“Move.” She tried to go around him, and he sidestepped with her. She glanced behind her. “I have to go.”
His relief at finding her dissolved. He’d seen her in an anxious panic once before, and here it was again. An actress she might be, but he didn’t think she could fake this. Or that she’d willingly reveal a vulnerability like fear. Even handcuffed, she’d been a fighter. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh, nothing.”
That was not convincing. He looked past her. Automatically, he tugged her to the side, to hug the wall, so others could go around them. “Something’s wrong. You’re scared, and not of me.”
Her hands clenched. “I’m not scared of anybody, especially you.”
“I know. That’s why I’m concerned that you look concerned.”
She looked behind her again. “Fine. I was at my gate and saw someone from my past.”
“Not a friend,” he guessed.
“No. He worked for my ex. Things ended poorly between us.”
“Recently?”
“No. It’s been years.”
“Someone you dated ages ago sent their employee after you now? Why?”
She slashed her hand through the air. “I don’t know, Krish! They’re not friendly folks, okay? Even if I had stuck around to talk to him, he wouldn’t just tell me calmly why he’s stalking me.”
She’s using your real name.He tried not to let that, or his odd thrill upon hearing it, detract from his mission. “Could it be a coincidence?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Neither did he. “What’s your plan?”
“Buy another ticket for a flight in another terminal, and not with you. If you were smart, you’d want to get the hell away from me, too.” She succeeded in pushing past him, and he followed her, matching her fast pace, which, in New York City, was hardly suspicious; they appeared no different from every other traveler. “Trust me when I say he’s up to no good. If he sees you with me, he’ll hurt you, too.”
“Has he hurt you before?”
She was quiet for a moment. “Yes.” She swiped a hair out of her eyes. “I don’t want to discuss this.”
Krish didn’t need more details. The remembered fear in her tone was enough to convince him that she was telling the truth. Hishand curled into a fist, and his body tensed. He searched the crowd around them, though he didn’t know who he was looking for.
Avi had been the one with white knight syndrome, his sixth sense for wounded birds always on high alert. Though Krish wouldn’t tolerate someone hurting another, he had never felt a huge urge to swoop in and rescue a woman. Except now, multiple times, in the short time he’d spent with Sejal.
Funny, because, on the surface, there was no one who needed rescuing less. Even if Sejal was not, as all signs indicated, an active part of Cobra, she’d spent the last two years on the run, she used multiple aliases, and he’d watched her steal a Rolex through sleight of hand that would make David Copperfield proud. She wasn’t exactly an innocent wilting flower.
Fool. The goal is not to help this stranger, it’s to help your brother. If she’s running away from someone, you can redirect her to run with you.“How did they find you?”
“I don’t know.”
Krish feared he did know, and what he suspected would mean that his plan was also fucked. “Does this guy have resources?”
“Yes.”
“Like, money? People at his disposal? Could he hack or hire a hacker?”
“Yes, yes, and yes. Now you’re getting it. He’s super-dangerous. Can I—”
“Then you can’t get on a plane to anywhere anymore.”
Sejal hauled her knapsack’s strap up her shoulder. “What do you mean?”
