seen him touch drugs, not once. Mitch dabbled, a few of the other guys got high, but not Joaquín.
I was scarfing down my burger when my cell phone rang. I glanced down, assuming it was one of my Team guys calling me into work, but the number was unknown.
I picked up the phone. “Hello?”
A woman’s voice played on a recording. “You are receiving a call from—”
“Joaquín Cruz,” my buddy’s voice said.
“—an inmate at the San Diego County Jail. Press one to accept this call and two to decline.”
My finger scrambled to press one. “Hey man, you okay?”
“Yup.” Joaquín’s voice seemed weak. “Hey, I need you to come visit me this week. It’s urgent. I’ll have my lawyer set it up.”
Had I been right about him noticing Mia’s bracelet? “Of course, bro. I’ll give him a call tomorrow.”
“One more thing. Can you bring that fox you were with? I need some eye candy.”
I glanced over at Mia, curled in a ball with Hero on the sofa. “You bet.”
No matter how hard I’d fought to stay away from her, somehow we always wound up back together.
I barely slept all night , worrying that now that Daniel had found out who I was, Grant would be next.
I’d spent the night alone again, but in his bed. Wrapped in his covers, dreaming of cuddling next to him. I’d even slept naked, hoping he would climb into the bed in the middle of the night and make love to me. But Grant remained on the sofa all night; his only companion was Hero. I figured he was still pissed at me from the other night, though he wouldn’t tell me why. He still came to my rescue, but that wasn’t actually that shocking considering rescuing people was his profession. I wished I knew what was going through his mind. Our distance grew further apart. Now, more than at any other point since I started this game, did I realize the chances of us getting back together were fading. Too many lies, too many secrets. Even so, I cherished every second of sleeping in his bed where we first made love, the sheets fragrant with his scent.
When I walked out of the bedroom, Grant was cooking breakfast. But this time there was no steak to make me gag—just black coffee, steel-cut oats, and strawberries.
Everything was vegan. Did he know?
“Sorry about breakfast, I haven’t gone shopping in a while. And we have to leave to see Joaquín in an hour.”
That made sense. “It is good, thank you.”
He sat across the table from me, sipping his coffee. “So, how was work yesterday?”
“Good. Kyle is nice to me. Money, it is good.” I couldn’t help staring at his biceps. He was just wearing a T-shirt and gray sweats. His beard was full, and I begin to fantasize about him. It had been so long since I’d felt his skilled tongue between my legs, just the thought alone was enough to get me wet. How had I fucked up so badly with him? Not only as Mia but also as Ksenya?
Now wasn’t the time. I was going to see my brother again. And this time, he knew who I was.
We finished breakfast and then left in Grant’s truck.
Daniel hadn’t wasted any time setting the meeting up. And I’d come up with a plan.
I had to admit, it wasn’t my best plan. There was no way I could distract Grant and try to talk to Joaquín alone. My interactions would be video and audio taped. Good thing I had some tricks up my sleeve.
We parked on the street in front of the prison and Grant fed the meter. I gazed up at the jail from below and stared at the tiny windows looked out on the ocean. I choked back a tear, imagining Joaquín wasting away up in his tower, with only a sliver of a glimpse to the outside world. Grant took my hand and led me into the building.
The guard seemed to recognize me from our last visit on Monday, just two days prior. I gave him a polite head nod and sat next to Grant on an orange plastic chair. The floor smelled like bleach and desperation, and the toxic environment in the room made my stomach queasy.
I squeezed Grant’s hand. “Why