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Authors: Elin Barnes
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went by. The noise got the attention of the three men. They stopped talking. Harper saw them stiffen a little in anticipation of catching a decent buck. Sam gestured for his clients to get in position on opposite sides of the ridge overlooking a clearing. David Jameson and the other man exchanged glances and began to move away from each other, communicating via hand motions as if they were in a military operation. It took him everything he had to not burst into laughter.
Harper lifted his rifle and aimed. He had a clear shot at Jameson’s head. He pulled the trigger and felt the recoil in his shoulder. Before he could move his eyes away, the rifle slug entered Jameson’s back. The man stood for a moment and then fell against the tree he’d been hiding behind. Harper lowered the rifle at the same time Lasky returned with the stick, wagging her tail. Nobody would believe a shot to the head to be a hunting accident.
CHAPTER 16
S affron’s first surprise was to find Ranjan’s room empty. But that feeling was quickly replaced by disbelief, indignation and finally rage when she spotted a close-up picture of a beautiful Indian woman on the table by her boyfriend’s bed. She walked closer and realized there were more. The photographs were professionally made. The women were all smiling, with nice white teeth and deep black eyes that tempted the camera. Not one was over twenty-five years old. Saffron wondered who were the engineers and who were the doctors.
She then noticed the other papers on the table. They were bios. She glanced through them. All from good families with great dowries. She was still leafing through the documents when she heard Ranjan down the hall, joking with somebody. She thought about putting the photos down and pretending she hadn’t seen them, but she knew her face would tell Ranjan everything he needed to know.
He was pushed into the room in a wheelchair. His color was back and he looked happy. His smile faded fast the second he saw Saffron in the room, still holding the portraits. The male nurse awkwardly stopped in his tracks, without reaching the bed.
“I can manage from here,” Ranjan said. “Thank you for pushing me around, Albert.”
“Anytime,” he said and nodded at Saffron, quickly leaving the room after that.
Saffron raised the photos. Her hands were shaking and she couldn’t find the words she wanted to say.
“Saffron…” Ranjan started. “I told you in the restaurant that my whole family was insisting.”
She raised the pictures higher, still unable to speak.
“They just want me to meet them. That doesn’t mean I have to marry one of them.”
Her jaw clenched. She put the photos back on the table and finally asked, “And you can’t say no? Why do you have to meet them if you’re not interested? Or are you?”
He tilted his head as she spoke, recoiling from the high pitch. “Why won’t you understand that this is something very important to them?”
“Of course it is,” Saffron scoffed.
“Don’t do that.” He shook his head slowly. “Please, let me appease my family. Once I tell them I don’t like any of them, things can go back to normal.”
“Ranjan, you do know you’re lying to yourself, right? Your family is never going to give up.”
“Please, Saffron, let me handle this.”
“If you could win this argument, you would’ve done it already.”
“Can you just let me handle this?”
She looked at him. Her cheeks were flushed and she felt a drop of sweat slide between her breasts. She crossed her arms and stared at him with daring green eyes.
“I think you’re interested.”
He shook his head, suddenly looking worn-out.
“I think you want to check them out, because you might find exactly what you want. And you know what? I hope you do, because once I walk out that door, you and I are over.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because this is obviously what you want but you don’t have the balls to do it yourself.”
She waited for him
Harper lifted his rifle and aimed. He had a clear shot at Jameson’s head. He pulled the trigger and felt the recoil in his shoulder. Before he could move his eyes away, the rifle slug entered Jameson’s back. The man stood for a moment and then fell against the tree he’d been hiding behind. Harper lowered the rifle at the same time Lasky returned with the stick, wagging her tail. Nobody would believe a shot to the head to be a hunting accident.
CHAPTER 16
S affron’s first surprise was to find Ranjan’s room empty. But that feeling was quickly replaced by disbelief, indignation and finally rage when she spotted a close-up picture of a beautiful Indian woman on the table by her boyfriend’s bed. She walked closer and realized there were more. The photographs were professionally made. The women were all smiling, with nice white teeth and deep black eyes that tempted the camera. Not one was over twenty-five years old. Saffron wondered who were the engineers and who were the doctors.
She then noticed the other papers on the table. They were bios. She glanced through them. All from good families with great dowries. She was still leafing through the documents when she heard Ranjan down the hall, joking with somebody. She thought about putting the photos down and pretending she hadn’t seen them, but she knew her face would tell Ranjan everything he needed to know.
He was pushed into the room in a wheelchair. His color was back and he looked happy. His smile faded fast the second he saw Saffron in the room, still holding the portraits. The male nurse awkwardly stopped in his tracks, without reaching the bed.
“I can manage from here,” Ranjan said. “Thank you for pushing me around, Albert.”
“Anytime,” he said and nodded at Saffron, quickly leaving the room after that.
Saffron raised the photos. Her hands were shaking and she couldn’t find the words she wanted to say.
“Saffron…” Ranjan started. “I told you in the restaurant that my whole family was insisting.”
She raised the pictures higher, still unable to speak.
“They just want me to meet them. That doesn’t mean I have to marry one of them.”
Her jaw clenched. She put the photos back on the table and finally asked, “And you can’t say no? Why do you have to meet them if you’re not interested? Or are you?”
He tilted his head as she spoke, recoiling from the high pitch. “Why won’t you understand that this is something very important to them?”
“Of course it is,” Saffron scoffed.
“Don’t do that.” He shook his head slowly. “Please, let me appease my family. Once I tell them I don’t like any of them, things can go back to normal.”
“Ranjan, you do know you’re lying to yourself, right? Your family is never going to give up.”
“Please, Saffron, let me handle this.”
“If you could win this argument, you would’ve done it already.”
“Can you just let me handle this?”
She looked at him. Her cheeks were flushed and she felt a drop of sweat slide between her breasts. She crossed her arms and stared at him with daring green eyes.
“I think you’re interested.”
He shook his head, suddenly looking worn-out.
“I think you want to check them out, because you might find exactly what you want. And you know what? I hope you do, because once I walk out that door, you and I are over.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because this is obviously what you want but you don’t have the balls to do it yourself.”
She waited for him
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