Page 9 of Consume

6

Grant

Mia was stillfast asleep on the bed. I crawled out, careful not to disturb her, and sat on thesofa.

I clutched my phone, and my heart raced when I saw that I had six missed calls from Mitch. I knew whatever was so important wasn’t a work emergency because I didn’t have a single call from Kyle orPat.

I didn’t want to call him back, but I needed to know what the fuck he wanted.

Our room had one of the rare balconies in Vegas, so I stepped outside and dialed Mitch’s number.

He picked up on the firstring.

“Dude, where the fuck have youbeen?”

“I’m in Vegas, asshole. I just married Mia. By the way, she told me you kissed her. I’m gonna fuck youup.”

“Congrats, man. And forget about the kiss. I was just trying to help her with Joaquín. Nothing happened.”

“Better not have. You touch her again, and I’ll beat the living shit out of you. Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled dismissively. “Look, I’m the least of your problems. When are you gettingback?”

“Tomorrow. Seriously, why are you blowing up my phone?”

Mitch paused, and his breath seemed labored.

“April flew out so I could see the kids. Anyway, I finally admitted to her that I was there the night of the party when Mia had been raped.”

“And? Did she see who went to the room withMia?”

“No. She said she and Dara searched around for Mia but couldn’t find her so they left. But when they were leaving, they saw Joaquín drive up, park, and run into the party. They figured Mia had called him to take herhome.”

“Is she sure?” I shook with fury. One horrible scenario popped in my head. A possibility so horrendous that my mind refused to verbalize it. I forced myself to ask Mitch more questions before I exploded. “Joaquín was at the party? You didn’t see him? He was with you that night in Yuma, right?”

“Yeah. I told him I was going to go get April and she, Dara, and Mia were at the SDSU Phi Delt party. He must’ve left after me, but maybe he beat me. You know how fast that motherfucker drives. I had no clue—I never saw him there. But, man, now that I think back, the guy I saw in her room—he was Joaquín’s height and build. It was dark so I couldn’t see much, but I think it could’ve beenhim.”

I pounded my fist into the wall. Holy shit. Joaquín was the one who raped Mia. It all made sense. He must’ve kidnapped her child . . . because he thought they boy was his son. Proof of his rape. Proof of his crime.

But the boy wasmine.

Mitch was still talking, but my brain couldn’t comprehend what he was saying.

Rage poisoned my veins. Mia didn’t have a clue that her beloved brother was a psychopath.

I had to make her hear me. Make her listen to me. Make her believeme.

But I knew that she wouldn’t believe me. Couldn’t believe me. It would take more than April’s sighting, more than Mitch’s guess, more than me begging for Mia to see the light.

She wouldn’t believe Joaquín raped her until he told her himself.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going totry.