“I am here. He is not your nephew.”
My heart sank. “Are you sure, I mean—”
“Listen. Ksyushen’ka, zaika, Julián is not the son of Joaquín. There was no match to him. I’ve run the test several times with different samples you give to me. I have question for you. Have you ever had a child? A boy?”
What kind of question was that? “Why are you asking me that?”
“Just answer to me.”
“Yes, I did. What does this have to do with Julián?”
“The child . . . he is your son.”
What the fuck? A wave of nausea hit me. “No, no, you must be wrong! Did the lab mix up my sample with Joaquín’s?”
Roman spoke with an urgent tone. “There was no mistake. Listen to me. I know nothing about you, not even your real name. You ask of me to help. I do not know what you are involved with or who you are involved with, but the boy, he is your child. Where is the boy now?”
“He’s dead!” My breaths became labored, and I started to panic. No. It couldn’t be. My chest tightened. Elías was dead. The doctors told me they had done everything they could but were unable to revive him. It had all happened so fast, I was still recovering from my C-section and drugged up, and they had come in the room shoving forms in my face and telling me my son had died.
“No. No, you don’t understand. My son died!” God, I couldn’t breathe.
“No, Ksyenka. He is very much alive.”
“You must be mistaken. It couldn’t be. He can’t be my son!”
“He is.”
My hand shook so violently the phone slipped, and I almost dropped it. How? How was my son still alive? This couldn’t even be possible. There had to be another explanation.
Unless, he was taken from the hospital.
No! That was impossible. He was given a bracelet with my social security number! I had a matching one. That was what they told me! They had given me his bracelet . . . hadn’t they? I couldn’t think. I tried to remember, but it was all a fog. Just flashes of sound, of papers, of that woman . . . the nurse. I couldn’t remember her name. She told me my son was gone. I remember her face, it was cold and uncaring, as if she were shutting herself away from the pain any woman would feel for a new mom who had lost her baby. My mind latched on to that. She was cold. Uncaring. I didn’t know her name.
She hadn’t given me a bracelet . . . she had taken mine.
Was she a nurse?
¡Dios mío!
Julián was Elías? My son was alive. I had to go get him. I had to tell Grant.
In my haze, another question popped in my head. “But this doesn’t make sense. Joaquín is my biological brother, my flesh and blood. How can he have no DNA match to Julián? His sample must’ve been wrong.”
“The sample is fine, it is accurate. This is second test. Ksyushen’ka. I tested the hair from the brush and from an envelope he sent you. You left it here. Both of the samples of his had the same DNA but neither of them matched the boy’s. I wanted to be certain, so I compared his DNA against yours. DNA does not lie. It can only mean one truth.”
He continued to speak, but I did not comprehend his words. My mind raced through the millions of images of Joaquín and me as kids. Every memory I had from childhood had Joaquín in it.
But it didn’t matter.
After a few seconds, the realization hit me.
Roman was right. There was no other explanation.
If Julián was my son.
Then Joaquín was not my brother.
Who the fuck was he?
STAY TUNED FOR
CRAVE
Episode Five in the Se7en Deadly SEALs Series
Se7en Deadly SEALs can’t be trusted
6ix months I cried myself to sleep after my son died
5ive years since my parents died and took their secrets to their graves
4our hours since Grant vanished in a hurry
Thre3 years since my baby was conceived
2wo nights of passion since Grant exposed my lies
1ne minute ago I learned some news that changes my entire life
Zer0 chance this new information is wrong.
My world has been rocked. Everything I have ever believed has changed. Saving my brother is no longer my priority. I must find out what happened to my son. Being reunited with him is the only thing I crave.
Coming to your Kindle, Winter 2016.
Available soon: Crave
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading my book.
If you liked it, would you please consider leaving a review?
For the latest updates, release, and giveaways, subscribe to Alana’s newsletter.
For all her available books, check out Alana’s Amazon author page, website or Facebook page.
About the Author
ALANA ALBERTSON IS the President of RWA’s Contemporary Romance Chapter. She holds a M.Ed. from Harvard and a BA in English from Stanford. A recovering professional ballroom dancer, she lives in San Diego, California, with her husband, two young sons, and five dogs. When she’s not saving dogs from high kill shelters through her rescue Pugs N Roses, she can be found watching episodes of House Hunters, Homeland, or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team.
For more information:
@alanaalbertson.com
authoralanaalbertson
www.alanaalbertson.com
[email protected]
Also by Alana Albertson
Want more romance?
Love Navy SEALS?
Meet Pat! I had one chance to put on the cape and be her hero. Invincible
Meet Grant! She wants to get wild? I will fulfill her every fantasy. Conceit, Chronic, Crazed, Carnal, Crave, Consume, Covet
Meet Shane! I’m America’s cockiest badass. Badass (co-written with Linda Barlow)
Love Marines?
Meet Grady! With tattooed arms sculpted from carrying M-16s, this bad boy has girls begging from sea to shining sea to get a piece of his action. Beast
Meet Bret! He was a real man—muscles sculpted from carrying weapons, not from practicing pilates. Love Waltzes In
Love rockstars?
Meet Tony! ! This Greek God of a man is six feet five inches of perfection. Waltz on the Wild Side
Love demons?
Who’s haunting America’s favorite ballet? Snow Queen
Acknowledgments
To my fabulous cover designer, Regina Wamba for these incredible covers. I’m obsessed with you.
Ashley Williams—I heart you. Thank you for digging into this project halfway through this series.
Deb Nemeth—for being there for Grant and Mia from day one. This series would completely suck without you.
Julie Titus—for your beautiful formatting, your warmth, and for always fitting me in.
To my husband Roger—for loving me in sickness and in health. Even when I’m writing all day in my fuzzy pajamas.
To my two beautiful sons, Connor and Caleb. You are my world. I love you more than anything. To my two unborn daughters who I lost while writing this series and will never meet, I love you both and wanted you so much.
To my betas:
Jen Negron—you are the bomb. I adore you. Thank you for believing in my writing. I can’t wait to read these books in Spanish.
Storm Bayraktar—thank you for your kind words and reading Carnal.
To all the wonderful bloggers who review my books.
To all the fans that have written me about asking about Carnal. Thank you for all your support.
00%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Carnal (Se7en Deadly SEALs Book 4) Page 6
