Page 63 of Deadly Sins

Yes!Best news I’d heard since this nightmare started.

Grant’s face beamed. “Great news! Is there anything I can do? Do you remember anything else about that night? I wish I was more helpful. Sorry, I was too fucked up and busy with Autumn to remember much of anything.”

Fuck you, Grant.Even though he’d told me he was done with me two nights ago, he had picked me up from the park and brought me to visit his friend in jail. Why was he talking about Autumn? To make Ksenya jealous? Or was he just being honest with Joaquín?

“It’s okay. Look, I need you to do something for me. I’m worried about Mia. I think something has happened to her. There was this man, Julián, who she dated after you. I didn’t like the guy.”

Holy fuck! Did he say Julián?

I stifled a gasp, my muscles stiffened, and I almost fell off my chair. A sudden coldness filled my core.

Joaquín was lying to Grant…but why? I’d never dated a man named Julián. He was clearly saying this to let me know he knew about little Julián, who I assumed to be his kid. But none of this made sense. If Julián was my nephew, then Joaquín had lied to me about never having met Tiffany before.

And if he’d had a one-night stand with Tiffany years ago and discovered she kept a son from him…that would be a motive for murder.

Alternatively, if he’d always known about his son, then he’d been lying to me for years. Granted, I’d lied to him about the birth of my baby, but he’d died, and Joaquín had been deployed.

This was too much. Our lives couldn’t be that parallel. We both couldn’t have had secret babies conceived and born around the same time, and both hid said babies from each other. That was ridiculous.

Grant’s teeth clenched, and the color drained from his face. I thought a vein in his neck was going to pop. Was he reacting this strongly to thinking about me with another man?

“I never knew about any guys after me, which was a good thing because I’d probably be the one in jail for murder. I’ll find her for you. I love you, bro, but that sister of yours is one fucked-up bitch.”

Thanks, asshole.

I resisted the urge to kick Grant.

Joaquín clenched his fist and slammed it on the counter. The guard glared at him. “Fuck you, man. No, she’s not. Listen to me. I know she left you, but you don’t know the real story, and it’s not my place to tell you. That’s a conversation you need to have with her. It’s really not what you think. And if I ever hear you calling Mia a bitch again, I’ll fuck you up once I get out of here.”

I loved my brother. Even in here, under the worst circumstances, he was my biggest defender. His reaction reaffirmed that all my sacrifices had been worth it. Joaquín would always have my back.

Even so, I didn’t have a clue what the fuck my brother was talking about. He didn’t know why I had left Grant. Nobody knew. I hadn’t told a soul.

It took every ounce of self-control to hold back my voice. I wanted to demand that Joaquín explain himself.

“Whatever, man, relax. I’ll make sure she’s safe, but then I’m done with her. But I’ll always be here for you. If you need me to testify, I’ll be there.”

I ran my hands through my hair, the fluorescent lights causing me to sweat. I’d abandoned my plan, which was to ask some stupid questions, say something in Spanish, flash mama’s ring. My brain was too cloudy. Desperation and confusion flooded my consciousness.

Joaquín stood up, gave me a smirk and an intense glare as my world crashed down around me.

Grant seemed pissed off, too. He didn’t speak, and I could swear he sneered in my general direction.

We walked out of jail without speaking a word. I needed to be alone, to call Roman about the DNA sample, to reconnect with Mitch, and to get away from Grant’s intensity and bitterness.

I asked him to drop me off at home. “Do you know where she is, his sister?”

He shook his head without taking his eyes off the road. “Not a goddamn clue. And I don’t give a fuck.”

I choked back a sob. I didn’t have a clue where Mia was either.