Page 10 of Critical Mass
But here at the marina, everything was still.
Waiting.
Hudson’s muscles coiled as the soft crunch of footsteps on gravel hit his ears. Whoever was following him was trying to be quiet but lacked the training to move in true silence. He could track their approach by sound alone—hesitant steps, pausing every few feet, the nervous breathing of someone out of their element.
He narrowed his eyes.
Sigma would be better than this. Their operatives moved like ghosts.
The footsteps grew closer, and Hudson prepared to spring. He already ran through the interrogation in his mind—who sent you, what does Sigma know, how much danger is Natalie in?
A shadow detached itself from the tree line, moving toward his Lexus with careful, uncertain steps.
Hudson waited until the person following him was past his position, back to him before he moved.
In three silent strides, he was behind his pursuer. One hand reached to grab the person’s shoulder and spin them around while the other moved to control any potential weapon.
“Don’t move,” he commanded, his voice low and dangerous.
The figure gasped and stumbled backward, hands flying up in startled surrender.
In the weak glow of the security light, Hudson saw delicate features, wide brown eyes, dark hair falling loose around slim shoulders.
His world tilted on its axis.
He had to be seeing things.
But he wasn’t. It was . . .
“Natalie?”
CHAPTER
FIVE
Natalie’s heartslammed against her ribs as strong hands spun her around.
She stumbled backward, her feet catching on the uneven gravel, and threw her hands up instinctively.
“Don’t move,” the man said.
It sounded like Timothy’s voice—yet not Timothy’s voice at the same time.
The tone was harder, colder—the voice of someone used to giving commands and being obeyed.
For a terrifying moment, she couldn’t breathe.
The security light cast harsh shadows across the face of the man she’d known for three months, making him look like a stranger.
And maybe he was.
Maybe he’d always been a stranger.
A cry lodged in her throat at the thought.
“Timothy?” Her voice came out smaller than she’d intended, shaking with fear and confusion.
He stared at her, and she watched something shift in his expression—shock, then what looked almost like pain. His hand dropped from her shoulder, and he took a step back.
