The evening had surrounded the land with a darkness that Nazli had rarely experienced before. The night was black and barren from the moon and stars. Perhaps it was the darkness in her own heart that made her feel even gloomier, but she had not moved from the corner of the room after changing and taking care of her needs.

In another time and place, Nazli would have been grateful for the generosity the man had bestowed upon her. But after what they had done to her - she had nothing, but hatred in her heart for them. They were monsters - the whole lot of them and she could not wait to get back and tell Baba Zaman everything.

And Baba Zaman had a monstrous temper. He would not spare them after what they had done to the poor animals. And now he would be bloodthirsty for revenge when he would find out that they had kidnapped her too. Nazli's eyes teared up when she remember Shahrazad and Hamza. Those moments felt as if they had been years ago.

Suddenly a booming sound occurred almost stopping her heart. She had practically felt the walls of the hotel shake and she wondered what kind of hell now awaited her. At the sound of his voice, Nazli felt faint. No! He was here and he was going to kill her. No doubt he was worse than his brother - cold and cruel, but also frighteningly overpowering. Regret surrounded her - she wished she hadn't been so mean to the man who had brought her here. Imad? He seemed the most mellow out of them all and she wished he was here.

"Fucking Khalid!" This deep baritone voice had been on her mind since the first time he had held her at gunpoint. Now - only mere metres away from her, she couldn't stop the rapidness of her heart. Something about him ignited such terror inside her that she was thrown each time five years back.

She heard Imad's flat voice. "Is he dead?" The blasé manner in which he asked the question threw her previous analysis into thin air. How could they speak of death and killing as if they were deciding on what to eat? How could these men be so . . . heartless?

A voice, similar to Imad's but more carefree laughed. It was a hollow laughter. "As good as dead, man!" She choked at his words. Oh Allah, that cruel man was dead? And his own brother had killed him? If he could do that to him, what could he do to her? Oh God, she had to get out of here!

Tiptoeing shakily towards the window, she stopped when the floorboard creaked. Outside, the laughter continued and she let out a sigh of relief. Okay, she could do it. All she had to do was open the window and climb out. Then she would run straight to her village. But a distant howl of a wolf made her have second thoughts. Oh Lord, why was this happening to her?

"Where is the girl?" She heard him ask out of the blue. Her heart hammered in her chest and she looked to the window with great hesitation. It was now or never! But if they caught her, she would have sealed her fate with her own hands. Several footsteps approached the door and in the moment of great weakness, Nazli crawled under the darkness of the huge bed. Please let them think I escaped! Please let them think I escaped!

The door opened with a creak and ominous footsteps tapped the floorboards. She silently pushed herself to the corner of the bed - her knees drawn to her chest. Oh Allah, she did not want to die by their hands! Maybe being ripped apart by a pack of wolves would have been a better option after all.

"She isn't here." Even the power in his voice startled her. No one ever spoke like that - no one. Then there was a slight frustration in his tone as he angrily asked. "Did she escape?" A flutter of hope enlightened her briefly. Yes, go away thinking I have escaped!

"She is here." Imad's modulated voice reassured. "The window is closed - she isn't strong enough to open it anyway." Her heart stopped and tears pooled in her eyes. She was so stupid for thinking he was kinder. A part of her had begun to see him as a small refuge against these men, but how foolish of her. He had just followed orders - he had merely done what that scary man had asked him to do.

"Oh I see! She is playing the hide and seek game with you, Asad!" Not a moment had that been said, that the covers in front of her began to lift. She threw her head in her knees - prayers from the Qur'an the only thing keeping her from having a heart attack. Oh Allah, forgive me for I have wronged you. I have sinned greatly. I beg you to forgive me and make my end swift. Please, my Lord have mercy upon me.

"Peek a boo!" Fahad grinned as the sight of a golden head came into view. "Hey, missy, I don't think my stupid brother here told you, but you sleep on top of the bed - not under it."

Asadullah shoved him out of the way. "That's enough. Leave." He did not need Fahad to go and frighten the girl even more. Khalid had already done a fine job of that.

But the man only pouted his lips at him - a playful gleem in his eyes. "Aw, but why man? Look how frightened she is - every time you speak, she trembles like a leaf!" A twinge of discomfort shot up his spine at Fahad's words. Fahad seldom got his analysis and deductions wrong, but Asadullah still desperately wanted him to be wrong.

Imad rolled his eyes at his incessant brother. Fahad was insensitive like that - always failing to understand the emotions of others. It is what perhaps made him such a good interrogator - the enemies were sometimes more frightened of him than Asadullah. This girl would no doubt pass out if Fahad kept harrassing her any longer.

Gingerly, he walked over to the other side of the bed - the side where she was closest to. He silently lifted the covers and then seized her arm. She lifted her head - a violent look in her eyes as if he had lost all the acquired trust from her in a matter of a few seconds. Imad didn't like it, but he was not going to let an insignificant girl make him question his actions anymore.

He jerked her out and Asadullah was by his side in seconds. He watched her thrash around violently before lifting an ebony brow at Imad. "Leave her be."

At the sound of his voice, she froze in Imad's arms and then stared at him with quivering eyes. Asadullah returned the stare back flatly - he should have been proud that he had the power to ignite such great fear in a person despite barely having shown his skills. But nothing made him feel that way when it came to this petite woman. Instead, he wanted to earn her trust and now he was failing to convince himself that it was only merely because he wanted Shah Zaman's favor.

"I apologize for the distress that I have caused you." Here it was, the smooth talk - he could be very convincing if he wanted to be. "My brother Khalid has erred greatly. He was punished by me. But he is also the culprit of yourself and your people. You will have the chance to punish him."

Punish him? Hadn't he already killed him? What more did he want her to do - tear his flesh off and feed it to the eagles? But she didn't need to wonder any longer for he was pulling out a handgun from his pocket with his eyes unwavering from her. Her heart had already been racing from the hectic events today, but the sight of the weapon made everything suddenly blurry.

This was the second time in less than 24 hours she felt the spell of faint come to her. Just before her eyes drooped, she caught an emotion in his unreadable eyes - sheer panic and worry. Maybe he was worried that he wouldn't get to kill her. He was bloodthirsty after all.

Fahad whistled with a chortle. "Man, Asad. You really don't need weapons anymore to put people in the ground!"

Asadullah merely stared at the deadweight that hung off his companion's arm. Frustration, worry and confusion engulfed his heart when Imad moved her to the bed. Had he not shown enough clemency towards her for her to at least hold a small conversation with him? Had he not rescued her from his ill-intentional and covetous brother? He knew the gun was only a nail in the head for her fear. Originally, she had been frightened of him from the start. Suddenly, he wished he hadn't left such an egregious first impression on her.

Imad stepped back from the bed - his stance purely professional, but something foreign in his eyes too. "Lack of food and water and loss of blood added to her poor health and resulted in a fainting spell."

His leader's head snapped up in shock. "Loss of blood? She was injured? I didn't see anything."

Imad froze at his words. Damn, he hadn't meant to mention her woman problem out to them. The fact that he had known about it no doubt would have embarrassed this girl into passing out. And now, Asadullah and Fahad were expecting him to share this to them too.

"I am asking you something?" Asadullah growled, raking his fingers through his lush hair. "What's with the look on your face?"

"That's the look he gives me when he is planning on telling a lie." His brother added, a smirk of betrayal touching his lips.

"Well you might want to reconsider what you have to say, Imad." Asadullah warned, clutching the butt of the gun tightly. "Was she injured by Khalid? Or did she get injured due to your negligence?"

Imad had a strong urge to call him out on his concern. Why did he care? Surely, if she was a bargaining chip he would not have cared this much. His concern was seldom bestowed upon anyone except those who he held dear to him. Since when did this girl become so important?

"Her period." He said flatly, making sure to show with his hardened eyes that he had not appreciated Asadullah's accusations.

"When did you get the time to check her undies, bro?" Fahad giggled, raking his eyes on the still girl. "Hey, not to mention she is also wearing different clothes! Aren't you moving too fast, Immy?"

"Shut. Up." He growled, shoving his shoulder into his brother's on his way out. Behind him, Fahad followed hot on his heels, incessantly asking if he had any action with her. Imad almost had an urge to snort. Action with her? He was sure this girl was as virgin as the day she came out from her mother's womb. He wondered if a man had even touched her until Asadullah had come along. No doubt, she would faint as she had now.

"Now you are smiling! So you did get something eh?" Just ignore him and he will go away. Don't give him any signs you are bothered. Don't feed into his ego, Imad thought, gnashing his teeth together tightly.

But in their leader's heart a strange feeling had ignited. He stood rooted to the spot - staring at the girl who had become a misery for his peace of mind. Never before had there been a time when he had doubted his companions. Until this . . . bumpkin, insignificantly fragile girl had come along.

From the moment she had fainted up until Imad's confession of her problem, Asadullah had not been able to understand the sinking of heart. She was diverging him from his original mission - heck he should not even be here this moment. He should have been back home - signing papers to the ownership of The Black Panther Mafias. But then, fucking Khalid had embroiled her in his sick game of payback and she had come face to face with him again.

From the first moment he had seen her up until now, she had painted a picture of herself on his mind. He could be sitting and planning his next great endeavor and those green eyes would suddenly appear and wreak havoc within him. Goddamn her, he thought bitterly, glaring at her one final time and slamming the door shut behind him.

The sooner he was rid of her, the better. Tomorrow, he would let her go. Then he would pay the damages to Shah Zaman and make him the best deal that old bumpkin could have ever received. He would pay them double - no, triple the amount for that land. They would not refuse to such a generous offer.

Yes - after tomorrow he wouldn't have to see her. Soon, she would fade from his memories like a leaf passing in the wind.

A leaf passing in the wind.