“Yup.”
“What neighborhood?” Aarthi shot back.
Krish stirred next to Sejal. “Mother—”
Sejal placed her hand on his arm. She was familiar enough with DC. “Adams Morgan.”
“Bit far from Krish, then.”
Sejal smiled politely. She had no idea where Krish lived, but hopefully it wasn’t Virginia. “Nothing’s that far in DC.”
Aarthi pursed her lips. Her hands were still and steady around her mug of plain water. “You must be so rattled. All this drama with some criminals chasing you.”
“Oh, of course.” Sejal glanced up at Krish and smiled softly. He looked down at her. There was strain around his lips and eyes, like he was stressed.
Well, he probablywasstressed. Lying to a parent was nothing new to her, but she imagined Mr. Straight and Narrow didn’t do it regularly. This grilling needed to be cut short, for both their sakes. “But Krish has been amazing and protective. I don’t know if we’d be alive if not for him. He’s really one of the good guys. You did a good job of teaching him all of his skills.”
Krish frowned, but it was Aarthi’s reaction that Sejal was really interested in. The other woman put her mug down. “I’m sorry?”
“Well, since you’re law enforcement. Or former law enforcement?” Sejal turned back to her plate and started eating again with gusto.
“Is that what Krish told you?” Aarthi’s gaze moved to her son. Her face was as unreadable as his often was, but her eyes had grown darker.
Bull’s-eye. It was always nice to be right about something. Like she’d told Krish, she could spot a cop a mile off.
Krish shook his head. “I didn’t tell her anything.”
“No, he didn’t. Are you CIA? FBI?” She’d bet Aarthi had some kind of intelligence training.
Patrick cleared his throat. “Aarthi’s actually a retired florist.”
Definitely intelligence, then. Sejal helped herself to more pancakes. It was nicer to have Aarthi on the defensive and not the offensive. “Oh. I see. I assumed because there’s so much security around your safe house. And the fact that you have a safe house at all. And you are carrying a gun.”And you hate my family, and most laypeople don’t know my family exists, let alone have a beef with them.
A muscle tic in Aarthi’s jaw really highlighted the resemblance between Krish and his mother. “You’re very observant, Seema, if wrong in your conclusions. Perhapsyoushould go into intelligence and leave sales behind.”
Please. She’d never pass even the most basic of background checks.
“But yes, I am carrying. Seemed best, given the dangerous people after you.” Aarthi’s accent had been flatly American before, but there was a bite of British in it now.
“As far as our house being inaccessible, it’s just that we don’t care for solicitors.” Patrick’s smile was jovial, as usual, but it had lost some of its sunshiny-ness. “Needing all-wheel drive and some know-how to get up here keeps away the people trying to save our souls.”
He’d provided that explanation a little too quickly, like he was used to excusing overkill security devices. “Gotcha,” Sejal responded. “So, not a cop.”
“Not a cop,” Aarthi and Patrick said in unison, which was probably the best way to convince Sejal the woman was a cop.
“A florist. That sounds like a cool job.”
Aarthi bared her teeth. “Very cool.”
“Are you finished?” Krish asked suddenly, and it took a second for Sejal to realize he was speaking to her.
Sejal nodded, though she wasn’t sure if he was talking about the food or about needling his mother. “It was delicious, thank you both.”
“Why don’t you two run into town and get yourselves some clothes that actually fit?” Patrick said, then shooed Sejal away when she tried to pick up her empty plate. “We’ll clean up.”
Seemed like the stepdad was suddenly eager to get them gone. Sejal caught the narrow glance he shot his wife.
Well, Krish had called her his girlfriend so she could be a distraction from whatever he didn’t want his mom to know. Here she was, distracting.
