Page 29 of Critical Mass
She was trapped. Not by locks or bars, but by circumstances she couldn’t begin to understand.
However, if she wanted to escape, this might be her only chance.
Hudson stood in the hallway and checked his watch again.
Natalie had been in the bathroom for almost ten minutes.
Too long. Way too long.
His instincts screamed at him that something was wrong.
“Natalie?” Hudson called through the door, careful to keep his tone patient. “Whenever you’re ready.”
No response.
His blood went cold. He moved to the door and pressed his ear against it.
Silence.
No running water, no movement, nothing.
“Natalie?” He knocked, harder this time. “Natalie, answer me.”
Still nothing.
Hudson didn’t hesitate. He grabbed the handle and threw his shoulder against the door, the flimsy interior lock giving way with a crack.
The bathroom was empty—or seemed to be.
Until he saw her.
Natalie was halfway through the window above the toilet, her legs still inside, struggling to pull herself through the narrow opening.
“Natalie, no!” Hudson lunged forward, catching her around the waist.
She fought him, twisting in his grip. “Let me go! Let me?—”
“Stop!” He dragged her back through the window, both of them tumbling to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Hudson managed to keep her from hitting her head. But they ended up pressed together against the tile, his arms still wrapped around her waist and her back against his chest.
Natalie turned in his arms, and suddenly they were face-to-face, inches apart.
Her brown eyes were wide, filled with fear and anger and something else he couldn’t quite name. Her wet hair fell around her face, and he felt her heart hammering against his chest.
The tension between them was electric, crackling in the small space like a live wire.
“Please,” Hudson said quietly, not releasing her. “Just hear us out. That’s all I’m asking.”
“I recognized one of your men.” Her voice was shaking. “He was at the gym yesterday.”
Hudson’s stomach dropped. Another agent named Dez Rodriguez had been running surveillance, standard protocol for any operation.
But from Natalie’s perspective?—
“I can explain,” he said.
“Can you?” She pushed against his chest, but he didn’t let go. “What if you and your friends are the bad guys, Hudson? What if everything you’ve told me is a lie and my father is the one trying to protect me?”
