Page 7 of Critical Mass
The farther she traveled, the more the road became less congested with hardly any other vehicles.
Timothy was sure to notice the lone car behind him.
Self-doubt slammed into her.
Maybe she should turn around. Forget this whole crazy idea.
She was only doing this because her dad had put uncertainty into her head about Timothy’s trustworthiness. She’d wanted to prove her father wrong, and, in the process, reassure herself.
Besides, she’d already come this far.
Maybe she should just stick with this until she found some answers.
Drawing in a deep breath, she turned off the road.
She needed to make him think she’d disappeared. That made sense, right? She was no expert, but she did pride herself on being logical.
She cut her headlights, did a U-turn, and pulled back onto the road.
It was dark enough outside right now that maybe he wouldn’t see her vehicle behind him.
Maybe.
With her hands trembling on the steering wheel, she prayed she was making the right choice.
Hudson’s training kicked in the moment he sensed the surveillance.
Someone had been following him since he left Natalie at her house. He’d spotted the same headlights in his rearview mirror too many times for coincidence.
Then the car turned off the road and the headlights suddenly went out.
But there was no reason for someone to turn there. There were no houses nearby. No neighborhoods. No stores.
Sigma. It had to be.
Somehow the terrorist group had discovered his identity and connected him to Natalie.
His blood ran cold at the thought.
He wasn’t worried about himself.
But he was worried about Natalie.
He couldn’t stomach the thought of her getting hurt. If her father was truly the leader of the organization, Hudson didn’tthink the man would actually harm his daughter. But that didn’t mean Natalie wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.
Besides, being the leader of Sigma would mean Richard had enemies of his own. Once people who worked for Sigma realized they’d been deceived, they’d be angry. Recruits from Sigma had led employees to believe they were working for a secret US government program. They were actually working for a terrorist organization. They’d want retribution.
Hurting Natalie would hurt Richard.
Whichever scenario was true, Natalie could be hurt.
Hudson would do everything in his power to keep her safe.
He’d hoped to lose the tail on the winding back roads through the Pungo area, but he had no doubt the vehicle still trailed him.
Now he had to make a last-minute decision about what to do.
His jaw hardened as he turned off the winding country road onto a smaller road. A plan formed in his mind.
