Chapter 55
CHAPTER
FIFTY-FIVE
A knot formed in Natalie’s throat. “I can’t, Hudson. It’s too late. Too much has happened between us. Even if you mean those words, I don’t know that I can ever move past this betrayal—even if I’m very tempted.”
He stared at her a moment, and the pain in his gaze nearly broke her. “I understand.”
Then without saying anything else, he turned and left.
She heard Hudson’s footsteps fade down the hallway.
Only then did she let herself sink onto the bed, her carefully maintained composure crumbling.
She’d done it. She’d stood up for herself, drawn a line, refused to be manipulated anymore.
So why did it feel like she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life?
Natalie pressed her hands to her face, feeling the tears she’d been holding back finally spill over.
She’d wanted Hudson to be different. Had wanted to believe that what they’d had was special, that he saw her as more than just Richard Ravenscroft’s daughter or a useful intelligence asset.
But in the end, he’d been just like all the others her father had tried to set her up with. Just like Matthew and Jonathan and David. Men with agendas. Men who saw her as a tool to be used.
The only difference was that she’d actually fallen for Hudson.
And that made the betrayal cut so much deeper.
Natalie wiped her eyes and forced herself to stand, to finish packing, to prepare for whatever came next.
She’d made her choice. She’d chosen herself, her autonomy, her self-respect.
Even if it meant losing the man she loved.
Even if her heart was breaking.
Because she deserved better than lies. Better than manipulation. Better than men who thought they knew what was best for her.
She deserved the truth.
And if Hudson couldn’t give her that—if he’d waited until she was literally walking out the door before finally being honest—then he didn’t deserve her.
No matter how much it hurt to admit it.
But maybe Hudson wasn’t the only one she should be standing up to.
Maybe she should stand up to her father also.
Maybe she shouldn’t go to Italy. Maybe she should stay here and stop a terrorist attack instead.
Hudson closed the door to his room and leaned against it, his chest tight with an ache that had nothing to do with his bruised ribs.
Natalie’s words echoed in his head, each repetition driving the knife deeper.
She was right. About all of it.
He’d become exactly what he’d always despised—someone who used people, who manipulated feelings, who justified lying because the ends supposedly justified the means.
And now he’d lost her. Completely and irrevocably.
Hudson pushed off the door and grabbed his phone. He texted Colton about the meeting with Jonathan Rutter. Colton responded right away that he would put someone on it.
Then Hudson moved to the window and stared out at the grounds of the Ravenscroft estate. Guards made their rounds. Everything looked peaceful, controlled, secure.
But tomorrow, everything would change.
Tomorrow, the raid would happen. The chemical weapons would be seized—or they wouldn’t. Ravenscroft would be arrested—or he’d escape. And thousands of lives hung in the balance.
That was what mattered now. Not his broken heart. Not what he’d lost with Natalie. The mission. Only the mission.
It was all he had left.
A soft knock at his door stopped him mid-thought.
His hand instinctively moved toward the weapon he’d hidden in his bag. An unexpected visitor meant either trouble or—
“Hudson?” Natalie’s voice came through the door, quiet and urgent. “Can I come in?”
Hudson crossed to the door in three strides and opened it.
Natalie stood in the hallway, her hair slightly disheveled like she’d been running her hands through it. Her eyes were red-rimmed but dry, and her jaw was set with determination.
“Natalie? What’s wrong?”
“I’m not going to Italy,” she said without preamble, her voice low but firm. “I’m leaving. Now. Before my father can stop me.”
Hudson’s mind immediately went tactical, assessing threats and calculating risks. “Leaving to go where?”
“I don’t know yet. Somewhere safe. Somewhere I can think clearly without my father or his security or—” She stopped, her eyes meeting his. “I need to get out of here. Away from all of this. And I need help.”
“Natalie, if you run now, your father will—”
“My father will what? Force me onto a plane anyway? Lock me in my room? He’s already treating me like a prisoner, Hudson. I can’t stay here. Not when I don’t know if he’s planning a terrorist attack or being framed for one. Not when I don’t know who to trust.”
She took a breath, steadying herself.
“I know I said there’s no future for us. I know you lied to me, and I can’t forget that. But right now, you’re the only person who might actually help me without an agenda. So I’m asking—will you help me leave? Or are you going to try to convince me to stay because it serves your mission?”
The question hung between them, weighted with everything that had been said in her room just minutes ago.