đź–¤ Title: The Devil's Gentle Touch
đź“– Chapter 9: Under His Protection
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Rain poured over the streets of Mumbai like the sky was grieving something no one could name.
Aanya stood under the broken shelter of the bus stop—shivering, her bag clutched tightly to her chest. Her phone had died. Her driver hadn't shown up. And the man who'd promised to pick her up?
Dev Raichand was nowhere.
She didn't know that a gunfight had broken out just fifteen minutes away.
She didn't know his car had been blocked—his men outnumbered.
But someone else had seen her.
A black SUV slowed near the curb. The tinted window rolled down, and a man with a scar across his left eye smiled.
"Lost, sweetheart?"
---
She took a step back.
"No, I'm fine—"
Before she could finish, the door opened and two more men stepped out.
Wrong neighborhood. Wrong time.
Wrong girl.
But before they could touch her, a single sound sliced through the storm.
Bang.
One man dropped.
Bang.
The second.
The third never got the chance to scream.
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Aanya turned, gasping—
And saw him.
Dev Raichand.
Soaked in rain.
Gun still smoking in his hand.
Face unreadable.
Not angry.
Not furious.
Murderous.
---
She ran to him, without thinking.
Crashed into his chest.
His arms wrapped around her instantly.
She was sobbing. He was shaking.
Not from the cold.
From what he could have lost.
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"I told you to wait inside the college."
His voice cracked.
"My phone died… I thought—"
He cupped her face, eyes wild.
"You thought what? That this world would be kind to you because you're kind to it?"
Tears fell down her cheeks.
But then, his tone softened.
"You're under my protection, Aanya. That means no one touches you. No one scares you. Not while I'm breathing."
---
She stared at him—his soaked shirt, his trembling fingers, his burning eyes.
Then she tiptoed and kissed his cheek softly.
"I'm safe now."
He pulled her closer and held her like she was made of glass.
And right there, in the middle of a crime scene drenched in rain, blood, and secrets…
He whispered,
"You're not just under my protection, jaan."
"You are my protection."