Page 33 of Hidden Obsession

Chapter Fifteen

The team were once morearound the conference table. Cleo sat beside Mason, recharged and refueled after sharing around coffees and pastries.

She should be tired after the wild night she spent with Mason, but instead, she had energy to spare. At the memories of how he’d lavished her body until she was a complete mass of quivering pleasure she fought a satisfied smile from forming on her lips. Far from complaining, she nonetheless wondered what had triggered it. Mason was usually more of a seducer, but when he’d entered the apartment, intense hunger had taken over him.

In the early hours of the morning as she lay in his arm’s she had told him the entire sordid story about Spears. It had been freeing and he’d held her tight making her feel safe in a way she never had before. She turned to see Emme and Shane entering the room and sitting.

“I see everyone available is here. Malco will join us in a few minutes. Mason, can you do a recap for everyone of what happened yesterday.”

Cleo schooled her features to not show her surprise that something had happened, and that Mason hadn’t told her anything about it last night. Her heart flipped a few times as he described his encounter with the stranger lurking by the building, and he skipped loads of details because it was evident the new bruises on him were due to the fight.

“We’re still looking for footage from anyone with a security camera, but as it’s a residential area, I’m not holding my breath on that one.”

Everyone nodded. There was a chance of finding a private camera out there, but it was a long shot.

Wolf leaned back. “With everything you and the others that were there during the attack have told us, we’ve assessed the attacker to be male, six-two, and a bit under 200 pounds. But fit, with a solid body. Moves like someone who can handle himself.”

Emme nodded. “Does anyone have anything more to bring to the table? Mercy, what have you found on your end?”

Immediately, Cleo turned to the blond bombshell who locked eyes with her for an instant before giving her report.

“I’ve been assigned to keep an eye on Jeffrey Spears, a man linked to Cleo’s past. Cain is currently on surveillance duty. Spears visually fits Wolf’s description of the attacker. The creep is in Miami to see his sister, who has undergone major heart surgery. Both her and their mother have been living in Miami for several years now. So far, he’s spent most of his time either at the hospital or the hotel. He’s on the phone quite a bit but hasn’t disappeared for any length of time. Does he even know Cleo is in Miami?”

As Mercy was giving the rundown on the man, Cleo couldn’t process the fact that Spears was so close before Mason coughed lightly and everyone’s attention turned to him. “If he didn’t know before, he does now. I went to confront him last night at the hospital.”

Cleo was frozen in place, and somehow, the puzzle piece she’d been searching for since last night clicked into place. Mason was a protector, and their night together was a definite claim. ”You didn’t tell me that? What happened?”

Shane groaned. “He didn’t tell anyone. That wasn’t part of the plan, Mason. Why did you think it was a good idea to confront him alone?”

Cleo closed her mouth to any other questions as it was clear their boss wasn’t happy with that particular excursion. Shane never placed blame, but you knew if you made a mistake, and you never repeated it.

Mason squared his shoulder and carried on. “It was a quick chat. If he didn’t know Cleo was in town before, he does now.”

A fear she hadn’t felt in a very long time, one that made her flee her home as a young girl and almost made her want to do the same now, filtered through her system evoking a fight or flight response.

The sudden tension must have shown on her body as Mason immediately covered her twitching hands. “I didn’t want to tell you last night. But I needed to know if the man was involved in what’s going on or not.”

The contact steadied her, and she grabbed him in a tighter hold. “So? What’s your verdict?”

“The man is a liar. He said he wasn’t aware you were in Miami. That may or may not be true. Mercy has been following him, but there’s a chance he hired someone to do his dirty work for him.”

Mercy seemed to agree. “The man is certainly not hands-on. From what I’ve seen, he likes to be waited upon, loves to be the center of attention and direct people.”

Cleo nodded. “I have to admit it fits his character. Back home, he had a few men around him all the time. I’m surprised he didn’t bring them here, although he may have needed them to keep an eye on his followers in Arizona.”

Mason squeezed her hand before addressing the others. “Spears is our best bet, but I agree with Cleo and Mercy. We keep an eye on the chief but search for the minions.”

The team started to brainstorm ideas and Cleo decided to leave them to it feeling overwhelmed. She felt lightheaded with the volume of information she now had to process and knowing Spears had been reminded of her existence didn’t sit well with her stomach, as if all the hard work she had accomplished in disappearing had been for nothing.

Heading for her desk, she felt Mason following her. “Cleo. Look at me.” It was hard to gather her wits and keep a cool head. And it became even harder when he took her into his arms. “I should have told you last night. I’m sorry, love.”

Her arms finally hugged his waist to squeeze him too, a full circle. “It’s fine, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it, and we had better things to do.”

He kissed the top of her head before loosening his hold. “I need to go back in. Are you coming?”

Cleo shook her head. “No, just give me a summary when you have a minute.”

Mason kissed her forehead. “I promise.” And with one last look he disappeared into the conference room.