Page 57 of Deadly Lust

“No!” I screamed so loud, the single word burned my throat. “No. Shut the fuck up! You are wrong. I’ll prove it, I’ll show you!”

“I’ll stop and give you a chance to try to absorb this. But I love you, Mia. You’re my wife now. The mother of my child. I’ll lay down my life to protect you. But somewhere, deep in your heart, you know what I’m saying is true.”

After an excruciating four-hour drive in silence and a pit stop to pick up our pets, we were back home in Point Loma. Despite my anger, Grant still lifted me and carried me over the threshold into our home.

I began to unpack and found the drugs from Rafael still stashed in my suitcase. I had to get rid of these before Grant saw them. I hid them underneath my wedding gown.

I would flush them down the toilet next time Grant left the house.

I emerged from the bedroom and found Grant just staring at the television, which was off.

“Can you get dinner? We have nothing.”

“Yup.”

Grant kissed me, walked out the door, and left me alone.

What a horrible way to start our new marriage. I did not want to spend the rest of my life having to choose between my brother and my husband.

My phone rang, and I ran to retrieve it from my purse.

“Hello?”

A woman’s voice played on a recording. “You are receiving a call from—”

“Joaquín Cruz,” my brother’s voice said.

“—an inmate at the San Diego County Jail. Press one to accept this call and two to decline.”

I pressed one as fast as I could. “Joaquín? Are you there?”

“Hey, sis. I needed to hear your voice.”

An ache twisted in my chest. Nothing has changed. Grant has no proof. This is your brother. “Me, too. I miss you. How are you?”

He exhaled. “Been better. Just sick of this shit, you know? Any progress getting me out of here?”

“I’m working on it. Hey, when we were at the jail, you mentioned to Grant that I had an ex named Julián. Why?” I made sure not to ask how he knew about Julián or who he thought Julián was.

His voice dropped. “Because I wanted you to find him.”

“And by him, you meant the little boy, right?”

“Did you find him?” His voice was strange, hopeful and scared at the same time. Maybe I had been right, but it didn’t stop me from wondering why exactly Joaquín had wanted me to find him.

“I did, but he’s gone. Do you know where he is now?”

“I’ll take you to him if you get me out of here.”

My mouth became dry, and I talked rapidly. “Please, I need to find him. Tell me where he is.”

“Then you know what you have to do. Later, sis.” And with that, the phone went dead.

Did he really just leverage my son for his freedom? What the fuck?

Why wouldn’t he tell me where Julián was?

My brain raged against the truth that was right in front of me, scrambling for an answer that fit with what I needed to believe. He had done it to protect Julián. My brother was in jail, the phones were recorded. I had to get him out of there fast. So he could take me to my son.

Grant was wrong about him. So was Mitch.

So was April. She couldn’t have seen Joaquín because he hadn’t been there that night. And Mitch himself had told me that he didn’t see the guy—it had been dark in that room—there was no way he could have seen my attacker’s face, and lots of people had the same build as my brother.

I hadn’t known that the truck that hit my parents was registered to Rafael. But even if that was true, it didn’t prove anything. Maybe Rafael targeted my father, and when my father was gone, he targeted Joaquín. Blackmailing him. For what? I had no idea, but criminals rarely needed rational reasons for anything.

Rafael had probably kidnapped my son to get something from my brother, and once Joaquín found out, he killed Tiffany in a moment of rage. Yes, that made sense—if I ignored the fact that there was no way Rafael or my brother should have known I was even pregnant.

On it went, thinking in tiny circles and dismissing one idea after another and explaining actions away time and time again. I sat and thought until my head throbbed and my eyelids grew heavy.