Chronic (Se7en Deadly SEALs Book 2) by Alana Albertson

 

     
     
    I THREW A STEAK IN the pan, the scent of grease wafting through my apartment. My ex-girlfriend Mia refused to eat meat, fucking hippie. A vegan, she’d freak when I sautéed her veggies in butter. Last night, I’d been so angry that there was even the possibility that Mia thought she could trick me. But I channeled my energy. I had a plan to test Ksenya, the girl asleep in my bed. Try to figure out if she was really Mia in disguise. My fingers tingled—this would be fun. Epic, even. If my hunch was correct, I couldn’t wait for the chance to see how far Mia was willing to go to try to fool me. Did she really think I wouldn’t figure out who she was?
    I grabbed my cell phone. The girl on the other end answered, her voice breathy and sensual. “Hello? Grant?”
    “Yeah. It’s me.” I said, careful to keep my voice low in case Ksenya awoke. “Hey—you were right. Something’s up.”
    The girl rattled on about her theories and offered up a suggestion. I wasn’t thrilled by it, but at this point I’d agree to anything that would get me one step closer to the truth.
    “Yeah. Sounds good. I’m on it. Later.”
    I hung up the phone. Everything was falling into place.
    First order of business was to get Ksenya to quit working at Panthers and for her to find a job somewhere I could keep an eye on her, make sure she was safe. I didn’t care that we were broken up; if there was even the slightest chance this girl was Mia, I didn’t want a bunch of jackasses watching her strip. She had lost her virginity to me for fuck’s sake. I mean, she had even told me when I last saw her at my place that I still was the only man she’d ever slept with. Joaquín would kill someone if he knew his sister was moonlighting as a stripper. Hell, I would too. I had to put an end to this bullshit today.
    Before Joaquín was arrested, he made me promise that I would look out for his sister. I gave him my word, with every intention of honoring it. But when Mia came to me after Joaquín was arrested, begging for help, I broke my vow. Too consumed by my anger, by my rage toward her betrayal, I wanted nothing to do with her. How could she leave me when I needed her most? I was such a stubborn jackass. Maybe if I had listened to her, helped her—fuck it, helped Joaquín—instead of hiding behind my pride, things would be different. Maybe Mia and I could’ve worked together to exonerate Joaquín, find out who really killed Tiffany. Maybe Mia could’ve finally told me the truth about why she really left me, and maybe we could’ve started fresh. The time for second chances had passed though. It was clearly way too late.
    I’d kept my own secrets from Mia, too. Secrets about how far I’d fallen without her. How I couldn’t live without her. How no matter how much success I had in the Teams, it meant nothing without her by my side.
    I closed my eyes, for a moment, remembering the last time she had been mine, truly mine. She’d kept a vigil at my bedside, night after night. She’d dressed my wounds, given me my meds, even read to me. She had seen me at my worst, at my weakest. I’d let down my guard, allowed her to take care of me, the way she had always wanted to. After I could take care of myself, finally independent of the machines that were keeping me alive, when I actually felt like a man again, we’d made love one last time. And it had been different than any other time we’d had sex before. Our bodies melted into one, our kisses were passionate, our love making completely connected.
    I’d made a decision that night—that I didn’t want to live one more day of my life without her by my side. I’d even asked Joaquín for permission to marry her, had him go to the jeweler and pick up the engagement ring I’d purchased for her online.
    But then, without warning, Mia had left. Absconded in the middle of the night. No goodbye, no excuses, no answers.
    Here I was, years later, conflicted about the identity of this empty