Crazed (Se7en Deadly SEALs Book 3) (3 page)

I
arrived
at the address Autumn had given me. The neighborhood contained a bunch of tract homes, uniform manicured lawns, and proud American flags. Julián’s house seemed less vibrant than the rest on the street: the paint was chipped and faded, the grass was patchy, and there was a crack in the sidewalk. There was no vehicle in the driveway, and the lights were out in the house, so I assumed no one was at home.

The sun was still bright, and I didn’t want to be conspicuous, so I drove slowly around the neighborhood, grabbed a real estate flyer, and took Hero down to a local park that had a view of the house. And waited.

After a few hours of playing with Hero, running through one of those stupid park exercise obstacle courses, and screwing around on my phone, I finally saw a car pull into the driveway.

I walked Hero up the street, pacing myself, praying I would get there in time to see Julián before his grandma hustled him into the house.

The lady was holding a few plastic grocery bags and attempting to get the young boy out of his car seat.

I commanded Hero to sit, and approached her. “Can I help you with those, ma’am?”

She turned and looked at me, her skin wrinkled, her brow furrowed. “I’m fine, thank you.”

I wasn’t going to give up that easily. “It’s no problem really. I’m Grant, my fiancée and I are looking to purchase a home in this neighborhood. Do you like living here?”

She let out a huff, and shoved a plastic bag in my hand. “Yeah, it’s a nice community. Very safe, perfect for raising my grandson.”

I grabbed the rest of her bags, and she wriggled Julián out of the car. My eyes fell on this little boy, cutest kid I’d ever seen. Thick, dark hair, almond-shaped hazel eyes, tanned skin.

He looked like a perfect blend of Mia and me.

My hands shook, and my heart pounded. I wanted to rip him out of her hands and take him away from her. But I had no proof, only a haunting suspicion. Kidnapping a kid, even if he could potentially be mine, was definitely out of the question.

I took the bags to her doorstop. She fumbled behind me, clutching Julián’s hand. The little boy looked up at me, blinking rapidly, and all I could focus on was his long eyelashes, Mia’s eyelashes.

Did Joaquín know? Is this why he killed Tiffany? Had she kidnapped my child? What the fuck was going on?

The lady didn’t open the front door. She probably thought I was some rapist. I was glad she was safety conscious, considering she could be raising my child.

“Well, thanks for helping. I think there is one for sale down the street. And now that you mention it, I may put our home on the market. I’m thinking of moving out of the state. I have no family here anymore and it’s too expensive.”

No! Fuck. That adrenaline rush flooded through my blood, like I was on a time-sensitive mission with my Team. I had to act fast, or the opportunity to see if Julián was mine—and if he was, to gain custody—would vanish.

I scanned Julián, taking a mental picture of his face. I focused on the cleft in his chin, and touched my own.

“Doggie?” Julián pointed at Hero.

“Yes.” I knelt down to the boy. “He’s friendly, you can pet him.”

The lady eyed me suspiciously, but motioned that it was okay. Julian slowly tapped the top of Hero’s head, as if he were dribbling a basketball.

Julián dropped his apple juice box on the ground.

“Julián. Pick that up and throw it in the trash.”

I swooped in and retrieved in from the ground. “It’s okay, ma’am. I’m leaving now. I’ll just take it with me. It was nice to meet you.”

I turned away, a lump in my throat. I clutched onto that juice box like it was incredibly sensitive and urgent intel, which it was. When I returned to my truck, I placed the box in a plastic bag I had in my car. Luckily, the straw was chewed, which would increase my chances of finding DNA. I picked up my phone and called a friend of mine in forensics. He agreed to meet me, and I raced out of the town. Leaving Julián behind.

T
he 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. I was in a late-model Cadillac, blue with 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 of 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 the other day 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 showed my bracelet to Joaquín in the jail. A hasty, irrational decision. I’d wrongfully 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 into 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.

I bit my lip. “Why did you bring me out here? Just to let me know you were on to me? That Joaquín figured me out? Congratulations, super sleuths, I basically told him I was Ksenya. Now do something useful and tell me about the trial. What’s your defense?”

Daniel signaled to his buddy to leave us alone. The other man walked back to the Cadillac.

“Defense? I’m still trying to convince him to plead guilty, but he refuses. Being a stubborn asshole must run in the family.” Daniel put his arm on my shoulder. I flinched away. “Sweetheart, he did do it.”

My heart sank. Were Grant and I the only people who believed in Joaquín’s innocence? “Why on earth would he plead guilty? He’s innocent. He swore to me.”

“Despite what he told you, told me, told your lover Grant, or told the cops, your brother is guilty. The sooner he admits to it, the sooner we can get him a reduced sentence. We could make it seem like an accident, manslaughter. He’d be out in five and we could all move on. Well, maybe not you, you look like a porn star now. But I’m sure you could make sex tapes and find yourself a reality show.”

That was the point, asshole—I looked like this to get close to these men. Joaquín was not guilty. Why was this guy just volunteering all this information to me, anyway? What about attorney-client privilege? How could he be so dismissive, treating me like I was a joke? My stomach churned and my feet crinkled the leaves below. My gut told me something was gravely wrong. “You are supposed to be protecting him. Be his advocate. Believe in him.”

“Look, honey, I don’t care about your ideas on the matter. Joaquín is losing it in jail. I think the current conditions are causing him to have mental health issues. He’s downright delusional. Fortunately, his breakdowns are good for me because I might be able to show at trial that the stress of being a SEAL, having PTSD, and losing his parents made him snap. In any case, Joaquín desperately wants to see you again and I promised him I’d make it happen. I’ll call Grant and arrange it.

“Grant doesn’t know I’m Mia. And he told Ksenya never to call him again.”

Daniel gritted his teeth. “If he says no, let me know and I’ll handle it. He knows how to obey orders for the good of the Team. And don’t worry, I’ll keep your little secret for now. Mainly because I find it amusing and want to see how far you will go. Who knows? Maybe you will undercover some deep, dark secret.”

Something about the way he said “deep, dark secret” rattled me. As if he knew there was a secret waiting to be unearthed.

“Maybe I already have.”

My comment barely registered on Daniel’s face. A cool smirk and he grabbed his phone.

My eyes widened, and mania captured my brain. Despite all my acting abilities, I was unable to slow my dancing mind, contain my anxiety, and relax my twitching body.

“I’ll arrange to get you some cash for your troubles. I’ve taken the liberty of programming my number into your phone. As for the car, we had it towed and we’re going to fix it up and deliver it to you later.”

Note to self: get a new phone.
He probably put some tracking device on it like I had with Mitch’s. “I don’t need your cash. I can take care of myself.”

The other man walked over and handed me my purse and phone. I quickly rummaged through it to see if all the contents were still there.

“Nice to meet you, Mia. Tell Grant you were involved in a hit and run.”

“Look, Joaquín may trust you, but I think you’re a slimy prick. If you were doing your job, I wouldn’t have had to ruin my life.”

The men ignored my words and left the scene.

This entire event made no sense at all. Daniel was a lawyer, but the way he approached and treated me was more like the actions of a criminal. And what really bothered me was that he wasn’t being honest with Joaquín.

I was fairly close to my apartment. I could easily have called a cab, Autumn, or even Mitch to get me. But I needed to play the damsel in distress, at least one last time. Grant had shut me out; this accident was my golden ticket, especially because I needed him to go see my brother. As a SEAL, Grant would never turn his back on a girl in need.

I grabbed my cell.

“Hello?”

“Grant, I’m sorry that I call to you. I have but no one else. I was in accident and the men gave me ride but I do not trust them so they drop me near to my house. Can you come get me?”

He paused and let out a long sigh. “Where are you?”