Page 97 of Critical Mass
Unless her father wanted to get Hudson somewhere isolated, away from witnesses, where anything could happen.
Her father stood. “Now, I have some business to attend to before we leave. Natalie, why don’t you pack your things? Timothy, let me know about your schedule as soon as you can.”
He left the dining room, and Natalie immediately turned to Hudson.
“I’m supposed to meet someone at two,” she whispered.
Hudson squinted with confusion. “What? Who?”
“Jonathan Rutter. He’s one of the men my father tried to fix me up with. He texted last night and said he knows something he needs to tell me.”
“Why didn’t he tell you on the phone?”
She shrugged. “He said he couldn’t.”
His jaw hardened. “I don’t like the sound of that. It could be a trap.”
“Or this could be the information we need!”
“It sounds like a terrible idea.”
“We’ve had a lot of terrible ideas lately!”
Silence stretched between them for a moment.
Then she whispered, “I don’t want to go to Italy. I need to stay here. I need to help stop this.”
“I know.”
“So what do we do?”
Hudson’s jaw tightened. “I’m working on it.”
Natalie saw the worry in his eyes.
Whatever was happening today, whatever her father was planning or hiding from, they were running out of time to stop it.
And if they got on that plane to Italy, they might not get another chance.
CHAPTER
FIFTY-FOUR
Natalie climbedthe stairs to her bedroom, the weight of the Italy trip pressing down on her like a physical burden.
Her father had been insistent at brunch—they’d leave at three o’clock, no delays, no excuses.
She didn’t always obey her father. She was an adult, after all.
But he wasn’t always this insistent. When he was like this, she knew better than to argue.
And what should she do about Jonathan? He could have information that they needed.
Could she sneak away?
She pulled her suitcase from the closet and stared at it, remembering the last time she’d packed for a trip with her father. A weekend in the mountains when she was sixteen, back when everything had been simple. Back when she’d trusted him completely.
A soft knock at her door made her turn.
