Yes, this was A Lot.
Rhea Chaudhary raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. Sejal’s aunt had to be in her mid-sixties by now, but she looked more like Sejal and Mira’s sister than like their aunt. She was dressed in flare jeans and a tight shirt with a leather jacket thrown over it. Her hair was in a thick braid, and her face was still unlined and youthful.
Krish tightened his grip on his gun. She was here. The head of Cobra, in his grasp.
Though, really, what did it matter anymore? Avi had probably used the money from Alexei to flee the country.
Your brother is corrupt, and you’ve been the fool trying to find him all this time.
“Hello, my love. Is the pretty one on our side? Or another one that I need to kill?”
Sejal pointed at Viktor and Alexei. “Uh, no. Those two are the bad guys. Krish is a friend.”
Krish started when he realized he was the pretty one.
“Hello, Krish. Lovely to meet you. My name’s Rhea.”
“Yes. I, uh, know.”
Rhea’s gaze hardened when it fell on Viktor. “I’ll just kill this one here, then.”
Viktor placed his weapon on the ground. “There’s no need for that. I can see myself and Alexei out.”
Alexei moaned again and opened his eyes. He pressed his hand against his flank. “You fucking shot me. How could you?”
“Because, like I said, I work for your father first.” Viktor took a step toward Sejal, stopping when both Krish and Rhea gave warning noises. “Sejal, I’d like those photos.”
Her gaze flickered to Alexei on the floor. There was a slight green cast to her face. Krish had grown up hunting, but he’d never seen a human shot, either, so he didn’t blame her. “I don’t think that’s a great idea. I’d rather keep them.”
“I’ll need to explain to Alexei’s father why I had to shoot him.”
“No, don’t tell my dad!”
“Shut up, Alexei.” Viktor shot the younger man a look of loathing.
“My plan was to ensure Alexei’s old friends found him,” Rhea interjected. “I think they should deal with him, save his father the trouble. He stole from them, after all.”
Alexei tried to jackknife into a seated position, but sank back to the floor. “No! Is that what you want, Sejal? My death on your conscience?”
“I mean...” Sejal met Krish’s gaze and sighed. “No.”
Krish cleared his throat. “If I may, I think I have a solution here.” He nodded toward Alexei. “You have proof of his embezzling, right, Sejal? And therefore proof of his engagement in illegal activities? Let the cops deal with him.”
Rhea made a face. “I’m tired of calling in the cops to clean up our family messes.”
“If you put me in jail, I’ll also be killed,” Alexei yelped.
They ignored him. “Give me the flash drive,” Viktor urged. “I will turn him over to the cops.”
Would he really, though?
Does it matter?
No. So long as they left her alone.
“I have copies of everything,” Sejal warned.
“And I’ve had our man recording this conversation.” Krish pulled out his phone, still connected to Cary. Mob bosses weren’t in his realm of expertise, but he imagined they didn’t love audio of their sons committing crimes. “Even if Alexei is dead or in prison, we wouldn’t want any of these photos to see the light of day, right? It would be quite embarrassing for his dad.”
