Chapter 35
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
Natalie climbed into Hudson’s Lexus, her hands shaking as she slammed the door shut.
Strangers had been in her house. In her bedroom. Going through her things.
Looking for what?
Hudson started the engine, and they pulled out of the driveway and onto the road leading back to the office. Her mind continued to race.
Should she tell her father? Should she call the police? Should she—
She glanced at Hudson and saw the tension in his jaw, the way his eyes kept flicking to his mirrors.
“What’s wrong?” she murmured.
She glanced behind them.
Then she saw it. A black sedan followed them.
Natalie’s pulse spiked.
Were these the same men from the marina? The ones that had run her off the road and into the ditch? Had they found her house, broken in, and now were following her?
“It’s going to be okay,” Hudson murmured. “We just need to stay calm.”
Stay calm. Easy for him to say. He did this kind of thing for a living.
Natalie forced herself to breathe steadily.
The drive back to Ravenscroft International felt like it took hours instead of minutes. The black sedan stayed three cars back, professional and patient. Hudson kept his cool, never even breaking a sweat.
But she saw how he kept glancing in the rearview mirror.
They pulled into the parking garage, the black sedan following still.
Her heart pounded harder.
She needed to trust Hudson, to trust that he had a plan.
But coming in here seemed like a terrible idea.
Those men could draw their guns and shoot them—and no one would be the wiser.
Not to mention the fact that whoever was in that car had followed them deliberately, openly.
That meant either they wanted to be seen, or they didn’t care about being noticed.
Neither option was good.
Hudson threw the car into Park and jumped out in a matter of seconds. He positioned himself between Natalie and the black sedan as it pulled into a spot across from them.
His hand moved to his concealed weapon.
The sedan’s doors opened, and two men stepped out. Big, professional, wearing dark suits.
Not Sigma operatives, Hudson’s instincts told him. These guys were too visible, too official.
“Mr. Shaw?” one of them called out, hands raised and non-threatening. “We’re not here to cause trouble.”
“Then why are you following us?” Hudson kept his voice level, his body angled to shield Natalie.
“We’re security.” The man made a show of carefully reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a badge reading United International Security Services. “Mr. Ravenscroft hired us to keep an eye on his daughter. Given last night’s incident, he thought additional protection was warranted.”
Hudson’s stomach sank.
Richard Ravenscroft had put surveillance on his own daughter.
Which meant every conversation they had, every place they went, every move they made would be watched and reported back.
“We were going to meet you at her house, but we arrived right as you were leaving,” the man continued. “We followed you instead.”
“Does Natalie know about this?” Hudson asked, though he already knew the answer.
“Mr. Ravenscroft felt it was better to keep things discreet.” The man’s expression remained professionally neutral. “But since you noticed us, we’re making ourselves known. We’ll be maintaining a protective detail on Ms. Ravenscroft until further notice.”
Hudson heard Natalie step out of the car and walk toward them. She’d obviously overheard part of the conversation.
“My father sent you?” Her voice was tight with barely controlled anger. “He’s having me followed?”
“Protected, ma’am. There’s a difference.”
“Is there?” Natalie stepped around Hudson, her fear apparently overridden by fury. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like surveillance.”
“Your father is concerned for your safety,” the second man said. “After last night—”
“After last night, I told him I felt safe with Timothy.” Natalie’s voice rose. “I specifically said I didn’t want people hovering around me.”
“With all due respect, ma’am, what you want and what’s necessary for your protection aren’t always the same thing.”
Hudson watched the exchange, already calculating the complications this created. How were he and Natalie supposed to gather intelligence on Ravenscroft when security was watching their every move?
How was Natalie supposed to search her father’s files, listen to his conversations, and ask probing questions when she had constant surveillance?
This was exactly what they didn’t need.
“Gentlemen . . .” Hudson kept his voice calm but firm.
“I appreciate your concern for Natalie’s safety.
But having visible security following her everywhere is only going to make the people who attacked us last night more cautious.
They’ll wait for a better opportunity. You’re making her a harder target but not a safer one. ”
The first man considered Hudson’s words. “Mr. Ravenscroft was clear in his instructions.”
“Then perhaps we should all have a conversation with Mr. Ravenscroft,” Hudson suggested. “Together.”
The two security agents exchanged glances.
Then the first one said, “We’ll inform Mr. Ravenscroft of this discussion. But until he tells us otherwise, we maintain our position.”
The men got back in their sedan but didn’t leave. Just sat there, watching, waiting.
Hudson turned to Natalie and saw the mix of anger and fear and frustration on her face.
“This complicates things,” she whispered.
That was an understatement. With Ravenscroft’s security team shadowing them, the operation just became ten times more difficult—and ten times more dangerous.
Because now they had to assume everything they did was being reported back to Natalie’s dad.
Which meant one wrong move, one slip, one moment of carelessness, and Ravenscroft would know his daughter was working against him.
And Hudson had no idea what a hardcore businessman like him would do to someone who betrayed him.
Even if that someone was his own daughter.