Page 62 of Critical Mass
Natalie’s eyes met his, and Hudson saw the question there:Can we?
He wished he could tell her about the bug, about the surveillance team already monitoring Ravenscroft’s communications. But it was better if she didn’t know. Better if her reactions remained genuine, if Ravenscroft saw only a frightened daughter and her protective boyfriend.
The less Natalie knew about the operation, the safer she’d be.
At least, that’s what Hudson told himself.
Richard Ravenscroft cleared his throat—drawing Hudson’s attention—as he stood his office doorway. “Mr. Shaw. A word?”
Hudson’s pulse quickened, but he kept his expression neutral. “Of course, sir.”
This private conversation would be the ultimate test, the place where Hudson found out if he’d sold his cover story or not.
He prayed—not just for his own sake but for the sake of thousands of innocent lives—that this plan so far had worked.
Hudson followed Ravenscroft back into the office, acutely aware that this was both an opportunity and a trap. Ravenscroft would be assessing him, looking for any sign of deception, any indication that Timothy Shaw wasn’t who he claimed to be.
Hudson had been trained for this. He could handle it.
But as Richard Ravenscroft closed the door and turned to face him with eyes that had seen too much and knew too much, Hudson couldn’t shake the feeling that he was standing in a room with a man who’d killed before and wouldn’t hesitate to do so again.
“My daughter seems quite taken with you.” Ravenscroft’s tone sounded conversational, but his gaze remained sharp as a knife. “That concerns me.”
“I understand, sir. If I were in your position, I’d feel the same way.”
Ravenscroft moved closer, invading Hudson’s personal space in a clear power play. But Hudson was clearly taller and stronger. Still, Ravenscroft had every resource imaginable at his disposal. He could hire men to do his dirty work.
“Would you?” Ravenscroft asked. “Because from where I’m standing, you appeared in my daughter’s life three months ago, and now she’s being targeted by dangerous people. That’s quite a coincidence.”
Hudson held his ground. “With all due respect, sir, Natalie was most likely targeted because of who her father is, not because of me.”
Something flickered in Ravenscroft’s eyes—surprise maybe or reassessment.
Ravenscroft nodded slowly. “Which means you understand the danger she’s in. The question is, Mr. Shaw, are you equipped to handle that danger? Or are you just going to make things worse?”
“I kept her alive last night,” Hudson said. “I’ll keep her alive tonight, tomorrow, and every day after that. That’s not an empty promise, sir. It’s a fact.”
Ravenscroft studied him for a long moment. “We’ll see about that. Dinner. Seven o’clock. Don’t be late.”
It was a dismissal but also a challenge.
Hudson had passed the first test, but there would be more. Many more.
As he left the office and rejoined Natalie in the hallway, Hudson knew they were walking a dangerous edge. One wrong move, one slip, and everything would come crashing down.
So he’d go to dinner at Richard Ravenscroft’s house. He’d smile and lie and play the role of concerned boyfriend.
And all the while, the bug he’d planted in the man’s office would be listening, recording, gathering the evidence they needed to stop a massacre.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-THREE
Natalie calmly steppedinto her office, trying to appear like nothing was wrong. But she sensed Hudson had something on his mind.
As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned toward her.
“There was a man in the hallway. Mid-thirties, dark beard, blue eyes.”
