Chapter 26
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
Natalie listened to the plan with growing clarity about what she had to do.
She’d tell her father about the attack. It made sense. She needed an explanation that would satisfy his questions without revealing the truth.
The truth that she was sitting in a compound with people who believed he was a terrorist.
The truth that she was starting to believe them.
“It only makes sense that I tell him what happened.” Natalie kept her voice calm despite the turmoil in her chest. “If I don’t, he’ll be suspicious. He probably already knows something happened. He was tracking my phone, after all.”
“We’ve taken care of the phone tracking,” Colton said. “When we cloned your number, we made sure any location data shows you in Virginia Beach or Norfolk. As far as your father knows, you’ve been in the area all night.”
Clever. These people thought of everything.
“So I tell him Timothy and I were at the beach,” Natalie continued, working through the logic. “We were attacked by men we didn’t know. Timothy protected me and got us to safety. I was too shaken to drive home, so I slept at his place while he stayed on the couch.”
She felt Hudson’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him. Looking at him made it harder to maintain the professional distance she needed.
“And now I want to keep Timothy close,” she continued. “Because I’m frightened. Because whoever attacked us might come back. Because he makes me feel protected.”
The irony of that last part wasn’t lost on her. Hudson made her feel protected while simultaneously being one of the people she needed protection from.
“That’s perfect,” Ty said. “It gives you a plausible reason for any behavioral changes your father might notice.”
“There’s one more thing.” Colton shifted in his seat. “We need you to press your father about his upcoming travel. Mention that you’re worried about him too, that with everything happening, you want to make sure he’s safe. Ask about his security arrangements, his plans.”
“The Dubai trip,” Natalie said, understanding. “You want to know if he’s planning another one.”
“Or anything else that might give us insight into Sigma’s timeline,” Colton confirmed.
Natalie took a breath, steeling herself. “Okay. I can do this.”
“We’ll have people watching,” Hudson added. “If anything goes wrong, you’ll have backup.”
She hated hearing the concern in his voice.
Hated having to remind herself he didn’t care. That the concern was probably him forgetting he didn’t have to pretend anymore.
Before her emotions could get the best of her, she stood. “We should get ready to go. The longer I wait to contact my father, the more suspicious it will look.”
As the team dispersed to prepare, Natalie allowed herself a moment of doubt. She was about to walk back into her father’s office, look him in the eye, and lie about everything.
She was becoming exactly what she’d hated—a manipulator, a deceiver, someone who used trust as a weapon.
But if it meant finding the truth, if it meant stopping an attack that could kill thousands of innocent people, then she’d do it.
Even if it destroyed whatever was left of her soul in the process.
The helicopter ride back felt too short.
Hudson needed more time—time to figure out what to say to Natalie, how to make her understand his thoughts, his feelings.
But time was a luxury they didn’t have.
They landed at a private airfield where Maverick had already delivered Hudson’s Lexus. From there, he and Natalie would drive to the marina in Pungo where Natalie’s BMW still sat behind the cluster of trees, abandoned from last night’s chaos.
The drive was silent except for the hum of the engine. Natalie stared out the window, her jaw set, her posture rigid.
When they reached the marina—deserted in the gray morning light—Hudson pulled up beside her BMW and parked. The boat they’d stolen was still gone, probably impounded by local authorities. The dock where they’d nearly died looked peaceful, almost innocent.
No signs of what had happened remained.
“My colleagues came by this morning and checked out your car,” Hudson told her. “It’s clean. No trackers or bombs.”
“Comforting . . .” she muttered.
“We’re just trying to cover every base.”
“I appreciate that.” She drew in a shaky breath.
Hudson tilted his head. “Having second thoughts?”
“I . . . I don’t know.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I got to witness a chemical attack firsthand once.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
His expression remained grim. “Yes, really.”
“What happened?” Maybe she shouldn’t ask the question. But how could she not?
“My team and I were overseas. We were supposed to stop it from happening. But things went south fast. The chemicals were used before we could stop them—and one of my colleagues did try to stop it. It cost him his life.”
Her throat tightened. “I’m so sorry.”
“Do you know what a nerve agent actually does?” Hudson asked.
Natalie shook her head. “Not really.”
“It attacks your nervous system—the signals your brain sends to your muscles, your lungs, everything that keeps you alive. Within seconds of exposure, you can’t breathe properly.
Your chest feels like it’s being crushed.
Then come the convulsions—your body jerking and seizing while you’re fully conscious and aware of what’s happening.
Three to five minutes later, your respiratory system shuts down completely. ”
He paused, letting that sink in.
Nausea roiled in her stomach at the thought of all this.
“If this ship deploys its cargo in a major city during rush hour, we’re looking at mass casualties.
Survivors will have permanent brain damage, nerve damage, psychological trauma.
Emergency services will be completely overwhelmed—there’s no way to treat that many people at once.
It will be chaos, Natalie. Mass casualties on a scale this country hasn’t seen since 9/11. ”
That settled it. There was no way she could walk away from this.
Even if it cost her everything.
“Okay then. We should get busy. There’s no time to waste.” Natalie reached for the door handle, ready to get this over with.
Ready to be away from Hudson.
“Wait,” Hudson said. “Natalie, we need to—”
“Let’s keep this professional.” Her voice sounded cold, final. “You’re Timothy Shaw. I’m your girlfriend who’s scared after last night. That’s all we need to be.”
“That’s not all we—”
“Hudson.” She turned to look at him for the first time since they’d left Blackout, and the emptiness in her eyes made his chest ache. “The mission comes first. It always has. Remember? So let’s focus on the mission.”
She climbed out of his car before he could respond then moved toward her BMW with quick, efficient steps.
So, she had heard everything he’d said in the conference room.
The mission comes first. It always has.
He got out and approached as she unlocked the door. He knew his presence wasn’t welcome, but he didn’t feel right not walking her to her car.
“I’ll text you when I’m ready to go to my father’s office.” She refused to look at him, choosing to stare off into the distance instead. “Play the concerned boyfriend. It shouldn’t be hard—you’ve had three months of practice.”
The words were designed to hurt, and they did. But Hudson knew he deserved them.
“For what it’s worth,” he said quietly, “I’m sorry. For all of it.”
Natalie paused, her hand on the car door.
For a moment, Hudson thought she might say something, might give him a chance to explain.
Instead, she slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine.