We’ve stopped, she thought, disoriented. She peered past the cardboard boxes into the driver’s cabin. Empty. She shook Jai awake while slipping on her backpack. After her conversation with Zara, Maya had texted her the Maurya Hotel’s address, then turned to Jai and offered him a deal. If he helped her find her grandmother’s chest, she would do everything in her power to get Guddi and all the other little kids at the warehouse. Reluctant at first, Jai realized that with Maya and her family at his side, they would be far more successful. So he’d agreed. After a handshake, they’d watched Bhagat amble off to the bathroom after a third cup of tea. Quickly, they’d snuck over to the parked trucks, inspecting their contents: tomatoes, electronics, hay . . . sugarcane. They’d crawled into the back of the truck, fashioning a hiding spot under a stack of cardboard. From the map, they knew he’d be driving right past Faizabad. All they had to do was get him to stop so that they could get off.
