Chapter 3
3
N atalya dreaded walking into the kitchen the following morning. She stood on the other side of the door, unable to force her feet to move. Having Aedan stare at her so indifferently . . . it was painful.
But it was what she deserved.
Being so close to him last night had been sweet torture. She’d nearly begged him to hold her for just a few minutes. She’d lain in bed and counted the hours until the rest of the household would wake up. They’d been wasted hours. Time she could have spent looking for Mateo. But what could she do? She had no idea where to go to try and find him.
It all felt so hopeless.
She could return to her hometown, Matamoros. But that would be a foolish move. If Diego had taken Mateo, the cartel would be on the lookout for her. They protected their own.
Besides, Carla swore that Diego wasn’t there. Unless Carla was lying.
She just didn’t know who to trust anymore.
“You okay, ma’am?” a deep voice asked from behind her.
Natalya jumped, turning to see the large man who’d escorted her in last night. With a slight Scottish accent, reddish-blond hair, and broad shoulders, she could easily imagine women falling all over him.
“I’m Colm. We met last night. Are you okay? Can I get you something?” he asked in a surprisingly soft voice.
“Oh, umm, sorry. I’m fine. Please, call me Natalya.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You’ve been standing here for the last ten minutes just staring at the door.”
“Have I? Right, sorry. I must seem like an idiot.”
His gaze softened a little. “I heard about your wee bairn.”
“My what?”
A flicker of annoyance crossed his face, and he ran his hand down his face. “Sorry, I haven’t had much sleep. Your son. I heard he’s been taken by his father. We’ll get him back for you.”
She wished she had his confidence. The more time that passed, the more despondent she grew. What if she never found him?
“You work for Rogan, right?” she asked.
“Yep.” His face closed up, the glimpse of warmth disappearing.
“I don’t think he’s getting involved.”
“You’d be surprised what Rogan can do without getting involved,” he said cryptically. His phone beeped, and he glanced at it. “Excuse me, I have to go.”
The door to the kitchen opened and Aedan appeared.
“There you are. I was coming to wake you.” He frowned. “Did you sleep at all?”
Natayla shrugged. He didn’t need to hear her problems. She was utterly exhausted, but how the hell was she supposed to sleep? She clenched her jaw together to stop herself from snapping at him.
“I’m fine.”
“Whatever. Come through to the kitchen. Rogan’s got breakfast ready.”
Rogan cooked? Somehow, it didn’t seem in keeping with his image as a dangerous gang leader. She followed Aedan into the large eat-in kitchen to find Rogan plating up huge meals of fried eggs, ham, and toast.
Aedan gestured over to the breakfast bar. “Have a seat. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
“Thank you,” she replied, although the smell of food made her nauseous. Rogan and Aedan chatted as they sat and started eating. Natalya just moved her food around on the plate. Why waste time eating? She needed to do something anything.
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. Although his 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.
She heard someone swearing, but it was as though they were far off in the distance. Someone pushed her head down between her knees.
“Breathe, Natalya,” Rogan ordered.
She didn’t know that she wanted to, even though she found it hard to fight the command in his voice.
If Mateo was truly gone . . . a low moan of distress erupted from her. Suddenly, she was swept up against a firm chest. A familiar, masculine scent filled her senses.
Aedan.
“Shh, Lovely,” he told her in a calm voice. “Mateo is fine. There’s no reason to believe he’s dead. Calm down. We’ll find him. I promise you.”
“She needs to hold it together, or she’ll be no use to anyone.” Stanton’s voice was calm.
“So you told her that her son might be dead as a test?” Rogan asked sharply. “Your social skills have grown worse over the years.”
“Just breathe,” Aedan told her as he held her against his chest. His arm was under her bottom as he cradled her against him. “Breathe for me.”
She took a deep breath, the scent of him surrounding her.
“You okay?” Aedan asked.
“I’m fine. Sorry, I wigged out. You can put me back down.” Although she felt a whole lot safer in his arms. As though this was where she was meant to be.
Aedan placed her down. He scowled at Stanton, who just stared back at him calmly.
“Like I said, she needs to stay strong.” Stanton examined her. “Can you do that? Can you keep your shit together?”
Natalya glared at him. “You didn’t have to do that. You think I haven’t imagined the worst? Do you do this with all your clients?” It was a wonder he was still in business.
Stanton shrugged. “Tanner usually deals with the clients.”
“Where is your partner? Why didn’t you send him?” Rogan asked.
“Because you called me at two in the morning and told me to get here immediately. Tanner is on his way along with some other members of my team.”
The costs kept mounting up.
“I’ll pay your fee,” Aedan said stiffly. “We don’t want to be indebted to you.”
Stanton took a sip of coffee. “Save your money. There’s no debt. As I said, this is on us.” He moved his gaze back to Natalya. “I might be an asshole, but my team is the best. We will find your son.”
Relief hit her hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“I don’t know what to say. I can never repay you.”
“That’s the point of pro bono. You don’t have to.” Stanton quickly devoured the rest of his food, then pulled a tablet from his bag. “So, from what I’ve discovered, Diego Mota is a real fine catch.”
Natalya took a deep breath. Remember that he’s helping you . So he didn’t have much in the way of people skills . . . as long as he got the job done, she could take whatever he hurled her way.
“He’s a criminal,” she admitted.
“Oh, he’s much more than that, sweetheart,” Carter’s voice dripped with condescension. “He’s scum. He’s one of the cartel’s main lieutenants. It’s rumored that he’s ordered dozens of hits. The only place he seems to draw the line at is rape. But maybe we just haven’t uncovered that yet.”
Mouth dry, she just stared at Stanton. “I know he’s not a decent person?—”
“Understatement,” Stanton retorted. “So why did you stay with him? Or is that what you’re into? Bad boys?”
“I thought you were here to help find Mateo,” Aedan growled.
“I am,” Stanton replied calmly.
“Then what’s with all the personal questions?” Aedan asked.
Natalya sent him a grateful look.
“Because if she wants her son back, then I need to know exactly what I’m going up against. I’m not sending my men in to risk their lives against the fucking Fuerte Cartel without knowing everything.”
“Everything?” she asked.
He gave her a deadpan look. “Do you want your son back or not?”
Aedan watched the way Natalya’s eyes flared with temper. The old Natalya would have chopped off Stanton’s balls and handed them to him on a platter. Aedan knew that’s what she longed to do. But the last three years had obviously honed her control. Is that what living with Mota had taught her? How to temper her reactions?
Stanton tapped on his tablet. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll start with what I already know.”
Where the hell had Rogan found this guy?
As Stanton recited everything he knew about the Fuerte Cartel and Diego’s background, Aedan gestured to Rogan and walked over to the other end of the room. Natalya watched them go, but Stanton didn’t even look up, as though they’d ceased to exist for him.
“I didn’t think you were getting involved?” Aedan asked.
“He’s just a child. He needs help.” Rogan watched him for a long moment. “And I want you to be happy, Aedan.”
“What does that mean?”
“You haven’t been happy since Natalya left. You weren’t happy before you met her. She made you happy.”
“Yeah, and then she left me for a violent, dangerous criminal.”
Rogan glanced over at Natalya, who was staring at Stanton with a mix of amazement and confusion. Stanton continued to recite everything he’d found out about Diego.
“Sometimes life takes a turn you don’t expect,” Rogan said quietly.
“You’re getting all philosophic on me now?” Aedan asked incredulously.
Rogan just shrugged. “Despite his poor social skills, Stanton really is the best. He’ll find the kid. Whatever else happens is up to you.”
He walked back over to Stanton and Natalya, leaving Aedan staring after him in disbelief. Did Rogan seriously think he was about to get involved with Natalya again? After the way she’d treated him?
Natalya looked dumbstruck as she stared at Stanton. “How do you know all this?”
“This is my job. I had my hacker gathering info while I flew here.”
“How did they manage to find this information in such a short time?” Natalya asked.
“Because she’s very, very good. This information is really just the surface stuff. Give her a bit more time and she’ll dig deeper. Word of warning. Never buy anything online. And don’t put anything in an email. Someone is always watching. Even someone as cagey as Mota can slip up and leave information where it can be found.” Stanton scowled. “Damn government is always poking its nose where it’s not wanted. I don’t use emails, not anymore. Everything is done on burner phones. I replace them every month.”
Was this guy insane? “That must get expensive. How do clients contact you?” Aedan asked.
Stanton shrugged. “Through a third party.”
He was paranoid, rude, and possibly a bit nuts. But Rogan had said he was the best, and Aedan knew they needed all the help they could get.
“So, what’s our first move?” he asked.