Page 48 of Critical Mass
Natalie descended the stairs slowly, her borrowed clothes—jeans and a plain gray T-shirt someone had left outside her door—felt foreign against her skin.
She’d barely slept. Her mind had raced through everything she’d learned, everything she had to do. But she’d made her decision.
She’d go back to Norfolk, play her part, and find out the truth about her father.
Even if that truth destroyed her.
As she neared the strategy room, voices drifted into the hallway. She recognized Colton’s deep baritone, and then?—
“Your feelings for Natalie Ravenscroft.” Colton’s words stopped her in her tracks. “This operation requires objectivity. We need to know where your head is.”
Natalie pressed herself against the wall, her heart suddenly hammering in her ears.
She shouldn’t eavesdrop. She should announce herself, walk in, and pretend she hadn’t heard anything.
But she couldn’t make herself move.
“I kept things professional.” Hudson’s voice was steady, calm. “The relationship was a cover, and nothing more. I gathered the intelligence we needed, and now we’re using it to stop Sigma.”
Something twisted in Natalie’s chest, sharp and painful.
Their relationship had been a cover. Nothing more.
She’d known that, of course. She’d told herself that exact thing last night on the balcony. Hudson had only been acting, playing a role, doing his job.
But hearing him say it so calmly, so matter-of-factly—like the past three months had meant absolutely nothing—made it real in a way it hadn’t been before.
“And if something goes wrong?” Another voice—Ty. “If she’s in danger and following protocol means letting her get hurt—can you make that call?”
“Yes, sir. The mission comes first. It always has.”
The mission comes first.
Of course, it did. She was just an asset. A source of intelligence. A means to an end.
Natalie forced herself to take a breath, to push down the hurt threatening to overwhelm her. This was good, actually.
It was better to hear the truth now, to have any lingering doubts obliterated completely.
Hudson Roberts felt nothing for her. Had never felt anything for her.
She’d been a job. That was all.
The more she cemented that in her mind, the better off she’d be.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Natalie straightenedand lifted her chin before walking into the conference room.
Three heads turned toward her, and she saw the flash of something—surprise? concern?—cross Hudson’s face before he masked it.
“Good morning.” She kept her voice cool and professional. “I assume you’re discussing how to use me to get to my father. Don’t let me interrupt.”
The silence that followed was heavy with unspoken words.
Colton recovered first. “Ms. Ravenscroft, we were just finalizing the operational plan.”
