Becauseyou don’t want to leave Krish.
Argh.
“Name your price.”
Great, great. Sejal would do exactly that. When she opened her mouth, she was surprised at the words that popped out. “Admit you’re a cop first.”
Aarthi huffed out a laugh, then stopped when she realized Sejal wasn’t smiling. “You’re serious?”
Sejal shrugged. “I like to know that my instincts are right.”
“All I am now is a mother. Who doesn’t want to see her son hurt.”
Sejal took a step forward but stopped when Aarthi took a corresponding step back. “I’m not going to hurt Krish, I promise,” she said, which shocked them both, because Sejal had thought she was about to say,Okay, give me a million dollars and I’m out of here.
Aarthi’s lips twisted. “And I’m supposed to believe you?”
No. No one should trust me.“Yes” was her response, though, and she said it with a conviction that she almost believed.
“He’s not a part of this.” Aarthi gestured at her, which Sejal took to mean the gritty underbelly of the criminal world. She could take offense, but there was a touch of pleading in Aarthi’swords that made Sejal want to comfort her as badly as she’d wanted to comfort Krish.
“You underestimate him. He would surprise you,” Sejal said quietly.
Aarthi’s lips trembled, an unexpected sign of emotion. “I can’t lose someone I love to dangerous people again.”
“I—I’m sorry about Krish’s father.”But I am not my parents, and I won’t hurt your son.
Aarthi put down her barely touched chai. Her eyes grew misty. “He told you.”
“It must have been hard to lose him so traumatically. And to see your son injured at the same time.”
“You have no idea,” Aarthi spat out, her stoic façade eroding.
“I don’t. But I understand why you may be protective of him.”
“I should have been there to protect him. I see my failure in his face every time I look at him. I won’t fail him again.”
Sejal winced and gave a low whistle. Krish might not be self-conscious about his scar now, but it wouldn’t surprise her if he had been when he was young. The first negative reaction to it had come from his mother. “I empathize with you, I really do. But his face belongs to him, it’s not a place for you to project your own regrets. Does he know that it hurts you so much to look at him?”
“Don’t worry, I’m well aware.”
Sejal and Aarthi turned to the doorway to see Krish, with his stepfather a step behind him.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Krish,” Aarthi said, draping her composure back around herself like a cloak.
Krish ignored her. “Are you trying to buy off my girlfriend, Mother?”
He didn’t sound surprised, which made Sejal wonder if Aarthi had tried to buy off previous girlfriends, fake or otherwise. What was the average dollar amount that she’d missed out on?
“Don’t be silly.”
Krish came to stand next to Sejal and took the mug from her hands. Calmly, he took a sip. Patrick quietly walked over to stand behind his wife. How Krish could be relaxed in this charged atmosphere, Sejal wasn’t really sure, but the man had cool in spades. She was going to emulate that someday.
Aarthi’s gaze searched her son’s face. “I can help you.”
He shook his head, lips tight. “You can’t.”
“Stay here.” Aarthi’s voice rose on the last word. “Where you’ll be safe.”
