The Eye of Shiva by Alex Lukeman Read Free Book Online Page A

quiet of the early morning was shattered by the explosion. The back of the Indian Embassy rose toward the sky in a geyser of fire and stone. A billowing cloud of smoke and dust rolled out over the green lawn as bits and pieces of the building fell back to earth. The cloud thinned and Khanna saw that more than half of the embassy was gone. The remaining floors and rooms gaped at him like an open mouth with crooked teeth.
    The ambassador never could have survived that, Khanna thought. His lip curled in unconscious contempt. The man had been a pawn of the Americans, a weakling, just like the Prime Minister. Unwilling to do what needed to be done, to take the steps necessary to eliminate the Pakistani threat once and for all.
    In the distance, Khanna heard the first siren. Time to go , he thought. He walked to where the crumpled body of the guard lay by the secluded bench. The stench of voided bowels filled the night. Khanna held his finger under his nose, reached in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled pack of Pakistani cigarettes. He tossed the cigarettes into the bushes near the guard. He'd already filed false intelligence reports to New Delhi about a possible ISOK incident in Manila. Along with the Filipino report about ISOK's involvement with Abu Sayyaf, it should be enough to point the finger at them and at Pakistan.
    Before the Partition of 1947 , Khanna's family had lived in Lahore, now part of Pakistan. The family had lost everything, choosing to leave rather than live under Muslim rule. His grandfather had died a bitter man. His father had taught him that Muslims were evil and Khanna had seen nothing to make him change his mind. Pakistan was the enemy, a thief that had stolen his ancestral home. If what had happened here tonight pushed India into striking a first blow, Khanna would be cheering every missile.
    Fire was climbing the broken wall on the side of the embassy. The sound of sirens was closer. Khanna lit a cigarette and walked away into the night.
     
     

    CHAPTER 10
     
     
    Selena finished her morning workout in the exercise room in her condo, went into the bedroom, dumped her sweats and headed for the shower. Usually the workout and shower helped her relax, but it wasn't working today. She shut off the water, grabbed a thick, Turkish towel, and dried off. She rubbed steam off the bathroom mirror with the towel, stood before the mirror and gave herself a critical look.
    Still pretty good, she thought, resting her hand on her hip and turning her head slightly. She touched the scar left by the bullet she'd taken in Mexico and felt a faint memory of pain. There were shadows under her eyes. Were those new lines at the corners? She leaned forward and stretched the skin a bit, trying to see. She hadn't slept well, not after leaving Nick standing in the jewelry store. She was still sorting out why she'd acted on impulse like that.
    She'd been on edge that morning, annoyed with Nick and the way he was taking her for granted. Assuming she'd just go along with what he wanted. But that wasn't it. It was deeper, some fundamental doubt the engagement was a good idea in the first place. In hindsight, if she tried to be objective, she could see Nick had meant well and was only trying to surprise her. Somehow her objectivity kept slipping away, lost in a mix of conflicting thoughts and emotions about the whole damned relationship.
    Why was she thinking about getting married anyway? She was self-sufficient, ab le to do whatever she wanted on her own. She had her own money. She didn't even need to work unless she wanted to. She could go anywhere she wanted, do almost anything she wanted to do. She could have her pick of intelligent, handsome and educated men from about any walk of life. So what was so damned attractive about a battered, stubborn man whose principal goal in life seemed to be jumping in where angels feared to tread and whose primary skill was shooting at people and blowing things up?
    When Nick asked her to marry