Page 100 of Critical Mass
Even if her heart was breaking.
Because she deserved better than lies. Better than manipulation. Better than men who thought they knew what was best for her.
She deserved the truth.
And if Hudson couldn’t give her that—if he’d waited until she was literally walking out the door before finally being honest—then he didn’t deserve her.
No matter how much it hurt to admit it.
But maybe Hudson wasn’t the only one she should be standing up to.
Maybe she should stand up to her father also.
Maybe she shouldn’t go to Italy. Maybe she should stay here and stop a terrorist attack instead.
Hudson closed the door to his room and leaned against it, his chest tight with an ache that had nothing to do with his bruised ribs.
Natalie’s words echoed in his head, each repetition driving the knife deeper.
She was right. About all of it.
He’d become exactly what he’d always despised—someone who used people, who manipulated feelings, who justified lying because the ends supposedly justified the means.
And now he’d lost her. Completely and irrevocably.
Hudson pushed off the door and grabbed his phone. He texted Colton about the meeting with Jonathan Rutter. Colton responded right away that he would put someone on it.
Then Hudson moved to the window and stared out at the grounds of the Ravenscroft estate. Guards made their rounds. Everything looked peaceful, controlled, secure.
But tomorrow, everything would change.
Tomorrow, the raid would happen. The chemical weapons would be seized—or they wouldn’t. Ravenscroft would be arrested—or he’d escape. And thousands of lives hung in the balance.
That was what mattered now. Not his broken heart. Not what he’d lost with Natalie. The mission. Only the mission.
It was all he had left.
A soft knock at his door stopped him mid-thought.
His hand instinctively moved toward the weapon he’d hidden in his bag. An unexpected visitor meant either trouble or?—
“Hudson?” Natalie’s voice came through the door, quiet and urgent. “Can I come in?”
Hudson crossed to the door in three strides and opened it.
Natalie stood in the hallway, her hair slightly disheveled like she’d been running her hands through it. Her eyes were red-rimmed but dry, and her jaw was set with determination.
“Natalie? What’s wrong?”
“I’m not going to Italy,” she said without preamble, her voice low but firm. “I’m leaving. Now. Before my father can stop me.”
Hudson’s mind immediately went tactical, assessing threats and calculating risks. “Leaving to go where?”
“I don’t know yet. Somewhere safe. Somewhere I can think clearly without my father or his security or—” She stopped, her eyes meeting his. “I need to get out of here. Away from all of this. And I need help.”
“Natalie, if you run now, your father will?—”
“My father will what? Force me onto a plane anyway? Lock me in my room? He’s already treating me like a prisoner, Hudson. I can’t stay here. Not when I don’t know if he’s planning a terrorist attack or being framed for one. Not when I don’t know who to trust.”
