“Yes. She believes he’s guilty, and that he ran away.”
“Your mom struck me as very astute.”
She was astute. His mother was usually right about these things. “Normally she is, but she also has a very definite sense of right and wrong. We were held to very high standards growing up. I’m not surprised she’d wash her hands of Avi if she thought he failed to meet them.”
Sejal tapped the letter in her palm. “Okay, let’s assume he’s innocent. So you think my aunt and Cobra have, what, kidnapped him? Killed him? To make sure he doesn’t incriminate other dirty agents in the Bureau?”
“Yes,” he said simply.
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Avi knew where you were. Your neighborhood, the bars and café you frequented. He had a file on you and your aliases. He’d been tracking you.”
“Again, what does this have to do with me?”
“You were my only lead.”
“I’m a person,” Sejal said, and her voice was low, but shook with rage. “Not a lead. Not bait. Not a pawn.”
Krish inhaled. Correct. God, he hated the betrayed hurt in her tone. He wasn’t sure when he’d become so attuned to her emotions, but hurting her felt like hurting himself.
He dipped his head in acknowledgment, shame pricking him. “You’re right. I initially saw you as nothing more than a tool to get my brother out. I didn’t think about you as a person at all. I didn’t even consider whether you would get hurt, so long as I got what I needed. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry, but?”
“What?”
“You’re sorry, but... what? There’s always abut.”
“Abutwould make that apology an excuse. I’m not excusing my behavior. I’ll explain why I did what I did, why I felt like I had no choice, but I’m still sorry.”
She stared at him for a long, excruciating minute. “Fuck you.”
“I deserve that,” he said quietly.
“Your plan was goofy.”
“That’s a valid criticism, but I might note that I was desperate.”
“I’m so pissed at you.”
“I understand.”
“Stop validating everything I say. Fuck.” Sejal launched herself out of the chair. “A librarian. I’ve been running for my life with a college librarian.”
Okay, now. He deserved some credit. “A librarian who kept you safe. Who, most recently, escaped Cobra trying to choke me out in the hallway.” He was surprised by how confident the words sounded, but he felt every ounce of that confidence. He was capable of more than his family expected of him, damn it.
She stopped pacing. “What? How do you know it was Cobra who tried to strangle you? They identified themselves?”
“No. I assumed, by what they said, that it was Cobra.”
Sejal didn’t move or change expression, but he caught the way her eyes sharpened. “What did they say exactly?”
“‘Stay away from Sejal, or I’ll make your brother pay.’”
“You don’t know that was Cobra. It could be Alexei.”
“Alexei doesn’t know I have a brother. It has to be Cobra.”
