The stray thought reassured her. If she was worried about her cash, then she was worried about something that would be necessary providing she survived this.
Yeah. You’ll survive this. Kneecaps intact.
Sejal slid out of the booth and stood. Her head cleared with every step. Being kidnapped was nothing new to her. At least this guy wasn’t her long-presumed-dead mother, and she didn’t have a bag over her head.
Tell me where it is. I won’t hesitate to kill you, daughter or not.
Sejal stuffed that memory back where it belonged, deep in the depths of her psyche. Best not to think about the three days her mother had held her hostage. Or had it been four days?
Where is Krish?
Krish would not be able to save her. Would he even try to? Shemight be a useful pawn, but no single case or career milestone was worth taking on the Russian mafia, right?
The sun beat down on her as they exited the diner. Sejal glanced behind her. The man had his hand in his pocket, and he was scanning the parking lot. Did he really have a gun in there, or was it a bluff?
Not that it mattered. She wasn’t about to wrestle him and find out. Guns were far too unpredictable.
“Eyes forward,” he said, and she complied. But not before she caught a shadow in the glass door behind them.
Krish.
Relief cascaded over her. This was probably the only time in her entire damn life that she was happy to see a cop.
Don’t get excited. He could easily decide you’re not worth the hassle and find some other way to get to Rhea.
“There’s no need for a gun.” She spoke loudly, both because she thought it might warn Krish, if he was coming, and also to cover his approach. She fiddled with her necklace. Her aunt had given it to her when she’d left home. In the beginning, she’d worn it to remember Rhea, but it had gotten her out of so many tight spots that now she never took it off. Hopefully, it would get her out of this conundrum, too. “Are you going to kill me?”
“If you keep talking, yes.”
That was a lie. He’d threatened to shoot her knees, not kill her. Alexei wanted her alive, and she didn’t know exactly why. “Why is Alexei doing this now? After all these years?”
“Walk around the corner.”
She did as he asked. A lone silver Mercedes was parked against the low retaining wall at the back of the parking lot. It loomed in front of her like her own hearse. “I’m not alone, you know.”
“Ah, yes. He’s not a very useful boyfriend if he didn’t realize I was on your trail.”
“Why do you think he’s my boyfriend?” she hedged.
“You think you haven’t been under observation?”
But the only person who would think Krish was her boyfriend was...
It clicked.Guess you’re not that clever after all.
That clipped way of talking John had slipped into, it hadn’t been impatience. It had been an accent. A Russian accent.
Her mind raced. Yeah, she’d grown sloppy indeed. John had known exactly how to keep her hooked. That annoying victim profile of hers. “You must have been really pissed when I didn’t go back to John’s room in Brooklyn,” she managed.
“That asshole was supposed to hold you in place until I could get there. But no matter. You’re easy enough to track.”
“My boyfriend’s also very skilled at, um, finding people.” She took another step, but the sudden sharp pain in her scalp had her stopping and coming up on her tiptoes.
“What did you tell him?”
“N-n-nothing.”
His grip on her hair tightened, and he jerked her head back, so she could see his face. There was no doubt now about the gun. She could feel it against her back, through Krish’s hoodie and Viktor’s jacket. “Did you tell him about Alexei?”
