Page 52 of Rectify

Any amount would be difficult for her to raise, but ten million?

“What are we going to do?” Her pulse thundered in her ears as it became harder to breathe.

Stop. You can’t panic. You have to think.

“They’ve fucked me off now.”

Frost coated her spine at the deadly fury in his voice.

Tanner handed her something written on a notepad.

Ask him for a photo of the note.

Natalya took a steadying breath as she tried to still her shaking hands. “Diego? Can you take a photo of the note and text it to me?”

“Sí, I’ll do that.”

“Where do they want the exchange to happen?” Rogan asked.

“The note instructed me to get the money together and then call them at this number at eight tonight.” He rattled off the number, and Natalya watched as Samantha wrote it down before returning to her computer.

“So, will you help us?” she asked. There was no way she could raise that sort of cash. Diego could. But would he help?

There was a long pause.

“They’ll expect to deal with you.” Rogan kept his voice neutral.

“I can’t give you the cash,” Diego said firmly. “If I start negotiating with them, it sets a dangerous precedent. We don’t pay ransoms.”

She bit her lip to stop herself from snapping at him. He wasn’t the US President. Why couldn’t he just pay the ransom?This was his fault. They would never have taken Mateo if it wasn’t for him.

“On the other hand, I can’t let them get away with this either. I want to know who is involved. I’ll call them. Then I’ll report back to you. It’s the best I can do.”

No, it wasn’t. It wasn’t the best he could do by a long shot, but she couldn’t force him to help. She couldn’t force him to care about Mateo. But, damn, she wished she could reach through the phone and throttle him.

She opened her clenched fists. There were angry red crescents on her palms from her nails digging into her skin.

Aedan grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly.

“Fine, you call them,” Rogan said brusquely. “Tell them you have the cash. Can we contact you on this number?”

“Sí.”

The dial tone felt like a nail in her coffin.

What was she going to do?

“The number is a dead end,” Samantha said. “Untraceable.”

The blows just kept coming at her.

“I’ll get the funds released.” Aedan pulled out his phone. “It’ll take a few hours, but I’ll get them.”

“Wait, what?” She gaped at him. “You’d do that?”

“It’s just money. We’re talking about your son.”

She’d owe him forever, but no way was she turning him down. Mateo was priceless to her. She’d pay whatever they needed.

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