Page 70 of Critical Mass
Hudson went into the guest bathroom and changed quickly, pulling on dark slacks and a button-down shirt, the kind of outfit Timothy Shaw would wear to make a good impression.
As he buttoned his shirt, Hudson caught his reflection in the mirror over the dresser. He looked like a civilian. Like a consultant boyfriend nervous about meeting his girlfriend’s father.
But his eyes told a different story. They held the wariness of someone walking into a potential trap, the calculation of an operative assessing threats, and the tension of a man who knew tonight could go catastrophically wrong.
Because that was what this dinner really was—a trap waiting to spring.
Hudson just didn’t know yet who had set it.
Before leaving the bathroom, Hudson checked his phone.
Jake would be tailing them. Atlas was already in position near Ravenscroft’s estate. Maverick was monitoring communications from a van disguised to look like a communications company vehicle. Colton and Ty were at headquarters, ready to coordinate if things went sideways.
They had backup. They had contingency plans. They had every advantage careful preparation could provide.
But Hudson had learned long ago that no amount of planning could account for every variable. Sometimes operations went wrong simply because human beings were unpredictable.
And Richard Ravenscroft was one of the most unpredictable variables Hudson had ever encountered.
He closed his eyes a moment and tried to steady himself.
God,I need wisdom tonight. Help me see clearly, speak carefully, protect Natalie even when she doesn’t want my protection. And please—please let us find the truth before innocent people die.
The prayer felt inadequate, but it was all he had.
Hudson opened his eyes and checked his weapon—secured in an ankle holster, hidden but accessible.
Tonight could change everything. He could gather the intelligence they needed to stop Critical Mass.
Or he could blow the entire operation and put Natalie in more danger than she’d ever been in before.
In a few minutes, they would head toward Richard Ravenscroft’s estate.
Toward answers.
Toward danger.
Toward whatever truth was waiting at the end of this web of lies.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-EIGHT
Natalie adjustedher dress one last time, studying her reflection in the full-length mirror in her bedroom. The burgundy color had always made her feel confident, put-together.
Tonight, she needed every bit of confidence she could muster.
She was about to have dinner with her father while secretly trying to determine if he was planning a terrorist attack. While being watched by his security team. While pretending to be in a relationship with a man who’d been lying to her for three months.
No pressure.
Her hands shook slightly as she applied lipstick, and she forced them to steady. She couldn’t show weakness tonight. Couldn’t let her father see her fear or her doubt.
She had to be Natalie Ravenscroft, confident daughter and woman in control.
Even if inside she was falling apart.
Natalie took a deep breath and headed downstairs, steeling herself to see Hudson. To play the role of girlfriend. To pretendeverything was normal when nothing had been normal since last night.
