Chapter 16
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
“Fine,” Natalie said stiffly, pushing away from Hudson.
This time, he let her go.
“I’ll listen,” she continued. “But I’m not promising to believe anything you say ever again.”
Hudson climbed to his feet and offered her his hand.
She ignored it, standing on her own, her legs shaky but holding.
She walked past him into the hallway, her spine straight, refusing to let him see how terrified she really was.
Colton waited near a doorway, his expression carefully neutral, though she suspected he’d heard the commotion.
“This way, Ms. Ravenscroft.” He gestured toward what appeared to be a conference room.
Natalie followed him, Hudson behind her like a shadow she couldn’t shake.
She paused inside the doorway.
The conference room was smaller than the main operations area, with a long table and several comfortable-looking chairs. And on the table—
Water. Coffee in a white ceramic mug—two creams, one sugar sitting beside it. Exactly the way she liked it. A turkey sandwich cut diagonally, with a small bag of salt and vinegar chips. Her favorite.
And folded neatly on the chair was an oversized sweatshirt in navy blue, still warm from what must have been a dryer.
Someone had been paying attention. Someone knew her preferences, her habits, her favorites.
Hudson.
All those details he remembered about her that she’d marveled over had just been part of his assignment.
The realization should have made her more frightened. Instead, she just felt exhausted.
Natalie picked up the sweatshirt, emblazoned with Michigan Wolverines across the front, and slipped it on over her ruined dress.
At least it was dry now. The sweatshirt was enormous, hanging past her hips, the sleeves swallowing her hands.
But it was warm and dry and soft, and she was so cold she didn’t care how ridiculous she looked.
She sat in the chair, pulled the coffee toward her, added the cream and sugar, and wrapped her hands around the mug. The warmth seeped into her frozen fingers.
“Okay.” Her voice sounded steadier than she felt. “I’m listening.”
She was trapped here—by circumstances, by danger, by her own lack of options. The least she could do was hear what they had to say.
Then she’d decide whether Hudson Roberts and his team were really trying to help her, or if she’d just traded one nightmare for another.
Hudson stood near the wall, arms crossed, watching Natalie cradle the coffee mug like a lifeline. He’d faced down enemy combatants, survived firefights in three different countries, infiltrated organizations that would have killed him without hesitation if they’d discovered his identity.
But standing in this conference room, waiting to watch Natalie’s world shatter completely, he felt something he rarely experienced in the field: nervousness.
The door opened, and Ty Chambers walked in—tall, broad-shouldered, with a presence that commanded immediate respect.
He pulled out a chair across from Natalie and extended his hand. “Ms. Ravenscroft, I’m Ty Chambers, cofounder of Blackout. I know this evening has been traumatic for you, and I apologize for the circumstances that brought you here.”
Natalie shook his hand mechanically, her eyes wary.
Colton took the seat beside Ty, his posture relaxed but his gaze sharp. “I’m sure you want to know what’s going on.”
“That would be nice,” Natalie said.
Despite everything, Hudson heard the bite of sarcasm in her tone. She was scared, but she wasn’t broken.
Good.
Colton folded his hands on the table. “Ms. Ravenscroft, we have reason to believe that your father, Richard Ravenscroft, is the leader of a major terrorist organization known as Sigma.”
Hudson watched Natalie’s eyes widen, saw the color drain from her already-pale face. Her fingers tightened on the coffee mug until her knuckles went white.
He knew what she was feeling. He’d listened to her talk about her father for three months—the man who’d comforted her after her mother died, who’d sat with her through every childhood illness, who’d sung that ridiculous “Miss Mary Mack” song whenever she scraped her knee to make her stop crying.
She’d told him that story one night, laughing at the memory of her serious businessman father clapping his hands and doing the silly hand gestures to distract her from the pain.
Richard Ravenscroft wasn’t just a father to Natalie.
He was her entire family.
“Sigma?” she questioned. “I’ve heard of them, but I don’t know much about them.”
“Sigma is an elite group of terrorists,” Ty told her.
“They recruit former government officials and members of the military to join their organization by telling them that Sigma is actually a covert government organization. They lead these people to believe they’re fighting terrorism and threats against the US when in truth they are the terrorists. ”
Her face went paler. “Go on.”
“So far, the group has been responsible for leaving bombs up and down the coast,” Ty continued.
“They developed technology to try to control major storm systems. They were the culprits in a massive power outage on the East Coast. And they tried to set off a bomb at Naval Station Norfolk. Those are just the highlights.”
“That’s terrible.”
“We’ve been trying to pinpoint the group’s leader,” Colton said. “And that led us to your father.”
“No.” Natalie shook her head, her voice firm despite the tremor in her hands. “That’s not possible. You’re wrong. My father is a businessman. He runs a shipping company. He donates to charities. He’s not a—he wouldn’t—”
“Ms. Ravenscroft,” Ty’s voice sounded gentle, “we have extensive evidence—”
“I don’t care what evidence you think you have.” Natalie stood abruptly, the chair scraping back. “My father would never hurt innocent people. He’s not a terrorist.”
Hudson saw the panic building in her posture, the way her eyes darted toward the door. She was going to run again.
“Natalie,” he said quietly.
She froze at the sound of his voice.
“Please,” he continued. “Just look at what they have to show you. Then decide.”