MAFIA COLLATERAL (Mafia series 2)

He took a long drag of the cigarette and threw it away as he made his way towards his destination

His heart was slamming against his chest, his mind a total mess; but he was in complete control. Because he knew that what he was about to confess, would most definitely change everything.

Not just for him, but for her as well.

His heart couldn't take it anymore.

With so much chaos around him, so much pain and suffering, he was one who didn't want that for himself. Because if there was one thing he had learned, it was that he wasn't going to make the same mistakes as his brother. He wasn't going to give in to his anger ever again.

Life had given him such a wonderful blessing and he wouldn't make the mistake of throwing it away without even acknowledging it.

Sighing deeply, he opened the door and entered.

He saw her standing by the window, her shoulders slumped and her head slightly bowed down. From her back, he could already tell that she was feeling dejected and defeated.

He couldn't blame her for that either. Her life had taken a drastic change in the past couple of months. And he was the one responsible for it.

But right now, she looked so vulnerable and delicate that it took everything in him not to embrace her.

"What do you want?" He heard her sneer, her back still facing him.

"We need to talk." He sighed.

"There's nothing to talk about." She murmured. "Please leave." She sounded so pained. His heart clenched in his chest.

Without another thought, he approached her, spun her around, grabbed her face and smashed his lips on hers.

She resisted as her small fists beat on his chest but he didn't let her go. Biting and nipping on her lower lip, he entered her mouth and deepened the kiss.

He felt her tense body melt in his embrace as he held her tightly.

When he released her, she kept her eyes closed as the tears leaked from her closed lids and her chin wobbled with silent sobs.

"I'll never leave you." He growled.

"What do you want from me?" She chokes as her tears fall ceaselessly.

"Open your eyes." He coaxed. She obeys, letting him gaze into those gorgeous pale blue eyes that were filled with so much pain and longing.

"You've taken everything from me. What more will you take from me, Zameer? I'm nothing now." She whispers, her vulnerability dripping with every word.

"No." He carefully caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers as her gazed her with utmost gentleness. "You're everything to me. And I will never take anything from you ever again. I'll only give." He vowed.

"Then." She swallowed. "Give me my freedom." She whispered, even though she already knew that she was asking for the impossible. And when she saw the softness in his dark eyes being replaced by cold hardness, it confirmed her thoughts.

"Never." He gritted.

"Then how will you give me anything when you can't even give me the one thing that I want?"

"Because." He stroked her lips with his thumb. "You're my prisoner. Forever."

"Don't give me that!" She cried, her forehead resting on his chest, feeling angry yet defeated at the same time. "I don't want to be your prisoner! I want to be free." She cried, her knees buckling under her and she fell to the floor. He didn't loosen his hold on her and kept her in his embrace as he feel on his knees along with her. He silently watched her as she kept crying.

"Don't say that you will give me everything when you can never give me anything." She murmured. "I'll only ever be collateral to you." She sobbed. "No, not even collateral." She sobbed, her shoulders quaking. "Why can't you see that I'm useless to you now. Just let me go already." She continued to sob.

Her tears tore him apart. He hated seeing her beautiful face torn in misery and pain. He never meant to hurt her. But he wanted her and he was not going to let her go. She could believe whatever she wanted to believe. Because she was his now.

He gently pulled her chin up, urging her to look at him.

"You're mine now." He said, causing her cries to cease as she gawked at him. "And when I make a promise. I always keep it." He prompted, his time hard and his eyes strict. His expression was serious yet it displayed nothing but sincerity.

She had never seen him like this.

"You can't give me anything." She said dejectedly. "You will only continue to take from me."

"But I have. I've given up my heart to you." He revealed.

She frozen, gawking at him in utter disbelief.

"Wha?" Her jaw hung open.

He smiled softly at her. "I love you Sadia." He confessed.

She sighed deeply and stared at herself in the mirror and smiled.

Nothing had changed. She was the same like she was yesterday.

She smiled widely at herself. It was a routine.

A new day meant a new beginning. And she always started with a smile.

She washed her face and brushed her teeth. She felt so fresh. Braiding her thick raven black hair, she tied them up in a bun, pushing back loose wisps of hair, clearing her face as she dabbed on some moisturizer and some light pink gloss. She never wore makeup when she worked, it always irritated her.

After putting on her pink hijab, she glanced at herself to see if it was alright. Once she was done, she took her contact lenses from the shelf.

Sadia had very unique eyes. Her right eye was a pale blue color while her left eye was a deep chocolate brown. This condition was called hetrochromia. It is a rare condition. She hated this trait about herself due to which she had to hide her eyes behind contact lenses from a very early age. But basically, she hid her blue eye. But this wasn't the only thing about her that made her different: she was also a diabetic which she inherited as a result from her parents first cousin marriage.

However, she wasn't all weird; she was blessed with a very high IQ of 130+. She was a gifted youth with high intelligence and excellent memory. That was the reason why she graduated so early from every educational institute, skipping many grades as she went on and entered medical college at the age of fifteen, the youngest recorded age in the whole country for any adolescent to enter into university. And graduating with honors at the tender age of nineteen and now, at the age of twenty, she was a practicing physician in the field of psychiatry, going on to be the most youngest and most expert psychiatrist in the whole country and becoming the most youngest member of the National institute of psychiatry.

But because of her being so superiorly intelligent, Sadia grew up to be socially awkward, shy, quiet and extremely introverted as well as antisocial. She always lived a sheltered life but that was owing to her being an only child who lost her mother at the tender age of five and since then, her father being an army officer, kept her under strict security and in the care of nanies. But he did a fine job in raising Sadia into a kind and trustworthy girl. And because Sadia was a smart girl, she had to grow up very quickly.

She was someone who always weighed everything on a logical scale rather then an emotional one so that's why there were very few things she was truly passionate about, one of them being her family as well as her profession.

Sadia got ready into a dusty pink Kurta but didn't wear her black denim pants yet. She entered her bedroom and went to the refrigerator. Taking out her vials of insulin, she took a syringe and filled it with her routine insulin shot. Dabbing an alcohol swab on her skin, without so much as a wince, she injected the shot on the upper side of her thigh and carefully placed the syringe down. Donning her pants and shoes, she grabbed her bag and white coat and left the room. She went downstairs and into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

However, she was startled when she found her father seated at the dinning table, enjoying a good cup of tea along with reading the daily news.

"Asalam alaikum (muslim greeting which means 'peace be to you') baba." She greeted and placed her things on a chair near her father's chair.

Her father smiled a brilliant smile at his daughter. "Walaikum Asalam (reply to the greeting which means 'peace be to you as well'), Sadia."

"Baba what are you doing up so early?" She inquired and noticed that her father was in his jogging outfit. "And you went out for a jog." She stated in disbelief.

"You know that you should be resting. Your condition is not yet stable." She said with worry.

"I'm as fit as a fiddle my dear." Her father said in English. "A soldier never rests."

"Not even when the soldier had a heart attack for the second time?" Sadia challenged.

Her father chuckled and carried on with reading. Sadia shook her head with a small smile and went to the kitchen. And her worry was justified.

Her father, Abdul Rehman Gul, was a high ranking military officer, recently promoted to the rank of Lt. General in the Pak Army. They came from a well renown military family. Gen. Rehman was the fourth generation, the second to serve in Pakistan army while the previous two had severed in the British Army during the British Raj.

Her father was a patient of diabetes and hypertension: high blood pressure. Her father was born with it. In their family, the tradition of cousin marriages was very strong due to which, certain diseases like hypertension and diabetes was very common in them. Sadia was born a diabetic. And her mother was a schizophrenic and died from the disease when she was very young.

This whole issue was the main reason why Sadia chose to pursue medicine as a career, in order to understand what was happening in her family. And now she understood. And even though she was against cousin marriages because she herself was a Carrier of many genes of dangerous genetic diseases. But she had no choice: before her mother died, she had wished for her eldest nephew, Azfar to wed Sadia.

And all Sadia had of her mother was this one wish to honour thus she got officially engaged to her cousin Azfar two months ago after Gen. Abdul Rehman suffered from his second heart attack. Sadia had no choice: her father's condition was too delicate at that time. Even though their family was large and Gen. Abdul Rehman had no doubt that Sadia would be looked after if something were to happen to him but still. for his peace of mind, he had her hastily engaged to his nephew, much to Sadia's dismay.

"Will you be coming home tonight?" Her father inquired as Sadia had her breakfast.

She shook her head as she placed her cup of tea on the saucer. "No unfortunately. I'm on call tonight." She replied.

Gen. Abdul Rehman's dark eyes sparkled with pride as he tenderly laid his hand on his only child's head. "I'm so proud of you, my dear. Always know that."

Sadia grinned happily. "I know baba. You always tell me that."

"Yes I know. If only you had joined the army as well then it would've been wonderful." He sighed.

Sadia pouted. "I know. You know that I couldn't." She said in defeat. The army was one of Sadia's deep passions. She always dreamed of joining the army and becoming a decorated officer like her father, who was her hero, but when she was diagnosed with diabetes, this dream of hers was shattered. And because of this condition, she was declared unfit in the recruitment exam for the army medical corps. She was deeply hurt at that time since she couldn't keep the tradition alive in her small family since all her cousins joined the armed forces but she couldn't. She was disappointed and hurt but eventually, she accepted her fate; that made her more motivated. She was a very enthusiastic person. And her passion for the military still remained strong. She had decided to serve in military hospital after her training was done in the National Institute of Psychiatry.

But at least, with her marriage to Azfar, Gen. Abdul Rehman knew that the tradition would continue since Azfar was also in the army.

"I know mera bacha (my child)." Her father sighed. He had desired to have a son so that the family tradition may continue after him but after he lost his wife, whom he loved dearly, to an illness she had been fighting almost all her life, all he had was Sadia whom he cherished with all his heart.

"Shall I call the driver to drop you off?"

"Actually, Azfar will be dropping me off today." She informed.

"Oh?" Her father smiled. "So, you've finally come to accept your fiancé?" He teased with a soft small smile.

Sadia sighed and drank her tea. It wasn't that she didn't like her fiancé or anything, what concerned her more was that although he was her cousin and she had known him since childhood, she was more concerned with his genes. "It's not like that baba. you know what my concerns are." Sadia said. Her father nodded in understanding. Sadia had shared her concerns with her father and he understood them well but he had little choices. Because of his post, he couldn't be a father much and think more clearly for Sadia's sake to search for a better match for her but he wasn't one to break the family custom of marriage inside the family. Breaking traditions meant severing tie with the family and their family was powerful and had prestige and respect in the military society. Almost every family in the military knew of the prestigious Gul family, the family that had honor of serving in the armed forces for four generations and give out soldiers and martyrs. So, for the sake of their honor, Gen. Abdul Rehman kept at tradition but mostly, he did it to uphold his beloved wife's wish.

"I know Baita (child)."

"That's why baba, I've decided to run some blood tests on Azfar. I need to know if it's safe for us to actually have a relationship."

"I support you wholeheartedly."

She smiled and took her father's hand in hers. "I know, shukria (thank you) baba, I hope that Azfar also understands."

"He will. He is a nice chap."

Speaking of Azfar, Sadia got his text message.

"I need to get going now." She said hastily and grabbed her things. "Now baba." She touched her father's shoulder with care. "Please rest. Your leave is also coming to an end soon. You need to get all the rest you can get before you get back on duty." She said, her voice turning into her cold and detached serious tone that she used at work.

Gen. Abdul Rehman smiled and squeezed her hand on his shoulder tenderly. "You're growing up to be just like your mother, Sadia."

She smiled and nodded as she left. She found Azfar standing at the porch of her house.

Azfar was a handsome man, with fair skin and light brown hair along with dark brown eyes. He was dressed smartly in his green camo uniform. He was a real charmer with his well built frame. Sadia smiled when she saw him but kept her eyes downcast as she felt her cheeks warm up with a slight blush.

"Asalam alaikum (muslim greeting which means 'peace be to you')." He greeted, his voice deep and clear, his thin lips bearing a gentle smile.

"Walaikum Asalam (reply to the greeting which means 'peace be to you as well')." She greeted back, her voice small and nervous. She always felt nervous when in the presence of the opposite sex. But because Azfar was eight years her senior, she felt even more nervous in his presence and ever since they got engaged, Sadia felt even more coy.

"How are you Sadia?" He inquired, dipping his hands in his pant pockets his heightened frame towering over hers. "I was pretty surprised when you asked for a ride today." He smirked.

"Act-actually." She cleared her throat. "I wanted you to come with me to the hospital." She said, feeling her heart race.

"You know." He gently placed his finger under her chin and raised her face to him. "I would like it more when you speak to me when you are looking at me." He said, his voice gentle, his brown eyes soft and friendly. "We are engaged now. I think we are past formalities."

Sadia nodded, turning her head away from his touch. "Um, can you come with me, I need to take a blood sample from you." She said.

Azfar frowned him confusion. "Um, I'm pretty sure that I'm alright." He claimed, looking at himself.

Sadia bit her lower lip in embarrassment. "I, uh, I just need it. Um, I'm concerned for your, um, health." She spoke, trying to convince him. "I need to perform some tests on it." She said. Azfar looked at her. She was always like this; coy and nervous. He nodded and led her to his small black Honda.

"You didn't... bring your Audi." She queried in a small voice, standing in front of the passenger door. Azfar chuckled.

"I prefer this small bad boy over that one." Although he was also the son of an admiral, he was very humble and brought this small car with his own money after saving up for so long. But not Sadia. She was a bit spoiled. After all, she was an only child and brought up in luxury owing to her father who got early promotions because of his excellence in service.

"That one is also yours." She said as Azfar opened her door for him. He smiled. "I'll give that to you." He said.

"That's not what I meant." She muttered and got in the car. Sadia didn't mind that the car wasn't luxurious. What she minded was the size. It was too small and if she had to sit in the front, she would be too close to Azfar and she wouldn't feel comfortable. And she couldn't sit at the back since that would be considered rude so she remained glued to the door to maintain a lot of distance.

Azfar also got in the car and drove her to the hospital. He noticed the distance and Sadia's body posture but didn't comment on it; He knew her to be shy and from the quiet atmosphere, he also acknowledged that she was a quiet and silent girl.

"There." Sadia breathed as she took out the needle from his vein and unfastened the tie around his arm. She placed the vile of blood in the cubicle.

"Why do you need my blood anyway?" Azfar inquired.

Sadia was silent as she contemplated on his question. She was actually dreading this but she couldn't keep it from him; he had every right to know what his blood was going to be used for.

"I want to find out about your, um, genes." She claimed, her voice soft and low.

He frowned. "My genes?"

"Yes. I had mine done a month ago. Turns out I also carry the gene for schizophrenia." She told, feeling her heart squeeze but she kept a straight face.

Azfar's expression remained one of confusion. "It's the gene for the illness that my mother had." She clarified.

"So, you want to find out if I have that too?"

"Yes, that and, um, some other things as well." She uttered under her breath as she cleared the things from her table.

Sadia flinched slightly when Azfar caught her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Why do you think that I'll also have that gene?"

Sadia stared at him for a few moments.

"Because." She swallowed, feeling uncomfortable with him holding her hand. "Um, there are certain diseases that, um, are in our family which keep on appearing for the past many generations because of cousin marriages."

Azfar looked solemn. Too solemn that caused Sadia to look away and released her hand from his grasp. She didn't feel comfortable when Azfar would touch her. It wasn't that she didn't like his touch: she didn't like to be touched by anyone in particular.

"So, if I also carry that gene, what does it signify?" Of course, such things weren't of any General awareness. If he also possessed the gene then it would be expressed in their children and they would have the disease since the gene pool would be too limited.

But since Azfar was in the clear so far, his parents' marriage not being a first cousin marriage but still a family marriage, he didn't have any disease but that didn't mean that he wasn't a carrier of other genes.

"If you have the gene then." She paused as she stared at Azfar. She could clearly see that he was serious about her. She knew that he liked her and always looked at her with respect and adoration so she knew it would hurt him if she told him that she would have to break the engagement. "Let's not think of it." She mumbled and looked away. All that she felt for Azfar was respect. She didn't hold any deep feelings for him and if the test results came back positive, then things would end so she never allowed herself to get attached to Azfar.

Azfar chuckled when Sadia took away her hand. He knew that Sadia was a shy girl and she was always nervous in his presence and he found that trait about her to be so adorably amusing.

"Okay then. But don't worry. Inshaa Allah everything will be alright." He claimed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze as he jumped to his feet.

Sadia nodded and bid him goodbye. When he left, Sadia got to work.

Sadia sighed deeply, feeling her legs ache from standing for the past six hours straight as she went on her ward rounds. She was glad to finally get a break.

As she entered her office, she took off her coat.

"Asalam alaikum (muslim greeting which means 'peace be to you')." A deep voice greeted, making Sadia jump in surprise, causing a small involuntary yelp to escape her lips.

Her heartbeat accelerated when she saw the man standing in the middle of her office.

"Oh." She let out a breath of relief. "Mr. Sheikh, Walaikum Asalam (reply to the greeting which means 'peace be to you as well')." She replied.

The man looked at her with a blank expression, his dark eyes staring down at her coldly. His presence held a certain amount of dark aura with a blend of authority that caused her to feel shivers down her spine, feeling intimidated.

He was a tall man, his physique lean yet well built with broad shoulders and chest. He was dressed in a black three piece business suit that looked expensive. But Sadia only noticed these general features about the man, her shyness never allowed her to look at his face properly except for the first time she had met him. All that she has noticed was that he was handsome, with dark short cropped hair and black eyes.

"I'm here to pick you up." He informed, his voice smooth. She felt his dark gaze on her face, that made her feel even more nervous then she already was. Sadia kept her gaze trained on the floor, feeling her heart thumping hard in her chest and causing her cheeks and ears to become red hot. She always felt this way in the presence of Mr. Zameer Sheikh. And she found it odd. She knew that she felt nervous and awkward in front of men but in front of Mr. Sheikh, she felt scared. Maybe it was because she would always be reminded of how they first met.

Sadia bit her lip in nervousness. She had forgotten that she had one of her sessions with Mrs. Anissa Ghulari today. And Mr. Zameer sheikh had been her escort for the past three weeks since she started her therapy sessions with Anissa Ghulari.

"Oh, of course." She murmured, fearing that her voice may give way to her nervousness so she kept her voice low. "Let me get my bag." She said and went to her desk. The man nodded.

Sadia quickly cleared her desk and took her bag. As the man led her outside to his waiting car, Sadia informed her assistant to have all her appointments shifted to another time.

As Sadia sat at the back, she kept her gaze outside. They drove through the busy downtown district of Karachi.

She was glad that they didn't speak. Mr. Sheikh was cold and extremely professional, only focusing on escorting Sadia to his boss.

Sadia recalled the time she had first met him. They had first met about three weeks ago. He had scared her out of her wits by showing her a gun and the way he roughly treated her, she knew that he was a tough and dangerous man. That's why, she always felt fearful in his presence and her nervousness would know no bounds. And it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She felt so insulted and humiliated for having been threatened like the way Mr. Sheikh had on their first meeting. And since then, the first thing she knew of him was that he wasn't a gentleman. She found him utterly rude and cold. she didn't understand why the man threatened her with a gun and that too in a hospital? However, after that, she was glad that he didn't do that again but it had set the impression that was intended. Sadia knew not to argue and just do what she was told as long as she was under the employment of his boss, Shehryaar Ghulari.

So she tried to keep it cool, keeping her composure and her emotions in check. Thankfully, they never once had any conversation, not even a small hello hi. And for that, Sadia was grateful. She didn't want to be friendly with a rude man like Zameer Sheikh, even though Sadia could be friendly if she wanted to be but not with Zameer Sheikh.

They arrived at the head quarters of the Indus Enterprise building. Mr. Sheikh escorted her to the top floor where his boss's office was was. Before she could enter, she followed protocol and handed her bag and her cellphone to Zameer. His boss didn't allow her to hold anything that she could use for making records. And much to Sadia's chagrin, she had no choice but to comply.

"Have a nice day, Dr. Sadia." He said, his voice void and cold.

Sadia nodded. She saw him leave.

Sadia sighed to herself and knocked on the door.

'Well?'

'Well what?' I asked.

He arched a brow at me. 'What do you think?'

'About what?'

He groaned. 'About this project, you stupid ass.'

I almost chuckled but refrained from it. He's my boss after all. 'It's alright.' I shrugged.

He looked at me closely for a few seconds, his brown eyes inquisitive.

'Man, Zameer you can be so dense sometimes.'

'Well then Zeb, you ought to know that by now.' I slapped Shahzeb's arm. He chuckled.

'Well, if you weren't so smart and good at learning, I would've disposed of you a long time ago.'

'And by dispose, do you mean a bullet in my head or my balls?'

'Even better, straight in your ass.'

We both burst into a fit of humorous laughter.

'Well if you did that, my ghost will be coming back to haunt you and shoot you multiple times in the ass as retribution.'

'And then my ghost will be coming after yours to kick your ass.'

I laughed at that. I liked being this free with Shahzeb. It gave us two to catch up on many things especially after a tough day of killing.

Shahzeb stopped laughing and took a swig of his drink, his face becoming serious all of a sudden. 'About the whole Chinese matter, what do you think, Zameer?'

'You know my thoughts on that.' I said and took a swig of my drink. 'They are good for business. You should definitely go for it.' I advised. He looked at me for a good few seconds. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

'What?'

He shook his head. 'Nothing.'

'If you've got something to say then come out with it.'

Shahzeb sighed deeply and looked away from me. 'What are you doing here Zameer?' He said in a hushed voice.

I frowned in confusion. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean, what are you still doing here? With us? Me and Shehryaar that is? Didn't you have a dream that you wanted to follow?"

I'm silent. I don't want to respond but he's waiting for a response. "My loyalties lie with you guys. And besides, I have no one outside of this life. I wouldn't know what to do."

'Zameer.' He called me and looked away. I stared at him in anticipation. 'Leave when you have a chance. A person like you, doesn't deserve to be here.'

Zameer woke up with a start, jerking up into a sitting position. He realised that his body was in cold sweat.

What was that? He thought, catching his head in his hands. Why did I remember Shahzeb? He thought and took his wrist watch from the side table. Upon noticing the date, he understood why he saw that memory in his dreams.

"Well buddy." He said and switched on his cell phone, taking out a photo of himself with Shahzeb. He was an identical copy of Shehryaar, with his sharp features and dark hardened expression; the only difference was his brown eyes that held some humanity in them, unlike his twin who's grey eyes were as hard and cold as steel.

"You always asked me that and my answer was always the same. Happy birthday brother." He murmured. It had been two years now since Shahzeb was murdered in cold blood by Azhar Ghulari, Shahzeb's older half brother. Zameer would never forget that day. It was the worst and most tragic day of his life. He had lost his only family that day. And now, it was two years since that day. How time flew by and how life dealt with them.

Shahzeb was dead while Zameer was alive. And Shehryaar was happy to have the woman that he always wanted. He would never understand Shehryaar though. Shahzeb was easy to understand. But not Shehryaar. Never Shehryaar.

Thinking of Shehryaar, Zameer was reminded of Anissa. It had been six months since he had seen her. Six months since he was posted to the northern front of the Sikhai. And thinking about what had happened with them left A bad taste in his mouth. He had never thought that things would ever come to this.

After Anissa had shot him, Zameer knew that he would live since it was Shehryaar who was controlling the situation. But he knew that it was all planned in order to manipulate Anissa.

'Protect her Zameer. You need to keep her safe.'

Zameer recalled Shahzeb's words so clearly as if he had said that to him yesterday. And all that Zameer was doing was keeping his promise to his brother.

Shahzeb and Shehryaar meant a lot to Zameer. It wasn't for nothing that he was so loyal to them even though they belonged to the Tyrannical Ghulari family. And thinking about his past, his background. Things might've turned out for the better for Zameer, his life was good compared to how his past used to be but he never forgot. He always remembered where he came from.

'You don't have a say, peasant.'

Zameer scoffed to himself when he recalled what Shehryaar had said to him before he made Anissa shoot him. Peasant, yes, he was one once.

Zameer came from a poor low class background. He didn't know much about his family lineage, all he knew of was his mother. His mother served as a maid in the Ghulari household. She was very young, in her early twenties when Zameer was born, but his father abandoned him and his mother. He was raised by his mother for the first five years until she fell ill. He along with his mother were cast aside because of her illness by the Ghulari family and left to rot in the streets of Khaaspur. One of the memories he had from his childhood was the hardship he and his mother faced when they were exiled. His mother tried to get a job but wouldn't last long because of her illness. His mother was a good kind woman. She raised Zameer with love and care and tried her best to provide for him but she died in a year's time. Zameer still remembered that he watched his mother take her final breaths in front of him, her weak and frail body supported by a dirty wall, her clothes ragged and torn. And the worst part was, Zameer couldn't recall how she looked like. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't remember. It was almost as if his mind deliberately made him forget about the looks of his only family. And this left his heart deeply scarred. He had no family. He grew up an orphan. And this left a few yearnings in his heart. An emptiness that he longed to fill but he knew that he could never do that.

The loud noise of the alarm clock on the bedside table pulled Zameer out of his thoughts. He sighed and combed his fingers through this hair. He noted that he was in need of a haircut. Getting up, he went to the bathroom and cleaned up. He looked at himself in the mirror; deep dark eyes, a stubbled angular Jaw and full lips. A scowl marred his features, even showing himself how annoyed and restlessness he was. And it was true. He was annoyed.

Shehryaar had appointed him to the North side of the Sikhai province, the most underdeveloped part of the whole region. And Zameer wasn't happy about it since it was so hot in this place. But he knew that he had to do it. He was lucky to even be alive.

Zameer's eyes scanned his reflection until they landed on the healing pink scar on the centre of his chest. Whenever he looked at it, his mind recalled the look on Anissa's face, the horror in her teary eyes as she was forced to pull the trigger. Zameer was certain that he was about to die. And he didn't blame Anissa or even Shehryaar. He had no regrets except for one, he wasn't able to fulfil the one desire of his heart: the desire to have a family.

How much he longed for it. It was his greatest wish to have a woman who would be a good wife and give him a family. But unfortunately, he would never get his wish. Especially now, that he was no longer in his Boss's good graces. He betrayed his Saeen and he thought that he would pay with his death. But he didn't. He was alive. Shehryaar spared him. But Zameer knew what he had lost. He had lost his brother's trust. He lost Shehryaar's trust. He was hopeless now because Shehryaar never trusted easily. It happened the first time that they had met as well. He and shahzeb became good friends while it took years for Shehryaar to learn to trust Zameer.

Zameer was posted to the northern front of the Sikhai where Shehryaar had ordered a route which was established for the transportation and easy passage of the Russian Mafia forces owned by Victor Petrov. And Zameer was in charge. And he took it as a challenge. All he wanted now was to try and win back Shehryaar's trust one way or another. So he worked so hard. Day and night. But it wasn't working. Shehryaar didn't acknowledge anything and Zameer understood. It wouldn't be easy to gain back Shehryaar's trust but he needed to do it anyway. He needed to be by Shehryaar's side, protecting him and advising him in the mafia wars that they were fighting. But Zameer had a feeling that something was wrong.

Until three weeks ago, when he was called back to Karachi from the northern front. He couldn't believe that Shehryaar personally called him back. And he was tasked with something that no one knew, not even Qadeem, the one who replaced Zameer as second in command.

What Zameer found strange though was that he was to escort a doctor to Shehryaar thrice a week for Anissa. It was indeed strange. He wasn't allowed to stay by Shehryaar's side for long and he had no idea what happened to Anissa. And in his heart, he had a feeling that something had happened to her But Zameer didn't ask questions. He did his job right. The escorting and remaining as the frontier northern leader but being a leader to the most difficult Terrain in the north was tough. Especially when he had to deal with an enemy that won't allow him to have his work done smoothly.

After his shower, he got dressed up. For the past three weeks he had a certain routine to follow.

He spent the whole day at the MMM headquarters but without any results. All day, Zameer gave orders and instructions to his aids back in the north. Work was slow and Zameer was starting to feel tired when his phone buzzed with his the job he was appointed to do. He sighed to himself.

Time for another boring afternoon. He thought, finding the task of escorting Dr. Sadia Rehman too tedious. He had not much thoughts about it except that he just wanted to go home and call it day but then this whole escorting business would turn up and in his opinion, Zameer would think that his time is being wasted. And it was, he was put in charge of escorting a little girl to and fro for God knows what. But he had no choice.

Zameer arrived at the asylum and headed straight inside. He approached Dr. Sadia's office and waited inside. When Dr. Sadia came inside for her tea break, she jumped with surprise and almost screamed when she saw Zameer.

"Oh, Mr. Sheikh, you shouldn't sneak up on me like that." She said in a low breathless voice, her eyes downcast and her right hand going to her chest to pat her pacing heart. Zameer remained neutral.

"I did not sneak up on you." He said in monotone. "But I apologize if I might've startled you. That was not my intention." He said.

Sadia nodded. "I have, um, a few more patients to check so, um, if you can just wait for, uh, ten more minutes." She swallowed hard, her cheeks colouring and her heart drumming. Zameer was quick to notice and he had to admit that the rosy color on her cheeks did her great justice and increased her beauty more. She was indeed a lovely girl, with her modest dressing of a scarf graciously covering her hair, her face clean of makeup and her features so delicate and fine that he wondered if he touched her, would she break? And the thing that he found most pleasant was that she kept to herself.

Zameer sighed and looked at his wrist watch. "Alright but only ten minutes."

"Yes, of... course." Sadia quickly came up to her desk as she opened some dossiers and viewed them while she hastily drank her tea while not even bothering to sit. Zameer sat on one of the sofas by the wall as he observed Sadia. She was small woman, maybe five feet six inches, a contrast height compared to his six feet one. Her thin and slim frame stood gracefully, dressed in a dusty blue Kurta. She possessed the proper etiquette of how to hold and present herself.

Sadia felt Zameer's sharp eyes on her back and that made her feel so uncomfortable as shivers ran down her spine. She retreated out of the room quickly without finishing her tea as if the mere presence of Zameer scared her out of her wits. And it was true Zameer could easily see that she was intimidated by him. And that was because he made sure to be cold and detached. It was a job after all but he couldn't help but catch the faint smell of her perfume as she had passed by him. It was a very lovely scent, much like her.

As he waited in the office, he thought of the first day that they had met, right here in this very office.

She was something he had to give her that. It wasn't usual of him to have to threaten a lady to do his bidding but the suspicious attitude that she showed him forced him to make things clear. But that was what was to be expected however, he didn't understand why he had to show his gun to her to make it clear what the situation was. He was surprised with himself, he was never impulsive but one look at the young lady, whom he had been studying superficially in a file a few days prior had left him awestruck. She was a real beauty. Maybe that was what got to him and Zameer was always weak in front of a beautiful woman. However, the look of innocence in her warm brown eyes was enough to make him realize his purpose. And she had shocked him when she tried to run and he grabbed her but she jabbed her elbow in his ribs, catching him completely off guard. But after he had explained everything and offered her money in exchange for her cooperation, she surprised him by refusing the money and simply accepting the case without any further inquiries.

But Zameer didn't approve of her. Or more like he didn't like how she carried herself in front of men. Yes, he respected her. She was a young doctor, having a famous reputation of being the country's most youngest physician. And she was the youngest member to the National institute of psychiatry and she did it all when she was only nineteen. It was quite a feat. Zameer was impressed with her portfolio. She possessed a high IQ of +130 then it's not difficult to do what she did but Zameer did wonder how did she build such a reputation for herself? Considering her personality, Sadia had no confidence whatsoever. And she always stuttered. Zameer didn't like that. Apart from the one moment of impulsiveness that she had shown towards him when she felt threatened, during these past three weeks, he got to actually evaluate her. And his evaluation was that she was an extremely shy, timid and introverted person. And that's what he didn't approve of. He liked confident women. But of course, the role model he had in mind, not everyone could compare to that. Not every woman could compare to the confidence and strength of Anissa Ghulari.

Thinking of Anissa caused Zameer's iron mask to slip as sadness overwhelmed him.

I hope that she's alright. He thought. Why does she need a psychiatrist anyway? He wondered.

And as she had said, Sadia returned within time. They were on their way but Zameer continued to muse.

Like always, it was a quiet ride. Zameer was focused on driving but he glanced at the timid girl in the back through the rear mirror. She was gazing out the window. From the way her eyes were observing the world outside had Zameer intrigued. Mostly, people tend to be busy on their phones but not this young lady. She likes to watch her surroundings, at least that's what Zameer had observed.

Zameer stopped the car at a traffic sign. As they waited, a beggar boy came knocking on his window. Zameer quickly rolled down his window and handed the boy a hundred rupee note. The boy looked at him with so much gratitude as he smiled and thanked Zameer. Zameer couldn't help but smile back. As he looked at the boy, he was reminded of the days when he used to beg on the streets with a hungry stomach and no one would bother to spare him any food or money. For Zameer, that was the worst feeling. He never wanted to feel that way again and he couldn't bare it if he saw someone suffering from the same fate that he was lucky to have escaped. Because of his own background, Zameer was down to earth and held great empathy for the unfortunate. He may be a criminal and serving the most ruthless Mafia in the country but he never let that change him. He was sure to make a fine line between work and his personal life.

"Wait, bachay." Zameer was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Sadia call the boy in a loud voice. This was a first; he was hearing her use a high pitch voice for the first time. But what surprised him more was what he saw next. Sadia had pulled down her window and with a wide smile, she patted the boy and gave him a five hundred rupee note.

Zameer was baffled. He had thought, that like every other person of a noble and respectable background, they were stingy and selfish who didn't give a damn about the poor. In these three weeks since Zameer started escorting Sadia, he had deduced that she must been the same, with her fine designer clothes and expensive LV bags so he was quick to judge. He couldn't help himself, his past had taught him that the rich and powerful never cared for the poor. His own past experiences were proof of that. But he was wrong. There were always exceptions and who better to know that then Zameer Sheikh when a rich boy had accepted him as a friend and gave him a place by his side and a result, Zameer was were he was now.

She was different. And full of surprises, in certain pleasant yet intriguing ways.

As Zameer continued driving, he couldn't help but steal glances at the young lady in the back. Sadia raised her eyes and their gaze connected through the rear mirror for a fraction of a second. Zameer couldn't help but widen his eyes with bewilderment. The only time she had met his gaze was when they first met and after that, because of her coyness, she never met his gaze again. And now that she did, she looked away immediately, the blush on her already flushed cheeks brightening.

Zameer couldn't help but let a low amused chuckle escape his lips.

This girl really is something. He thought with a small smile. But then he saw the huge building that was their destination and he realized the predicament and immediately wiped off his smile. This was no time for amusements.

Worry and cold dread seeped through his bones as his curiosity began to surface. Why did Shehryaar call for this psychiatrist three times a week? Why was she assigned to look at Anissa? He wanted these questions badly answered. He feared the worst but he refused to think too much of it. And unfortunately, he no longer had the right to be that informal with his boss as he used to be. He was no longer the second in command of the MMM. Zameer sighed at his deplorable situation. But he didn't regret it.

After parking the car, Zameer escorted Dr. Sadia to Shehryaar's office. After taking her devices, he let her inside.

Later that evening, he was called back to take Dr. Sadia back. When Dr. Sadia exited Shehryaar's office, as the routine went, he checked Sadia's bag for notes or any material that she could've made in regards to Anissa's case. It was mostly for himself as well, he desperately wanted to know how Anissa was but unfortunately, he didn't find anything. And he couldn't ask about anything since whatever was happening behind the closed doors of Shehryaar's office was strictly confidential.

As Zameer handed Sadia her bag back, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw a message from Shehryaar.

'Get in.'

Zameer sighed. "Please sit here for a few minutes." He turned to Sadia. "My boss needs to have a word with me."

Sadia nodded and took a seat in a nearby armchair. Zameer entered the office and closed the door behind him. Shehryaar was sitting behind his desk. Zameer didn't see Anissa anywhere so he inferred that she must've been taken to the attached bedroom.

"You wanted to see me, Saeen?" Zameer spoke.

Shehryaar looked at him, his face holding an unreadable expression and his eyes staring coldly at Zameer. He's still the same, that's for sure. Zameer thought.

"It's been three weeks. You haven't presented me with a full detailed report on the doctor yet." He said.

Zameer stared at Shehryaar for a second. "I will Saeen." He said, not bothering to give any excuses even though he had genuine ones. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I'll be sure to have a full report on your table by tomorrow morning." Zameer spoke so formally. He had never spoken so formally with Shehryaar before but he had no choice. He wasn't his Saeen's equal anymore. But Zameer was still loyal. He still considered Shehryaar his brother.

Shehryaar gave a stiff nod. His icy glare was set on Zameer. Zameer didn't meet his gaze and stood with his hands locked behind his back. "I didn't expect this much tardiness from you. Next time, I want the task done in intended time." Shehryaar said coldly.

"Yes, Saeen."

They remained silent for a few moments. "Also." Shehryaar broke the silence after a few poignant seconds. "When will you be meeting with Sarah Kharazmi?"

"Tomorrow evening."

Shehryaar nodded. "I see, good." He said and waved his hand to dismiss Zameer.

Zameer bowed his head a little and left.

As he drove back to her hospital, his eyes were on the road as well on the rear mirror as he watched Sadia gaze out the window.

He was having problems finding out about her family background. Zameer was an expert. He always found out about the people he intended to work with and Shehryaar also trusted his reports.and whatever Zameer wanted to find he would find it by any means but he just couldn't seem to find anything on Sadia's family. Though he was busy himself with his responsibilities as leader of the northern front, but that was still no excuse. No he knew that he needed to get this done.

That night, Zameer sat by his laptop and tried his best, even going so far as to hack into The regional registry but he couldn't get anything. Giving up, Zameer massaged his forehead.

Taking his phone, he dialed a number. The last time he had called this man was two years ago when he needed to find out about Anissa Ghalib for Shahzeb. So if there was one person who could do a good background check besides himself then it was Waqas, a good friend of his.

"Yeah?"

"It's been a long time, Waqas." Zameer said.

"Indeed it has been. I'm very surprised to receive this call from you." The man replied back.

"Yeah about that, I have a job for you."

"What is it? I'm pretty busy these days."

"Trust me, it'll be worth your time." Zameer vowed and he knew that the man would believe him; he would be getting handsomely paid for it after all.

"Aright, I think I can make some time."

"Good." Zameer sighed. "I want you to give me a thorough report on Dr. Sadia Rehman, Psychiatrist at the Faisal asylum. I want it by tomorrow."