Page 56 of Deadly Lust

Mia

I’D BEEN HOPING FOR A repeat of last night or maybe breakfast in bed, but when I woke, Grant had a scowl on his face. And our bags were already packed.

“Morning, hubby. Do we have to leave so soon? I was hoping we could stay in bed all day.”

“I have to get back to work.” He came over to me, put his finger under my chin, and gave me a kiss. “I love you. Once everything gets settled, I’ll give you a big wedding and we’ll go on a honeymoon. But for now, we need to get back home.”

I understood, even though I was disappointed. I hopped in the shower, dressed quickly, and we checked out and headed back to San Diego.

Grant blasted the music for the first hour of the drive, and the air between us made me nervous. He’d been so warm and loving last night. What had changed?

I touched his thigh. “Any word from Kyle on Julián?”

“Nope.”

I pursed my lips. “Okay. Well, next time we see Joaquín, I think—”

“There isn’t going to be a next time. That’s it, Mia. You’re not going to see him again. It’s final.”

Anger flushed through me. “You may be my husband, but you’re not going to tell me what I can do and who I’m going to see. Joaquín is my brother, my family.”

“I’m your family now. I don’t want you to see him. Do you hear me? He’s not even your real brother!”

“Fuck you! He is too my brother. Biology doesn’t matter. How can you say that?”

“I’m trying to protect you, goddamn it!”

“Protect me? From Joaquín? Joaquín would never harm me. How dare you say that!”

Grant looked at me, daggers shooting from his eyes. “Damn it, Mia. How can you not see it? Joaquín is a psychopath. You have to trust me. You have to believe me. I love you so fucking much. Please, for once, I need you to believe in me.”

“You have nothing to prove that he’s a psychopath. Just your crazy theories. You won’t tell me anything, anything about the meeting, any—”

“He raped you!”

My whole world stopped—and then tilted so sharply I saw spots dance in my eyes.

When Grant spoke again, his voice was a stark contrast to the sudden chaos inside me. “I talked to Mitch. April told him that she saw Joaquín at the party that night, and Mitch said the guy who ran out of your room was around Joaquín’s height. I always thought he wanted you…but I thought I was a sick fuck for even thinking that.”

I let out a scream. What the fuck? “How dare you say something like that to me?” I seethed through clenched teeth. “To use what happened to me as a way to keep me from my brother…I can’t believe you! My brother would never hurt me. Never! Especially not that way.”

“It’s the only possible explanation. He’s obsessed with you. He never wanted us to start dating. And the reason I never asked you to move in back then was because Joaquín was against it.”

“No,” I said through sobs. “You’re wrong!”

Grant’s tone dropped and he attempted to grab my hand, but I swatted it away. “Baby, please. I know you don’t believe me. But it’s what they saw. I would never, ever lie to you, and they have no reason to lie to me. It explains why he never told me you were raped after Mitch told him. And why didn’t he ever tell you he knew you were raped?”

“I don’t know. But I’m sure he had a reason. Probably because he didn’t want to upset me. Or he didn’t know how to approach it. And he didn’t tell you because we’d broken up. Just stop talking!”

“No. He was hiding his guilt.”

I really, really didn’t want to hear anything else he had to say, but I knew more was coming.

“Listen to me. I think Joaquín was the one who took Julián. Joaquín took him, because…he thought Julián was his son.”

“Be quiet!” I covered my ears like a child but could still hear Grant.

“And did you ever look into your parents’ deaths? Did you know the truck that hit them was registered to Rafael? That is not a coincidence. I’m so sorry, baby. It’s true.”