Page 50 of Critical Mass
Hudson watched her countenance, saw something hard settle in her expression.
“Yes,” she said. “I can do that.”
She didn’t look at Hudson as she spoke, but he felt the words like a knife. She’d learned how to lie from watching him. And now she would use those skills against her own father.
Because Hudson had taught her, through his deception, that everyone was capable of betrayal.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Natalie listenedto the plan with growing clarity about what she had to do.
She’d tell her father about the attack. It made sense. She needed an explanation that would satisfy his questions without revealing the truth.
The truth that she was sitting in a compound with people who believed he was a terrorist.
The truth that she was starting to believe them.
“It only makes sense that I tell him what happened.” Natalie kept her voice calm despite the turmoil in her chest. “If I don’t, he’ll be suspicious. He probably already knows something happened. He was tracking my phone, after all.”
“We’ve taken care of the phone tracking,” Colton said. “When we cloned your number, we made sure any location data shows you in Virginia Beach or Norfolk. As far as your father knows, you’ve been in the area all night.”
Clever. These people thought of everything.
“So I tell him Timothy and I were at the beach,” Natalie continued, working through the logic. “We were attacked by men we didn’t know. Timothy protected me and got us to safety. I wastoo shaken to drive home, so I slept at his place while he stayed on the couch.”
She felt Hudson’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him. Looking at him made it harder to maintain the professional distance she needed.
“And now I want to keep Timothy close,” she continued. “Because I’m frightened. Because whoever attacked us might come back. Because he makes me feel protected.”
The irony of that last part wasn’t lost on her. Hudson made her feel protected while simultaneously being one of the people she needed protection from.
“That’s perfect,” Ty said. “It gives you a plausible reason for any behavioral changes your father might notice.”
“There’s one more thing.” Colton shifted in his seat. “We need you to press your father about his upcoming travel. Mention that you’re worried about him too, that with everything happening, you want to make sure he’s safe. Ask about his security arrangements, his plans.”
“The Dubai trip,” Natalie said, understanding. “You want to know if he’s planning another one.”
“Or anything else that might give us insight into Sigma’s timeline,” Colton confirmed.
Natalie took a breath, steeling herself. “Okay. I can do this.”
“We’ll have people watching,” Hudson added. “If anything goes wrong, you’ll have backup.”
She hated hearing the concern in his voice.
Hated having to remind herself he didn’t care. That the concern was probably him forgetting he didn’t have to pretend anymore.
Before her emotions could get the best of her, she stood. “We should get ready to go. The longer I wait to contact my father, the more suspicious it will look.”
As the team dispersed to prepare, Natalie allowed herself a moment of doubt. She was about to walk back into her father’s office, look him in the eye, and lie about everything.
She was becoming exactly what she’d hated—a manipulator, a deceiver, someone who used trust as a weapon.
But if it meant finding the truth, if it meant stopping an attack that could kill thousands of innocent people, then she’d do it.
Even if it destroyed whatever was left of her soul in the process.
