Mahesh was red in the face when he arrived and looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Amaya Akki, if you’re in some sort of trouble, you would tell me, right? I’m family, you know. I could help you.”

I nodded again. I had to lie. There was no way he would ever understand.

“Amaya Akki, I—I’m really sorry. I couldn’t it get for you.”

“What?” My voice came out a little louder than I hoped. How could he do this to me?

“I—it’s just. We have a family rifle on the estate, but that’s only for use against wild animals on the property. It would raise so many questions if it was found in Colombo. And an untraceable gun is just—look, you know, this isn’t America, right? The penalty for a gun without a license is prison—look, it’s not that I don’t have the connections, but if you were caught, well, I couldn’t risk that.”

“I can’t believe this, Mahesh.”

“Please just tell me. Tell me what you need this for.”

“I told you. I don’t feel safe.”

“Safe from whom? Tell me.”

But I stayed quiet. I couldn’t tell him. I couldn’t tell anyone.

“Amaya Akki, you don’t look well.”

“Well, that’s what feeling unsafe does to you, okay, Mahesh?” I was snapping but I didn’t care. What on earth was I supposed to do now?

“What’s making you feel unsafe? I can take care of that. Look, I can ask Piyadasa to come and stay here in the nights, if that’s what you’re worried about. Or we could easily arrange for some security, or—”

“It’s not that, Mahesh. Come on.”

“Then what, Akki? What? Please tell me? Let me help you.”

I sighed. He couldn’t help me. I was in this alone.

I had done everything I could to prepare for this. I’d gone to the shooting range, back in LA, and practiced once a week since I made the decision to come down here. I knew I had to be ready for when the time came. But now I had to go off script. I needed a different plan.

“Look, if you need anything else, absolutely anything else at all—anytime, anyplace—you call me, and I’ll come. No questions asked, okay? I promise. You call me and I’ll be there.”

“Okay, Mahesh. Sure.” What else was I supposed to say?

He left pretty quickly after that. Thank goodness.

But what in the world was I supposed to do now?

—

I know that Kaavi had disinvited me from the wedding, but she couldn’t stop me from being a guest at the hotel. It took about forty-five minutes of being on hold, but I managed to change the reservation for my room—I was booked into the new wing, but I wanted a room in the old one, beachside, on the second floor, so I’d at least have a half-decent view of the Poruwa ceremony that would take place at sunset on the shore. She could tell me not to come, but she couldn’t tell me not to watch.