Page 58 of Deadly Sins

34Ksenya

THE BARREL OF A GUN pressed against my back, its cold steel marking my flesh.

Fuck, why didn’t I listen to my instincts?If my training had taught me anything, it was to trust my gut. I was cracking under pressure.

The man from the bar clasped his hands around my wrists as his breath blew hot on my face. He grabbed my purse from the floor and pulled me out of the car. I’d scream, but no one would hear me. Had anyone seen the accident?

We climbed up the hill, and he shoved me into his car. With the mask of night, I was unsure if there had been any witnesses. The traffic was constant but not thick, and not one other car stopped to see if I was okay.

My luck had officially run out.

Every muscle in my body throbbed. “I do not know why it is you are taking me. I am just girl from Ukraine. You must have it, the wrong girl.”

His only response was a deep laugh.

Despite the blinding pain in my head, I formulated a plan. I could attempt an escape when he pulled off the freeway, risking my life. But since my goal was to exonerate Joaquín, it made more sense to see this through, see where he took me, find out who he was and learn what he wanted.

If he’d followed me from the parking lot, then maybe Kyle or another SEAL saw him. Dammit. If only Grant hadn’t freaked out the other night, he surely would’ve picked me up at The Pickled Frog, and I’d be safe with him. Or I could’ve lowered myself and called Mitch. But I was on my own.

I memorized the details of the car. It was a late-model Cadillac, blue with a black interior. It blended in perfectly like it could’ve been a rental car. The leather was pungent with smoke and sweat.

Thirty minutes passed before he exited off the freeway. We were in El Cajon. Was he taking me to my place? Did he know where I lived?

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that we were heading toward Mount Helix. Years ago, I’d discovered that this place was a calming retreat where I could meditate. The wooded setting reminded me of my hometown in Marin.

We parked on a dirt road near a street of older homes. The man pushed me out of the car, his hand on my neck. “Don’t try anything funny, or you’ll be sorry.” Well, that wasn’t reassuring, considering he had a gun, and no one in the world knew where I was. After a tightly guided walk, we ended up near a barren dirt path with some unsettled earth in a pile. Great, maybe they had already dug my grave.

The dark sky assured me that I was out of view from anyone.

I had nothing. Not my purse, not my phone. All left in his car.

A car pulled up, and another man exited. I recognized him immediately from pictures on his website.

Daniel Reed, Joaquín’s lawyer.

He was tall, blond, slightly balding, and fairly muscular for being in his late forties.

“Mia Cruz. I’m sorry to bring you out here like this, but I couldn’t risk any of the Team guys finding out your true identity.”

Hearing him call me by my real name rendered me speechless. A sense of failure washed over me, knowing now that this man had found out my secret. It was only a matter of time for everyone else to figure out my identity.

“You look incredible. I have to admit, I thought Joaquín had lost it yesterday when he swore you’d visited him. I even looked at the security footage from the jail, convinced there was no way that Ksenya could be you. But I did some digging…and here you are. Congratulations on outsmarting a bunch of SEALs.”

Despite the warm summer breeze, the hair on my arms stood on end. If Daniel thought by flattering me, I would trust him, he was dead wrong. Though his excuse for bringing me out here made sense, my gut told me this guy was dangerous.

This was my own fault. I was the dumbass who’d shown my bracelet to Joaquín in the jail. A hasty, irrational decision. I’d assumed he would keep his suspicions to himself, not go running his mouth to his lawyer. Apparently, Joaquín trusted Daniel.

I trusted no one.

Knowing the jig was up, I dropped the accent. “You got me. I told Joaquín I’d do anything to exonerate him. And last I heard, you advised him to plead guilty to a crime he didn’t commit, so I think I made a good decision. Was it necessary for you to total my car in order to talk to me? What the fuck do you want? You’re ruining my investigation.” Despite my anger, speaking normally made my tongue very happy.

Daniel and his henchman simultaneously broke out in laughter.

I was a joke to them. These jackasses must’ve figured that I’d ruined my life just to play a game. But this was no game. I was dead serious.

“Investigation? What have you turned up? Oh wait, let me guess—SEALs drink, occasionally get high, and fuck strippers. Real groundbreaking stuff, Miss Cruz. Maybe you can apply for a career with NCIS.”

Asshat.