Page 32 of The Promise of a Traitor

“I don’t know,” Aastha said honestly, tucking the sheet in around her sister, to keep her warm. And then she leaned in closer to whisper, “I don’t think he does either.”

“I heard that,” Advik said dryly. And to Amyra, he added, “I’m here to help your sister.”

“Good,” Amyra mumbled, turning on her side, lashes fluttering shut. “It’s about time someone did.”

Loaded silence wrapped around them as Aastha stood there, gazing at her sister. She needed Amyra to wake up so she could glare at her for letting that slip before passing out. She could feel Advik’s gaze on her, his eyes seeming to bore holes into the back of her head. She waited, knowing he had many questions for her, wondering which one he’d lead with.

“Mind if I work here?” he asked, finally. “I have my laptop with me. I won’t disturb either of you.”

“Sure.” Aastha swallowed around the lump in her throat. She hurried over to the attender bed where she’d dumped her purse and a packet of medicines she’d picked up at the pharmacy. “Let me just clear-“

“Aastha.” His hand closed around her frantically fluttering one. “If I need to make space for myself, I’ll do it. Why don’t you sit down for a few minutes? Maybe have something to eat? I can get you something from the cafeteria.”

“Don’t Adi,” she whispered on a broken breath.

“Don’t what, Aastha?” His breath feathered over her cheek as he leaned in to speak softly.

“Don’t be nice to me.” She wanted to meet his gaze but she got as far as the open collar of his crisp, white shirt. The tanned column of his neck made her want to nuzzle in, take a deep breath of that spicy, musk cologne he always wore and stay there forever.

A knock on the door had them turning. A nurse walked in with a blood pressure instrument. They watched in silence as she made a note of the reading before relaying it to Aastha who nodded in response. And then she was gone, the door swinging shut behind her, leaving the two of them alone in a room with her sleeping sister.

Aastha cleared her throat. “You haven’t asked,” she said, gesturing to where Amyra slept. “You don’t want to know what’s wrong with her?”

Advik shrugged. “I figured you’ll tell me when you want to. And there’s nothing wrong with your sister,” he said, with another one of his trademark intense looks. The man put the B in broody. “She’s just unwell. She’ll get better.”

“Not completely.” Aastha’s rash words landed like a grenade. “Amyra will never be completely better.”

Advik paused, shutting the laptop he’d been in the process of opening. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his entire attention focused on her. It was a bit daunting to say the least.

“Amu was in a car accident when she was younger. She had a traumatic brain injury. While she’s healed from most of it, it’s still left her with seizures. They will probably never go away.”

“Is she one of the reasons you left New York?”

He was watching her closely. No more lies. His words from earlier seemed to hang in the air between them.

“No,” she said, finally. “The accident happened after I came back to India.”

Something a lot like compassion lightened the black coffee colour of his eyes.

“Don’t,” she said again. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you feel sorry for me.”

Her phone pinged and she glanced at it, missing the look he shot her. Shit. It was her café manager. If he was messaging while she was in the hospital with her sister, something was wrong.

“Rohan.” She turned slightly away from Advik though the tiny room wasn’t going to afford her any privacy. From the corner of her eye, she saw Advik open up his laptop and make himself comfortable on the attender’s bed. Or as comfortable as was possible.

“We have a problem.”

Aastha sighed, her headache intensifying. “Tell me.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Advik

“Ever played poker?”