Page 70 of Deadly Sins

40Grant

ICHECKED MY PHONE AGAIN, waiting for the results of the DNA test. But when I entered my case number, the screen flashed “pending.”

Joaquín had mentioned the name Julián, claiming he was another man in Mia’s life. Complete bullshit. I would’ve known if she’d had a serious boyfriend.

So, what did Joaquín know? He clearly knew about the boy and wanted both of us to find out. But why? Was Julián Joaquín’s child, hidden away by Tiffany, and he found out and murdered her? Or was Julián my child, and Mia and her brother kept him from me for some fucking reason? Until I received the DNA results, I could do nothing but drive myself crazy speculating.

But I could never forgive Mia.

I needed to accept she was no longer the innocent woman I’d loved. I had no doubt Mia was capable of hiding aspects of her life from me; she was clearly unstable; she’d hidden a pregnancy and a baby from me.

I had a plan. I had to fucking figure out if Julián was mine, and if not, what had happened to Mia’s baby. I had to seduce Mia. I called to ask her out, and she eagerly accepted.

I was pulling out all the stops. Buying roses, dressing up…fuck, I even shaved.

I picked her up after her shift at The Pickled Frog. Kyle made some comment alluding to the fact he’d thought I’d broken up with Ksenya. I laughed; that girl couldn’t wait to tell the world we were through. She’d probably already moved on to one of my friends, most likely Mitch. He hadn’t partied with the rest of the guys last night, and Mia had also not bothered me.

It didn’t matter—my emotions toward her were turned off. She was nothing more than a mission now.

As angry as I was, seeing her at The Pickled Frog still made my heart race. She’d changed out of her work clothes and wore a tight red wrap dress that hugged her curves. Fuck, I didn’t care anymore about my feelings. I’d been acting like a bitch. Tonight, I would fuck her to gain her trust. Nothing would stop me.

“You look beautiful, Ksenya.”

She blushed, and I was shocked to see how easy it was for her to fake her emotions. She didn’t love me. She’d used me.

Fine. I’d use her too.

First stop, dinner. I chose a romantic Italian restaurant in Coronado, just a few blocks from the BUD/S compound. Her eyes widened as we walked up the steps. She clutched my arm, and I winked at her.

The hostess sat us at a table overlooking the ocean. Mia bit her lip and nervously sipped her water.

“Ksenya, I need to apologize. I’m sorry about kicking you out of my place that night that we hooked up. It had nothing to do with you,” I lied. It had everything to do with her—her scar, her deceit.

Enough, focus.

“I was fucking mad after seeing you with Mitch, and I didn’t want to fuck you when I was filled with rage.”

She let out a sigh, surely buying my crappy excuse. “It is okay. I am sorry, too, about Mitch. I do not like him the way I like you. But I have confession to give to you.”

She continued to speak with her thick accent. I doubted she would break out as full-on Mia right now. “Shoot.”

The waiter picked this moment to tell us the specials. I ordered the osso buco, and Mia ordered pesto fettuccine sans meat.

Once we were alone again, Mia started her story. “After you made me quit Panthers, I got scared about the money. At party with your friends, I asked to Mitch about job, and he told to me about club. That is only reason I talked to him.”

Lying again. She probably suspected Mitch of having something to do with Tiffany’s murder. Not a crazy assumption, but she didn’t know Mitch like I knew him. He was a classic hard-partying Team guy— loved hard liquor, harder drugs, and loose women. After BUD/S and two long deployments with the asshole, I knew he was actually compassionate. He cared about people, his kids, his Teammates, even his ex-wife, and their dog.

He had many vices, but he was not a murderer. “Go on.”

She twirled her hair. “That night you kick me out, I went again to Diamond. I was afraid you did not want me no more. Mitch, he try to get me in the bed, but I told it to him, no. And I cook for him dinner last night, but I told him that I am not interested in being together with him. You must believe me. I am sorry.”

The hair stood on my arms. Mitch, the fucking jackass. But I couldn’t be too mad at him. He didn’t know Ksenya was Mia, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him. As fucked up as it was, our Team guy code didn’t apply to strippers.

“I believe you. Let’s not talk about it. But you can’t work at Diamond. Call me an asshole, but I don’t want other men seeing your body.” At this point, she and Mitch could star in a sex tape, and I wouldn’t care—but I needed to keep her close to me until I could figure out what was going on with her kid.

She didn’t hesitate. “Deal.”

We spent the next hour enjoying the view, the wonderful food, and a bottle of wine. Her body posture mirrored mine. She lied and told me stories about growing up in the Ukraine, I told her stories about my buddies in Chicago.