Rhea blinked at him. “And who is your brother?”
“Agent Avi Anand.”
“Oh. Am I supposed to know who that is?”
Krish didn’t know Rhea well enough to be able to tell if her bewilderment was real, but it seemed authentic. “He’s FBI. He disappeared recently, after being accused of working with Cobra.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry.” She made a face. “Was Cobra involved in his disappearance, or did he leave voluntarily?”
Wait a minute. “You—you don’t know?”
“Why would I know?”
“Aren’t you running Cobra?”
“Cobra?” Rhea laughed. “Oh my God, absolutely not. Rushali hated me for not letting my brother elope with her. Her people would never give me loyalty. Even if I had the silly desire to be in charge of a crime ring, of all things. Too much paperwork.”
Krish and Sejal looked at each other. “So who is running it?” Sejal asked.
“I couldn’t possibly know.”
Well. That was that, then.
Finality pressed down on Krish, anchoring his feet to the floor. The room felt too small, though it was lavish.
You can still go through that attorney. Figure out who the real head of Cobra is.Except Krish wasn’t an FBI agent, and he didn’t have access to any other intelligence except what his brother had left him. He was a librarian. Good at reading and researching and pointing people to resources, not good at being an international superspy.
Anyway, what did it matter? Avi had sold Sejal’s location and aliases to the highest bidder. An innocent man wouldn’t do that.
And now he wouldn’t see Sejal again, either. They were done.She made him laugh, and she was weird and silly and just mysterious enough that he wanted to sit down and slowly peel her layers off, one at a time, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Krish?”
He focused on Sejal’s face. It was softer than he was used to seeing it.
“Can you go out on the balcony so my aunt and I can talk for a minute?”
His response was immediate. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I would like some time alone with her.”
Still he hesitated. Rhea might not head a criminal organization, but she was awfully comfortable with a gun, and he didn’t know her well enough to leave her alone with a woman he was... was as fond of... as Sejal. “Sejal—”
“Please.” The word pierced through his own whirlwind thoughts. She didn’t plead with anyone.
He nodded, reluctant. “I’ll be right outside.”
Rhea beamed at Krish. “It was lovely working with you, Krish. Please take care of Sejal, eh?”
“I don’t need taking care of,” Sejal said, but Krish replied to Rhea. Both because he understood that she cared, and because he wanted to make the vow to someone.
“I will.”
Sejal waited until Krish was on the balcony and out of earshot. Not out of view, though. His rigid shoulders were more than visible through the flimsy curtains.
She focused on her aunt. “Okay, he’s gone. Tell me the truth. Are you in charge of Cobra?”
“I am not. I’ve been so busy in hiding, honestly, I haven’t paid attention to who is running things.”
