Page 6 of Deadly Scandals

Mia

Make love?He saw forcing himself on me when I was passed out as making love?

There was no mistake.

My brother had raped me.

My silence was deafening.

Oh God, I don’t think I can pull this off. Say something, damn it!

I tried my best to hold my emotions in, but I was unable to and let a tear escape down my cheek.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Joaquín broke the hush and reached out to comfort me.

“What happened that night?”

His eyes darted around the room, and then he gazed out the window. “We need to get out of here. We can talk on the road.”

I swallowed and grabbed my purse. My gun was tucked inside a secure pocket. I’d purchased that gun to protect myself, but I never thought I would need to defend myself from my brother.

Joaquín opened the door and led me outside. I had no choice but to go with him.

He kissed me again in front of the door.

“Do you want to take my car?”

“Nope. Daniel lent me his truck. Get in.”

I climbed in the truck—a truck that was not tracked—and forced my body not to shake. I’d dreamed of this very moment for the past seven months. Reuniting with my brother, seeing him walk free as the reward for all my hard work.

I wish I’d never fought for his release.

Though this mission had led me to my son. And back to Grant. I centered myself with a few calming breaths. This was my path. Everything happened for a reason.

I couldn’t even fathom how Joaquín had thought this would go. Maybe he thought he would just tell me he was in love with me, he raped me, and we had a son together, and I would just be like “okay, I love you, too.”

“Give me your phone,” he said as he secured his seat belt.

“What? Why?”

“Just do it.”

I didn’t protest. I couldn’t protest. I handed my phone to my brother, who tossed it out the window in front of the truck and then proceeded to run it over.

My phone. I had no way to communicate with the world. But I was sure Grant would assume that Joaquín would do this. This is why Grant gave me the ring. My fingers stroked it. At least Grant could track me.

Before Joaquín said another word, he whipped out of the lot and headed north. I was alone with him in a steel trap. I didn’t have a clue where Mitch was, and Grant was still in jail. I hadn’t even had a chance to leave a note or some kind of indication that I hadn’t just up and left.

But I could do this. I had to do this. And there was no chance for error.

I exhaled and placed my hand on Joaquín’s thigh. He smiled and squeezed my hand.

“I’m going to try not to get upset, but I have to know. Tell me what happened. Please…the truth.”

Joaquín stared straight ahead at the road, swallowed once, and then started talking. “Grant had been hurt in the roadside bombing. The military wasn’t going to tell you before they told his family, because you weren’t his next of kin. He was still in a hospital overseas, but the rest of us had just been transported Stateside to Yuma to decompress. I was about to call you, but Mitch called April, who was at a party with you. He sped off after her, and I figured I’d go and tell you about Grant in person. I didn’t want you to be alone when you found out about him.”

He glanced at me, but I didn’t have anything to say. I wanted to know how his good intention of coming to tell me that Grant had been hurt turned into my brother forcing himself on me.