Fury's Goddess

It was Annja’s turn to hesitate. She hadn’t expected him to be able to recount that. Perhaps Dunraj had really seen her shows.

Interesting.

Dunraj’s smile grew. “I do hope you’ll forgive me, but unfortunately I need to cut our time short. I’ve got some other guests to attend to. Please enjoy my hospitality. I will return shortly and we can talk some more then. All right?”

“Oh. Yes. Absolutely. That would be great. I’d like that.” Annja blinked and then Dunraj was gone. The crowd had swallowed him up.

And the funny thing was, she missed him.

“You okay?”

She looked at Frank. “Me? Yeah, of course, I’m fine.” Annja frowned. “Why would you ask me that?”

“Because you look a little pale. Like maybe your first encounter there with Captain Amazing might have been more than you bargained for.”

Annja sipped her champagne. “Nothing to worry about, Frank. I’m just tired from the flight.”

Frank didn’t argue the point. “We should get something to eat.”

“Good idea.”

As they walked to the nearest table, Annja felt eyes on them. More women sizing her up, most likely. Now that Dunraj had connected with her, they were all checking her out, trying to determine if she was a rival for Dunraj’s attention. Someone they would have to sort out if it became clear Dunraj fancied her.

“I told you he was something else, didn’t I?” Pradesh said at Annja’s elbow. “You were mesmerized and don’t even realize it. Even now when he’s not around you any longer.”

Annja smirked. “He is something else. I’ll give you that. But is he like that with everyone?”

Pradesh gestured around the room. “Do you see anyone here who isn’t equally enamored of him? The women want to be with him. The men want to be like him. Dunraj is the epitome of what many in Hyderabad aspire to become.”

“What’s his story?”

Pradesh shrugged. “Comes from a well-respected family, as I’ve said, but Dunraj was never content to rely on their reputation. He was schooled abroad in Zurich and then Oxford. He speaks a number of languages, including Mandarin, Farsi and German, and that multilingualism has enabled him to reach beyond India’s borders and attract both international investment and cooperation. A lot of people say he is the unofficial mayor of Hyderabad.”

“And how does the mayor feel about that?”

Pradesh brushed something she couldn’t see off his lapel. “I assume she’s quite happy knowing that Dunraj will pour a lot of money into her next campaign. Dunraj enjoys a wonderful relationship with the mayor, and she’s always ready to approve his next construction project. He has no real political aspirations. He accomplishes all of his public-service work through his construction projects. It’s very much a symbiotic relationship.”

Dunraj was on the far side of the room when he picked up a microphone from the DJ and the music abruptly cut out. “Ladies and gentlemen, if I could please have your attention.”

Not as if he didn’t already have the attention of everyone in the room. Despite the noise level and the buzzing conversations, not one person ever had their eyes off Dunraj.

Dunraj continued. “I’m so pleased you were all able to accept my invitation to attend tonight’s event. I realize this was last minute.”

This was last minute? She wondered what a well-planned party would have been like.

“It humbles me to have such wonderful friends and colleagues as yourselves,” Dunraj continued. “Truly. Thank you so much.”

Before Annja could critique his speech to Frank for laying it on too thick, Dunraj added, “My purpose in throwing tonight’s party was to welcome a visitor to our great city. An American who has always impressed me with her steadfast resolve, intellect and pursuit of truth. It’s my pleasure to introduce you all to Miss Annja Creed, host of Chasing History’s Monsters.”

Annja’s gut dropped, but she managed to smile and hold up her glass in acceptance of Dunraj’s praise. “Thank you.”

“I hope you will all take a moment to introduce yourselves to Annja and her colleague, Frank. Tell them about our city and the role it plays in India’s twenty-first- century expansion and growth. And please make sure they both understand that Hyderabad is a glowing example of India’s prosperity and the new hub of our nation’s incredible future. Thank you and enjoy.”

A few guests clapped and Dunraj handed the microphone back to the DJ. She was about to go over to him when a throng of people suddenly appeared in front of her.

And every last one of them wanted to welcome her and Frank to Hyderabad. They were like trained dogs. She smiled politely but really wanted to get out of there.

Annja looked around the room for Dunraj. But the Indian billionaire had vanished.

Chapter 5

“Where’d he go?” Annja asked as she fended off throngs of well-wishers, mostly middle-aged men.

Frank, for his part, didn’t seem to mind the attention a number of young women were paying him. “Where’d who go?”

“Dunraj.” Annja pushed her way through the throng, straining to see above the mass of heads. But Dunraj had indeed vanished. One moment, he’d been in his reception area, and the next, he was gone.

Pradesh had also disappeared. What was going on here? Annja turned and saw what looked to be Frank giving his telephone number. She sighed and pushed back into the women around him. “All right, Frank, let’s get going. Come on, now.”

“Now?” He frowned. “But I’m starting to enjoy myself. There are an awful lot of very nice young women here.”

“Which is exactly why I want to get the hell out of here before your libido turns this welcome party into an orgy.”

“Would that be so terrible?” Frank pleaded.

Annja grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the crowd. They eventually got a second to catch their breath near the entry door close to the elevator they’d rode up on.

Frank brushed himself off. “The ladies here are so forthcoming with their intimate details. Imagine.”

“I don’t even want to know what that means,” she said. “Can we get out of here now?”

Frank looked longingly back toward the party. “Yeah, I guess. We going to the hotel?”

“I’d like to, yes. I’m exhausted. I need serious sleep if we’re going to start first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Can we call a taxi? I don’t see Pradesh anywhere.”

Annja nodded. “Me, neither. And I don’t like it when our host and our minder both disappear within seconds of each other. That strikes me as sort of weird.”

Frank eyed her. “You’re not going to go all ‘conspiracy theory’ on me now, are you?” He pushed the elevator call button, and seconds later the doors slid back. Annja and Frank stepped inside, and the car descended toward the ground.

“My father had a real thing for Indian women,” Frank reminisced. “I remember one time when we were Christmas shopping and there was this woman in the music store. My father was totally captivated. I get it now.”

“Well, good,” Annja said. “Now you two can compare notes when you get home. Nice.”

Frank sighed. “Nah, he died about ten years back. We were just getting to be really good friends when he had a heart attack.”

Annja felt badly for Frank. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”