“He could have found out by now,” she argued. “How would my aunt even know we were here?”
“Cobra has eyes everywhere, yes?”
“Yes,” she allowed, reluctantly. “However, my aunt’s not the strangling type. She’s more the frying pan type.”
“Not even to keep you safe?”Because I destroyed a vehicle and risked bodily injury to keep you safe.
She bit her lip. “Okay. Possibly to keep me safe.”
There was a brief silence between them. “I have to find out what happened to my brother. But like I said, I’d already decided that I didn’t need to involve you.”
“And how will you find my aunt without me?”
He had no clue. He, who was used to plans and catalogs and research, was truly without a blueprint here. “I don’t know. I’ll figure it out. After we get Alexei off your back.”
She blinked. “You still want to help me with Alexei.”
“Yes.” It was like a weight was lifting off him. His cards were on the table. This felt right and good.
“Why?”
Did she have to press?
“Because I—” He hesitated, unsure if he wanted to get that real. What could he even say? Because he wanted to kiss her again? Because she’d brought him a salad? Because he couldn’t get the taste of her out of his mouth? “Because I think I like you.”
Sejal gaped at him, rendered silent.
A knock came at the door, interrupting them. “Sejal. I found something! Come here.”
Sejal inhaled, then exhaled. There was still anger there, but there was something else, too. Maybe the something else that was also sending him into turmoil. “My family doesn’t need to know about any of this stuff. They have enough to worry about.”
“I won’t say a word,” Krish assured her.
Neither of them had to say a word. Mira’s gaze bounced between them as soon as they joined her, her husband, and Sunil in the living room. Sejal’s sister scowled. She could obviously sense the tension between them. “Everything okay?”
“Yup,” Sejal said grimly. “What did you find?”
Mira looked like she wanted to press further, but she turned the computer to face them. “This dodo Alexei stole millions from some really bad guys, and Dad was able to document it pretty thoroughly, line by line.”
Her sigh echoed Krish’s. “Great,” he said. “Then we have what we need, right?”
“That’s not the only thing on here.” Mira pulled up a photo. Then another one. And another. And another. They all showed ayoung, dark-haired man, who Krish presumed was Alexei, meeting with various other men, mostly older.
Sejal leaned closer. “Oh my God.”
Naveen and Sunil came to crowd around them. Naveen looked as confused as Krish felt. “Are we supposed to know who those people in those photos are?”
“You would if you spent any time in this city,” Sunil said. A big smile spread across his face, and he clapped Sejal on the back. “Never say your father didn’t love you, Sejal.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Sejal opened more photos. “Are these doctored?”
“Not doctored,” Sunil cut in, with some degree of authority. “Hoo boy, is that kid in for a surprise. I hope Vassar didn’t show his hand before you can.”
“I don’t understand the significance of these,” Krish said slowly.
Sejal clutched his arm, which surprised him. Perhaps her excitement over this discovery was temporarily trumping her justified anger at him. “Mobsters and Vegas have a long history, and a solid present. These are photos of Alexei meeting with various leaders of crime families. People who have some, shall we say, competing interests with his own rather dangerous and territorial father and brothers.”
“Insurance on insurance,” Sunil murmured. “Vassar always did believe in doubling up.”
