(A/N) this is kind of an inbetween chapter, but there is more Don/Roma romance/tension to come : )

CHAPTER TEN

…...

Roma dropped to the floor, her legs buckling as she realised he had to have been playing her all along. There was no way he had escaped her house with one broken leg, which meant Doctor Rasheed had to have been complicit.

Arjun and Malik appeared in the hallway, staring at her as she tried to make sense of things.

"Roma," Arjun placed his hand on her shoulder, his voice not unkind, "you'd better tell us what's been going on."

She nodded, her eyes fixed on the bed where - just hours prior - she and Don had lain entwined. Was that why he had stopped? Because he'd had some uncharacteristic attack of guilt about deceiving her?

Allowing Arjun to help her to her feet, she followed them downstairs and into the kitchen where they sat and listened to her story.

Malik was the easiest to look at while talking - he didn't appear to be judging her, only accepting. Arjun was alternately agitated and understanding, but there was a hint of betrayal in the tense set of his mouth and she found it hard to meet his eyes at all. Patel, who she didn't really know, just stared at her incredulously.

All the while her shock turned to anger and she lost her words many times, unable to stop replaying the last several days in her head. She pictured Don's face, his eyes, and wondered how he could have deceived her yet again.

"Roma, you'll have to come with us," Patel sighed, "Into the station."

The doorbell rang.

Not bothering to excuse herself, she jumped up and practically ran to answer it. Standing on her porch was a woman not far off her own age. She was beautiful too - her shoulder length hair in loose curls about her face.

"Are you…" Roma trailed off.

"Ayesha," the woman said, sticking out her hand. Roma shook it. This was the woman who had answered the number on Don's phone. She had promised to help Roma and Don get away before Arjun turned up, but Arjun had been earlier than she had expected.

Ayesha regarded her with a guarded expression, her eyes travelling the length of Roma's body as if she was trying to work out exactly what interested Don. She was just another Anita, but perhaps less quick to temper.

"He's not here." She said quickly, wondering if Ayesha already knew. "He's gone."

She hadn't known. Her coolly calculating look melted into one of surprise. "You let him go?"

"No, he left."

"Ladies," Malik said, interrupting them. He slid his arm out, circling the air around them both so that they were forced to turn back into the house. He watched Ayesha suspiciously, recognising her from the multiple files he had on Don. Roma prepared herself for more questions, but then something caught her eye.

On the window of her car, folded beneath one of the wipers, was what looked like a note. "I…I just need to get something from the car," Malik was about to refuse but she continued on, "It's Don's phone," she lied, "I took it off him and hid it in the boot. It might help us." The phone was actually in her pocket, but he didn't know that. "I'll be two seconds," she promised, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Two seconds," he nodded, "I'll be watching."

She slipped past Ayesha, catching a whiff of some expensive perfume, and walked quickly to her car. Just as she was about to grab the possible clue (or, she hoped, explanation) she noticed the large black car parked on the pavement just a metre or so from her driveway.

She had seen that car before - it was the one that had followed her! Whirling around, she spotted a sleek sports car a couple of spaces away which had to be Ayesha's. "What…" she began to say, but a hand clamped down over her mouth - thick leather gloved fingers pressing down so hard that she could barely breathe. Whoever it was twisted her arms behind her back with their other hand and began dragging her towards the black car. She dug in her heels and bit down, screaming as loud as she could when they let go.

Immediately Arjun and Malik came running, but the man holding her had a gun and he aimed and fired, the bullet hitting the door just centimetres from Arjun's head.

It was Vardhaan, his face dark with ill intent.

"ROMA!" Arjun cried.

But it was too late, Vardhaan bundled her into his car, slamming the doors and locking them. He smirked at her as he revved the engine. In the rear view mirror she could see Arjun and Malik running down the driveway as they sped away, Ayesha standing bewildered in the doorway.

"Where are we going?" she asked, strangely calm.

He curled his lip, his brows so low that she could barely see his eyes. "Back. Malaysia. You're going to come with me and he's going to follow us there."

"Why would he do that?"

Vardhaan lifted his eyebrows, staring at her like she was stupid. "Because I have something that he loves even more than himself."

"And what's that?"

He lifted his eyebrows, "You, Roma. And it's going to be sweet revenge when he watches you die." He noticed her shock and grinned.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"I've been keeping tabs on Ayesha, waiting to see if she would lead me to Don."

"Vardhaan," she tried to reason with him, "How can we even leave the country? The police will be at the airports - Arjun will…"

"Then it's lucky I have a private plane," he put his finger to his lips, "now keep quiet. I don't want to have to shoot you without Don present, but your dead body will work almost as well…"

…..

Don walked through the door of the bathroom and out into the luxurious suite he had been staying in before the blast. Luckily he had paid it up for three weeks beforehand, so the room had still been waiting for him upon his quick exit from Roma's place.

Steam billowed out from the bathroom, condensation dripping down the mirrors. His towel was draped over his shoulders, catching the water from his hair. His face, newly shaven, quirked into a smile as he thought of the woman he had left behind.

It had been fun, it always was with Roma. She was different from the other women in his life - she was a challenge, and she resisted him. That alone made him want her. Like he had once told Ayesha - it was hard to give up a habit. He had left without saying goodbye, but he had tucked a blanket over her as she had lain sleeping on the sofa. It had taken all his restraint not to brush his lips over her forehead as well.

He went to stand at the window, looking out over the city. It was past midnight and the buildings were lit up like a sheet of stars below him.

His phone buzzed, a message lighting up the screen. It was his third phone - his old phone that contained the numbers of every contact he had ever made. If Vardhaan ever found a way to contact him directly, Don knew this would be the way.

And sure enough, though the number was withheld, the words that flashed up onscreen were from the man himself.

I have Roma, it said, I'll be waiting for you. I'm sure you know where to find me.

Don drew in a deep breath, lighting a cigarette and exhaling. He hadn't wanted to involve Roma, but once she had confessed to seeing and talking to Vardhaan, he had known it was too late.

There was no way Vardhaan had escaped jail without someone else's help. And since Don had been content to leave him there to rot, that meant it was someone who also had a vendetta against him. By allowing Vardhaan to switch his attention to Roma (as he had done in the vault) he had discovered where they were hiding.

Yes, Don knew where to find them. He knew very well.

…

"Look, if you don't need me, I'll be going," Ayesha said, aware that her phone was ringing in her handbag.

Arjun glared at her. The other two were on their phones, talking rapidly. She didn't care what they were saying. She couldn't care less if Roma had been kidnapped. She had only agreed to help the other woman in order to get Don back.

That was probably him now.

"You're staying right here," Arjun said. "And telling us what Don and Vardhaan are up to this time."

She laughed. "Don and Vardhaan? You're stupider than you look."

He stared at her stonily and she sighed, resting her chin in her hand and enjoying the flush that spread across his face as she threw him a heated glance.

"Your phone is ringing," Malik said, glancing meaningfully toward her handbag.

"Look," she stood, "I suggest you let me go. I haven't done anything and you can't hold me here."

Arjun snatched her bag and took out the phone, handing it to her. "I suggest you answer that."

She sighed, cursing herself for having worried about Don. She should have known that he would know what he was doing and left it at that. But, even though she knew she was just another willing body to him (but a trustworthy one), it was hard to keep herself from caring about him.

Blocked in, with nowhere to go, she answered the call.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Don."

…...

TBC…