attempt to stand, but I couldn't get my legs to work the way they should.

"Oh, before I forget…"

She leaned in, pushing the lapels of my coat apart in search of my wallet. My hands were cradling my very precious family jewels and praying she hadn't sent them back to whence they came. I could do nothing while the little minx took the leather wallet from my pocket and removed the cash. Satisfied with her loot, she tossed the wallet back to me.

Seriously, what the hell?

"Thank you so much for your generosity," she said, looking down at me with a slightly apologetic expression. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry about your nuts."

As she walked away, certain that she had won, I took note of every detail in her appearance. I was not one to hold grudges, but there was absolutely no way I was letting her get away…with this.

I would find her.

And there would be hell to pay.