Page 41 of Hidden Obsession

Chapter Eighteen

“Where’s Mason?”Cleo turned to look all around her in the commotion. One minute she had been pinned beneath him, the next he was gone and a policeman was helping her to her feet.

“Who, Miss?” The young cop didn’t seem to know what she was talking about.

Cleo ignored him as she scanned the area looking for Mason. Police were everywhere, Shane was talking to a detective and the rest of the team seemed to have dispersed—probably looking for Spears and his gutless followers.

The last few hours had been torture, but nothing was as bad as seeing the fear and hurt on the face of the man she loved. She had never meant to hurt him, but what else could she do? Spears had threatened to kill the only relative that gave a shit about her. A woman who had risked it all to help keep her safe. How could Cleo walk away from that?

Her heart had practically ripped open when she saw him, her eyes never leaving him. Tucking it away in her mind so his strength and what they had shared would last her a lifetime in the hell she knew Spears would create for her.

Cleo had died inside at the thought of never seeing him again, of never having him hold her and make love to her, but at least he would be safe.

Then he’d uttered the words that had set her free from the evil lies. Her grandmother was safe. She’d known just looking at his face that he was telling the truth. Mason would never lie to her.

Her body rocked back as she felt a hand on her shoulder and she spun, hoping it was Mason, but she was disappointed and couldn’t hide it. “Travis! Have you seen Mason?”

He shook his head as he frowned. “No, last I saw he was diving on top of you to protect you from the gunfire.”

“He did, and then he was pulled away, and I can’t find him.”

Travis took her arm, his grip firm as if he was leading a child and steered her toward the back of an ambulance. She wasn’t sure if it was fatigue or lack of food, but she was feeling disconnected from the ruckus around her.

“Sit here and let the EMTs look at you and I’ll go and look for Mason.”

Cleo watched as Travis jogged over to Shane and Emme and spoke to them before he pointed in her direction and all three looked around them. A blanket was hung around her shoulders as an older male EMT dabbed at the cuts on her knees. She was in shock; she knew that. She felt like she was watching everything from afar. The only thing she felt was fear that Mason wasn’t there holding her.

Fear pitted and rolled in her gut like the poisonous snakes that had sat on her desk. Something was very wrong. Mason would not just leave her here; he would have stayed to make sure she was okay. There wasn’t a lot she was sure of right then, but she knew that. Ignoring the EMT’s protests she moved off the back of the ambulance and walked over to Shane, Emme, and Travis on leaden feet.

Emme immediately wrapped her in her arms. “Hey, sweetie.”

Cleo looked at her friend, and her eyes begged for answers, “Where is he?” She desperately wanted Emme to tell her he had been sent after Spears, but as she watched Emme close down her emotions and the sympathetic look crowd in, she knew.

“We don’t know, honey. Shane has the others out looking for Spears and Mason as we speak.”

Cleo felt the sob tear from her and Shane caught her as her legs went from under her. Strong arms held her as she cried, but they were not the arms she wanted. There was only one man she wanted to hold her for the rest of her life, and he was missing.

“Why don’t I take her home with me while you and your team stay and look for Mason?” She looked up suddenly, desperate to stay in case there was any news and her hands gripped Travis’s arms as she turned to him. “No, I have to stay in case he needs me.”

He held her firmly by her biceps and looked at her with a hard, unflinching gaze. “He needs you to be safe. Emme can keep you updated every step of the way but Mason wouldn’t be happy if something happened to you while he wasn’t here.”

Cleo knew he was right, but it felt wrong to leave when Mason was missing. “Let me stay until the others check-in and then I’ll go with you, I promise.”

Travis looked annoyed but quickly hid it with a nod. “Fine.”

They didn’t have to wait long before she saw Cain, Nick, and the others walking toward them looking downcast. Her eyes searched for Mason, as she craned her neck to see him, but he wasn’t there. She moved forward, and King addressed Shane. “We lost Spears when he hit the highway. He had a van parked and waiting.”

“Mason?” Shane’s voice was clipped.

“Difficult to say. They were carrying something that could have been him, but it could have been one of his men who got hit too. As soon as we get back, we can have Alex go through the CCTV footage and see if we can narrow anything down.” King shot her a sympathetic look, and she wanted to scream at them all. She knew they were being kind, but she felt angry. Angry that this had happened to them, that Spears had found her and ruined her life.

“Let’s get you home. I’ll stay with you at Mason’s place if you prefer. That way you’re around his stuff, and if by some chance he manages to get home, you’re there and safe.”

Travis made sense, and Cleo nodded, suddenly feeling like her legs could no longer hold her up. She allowed him to start leading her away to his car but turned back to Emme. “You’ll keep me updated?”

Emme nodded. “Of course we will. As soon as we hear anything, I’ll call you.”

Cleo nodded and allowed Travis to help her into the car and buckle her in. He was an excellent friend to Mason and now her.