Sanjay pulled the flight itinerary from his coat pocket and pretended to review the details for the twentieth time. He glanced at his watch nervously, then at the paper again and then at her, standing at the kitchen counter with her back to him.
"You're going to miss your flight if you keep fussing around," she said without even turning around.
Sanjay blushed and stuffed the itinerary back into his pocket. Swathi never even had to be looking at him to know his every move.
"Go," she said, flashing him a kind, lovely smile over her shoulder. "It's only a couple days."
Only a couple days, Sanjay thought. But it would be the first time they would be apart since that night.
It was six months since that terrible night; six months since she told him everything and then begged to keep it a secret so that they could go on with their lives. Sanjay agreed -- he could never say no to Swathi. Instead, he doted over her and found a thousand different ways to blame himself.
"I'll call you when I land," he said, picking up his bag and moving towards the door to the garage. "We have plenty of everything. No need to go out."
"I know," Swathi said, opening the door for him. "Pooja is coming over. We'll probably hang out by the pool and watch some movies later."
"Oh, great," Sanjay said heaving his bags into the car trunk. "Maybe she can stay the night."
"Maybe," Swathi said..
Sanjay slammed the trunk shut and gave Swathi a big hug. He held her a beat too long and knew it when he felt the tension in her back.
"Go!" Swathi said, giving him a playful shove in the chest. "I'm fine."
"Yes you are!" Sanjay said with an exaggerated wink.
Swathi rolled her lovely eyes and stepped back towards the kitchen door.
"Don't forget to arm the security system after I leave," Sanjay called out after starting the car. "I upgraded the panel in the kitchen. You can control everything from there."
"I know, I know," Swathi said, waving him to back up and go.
Sanjay gave an embarrassed shrug and put the car into reverse. Swathi smiled and watched him back out of the garage and took long enough to make sure the automatic door shut completely.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
By late morning it was already quite warm. Pooja hadn't called yet so Swathi headed upstairs to change for the pool. Although she still avoided wearing anything too revealing in public, in private Swathi still enjoyed the feel of a sexy dress or one of her tiny bikinis. As she stood in front of her mirror putting her hair up in bun, Swathi looked at her lean and toned body.
I am still strong, she silently told herself. This body is still beautiful, and it is MINE.
Floating in their pool was one of her greatest pleasures now. The seclusion of their large yard made the real world seem so far away, and the gentle lapping of the water against her skin soothed away her tensions. Warmed by the sun and cooled by the gentle breeze, nature's touch helped ease her mind and forget the sometimes cruel touch of men.
When the doorbell rang, Swathi silently admonished herself for flinching at the sound. She paddled to the pool's edge and climbed out, wrapping herself in a thick terry robe before moving into the kitchen.
Even before that night, Sanjay had been something of a security freak. Swathi had often teased him for installing the network of computer-controlled wireless cameras around their property, but now she was glad. With just a few clicks she could view dozens of areas inside and outside the house from one of several monitors.
Standing at the kitchen monitor, Swathi clicked on the front porch cam and smiled when she saw the familiar figure of her friend Pooja standing with her bag slung over her shoulder.
"I'll be right there," she said into the intercom, then headed towards the front door.
Swathi was going to jokingly scold Pooja for being late when she swung open the door, but froze the moment she saw her friend's expression. Pooja's eyes were large and damp, and she clutched her bag tightly against her chest.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
Before Swathi could process her friend's words, she was suddenly aware of several masked men emerging from hiding places around the porch. Her frightened gasp was stifled quickly by a large gloved hand that clamped over her face. A powerful arm wrapped around her, pinning her arms against her body and she felt herself plummeting backwards into the house.
She tried to kick, but the powerful man simply lifted her off her feet so that her legs flailed wildly in the air. The room suddenly spun and she landed face down on her big, white sofa. A painful weight pressed at the small of her back while she felt her wrists tugged behind her.
There was the distinctive sound of heavy tape being unwound then wrapped tightly around her wrists. Swathi then felt her ankles bound and she was pulled roughly into a sitting position.
"Both of you keep you mouths shut," the masked man said, brandishing a large knife inches from Swathi's frightened eyes. "If either of you make a sound we're gonna come back and slit your throats!"
With that he gave Swathi a hard shove and all then men scattered into other parts of the house. Still breathing hard, she became aware of Pooja, similarly bound, in the nearby chair.
"They jumped me in the driveway," she said, her voice dry and panicked. "First there was only one. He said his car broke down and asked if he could use my phone. Before I could even answer they grabbed me and forced me to ring your bell."
"Who are they?" Swathi demanded. "What did they look like?"
"I don't know, a bunch of white guys," Pooja said helplessly. "They said they just want to rob your place. They said if I didn't stand there and ring your bell they were going to kill me!"
Swathi looked up at the ceiling as the sound of their thumping room to room echoed through the house.
"We have to get loose before they get back," she said firmly.
Both women struggled against their bonds until their ankles and wrists burned, but it was no use. Two of the masked men quickly reappeared. One hustled past them and entered Sanjay's study just off the kitchen. The other stayed near them in the living room rifling through the bookshelves. Swathi silently prayed that robbery was their only motive.
"Please take whatever you want and go," she said, trying to sound brave. "Our husbands will be back any minute."
The man going through the bookshelves ignored her as the others re-entered the room one by one. Swathi felt a growing chill in her gut as she realized none of them was carrying stolen goods.
"All the windows are secure and the curtains drawn, Boss," said of the men.
"All the upstairs cameras have been taken care of too," said another.
