Page 20 of Critical Mass
His hands were steadier than they had any right to be as he dialed Colton.
His boss answered on the first ring. “Hudson. Where are you?”
“Back Bay, somewhere near the Ashville Bridge Creek area.”
“What?” Colton’s voice rose.
Hudson had already called Colton to update him as he drove to the marina. Colton knew he was being followed and already had backup close. Colton had also listened to the recording of Natalie’s phone call with her father at the restaurant. He knew her father had warned her not to be too trusting.
That was why she’d been acting differently when she returned.
“I was confronted and chased at the marina.” Hudson kept his voice low, professional, even as he watched Natalie shake apart in front of him. “I’ve got Natalie with me.”
Silence stretched on the other end.
Then, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Wish I was. She followed me from Virginia Beach. Operatives showed up at the marina, and I had to commandeer a boat to get away.”
Hudson could practically hear Colton running through scenarios, weighing options.
“What’s your current situation?” Colton finally asked. “Where’s the pursuit boat?”
“Stuck on a sandbar about a quarter mile back. But they’ll radio for backup, and once they do, we’ll have more company than I can handle.” Hudson glanced at the fuel gauge. The needle hovered just above empty. “I’ve got maybe twenty minutes of fuel left. Not enough to make it to Lantern Beach, especially not at low speeds through these channels.”
“Okay.” Colton’s voice shifted into tactical mode. “There’s a private marina in Moyock, about ten nautical miles south of your position. Small place, mostly locals, but the owner owes us a favor. Can you make it there?”
Hudson checked the GPS on his phone, mentally calculating fuel consumption against distance. “It’ll be close, but yeah. I can make it.”
“Good. Head there now. I already have a team en route. They’ll secure the area and get you both back to headquarters.”
“Sir, about Natalie?—”
“We’ll deal with that situation when you get here. Right now, just get her to the marina.”
The line went dead.
Hudson pocketed the phone and adjusted their heading, pointing the boat south through the winding channels. The engine purred quietly now, barely more than a trolling speed, but every gallon of fuel counted.
“Natalie,” he said. “We’re heading to a marina about ten miles from here. My team will meet us there and get you somewhere safe.”
She finally looked at him. The expression in her eyes made his chest ache.
It wasn’t just fear anymore.
It was something worse—betrayal, confusion, the look of someone whose entire world had just shattered.
“Who are you?” Her voice was hoarse from being sick, from crying, from screaming. “Really. Not your name, not your job. Who areyou?”
Hudson wanted to tell her everything—about Blackout, about Sigma, about the investigation that had led him to her.
But in the darkness of Back Bay, with her soaked and shivering and traumatized, it didn’t seem like the right time.
“I’m someone who’s made a lot of mistakes,” he said instead. “Someone who got you into this mess when you should have been nowhere near it. And I’m someone who’s going to do everything in my power to keep you safe, even if you never forgive me.”
“Safe,” she repeated, like the word was foreign. “I was safe until I met you.”
Was that correct? True, the men chasing them tonight were most likely after Hudson.
