Page 21 of Rectify

Aedan studied her. Another frown crossed his face. It was becoming a common theme. He either frowned, glared, or snapped at her. A far cry from the loving and caring man she’d known before.

Last night he touched me.

It was more than she deserved and far, far less than she longed for.

“Eat, Natalya,” he ordered.

“I’m not hungry. It looks delicious, though.” She attempted to smile at Rogan, who sat across from her.

“When was the last time you ate?” Aedan asked.

“I don’t know,” she said impatiently. Who cared about food? “What does it matter? I’m not the one who is important. Mateo is.”

“And you’ll be little help to him if you collapse from exhaustion and hunger and end up in the hospital,” a strange voice spoke from behind her.

She turned to find a slim-built man standing behind her. He had a predatory look about him—sharp and dangerous. His thick dark hair was interspersed with gray. His green eyes seemed to miss nothing as he ran his gaze over her. Althoughhis expression didn’t change, she got the feeling he was unimpressed by what he saw.

“Stanton.” Rogan stood and came around to shake the older man’s hand. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“I didn’t think I had much choice,” the other man retorted. “You called in the favor I owed you.” There was a dark note in his voice, and Natalya held her breath as she waited for Rogan to retaliate.

“If you didn’t want to take the job, you wouldn’t be here,” Rogan said mildly.

“Refuse the great Rogan MacGuire?” the other man replied sardonically. “I don’t have a death wish.”

“Don’t be a drama queen,” Rogan replied as he dished up another plate of food.

Natalya looked over at Aedan with wide eyes. He just shrugged, looking puzzled.

“Carson Stanton, meet Aedan Blake and Natalya Ramírez. Stanton is an old acquaintance of mine. He manages a team of mercenaries who specialize in location and extraction.”

Natalya frowned. “So you rescue people?”

Stanton nodded as he sat and dug into his breakfast. He swallowed. “We usually operate overseas. We’re often hired to rescue people taken prisoner by extremists.”

“How often are you successful?” Aedan asked.

Stanton grinned. It wasn’t a pleasant smile. If anything, it made him look harder. “We’re one of the best in the business.”

“And the most expensive?” she asked. She was betting it cost a lot of money to hire him and his team.

“Experience and expertise costs,” he told her around a mouthful of breakfast. She watched in amazement as he put away a huge amount of food. Where did it all go?

“You should make that your slogan,” Rogan said dryly.

Stanton glowered at him before turning to her. “We cost more than the average person can afford, but occasionally we take on pro bono cases. This one is on us.”

“What is?” she asked, confused.

“I called Stanton last night after the two of you went to bed,” Rogan explained. “He’s going to find Mateo for you.”

Stanton snorted. “No pressure.”

“Are you saying you can’t do it?” Rogan challenged.

“Of course I can do it. Can’t guarantee that he’ll be alive, though.”

Dots swirled before her eyes as terror enveloped her in its dark hold.

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