The fluffy tufts of clouds hanging over the snow-topped mountains could only fascinate Shahrazad for a few moments as she pressed her face against the cool window. But while it was part admiration for such freedom that had finally enveloped her, it was also the only way to escape that creep's stare.

At first, Shahrazad had glared at him as he coolly sipped on the strange-looking liquid with a smirk on his face, but soon she found herself growing uncomfortable at the predatory gleam in his onyx eyes. She wondered how her cousin would feel if she was to say that Asadullah wasn't half as bad as she had thought. Instead, his cousin was a tad notch worse.

The creep's twin had not said a word - rather he had barely looked their way. The minute he had found his seat, he had plugged in his headphones and pulled his hood up. Shahrazad had nearly stomped over to him and demanded that he put an end to his stupid brother's antics. But like hell, she would ever ask any of these bastards for help.

"WHAT?" A loud hiss escaped her mouth when she caught him appraising her clothes - his eyes stopping momentarily on her chest. She was already seeing red by the time he lowered the glass from his lips.

"Rags." He stated simply. "Should have taken the money Asad was offering you."

An offended splutter escaped her pink lips and Fahad was surprised how much she resembled her father in that instance. "Have you seen your own clothes! You look like the Mafia except you are not half as good looking as the ones in the movies!"

"For once the country bumpkin gets it right. I am a member of the Mafia."

Her face paled in the sunlight that streamed from the windows. "What?" Her voice came out as a squeak. "You are the Mafia?"

Uneasiness torched his heart at the dying fire in her blue eyes. Feisty and troublesome as she was, he had begun to enjoy the wildness that came with her. Now to see her look a little bit like her cousin who had not looked up from her hands, he realized just how much he would be repulsed at the idea of her being frightened and subdued. Of him.

"It's in the name, kitty, in case you didn't notice. Black Panther Mafias? I thought you were a little bit smart, but clearly not!" He grinned with a blinding smile and a tone that was borderline patronizing.

She took the bait. Nostrils flaring with anger and sky like eyes erupting with rage sent his own heart racing. Finally . . . the house cat was now a lioness again. "What kind of a stupid name is that! Black Panther Mafias! Sounds like a four-year-old came up with it!"

A seat away from Fahad sat Asadullah whose attention had been shifting between his stationary wife and his smartphone. Even 18,000 feet above in a helicopter, he had not been able to disconnect from the events that were unfolding below. But sitting before a woman who had enamored him and her rather obnoxious cousin had somewhat made Asadullah forget who he was.

"My dearest saali doesn't like the name?" Shahrazad's eyebrow twitched at the honorific that he had begun to bestow her with. Beside her, Nazli trembled ever so slightly. "Maybe a name change is in order . . ."

Shahrazad turned away, her nose upturned in disgust. "Maybe a change of business is in order too! Like hell will I let Nazli be with a Mafiaman!"

Amused laughter escaped his mouth - the sound so intriguing and relaxing that Nazli found her heart taking on a regular beat again. But she also knew it was all a façade. Men like Asadullah were liars and had no business with the likes of her. The minute he was done with her she would find herself disposed of in waste garbage somewhere. Damn Shahrazad for reading her stupid horror books out loud to her.

"Fine! Today I am in a pleasant mood!" Asadullah's eyes shimmered with a serene reflection of the white clouds outside. For once, he was not feeling solemn about leaving a peaceful place. For he was taking a piece of it with him, he thought smiling at the glistening light that radiated from Nazli's hair. She looked nothing less than an angel. A broken angel. "Do enlighten me with a name for my organization!"

"Asad, you serious bro?" Fahad placed his glass of brandy on the side wondering if air sickness had made him hear the impossible. "You want to change the name of the Black Panther Mafias simply to appease a bumpkin girl? Uncle would not be pleased."

Asad smirked when he caught the Nazli's surprised eyes looking away hurriedly. "Why not? It's my organization now. I will do whatever pleases me, Fahad." Then he turned to Shahrazad expectingly.

Suddenly regretting her words, the young girl scratched the tip of her pink nose with uncertainty. "I honestly don't care about your silly plaything Mafia organization!" At her words, Fahad's lips twitched with amusement. She had no idea how dangerous they were and for how little they had killed before.

"All I want is an assurance from you that you'll keep this pervert away from me!"

Three things happened simultaneously. Fahad choked on his own spit and coughed violently. Nazli shot a petrified glare to her cousin and Asadullah threw his head back and roared with laughter. Enough to say that for the rest of the journey, Fahad did not stop glaring at the younger girl.

***

The chopper landed on top of a tower block building in Skardu overlooking the small communities that bustled about in the evening. Nazli had never seen such markets before - the women were never allowed to leave the valley for trade. Only Hamza and the other men would have ever seen such a sight.

"Hey, why are all those people crowding around that man?" Shahrazad voiced the question that had begun to plague Nazli's mind as they stepped off the helicopter; the annoying sound of whirring finally fading away.

Fahad, offended from her previous jibe snorted with disgust. "Obviously he is more popular than you will ever be."

The pale blonde swung around with fury. "Excuse me?!"

"Children." Asadullah sighed, pressing long fingers to his temples as he fought back another jetlag. Damn, he hated air travel with a severe passion. "Fahad, don't antagonize her. Imad, go check if our rooms are ready."

The silent twin disappeared, but not before Nazli caught his eyes drifting her way momentarily. She detected something foreign in them and suddenly his whole presence seemed foreign. Once upon a time, he had bestowed her with kindness. Now, there was an emptiness that chilled her heart adding to her everlasting agony.

A hand stroked the back of her hand comfortingly and before she could flinch away, he was already interlacing their fingers together. "You and Shahrazad are used to sharing a room, yes? Tonight and for however many nights you wish, you can stay with your cousin."

If her heart had chilled before, it felt like it had been thrown in an icy river. How stupid was she that she had not considered this possibility before? They were married and of course, he would eventually exercise his right over her. But here she was worried about Imad and his pensive stares when she had other things to be far more frantic about. Stupid, stupid girl.

Before Shahrazad and Fahad turned to look towards them, Asadullah's lip brushed across her cold cheeks like the touch of warm rays of sunlight. She hated the blush that rose from her neck and the strange way her heart skipped a beat. But more than that it was the fear that rooted her to the ground and the absolute understanding that he could easily overpower her and bend her to his will.

As if he had seen the internal battle that raged behind her alert timberland eyes, he smiled freely. "One day, you will come to me on your own. Until then, I will try to be a patient man."

And just as Shahrazad began to turn towards them, he had stepped back - nimble like a mountain lion.

"I don't want to go to some boring old room! I want to explore and see what is happening down there!" The annoyed young girl demanded, pointing her finger towards the bazaar and pointedly ignoring the man who sauntered behind her with a smirk on his face. Instead, her request was posed to Asadullah.

"My wife is quite tired, dear saali!" Asadullah remarked, leaving the decision entirely upon Nazli. If she wished to go, he would not miss the chance of seeing the look of awe on her face as she graced her presence in his world. He had seen her world and the chaos that underlay beneath the facade of peace. But his world was open - cold and violent to even the most innocent. Here, there were no lies or clemency. It was laid bare for her and perhaps she would never forgive him for pulling her into a world of more demons than angels.

"Nonsense!" Shahrazad snorted. "Nazli and I have worked like horses all our life. So why would we be tired after two hours of sitting!"

His cousin giggled like a schoolboy. "Children should go to bed early, kitty. It has a great impact on their growth." And then his eyes stopped to rest on the scarf Shahrazad had used to cover her chest from him. When she caught the sexual implication of his words, she roared with fury - hands clawed to grab his hair.

"Woah!" He laughed, jumping back just as Nazli seized her cousin with an iron grip. "You need to have a leash put on you, lioness!"

"Go fuck yourself!" She screamed, clawing at her cousin's arms in a blind fury. Nazli winced as Shahrazad nearly ripped the tender skin of her hands off, but help came unexpectedly from her captor.

"Enough." The authority that came with said command was palpable. Shahrazad quieted down instantly - the last of her anger extinguishing like water dousing out a fire. "We'll visit the market if that is what you wish. Fahad, you can get lost."

The man in question pouted. "Oh, but why, yaar? I want to babysit a little longer. And I really want a McDonalds!"

With twinkling blue eyes, the younger girl turned her full attention to the one who had made it his personal mission to irritate her. "What is this, Mic-Mic-Dooonalds?"

"The best food in the world, kitty." Fahad remarked, sniggering at her innocent attempt to pronouce the foreign word. When she stared at him with huge round eyes, he could not stop the overwhelming affection that enraptured his heart. Damn, maybe he was also into stupid bumpkin girls like his fellow companions.

"I'll be the judge of that for myself!" The ocean eyed girl announced, turning to her cousin. "There is no way that this silly Mic-Doonalds is better than our chapshoro! With a name that we can't even pronounce, it is bound to be some nasty tasting food!"

The older girl honestly did not want anything to do with Mic-Doonalds or the market down below. Too much had happened in the last few hours and her mind was swirling like a never ending tornado. How could Shahrazad even pretend to be remotely normal? Did she not see the magnitude of the situation and the brevity of time?

For all she knew they were far from home, but at least still in Gilgit-Baltistan. No doubt, in a few hours they would be as far as Lahore - and the final chance she would have of regaining her freedom would be lost. She had to try. At least once . . .