Page 30 of Critical Mass
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
What if everythingyou’ve told me is a lie and my father is the one trying to protect me?
The accusation stung, but Hudson couldn’t blame Natalie for thinking it. From where she sat, everyone had been lying to her.
“We’re not the bad guys.” Hudson looked directly into her eyes.
She stared at him, not saying anything.
He continued. “I know you have no reason to believe me. I know I’ve lied to you about almost everything. But Natalie, if we wanted to hurt you, we’ve had a dozen opportunities. We pulled you out of that marina. We got you away from men who were actively trying to kill you.”
“Or kill you,” she shot back.
He nodded slowly. “Or me. But given my recent investigations, I’m pretty sure this is connected to both of us. Either way, just listen to what Colton has to say. Look at the evidence. Then make your decision.”
“If I wanted to leave, would you let me?”
“We’re not keeping you prisoner here.”
Natalie stared at him, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths, her body still pressed against his.
For a moment, Hudson thought she might start fighting again, that she might scream for help or try to run.
But she didn’t. Instead, she kept staring at him with those eyes that saw too much, those eyes that made him feel like she could see straight through every lie he’d ever told.
This just might have been his hardest assignment yet.
And it might be the assignment that ultimately ruined him.
But the only thing that mattered to him now was that Natalie stayed safe.
He’d give up everything to ensure that happened.
Natalie stared at Hudson, her mind racing through possibilities and finding no good options.
She could scream. Demand they let her go. But where would she go? Back to Virginia Beach, where armed men were hunting her? To her father, who might be involved in whatever this was?
She could keep fighting and try to escape again.
But Hudson was stronger than she was. He’d trained for situations like this, and even if she got away from him, there were at least a dozen other operatives in this building who could capture her.
Beneath all the fear and anger, an inconvenient truth waited that she didn’t want to acknowledge: Hudson had saved her life tonight.
Multiple times.
Just as he’d said, if he’d wanted to hurt her, he could have done it already.
Which meant either he was telling the truth about protecting her, or he needed her alive for some other reason.
At once, she became acutely aware of his arms as they remained wrapped around her waist. Of his face being only inches from hers. Of his body that felt so warm against hers in a way that made her traitorous heart skip a beat.
He was so handsome. Even now, even after everything, she noticed. The strong line of his jaw, the intensity in his eyes, the way his hair fell across his forehead.
This man had been her dream—someone who understood her, appreciated her, and made her laugh.
And it had all been a lie.
