Chronic (Se7en Deadly SEALs Book 2)

by Albertson, Alana

  I knelt down on the carpet to say goodbye to Julián.

  The little boy stood there, assessing me, arms crossed over his chest, before a reluctant little smile eased over his face and he threw his tiny body at me in a hug. Still silent. His small frame wrapped around me, and I couldn’t resist. I knelt down and hugged him back—so hard, I never wanted to let go. It was as if I was hugging Joaquín again. This boy smelt familiar, like home, mi familia. But I wasn’t going to miss my chance to get confirmation of my suspicions. I tugged on his head and plucked a few strands of his hair out of his scalp, shoving them into my pocket.

  Julián seemed to startle but didn’t cry. Just gave me a sad face, and Autumn and I left.

  Once inside Autumn’s car, she placed her hand on my knee. “Thanks, Ksenya, for coming with.”

  “Of course. I had good time.”

  She smiled and pulled away from the curb. Autumn didn’t have a clue that she had just given me a huge break in this case. That she, a woman who spent the night with the love of my life, may have led me to the one clue that could unravel this mystery.

  After a long drive, Autumn dropped me off at home. Once safely inside, I took the hairs out of my pocket and stuffed them into a plastic bag, along with strands of Joaquín’s hair that I had collected from his apartment when I decided to go undercover. I would mail them to Roman who would be able to send them to a DNA lab. By next week, I would know if Julián was my brother’s son.

  ***

  LAST NIGHT, I HAD AN overnight rotation training the BUD/S candidates. Joaquín was supposed to be standing by my side, yelling at these trainees, making sure they had what it took to save our brothers’ asses. One time during surf torture in our BUD/S class, Joaquín and I held on to each other all night, ensuring that we wouldn’t die from hypothermia. I wasn’t gay, but I never felt as close to another man as I had that night. We were more than friends, more than Teammates, more than brothers—we were swim buddies. Now I couldn’t help but feel farther apart from him than ever. I was relaxing in my favorite chair, my dog by my side, while he was in a cold cell, alone, away from his loved ones.

  But I might still have his loved one in my grasp.

  Today I had a plan—a plan that would rattle Ksenya.

  I asked her to meet me downtown in front of the sushi place where Ksenya and I had gone on our first date last week. She showed up, dressed casually. Jeans, white tank top, hair in a ponytail, flip flops, light makeup. She looked pretty. Normal, in fact.

  Her head tilted and she pulled me toward her for a kiss. I kissed her back. Her lips tasted sweet, fragrant. Like Mia used to taste. And in this moment, I wanted to just take her away, torture her until she confessed the truth, and try to get my old girlfriend back.

  “Grant, you want to eat it, the sushi again? Maybe we try something new?”

  Her eyes were hidden behind huge sunglasses. I wanted to see them react to what I was about to tell her.

  I squeezed her shoulders. “I’m not that hungry actually. How ‘bout we grab a cup of coffee instead?”

  She smiled and we went inside a seedy donut shop. I ordered two old-fashioned glazed donuts and two hot coffees. We sat at the table by the window. She took off her sunglasses, and I stared into her eyes.

  “Actually, I tricked you.” I studied her face, hoping she would squirm under my words.

  She tapped her fingers on the plastic table, but her poker face showed no fear. “You did?”

  “I wanted to see if you’d come with me. My buddy, he’s in the jail down the street.”

  The coffee cup was halfway to her mouth when she froze.

  Her face turned ashen, the tiny hairs on her arms lifted.

  Bingo. I got her.

  “In jail? What is the crime?” she said, her voice shaking.

  I cocked my head to the side at her. “Murder,” I said, flatly.

  Her hands wrapped around her Styrofoam coffee cup again and this time she took a sip. “Yes, of course, Grant. I go together with you.”

  She ate the rest of her donut in silence. When we finished, we stood up and I grabbed her hand. It was clammy.

  I’d called Joaquín’s lawyer last night, under the guise of seeing if there were any breaks in the case. He’d said unfortunately no. I asked him to see if Joaquín would accept a visit from me. The lawyer called me a few hours ago to let me know that Joaquín had agreed. I then requested and received permission from my command, and here I was. With Ksenya, aka Joaquín’s sister.

  We walked into the county jail and handed over our driver’s licenses. Ksenya had a valid one that rang up in the computer. Who had provided her with her documents? I knew some guys back home in Chicago who could get people papers but dealing with them was not for amateurs. I didn’t have a clue what type of shady characters she was surrounding herself with.

  We milled around the waiting room with some other hapless souls. This place reeked of desperation. The entire time we waited, Ksenya didn’t utter a word, just gave me a dazed smile.

  Finally, a guard led us to a room where we sat at a small partition. After yet another wait, Joaquín and some other inmates walked through the door.

  Ksenya gasped when he came into focus. My jaw gaped as well. It had been seven months since I’d seen him. His body was still massive, but his face was now bloated, his eyes were tired, his skin was yellow. A single tear escaped Ksenya’s eye and she quickly wiped it.

  Joaquín picked up the phone. “Thanks for coming, bro.” He nodded his chin in Ksenya’s direction. “Guess you’re finally over my sis. Who’s the fox?”

  I laughed. If he only knew what the fuck he was saying. “This is Ksenya, a stripper from the Ukraine. How you been, man?”

  “Be careful with those strippers, man, or you’ll end up in here with me. I’m fine, all things considered.” Joaquín eye-fucked Ksenya some more. I understood he probably hadn’t seen a woman in months but still. Talk about awkward.

  Ksenya hunched her shoulders, cowered her chest. I wondered if she was beginning to feel as nauseous as I was by this little visit. Served her fucking right.

  “Lawyer says I have a good shot of getting off.” Joaquín was still staring at Ksenya. “Have you heard from Mia? I heard she’s vanished.”

  “Naw, dude. She’s gone. She came to visit me after you were arrested but I kicked her out. Sorry, bro, but I couldn’t deal with her bullshit. But I didn’t expect her to drop off the face of the earth.”

  He looked at his feet and I took the opportunity to glance over my shoulder at Ksenya. Her eyes were locked on Joaquín, but I recognized her look. She was plotting something.

  I wanted to milk this visit for as long as I possibly could—not just to see my buddy, but also to fuck with Mia a bit more. And, I wasn’t that much of an asshole that I couldn’t admit that a small part of me also wanted to give this gift to her. Allow her to connect with her brother. God only knew when she would have the chance to again.

  I gave Joaquín a quick update on the guys from the Team. Joaquín’s eyes kept darting to Ksenya. I was beginning to think maybe he wasn’t just checking her out. Maybe he sensed something was off with her too.

  The guard gave us the two-minute warning. “Well, I appreciate you visiting me. Extra props for giving me some eye candy.” He tapped on the glass toward Ksenya. “Nice to meet you.”

  She took the phone out of my hand, clutching the receiver like it was her lifeline, pressing her wrist to the glass. “Nice to meet together with you, too.” She spoke slowly and drew out every word, as if she was hanging on to their fleeting moment together.

  And that’s when I caught it. Something triggered Joaquín. His jaw fell open and his eyes did a double take. Before he could say a word, the guard opened the door back up, and Joaquín was led away.

  A lump grew in my throat at seeing his retreating form. I loved that guy, and I prayed that one day we’d once again be swimming in the open ocean together.

  I turned my attention back on Ksenya, wh
o I found with a dazed look on her face, her eyes now glossy. I studied her. What the fuck did I miss? I’d been watching her the entire time. She didn’t have a chance to whisper anything to him, reveal her identity. But even if she had, I’m not sure she would be stupid enough to say something when I was present.

  I held her hand. “Thanks for coming with me.”

  “Of course.” I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as we walked out of the jail.

  Once outside, I dropped her hand. But that’s when I saw it. She was wearing a bracelet. It was bright and beaded and rainbow-colored—one of those ugly pieces of jewelry that had been popular when we were kids. Definitely not something a grown woman would wear, even if she were from a different country. And I knew for a fucking fact that she hadn’t been wearing it earlier in the day.

  I’d never seen that bracelet before. Not in all the years that I dated her. Not during all the times that I hung out at her place.

  Joaquín had apparently seen it though. Joaquín knew what it meant.

  And I knew that the cracks in Ksenya’s game were beginning to show.

  It was only a matter of time before I broke her. Before I called her out on her bullshit. Before I made her beg for my forgiveness. Before I got rid of her once and forever.

  I definitely wasn’t ready to call her bluff. Oh no, we were just getting started. But for tonight, I had probably fucked with her enough. Joaquín was her limit. “You okay?”

  “Yes,” she offered, her voice breaking. “I feel bad for your friend. It must be hard to be in jail. He is innocent, yes?”

  I suppressed my emotions—anger, shock, hurt, and victory—all bottled inside. I held Mia in my arms, the way I once had, years ago. “Yeah, he is. He’s a great guy. He’s like my brother. In fact, he almost was my brother. That girl I told you about, who left me—she was his sister. I’d never told her, but I’d planned on asking her to marry me. Had even asked for Joaquín’s permission. But she’s vanished from the face of the earth. And now, I’m all he has left.”

  She winced—her shoulders slumping—and dropped my gaze. She seemed to ponder this information for a beat and I hoped to hell she might crack, but instead she buried her head in my chest. Now my fucking heart ached. I wanted to interrogate her, demand answers. But instead, I pushed a lock of hair from her forehead, taking special notice of her dark roots that were becoming visible.

  “That girl…” I could barely hear her muffled voice. “I’m sure she knows it, what a mistake she made.”

  ***

  AS WE SPED AWAY FROM the jail, my body chilled. The world seemed to be spinning around me, like I was stuck on some lazy Susan and I couldn’t jump off.

  Joaquín. I’d been inches away from my brother, close enough to breathe the same air. Yet he hadn’t had a clue who I was. His own flesh and blood. Even worse, I could swear he was checking me out!

  In his defense, I didn’t resemble his beloved sister. Joke was on me, I fucking guess. He knew me only as Grant’s chick; scratch that, Grant’s stripper.

  But I’d taken a chance, a risk. When Grant was signing in at the jail, I placed that bracelet on my wrist. Our bracelet. The one I’d found at the top of the mountain.

  I flashed it at my brother the second I had an opportunity. Hoping Joaquín would see it. Hoping he would realize I was here for him, even though he’d tried to convince me to abandon him. A signal.

  Joaquín had seen it—a treasure only Mia could possess. But I had no idea if he even understood what it meant—that I was either Mia transformed or, if that was too far-fetched, that I had sent someone to see him. Either way, I was sure he was sitting in his cell, wracking his brain trying to come up with an explanation.

  Dammit. Now that I thought about my actions, I realized that I could’ve put my plan in danger. Not by Grant recognizing a bracelet he had never seen, but by Joaquín possibly contacting his lawyer, demanding an answer. Joaquín could even think that Grant was in on my deception.

  Grant was smart. Could he have picked up on my exchange with Joaquin? He had never seen the bracelet before so I didn’t think he’d take notice of it. If Grant had noticed the bracelet, then at least he would have no way of connecting it to my true identity.

  As long as this random visit hadn’t been some sort of test. I couldn’t push that thought away. Going to visit a friend in jail didn’t seem like a very normal outing choice for a fledgling relationship. And it was something that Grant could do anytime, on his own, with the jail being across the bridge from where he worked. Why did he want to take me with him? I hoped that the reason he had invited me had been more of an afterthought instead of a calculated plan.

  I forced those thoughts out of my head as we cruised down the freeway. I clung on to Grant, needing to feel him closer to me, wanting so much to put an end to this farce. I shuddered and it wasn’t from the cold wind. Grant’s words had gutted me.

  Marry him. Grant had wanted me to marry him back then? Unbelievable. I mean, I’d always hoped we were headed in that direction, but Grant had always fed me some bullshit about how hard it was to be married to a Team Guy and that we were too young. This knowledge changed everything. If I’d only known, I would’ve told him the truth about that night. I would’ve fought for us. I would’ve fought for him, instead of running away. But back then, I’d felt completely alone for the first time in my life. I hadn’t even told Joaquín what had happened to me.

  But there was no time to dream about what could have been. Seeing Joaquín so clearly just a day after I met Julián rattled me. I was more certain than ever that Julián was Joaquín’s son. Julián had to be my nephew. Apparently, that would be one of the only mysteries in my life that I would be able to resolve quickly—Roman had texted me that the results of the DNA test would be in by the end of the week.

  I told Grant that I was feeling ill, and I was surprised when he agreed to drop me back at my place. I wanted to spend the night crying in Grant’s arms, confessing my sins, secrets, and suspicions to him, but there wasn’t any time for that.

  Ksenya planned to make it up to him later, show up at his place, make him dinner. But now Joaquín’s sister had to go to work.

  I decided against taking my car downtown in case I was pressured to drink, so I hailed a taxi. The driver dropped me off at Diamond. After a quick elevator ride, I arrived at the club.

  I was about to text Mitch to let him know that I was here, but as I reached into my purse for my phone I felt a hand grasp my wrist.

  “You owe me a dance,” the deep voice whispered. I didn’t need to look up. Mitch’s presence loomed behind me.

  “Of course, Mitch. I will save for you the dance.”

  Another voice spoke. “No, you don’t understand. You don’t have the job yet. We need to know you can party. Our customers don’t hold back.”

  I looked up and it was Jack. Damn—I knew the interview had been too easy. “Party?” I genuinely didn’t have a clue what he meant, but my skin crawled at the possibilities. Did he mean would I sleep with men? Get wasted? I shivered wondering what these two had planned for me.

  Jack’s eyes danced around my body. “Why don’t I take you to the lounge and I’ll show you.”

  Jack headed toward the back of the club. I leaned into Mitch as he put his arms around me, and we followed Jack.

  Two shiny gold doors opened up to another room. And there it was. The golden stripper pole.

  My hands shook. It didn’t matter if the pole was made out of gold or tin to me, I was still expected to dance and degrade the fuck out of myself on it for him.

  Fuck.

  Jack leaned against a booth, his eyes focusing on me.

  “Let’s see what you got, babydoll.” Mitch slid into a black leather lounge chair, facing the front of the pole.

  I hesitated and a scowl crossed Jack’s face. “Look, sweetie, dance for us now, or get the fuck out of here. We have girls coming in here all the time. I don’t have time for your bullshit.”

  What an
asshole. “Ok. I’m sorry. I am little nervous.”

  I took to the stage, waiting for the music to start. Jack played a melodic tune, which suited me fine. I climbed the pole, did a couple of aerial moves, then decided to do an old school strip tease, more Rita Hayworth in Gilda than Nomi in Showgirls. I slowly moved the shoulder straps of my gown off my shoulders, exposing my black lace corset, my full breasts spilling over the top. A shimmy of my hips and my gown fell to the floor, revealing my garter belt and stockings. Mitch’s lips parted, his eyes hungry. I worked the pole, making sure not to volunteer a lap dance.

  My song ended not a moment too soon. I stared at my rumpled dress. What would come next? I wanted to go home.

  I went to gather my clothes, but Mitch stopped me. “That was good. But you’re not off the hook. You still owe me a private dance.”

  I figured. Well, one degrading step at a time.

  Jack turned to me. “Time to party, baby.”

  “I don’t know what it is you mean. I’m not hooker.”

  Mitch pulled me into him, which made my mind flash with scenarios of being gang raped since I was practically naked. “I got you, babe. Let’s have a drink.”

  A waitress came to our table and I ordered a cocktail. I felt dizzy and a sense of dread filled my body. My eyes scanned this room, staring at the exit door, trying to plan an escape route.

  “Let me show you.” Jack pulled a mirror and a small bag out of his back pocket. My eyes fluttered, focusing on the moonlight through the windows. There was about two ounces of white powder in the bag.

  Mitch’s eyes dilated.

  I jerked my head back, unable to control my reaction.

  It was cocaine.

  Cocaine! I knew the SEALs were drug tested all the time so clearly something was amiss here. Was this the key? Had they been involved with some type of drug deal and Joaquín found out? Was Mitch involved in framing him?