Chapter Twenty #2
He frowned, but placed his hands on the table. Sejal put her new precious go-bag next to her on the booth seat. She took his
hands in hers, adjusting her fingers so they rested on his pulse, and stared into his eyes. “Are you lying to me about anything
else?”
His forehead creases deepened. “Yes.”
Her stomach sank, but then he continued speaking.
“There’s a tracker in my sweatshirt.”
She squinted at him. “What?”
“There’s a tracker—”
“I heard you. The sweatshirt you gave me, in the car, when you were driving me home?”
“Yes.”
“Who puts a tracker in their own sweatshirt?”
“I put them in a few of my clothes. I was worried that if Cobra made me disappear as well, my mother wouldn’t know what happened
to me. I left instructions for her.”
Sejal’s breath caught. He’d sewn the trackers in in case he died. Damn, he really had been all in on finding his brother, huh? “Krish. This might be taking care of your little sibling to the extreme.”
His jaw set. “What would you have done if it was Mira that was missing? What did she do when you were missing? I love my brother.
I have to help him.”
“You’re right.” She thought of what Mira had said, about how Sejal hadn’t been her mom, absolving her of some of her guilt.
Surely she could pay that forward here. “FYI, something I think we both need to learn is that being the eldest doesn’t mean you have to solve everyone’s problems. And not solving everyone’s problems doesn’t mean that you’ve failed at being the eldest.” As she said the words, she tried to internalize them.
He gave a single nod. “Yes. I know.”
“Everything else has been the truth?”
His pulse stayed steady under her fingers. “Yes.”
The dynamics between him and his mom made so much more sense now. “For what it’s worth, your mom was wrong. You are cut out
for this mess. I mean, I didn’t necessarily think you were FBI agent of the year, but I was willing to believe you were the
real deal.”
He chuckled, and she thrilled at the low sound. Getting a laugh out of him, as serious as he was, was a feat. “Well, thanks.
For what it’s worth, you are nothing like your parents.”
Her smile faded. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She stared at him for a long moment. He didn’t flinch away from her. The black hole of betrayal and rage inside her shrank
further, taken over by understanding. It hadn’t been personal, until it became personal. She could get that.
It was exhausting. To never trust, to never give anyone a second chance. She was too tired to do it right now. “No more lies?”
“No more lies.”
Slowly, she released his hands.
Are you being a sucker? Probably. “So, what, you help kids check out books for a living?”
His shoulders relaxed, like he understood that a rare olive branch had been offered. “I have a master’s degree, and I work
at a university. So, yes, sometimes. But there’s more to my job than that.”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. I’ve always loved books. I believe in accessibility to education and knowledge.
I’m good at it.” He reached into her new go-bag and pulled out one of the new decks of cards.
“I can tell you all about the intricacies of my job later, though. Can you show me a trick? I could do with some magic.”
She took a sip of her drink. The food was cooling around them, but it seemed neither of them had much of an appetite.
Did he know that she needed to feel competent right now? Was he that clever?
She took the cards and unsealed the deck, the cellophane crinkling. Once it was properly shuffled, she fanned it out, showing
him the cards. “Pick a card.”
He pulled one out. She placed the empty box next to his hand. “Look at it. Put it here, under this box. Keep it near you.”
He did as she asked, pulling the box and his card closer to his elbow on the table. She mixed up the rest of the cards again,
adding a few showy riffle shuffles and bridges. “There are four robbers,” she intoned, and one by one she flipped over the
first four cards at the top of the deck, all queens. She ignored his soft exclamation. They hadn’t even gotten to the good
part yet.
“They have to get to a safe, deep in a bank. But they don’t know where the safe is.” She kept flipping the cards over, face
up, face down, one after another, the queens spinning in a sea of red and black. His sharp gaze never left her hands, though
he took a sip of his water.
It didn’t matter if he watched her, though. She was too good.
“The first robber, she goes to the basement of the bank.” She placed the top card at the bottom of the deck without letting
him see it.
“The second robber, she goes to the first floor.” She inserted the next card about a third of the way in.
“The third robber, she goes to the second floor.” She inserted the third card somewhere in the middle.
“The fourth robber, she stayed on the roof. But wait.” Sejal cupped her hand around her ear. “What’s that?”
Krish leaned forward, like he could hear something, too. “What?”
“Sirens. The cops are coming.” She wrinkled her nose. “Boo, cops.”
“Not a cop fan?”
“They are the enemy of the robber,” she said lightly. “The robber on the roof calls to her sisters. So they scurry back up
to the roof.” She turned the top four cards over one at a time, laying the four queens in a neat row on the table.
Krish’s lips pursed. “Well done.”
“They’re not done. They’re missing their lookout, the joker.” She nodded at the box next to his elbow. Slowly, he moved it
aside, then picked up the joker sitting beneath it.
Now his frown was pronounced. “How did you—”
“Replace your card? That lookout, he’s wily.” She took the joker from him. She passed the card from one hand to the other,
then swiped her palm over it, turning it into an ace of hearts. She handed it to him. “There’s your card. Right?”
Krish took the card from her. He turned it over in his hand, like he was expecting another card to be underneath it, but of
course there wasn’t. Finally, he looked up at her. “Impressive.”
“Thanks.” She took back the cards from him and shuffled them.
“You are extraordinarily talented. I can’t believe you took the skills your father gave you and turned them into something
so magical. You really should have your own show.”
She ducked her head, trying to hide her discomfort with his praise. “Thanks,” she said again, and tried to crack a joke. “That’s nicer than what your mom said.”
Krish squinted at her. “What did she say?”
“Something about how even a magician should be ambitious.”
“Do you think you’re not ambitious?”
Sejal made a face. “I never thought too hard about my future. I try not to plan more than a few days out.” Everything she
had was short-term. Her place, her clothes, her relationships. Ken was the only person, place, or thing she had that was long-term,
and he was an ocean away from her.
Maybe not for long, though.
“What if you didn’t have to live like that?”
Scary thought. Scary and seductive. But if she was going to bring Ken back to live near her, she’d have to think forward.
Put down roots.
She could attempt it, couldn’t she? For someone she loved. “I don’t know what that would be like.”
“You could try taking it a week at a time at first. Then a month.”
How had this man gone from her reluctant bodyguard to her motivational speaker so quickly? “You’re a good egg, Krish.” No
wonder his mom was so protective of him.
“You are, too.”
She scoffed. “I’m not bad, but I’m definitely not good.”
“Don’t say that.” He paused. “You’re interesting. And unexpected.”
Those were not the compliments a woman dreamed of getting, but she also hadn’t dreamed of getting any compliments from a man
who had started their relationship with handcuffs. “Um.”
“And now I think I—” He cut himself off.
“You think you what?” She jutted out her chin. “Like me?”
“Yes.”
“Rethink it.”
“It wouldn’t change anything if I did.”
Warmth spread through her.
“Excuse me, is everything okay here?” Their waiter popped up at her elbow and surveyed the mostly untouched food on their
table.
“It’s fine. We decided we’re not very hungry. You have our room number for the bill?” The waiter nodded. After he left, Krish
tilted his head. “Move over.”
She did, and he came to sit next to her. He angled his big body toward her, his shoulders blocking out the rest of the restaurant.
His gaze dipped over her breasts, pushed up by her bra. His hand rested on her thigh, then inched up, taking her hem with
it.
Her heart accelerated. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Showing you that you can be both good and bad.” His fingers crept higher, and he snuck them under the hem of her panties.
“I didn’t think you were wearing underwear,” he murmured.
“It’s seam-free.” His fingers traced her lips. When they danced over her clit, she jumped and grabbed his hand.
They shouldn’t do this. They were on a mission, and a sex break could put them in a vulnerable position.
The security guards will alert you if Alexei shows up. She smiled. “This may be Vegas, but we’re still in public. Why don’t we go up to the room and take advantage of that big
soft bed?”
She didn’t have to ask him twice. The next few minutes were a whirlwind of settling the check and coordinating with their
security and rushing to the elevator.
A conference of some kind was going on in the hotel, and the elevator was packed full of people wearing lanyards and name
tags.
Krish kept his hand chastely around hers as they ascended.
When the elevator doors opened, they tumbled out and raced to their room.
Before the door was fully closed behind them, he had her pressed up against it, his lips on hers.
She tilted her head back and stood on her tiptoes.
Every rational thought fled from her head like a popped balloon.
He kissed her like he’d been at sea for years. Like he’d been drowning until now and her lips were the only thing pumping
air into his lungs.