“It had to be done. It’s over.”
“It must have brought up—”
“You know I don’t remember the accident.” He softened his tone immediately, because while he didn’t have memories of the car crash that had taken his father, his mom did. Driving was a necessary evil, as far as she was concerned. She’d grimly taught him and Avi how to handle a vehicle when they were thirteen and fourteen, determined to make them as safe on the road as possible. But even the thought of car crashes still rattled her. “Like I said, I’m fine.” Or at least, he was much less shaky now than he had been in the immediate aftermath. With time, he’d forget the sound of the glass and metal. He hoped.
She surveyed him from head to toe, and he realized that he must look especially bedraggled. “This Seema girl, she’s really your girlfriend? I can’t quite believe it, though I saw you kiss in the woods.”
Look at that, the kiss in the woods had been a good cover. Weren’t all their kisses subterfuge?
But that was a lie, that kiss had been motivated purely by howcute she’d looked standing there in the forest, wearing his socks on her hands.
Stop thinking about the kiss.“Yes.”
Aarthi rubbed her temples. “Well, I can’t not help my son’s girlfriend. You will stay here tonight. Tell me what you need, and I’ll get it for you.”
Krish released his breath in a long exhale. He’d known his mother would help him if everything was normal, but the land mine of his brother’s dilemma had unexpectedly pitted them against each other and demanded he keep secrets from her. “Clothes, phones, cash, an ID, and a car that can’t be traced.”
“And what are you going to do with those things? What’s your plan? Do you have somewhere to go?”
“Yes. Don’t worry about it.” Because he’d worry about it enough for everyone.
Alexei had thrown a wrench into his already filled-with-wrenches plan. He needed a second to figure out his next move. He’d been hoping the safe house would be the place to do that, but that was when he’d assumed it would be empty.
He rubbed the back of his neck, and his mom must have caught sight of the fatigue in the gesture, because she backed off. “It’ll take me at least two days to get all of that.”
Two days was unacceptable. “I’d like to leave by tomorrow, first thing.”
“Impossible. At best I can get you out of here by tomorrow evening.”
There was a finality in her voice that told Krish this was truly the best she could do. Rationally, he knew that was about right. It was a big ask, what he was demanding, and most people probably couldn’t do it in less than a week. But his mother had contactseverywhere, and if there was anyone who could pull off a miracle, it was her. “Is it foolish to hope that you won’t embed tracking devices in everything you give us?”
Her eyes gleamed. “Yes.”
No choice. He’d figure out the police state that was his mother later. “Fine. We’ll stay for a day. Probably best if we don’t discuss Avi anymore while we’re here.” Both because it was pointless and because he couldn’t let Sejal figure out that he was not actually Avi “Krish” Anand.
“Yes. Probably best.” She looked like she wanted to ask him a million questions, but she dipped her head. “Go, shower, rest. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
Krish slipped out of the office, aware that his mother had given him a reprieve due to his obviously disheveled appearance, but it wasn’t likely to last long.
It was fine. He just had to get through the night, and the next day, but the hours ahead felt interminable. Krish released a big sigh, staring down at the diamond-patterned carpet beneath his feet.
Literally nothing was going right. Fate was definitely trying to tell him something.Consider this a small speed bump. You didn’t let not getting a flight faze you. Don’t let this.
“You okay, Krishna?”
Krish straightened and turned around to find Patrick standing at the end of the hallway. “Yes. I’m fine.”
Patrick’s blue eyes went from his face to the door of his mother’s office, then back again. The man’s expression was relaxed and friendly, like it always was.
Krish had been a senior in high school when his mother informed her two sons, out of the blue, that she was dating the local vet. He and Avi had been surprised, both because she was datingafter so many years as a widow and because she didn’t really like animals. They’d lobbied for a dog for ages, with no luck.
If Krish had imagined who his mother would end up marrying after many years grieving his father, it would have probably been someone as intense as her. But no, instead she’d brought home this younger guy with golden retriever energy. Krish liked his stepfather well enough, but his big, jovial manner was so... much.
“Did you talk about your brother?”
Krish stiffened. Patrick shouldn’t still feel like an outsider, but Krish hadn’t truly lived with the man enough for him to feel like a stepfather, either. “A little, yes.”
“Figured. Don’t worry, she’ll come around.”
