Page 25 of Rectify

Tanner sighed, looking apologetic. “My partner might not have much tact, but he is correct. We need Natalya to be sincere.”

Aedan’s eyes grew dark as he scowled at Stanton, then Tanner.

“It’s okay. I’ll tell you what you need to know.” Natalya stared down at her hands before forcing herself to look up. She couldn’t look at Aedan, though. Instead, she focused on Tanner who’d sat in the armchair next to Aedan.

“Three years ago, I left San Antonio to return to Matamoros. My brother, Río, had called me to tell me that our nana was dying and asking for me. I went back to pay my last respects. I thought I owed it to my mother to say goodbye to Nana. When Igot back there, well, things were tense. Nana wasn’t quite as bad as I’d been led to believe, and other things were happening.”

She licked her lips nervously.

“My brother lived with Nana. He’d get visitors at all hours of the night. Dangerous-looking men.” She stared over at the wall. “They scared me. They had a dead look in their eyes like there was nothing they wouldn’t do, nothing they hadn’t seen.” She shivered.

“One night, my brother started arguing with someone on the front porch of Nana’s house. I came downstairs to tell them to quieten down before they woke her. Although she took a sedative at night, so I doubt a foghorn would have roused her. I opened the door, and the man Río was arguing with turned to stare at me. I was only dressed in a T-shirt. It wasn’t sexy, but I wished I’d put a robe on before going downstairs. He studied me like I was a piece of meat.”

She chewed at her lip for a moment. “All my bravery fled when I saw his tattoo and realized he was with the Fuerte Cartel. He was one of Diego’s captains, Enrique Sanchez. I ran inside and shut the door.”

“Then what happened?” Tanner asked. “Did you talk to your brother?”

She nodded. “I confronted him the next morning, but he flew off the handle at me. Told me that I’d been home all of two seconds and already I thought I knew better than he did.” She smiled wryly. “He was right. I’ve always thought I knew best. I told him that man and all his other friends weren’t welcome there anymore, that they were dangerous, and if he knew what was best for him, he’d steer clear of them.”

“I’m guessing he didn’t take that well,” Stanton said.

“No. Río wasn’t the boy I remembered. When we moved to the States, I was seven and he was twelve. But he didn’t adjust well. He wanted to return home. When he was sixteen, mymother let him go back and live with Nana. He got himself mixed up with the wrong crowd and I guess she didn’t want him to end up in jail.

“Anyway, he bolted out of the house, and I didn’t see him again until three nights later when a van pulled out in front of our house and dumped him out. He’d been beaten within an inch of his life. I wanted to take him to the hospital, but he refused. Luckily, the doctor looking after Nana was due to check on her, and he fixed him up. He was bruised from head to toe, with broken ribs, a broken nose, three smashed fingers, and a dislocated collarbone.”

“The cartel?” Tanner asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Río owed them money. A lot of money. Gambling, drugs. He was stupid, but he’s my brother. I couldn’t let him die because of his mistakes. I told him I’d pay off his debt this once. But he owed them far more than I thought. The interest they were piling on top of the debt was astronomical.”

She rubbed her chest. “I have to admit that I thought about just leaving. My brother and I weren’t close. But I was worried that they’d come after Nana. She was helpless against them, and I knew that unless I did something, my brother would die.”

“You’d just be putting off the inevitable,” Stanton said bluntly. Tanner shot him a quelling look, but he just shrugged. “Her brother’s a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off.”

Aedan remained silent this whole time, just staring at her intently. She wondered what he was thinking.

“He was still my brother. No matter his mistakes. I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I’d taken off.”

“So, how does Diego fit into this?” Tanner asked.

“Enrique answers to Diego. Enrique scared me to death. So instead of going to him, I went to see Diego to negotiate the terms of the debt with him.”

Tanner gaped at her. “On your own?”

“Yes.”

“You went to see a cartel lieutenant alone?” Aedan asked incredulously. “Why would you do something so stupid?”

“I thought I could talk him around. I’d met him before. When I was sixteen, my mother took me back for a visit. I snuck out and went to a party with my cousin. Diego was there. At the time, he seemed friendly and charming. I knew he wasn’t a good man, but I hoped I could reason with him, work out a payment plan. However, when he told me the terms, I knew I couldn’t meet them. He gave me an alternative solution. He said he would wipe the debt clean if I agreed to move in with him.”

“Is he so ugly that he can’t get a chick the normal way?” Stanton asked.

“Diego doesn’t lack companionship.” He was a good-looking guy with a dangerous vibe many women found attractive.

“So, you whored yourself to him?” Stanton asked.

She winced.

“Do I really need to tell you everything?” she asked Tanner desperately. Aedan had grown very still, his face stony.

---