Page 5 of Critical Mass
Plus, one of his colleagues, Axel Hendrix, was monitoring things on the boardwalk. Hudson had already seen his teammate as he pretended to be a casual tourist. He may have overheard part of Natalie’s phone conversation.
Hudson would find out soon enough.
However, learning the truth could change everything.
Was he ready for that?
Hudson paid for their dinner, then walked with Natalie to his car.
He’d drop her off at her house—located in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Virginia Beach—and then he’d head back to Blackout headquarters in Lantern Beach, North Carolina. It was a three-and-a-half-hour drive, along with a ferry ride.
He needed to consult with his team. This investigation into Sigma had taken entirely longer than anyone had anticipated.
The terrorist organization was slippery and knew how to cover their tracks. Even though his team had made good headway in bringing the group down, there was still more work to be done. Their intel pointed to the fact that the group’s biggest attack was still coming.
He and Natalie chitchatted on the short drive. He’d told her earlier that he had to go out of town on a business trip so he’d begone for a few days. Really, he’d be back at work, trying to sort through all the intel he’d gathered.
At her house, he put the car in Park and walked her to her door like he’d done many times before.
They paused there.
“Timothy?”
Natalie’s gentle voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he glanced down at her, warmth filling his chest.
“Yes?” He still wasn’t used to hearing that name. It sounded foreign to his ears.
She tilted her head sweetly. “If there was something you needed to tell me—something important—you would, wouldn’t you?”
The question hung between them like a loaded weapon. Had something been communicated in that phone call that made her ask this?
Hudson looked at her face, memorizing the curve of her cheek and the way the streetlight caught the gold flecks in her brown eyes.
Tomorrow, he’d have to make a choice.
Tell his team about his real feelings for her, which would end his assignment. Or continue the deception and risk everything—his career, his team, potentially innocent lives—for a woman whose father might be planning a terrorist attack.
Her question slammed back into his mind.If there was something you needed to tell me—something important—you would, wouldn’t you?
He swallowed hard before saying, “Of course.”
He immediately hated himself for lying to her face.
Natalie nodded, but her eyes slid away from his, fixing on something over his shoulder. Her hand moved to the necklace at her throat—that nervous habit he’d noticed she had when something bothered her.
She started to turn toward her door, then paused and looked back at him. “Timothy?”
“Yes?”
She stepped close enough that he could smell the subtle floral scent of her perfume. “Thank you for tonight. For dinner. For being . . . you.”
The words cut deeper than they should have, a reminder of all the lies between them.
He wanted her to know the real him. Which was a problem within itself.
Before he could respond, she rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his—soft, sweet, and achingly genuine. Her hand came up to rest against his chest, right over his heart that hammered with equal parts longing and guilt.
Hudson kissed her back, memorizing the moment even as he knew it might be one of the last times she’d look at him with trust in her eyes.
