Growing up with a single mother as intense as Aarthi hadn’t been easy. She’d had definite ideas about what her sons should be like.
Krish had fallen short. He knew that. He hadn’t cared for survivalism or security or the law. Avi, though, had been her little protégé.
Their mother had been proud of them both, but Krish had always known that there was something special between Avi and their mom. The two of them had been thick as thieves. They’d shared a love of the outdoors and movies, while he had preferred to sit indoors and read. It had been lonely for Krish, to alwaysbe outside the bond between mother and youngest son, but he’d learned that being left out wasn’t the worst. His mother’s love for his brother had led her to put Avi on a massive pedestal, and the minute she’d been confronted with his alleged crimes, she’d cut him down. Things were black and white for his mother, and woe to those who stepped over the line between right and wrong. Including her own son. “You’re wrong,” Krish said.
Aarthi’s dark eyes glistened. Krish and Avi had gotten their late father’s coloring. “I’m not. I know how much you love him, and I truly appreciate how loyal and devoted you are. I know part of this is my fault, because I always told you to take care of him. But this is not a good place to put your faith.”
Krish raked his hands through his hair. “Mom. I’m not looking to rehash all this with you. If you want to do that, I’ll leave. Actually, we should leave. I wouldn’t have come here if I’d known you were here. If you could loan us a car, and some cash, I would appreciate it, but if you can’t, that’s fine, too.” Not only did he not want to lead Alexei to his mother, but he also couldn’t have her figure out who Sejal was. If she was this inflexible about her own son, Aarthi Anand McKenna would most certainly balk at having Cobra’s kid in one of her precious safe houses.
“No,” she said sharply. “Don’t leave. Tell me what’s going on. Who is after you?” She flattened her hands on the table. “Krish, you didn’t do anything, did you? Based on Avi’s ridiculous claims?”
Of course not. I merely decided to use Cobra’s niece as a bargaining chip to get to Rhea and find out where Avi really is.Krish schooled his face to project complete and utter honesty. He hoped. “What could I have done, Mother? I’m not like you or Avi. I don’t go around catching bad guys.” All truths.
“My one consolation these days.”
That was an about-face from her previous disappointment in him for his choice of profession. “No, the person after us is one of Seema’s exes.”
“Who is her ex?”
“A man named Alexei Ivanovitch.”
His mom went still. “Of the Ivanovitch crime family?”
That the name made his mother look that aghast told him all he needed to know about how dangerous Alexei was.
In over your head.
He set his jaw. He might be, but he was going to see this through, damn it. “Yes.”
“You are dating someone who dated anIvanovitch? Do you have any idea how vicious his family is, Krish?”
He felt driven to defend Sejal again. “It was a long time ago. She was a kid.”
“What does he want?”
“She doesn’t know.”
“Do you think he tracked you here?”
“Unlikely. We’ve already tossed our phones. He sent the same man after her twice, once in New York, once in Nebraska. The guy’s car has been disabled, and hopefully our trail grew cold in the time it took him to find a new one.”
“Either he doesn’t have much manpower, or he only trusts one person,” she mused.
“I guess it’s possible they could figure out who I am and connect me to you, and then this place...”
She waved her hand. “Even if they do, digging through the layers of shell companies I’ve set up to buy property would require more work than the average mobster would or could manage.”
That was what Krish had figured, too. If his mother was anything, it was thorough.
“However, we’ll increase security first thing in the morning.” Aarthi paused. “How was his car disabled?”
Krish hesitated. “I ran mine into it.”
His mom’s skin was lighter than his, but it drained of color. “Krish.”
“I’m fine.”
She surveyed his face, and he knew exactly what she was looking at. Nobody had spent more time analyzing every centimeter of his scar than his mother. “You’re not.”
