Page 58 of Hidden Obsession

“Then, there you have it. Move in with him, make a life together, and trust the rest will work out.”

Cleo mused on her grandmother’s words as they ate lunch. Perhaps her nana was right, and she should blindly trust it would work out. Or more importantly that it would work out because Mason would make it so.

* * *

In the threeweeks since her lunch with her grandmother, Cleo had been playing her words over and over in her head and concluded she was right. Not that she should have doubted her. Her nana was the wisest person she knew and had never steered her wrong.

She’d planned to take Mason to the beach that evening and tell him she wanted them to take the next step but her plan had been thwarted when he’d called half an hour earlier to say he had to work and would she meet him in the conference room at the office at three.

It was Saturday afternoon, and with her plans now on hold, she’d agreed, assuming he was working overtime on whatever mission he’d been working the last few weeks.

It had been top secret, and he and Shane—along with Malco and Mercy—had spent hours locked away in the conference room working on it.

She knew the new government contracts they had won there would be eyes-only work that even with her clearance she wouldn’t be allowed to see, and guessed this was one of them.

The Agency was silent as she stepped through the door and saw Mason step from the conference room and walked toward her. “Hey!” She greeted him as he reached her and took her in his arms and kissed her long and deep until she leaned into him.

“Um, I needed that.”

“Bad day?”

“No, just that I always seem to need you.”

“So why am I here?”

“I have someone here to see you, but before we go in, I want you to know that whatever happens here today I love you more than anything in this world and always will.”

“You’re scaring me, Mason.” Her heart pounded at his words as if sensing something was happening.

“Don’t be afraid, beautiful. I’d never do anything to hurt you. I just want you to know I will always support you.”

“Okay.”

Cleo was partly intrigued and slightly frightened, but she trusted Mason and knew he would never hurt her. He leaned in and kissed her again and his scent enveloped her, the taste of him grounding her as much as it made her want to fly.

She pulled back and gazed at the handsome man she loved. “Let’s find out what you’ve been up to then.”

She held his hand as they walked to the conference room. She stopped at the closed door sensing that something important lay behind that door. Something life-changing and knew whatever came next, she would be okay because she had Mason at her back.

She turned to him. “When this is done, I want to talk to you about us looking at those new homes in Kendal.”

Cleo watched as the smile she loved split his face. “Does that mean you want us to move in together?”

“Yes, I do. I want us to take the next step, Mason.”

He pulled her closer and looked at her with so much love. “Have I told you how much I love you today?”

Cleo looked up and pursed her lips in mock thought. “I don’t think you have.” It was a small lie.

“Well, how remiss of me. Let me rectify that. I love you, Cleo Darwin. More and more every single day.”

“I love you too, Mason. Now, let’s get this show on the road so we can go home.”

Cleo held Mason’s hand, and she pushed down on the handle of the door. It swung open, and Cleo couldn’t stop the gasp that came from her as she saw her mother and father sitting with her grandmother, Shane, and Emme. She turned to look at Mason, tears already blinding her eyes.

“Go, baby, they have a lot to say, and I think you should listen.” Mason steered Cleo inside and gave her a gentle push in her parents’ direction.

“Cleo?” Her mom stood on uncertain legs, her father beside her.

Cleo glanced at her nana who nodded, the wet tears in her eyes a testament to how she felt. “It’s okay, Cleo. They are here to make amends.”

Cleo walked toward her parents, noting the way they had aged in the years since she’d seen them. Time had not been as kind to them as it had her nana. “I don’t understand?” She looked to Mason for answers as she knew she always would.

“We contacted your parents and discovered they were trying to get away from Spears, had been trying for years with no success. We helped them get away, and they helped us get enough evidence to shut Spears and his entire organization down. As we speak, he’s in FBI custody, and his compound is being dismantled.”

Cleo could hardly believe the words he was saying, but she knew he would never lie to her. The magnitude of what he was saying hit her. It was over, the cloud lifted, and all that lay in her future was rainbows and sunshine and the man she loved.