by Kells, India
“I’m not sure we’re there yet,” Mason said doubtfully.
Kingsley smiled and shook his head. “Oh you are, you’re just fighting it. Listen, that’s not what I came here to say.”
Mason quirked his head. “So what did you want to say?”
“I like Cleo. She’s strong and clever and puts on a mask of strength like armor. But she has a vulnerability about her, and I don’t want to see her get hurt.” Kingsley left the sentence hanging, his meaning clear.
King was giving Mason the big brother talk in lieu of her not having her own. Mason’s instinct was to bristle, but he tamped it down as he realized how much the team loved her. She was one of theirs, and nobody wanted to see her hurt. He liked that, and as much as part of him wanted to tell King to mind his own fucking business, he didn’t. “I appreciate you want to look out for her, but there’s no need. Cleo means a lot to me. She means everything, and I would rather die than hurt her.”
Mason watched a grin break out on Kingsley’s face. “You love her.”
“As I said, I don’t know if we’re there yet, but we’re building something,” Mason hedged not ready to admit what he felt to anyone, even himself.
“You love her.” Kingsley chuckled as he stood. “Good for you, man. You two are good together and if you get any shit from Shane and Emme, remind them how they met.” And on that statement, he strode to the door. “Shout if you need any backup,” Kingsley said as he closed the door behind him leaving Mason with as many questions as he had answers.
* * *
Cleo faced Emme, Caitlin and Sydney. “I’m not sure how Mason will feel about us taking over his apartment.”
“Come on. We’ll clear up afterward. It’s only the four of us, a few drinks, some nibbles, maybe Magic Mike on the TV.” Caitlin wiggled her eyebrows at the last suggestion.
“Yeah, come on. We all need to relax after the last few days and what better way than half-naked men and alcohol.” Emme grinned and licked her lips.
“Ha, says you, who has her own Magic Mike at home,” Caitlin teased.
Emme’s eyes went dreamy. “Shane is impressive.”
Cleo put her hands over her ears. ”Nope, not listening. That’s my boss you’re talking about.”
Sydney giggled and gave Cleo a sideways look. “Pfft, you have your own Magic Mike now anyway.” Sydney had come a long way in the last few months. She was still shy in some ways, but she was a world away from the damaged woman they had met.
“Yeah, let’s talk about you and Mason.”
Cleo blushed at Caitlin’s words. “Not, here someone will hear you.”
“Fine, we’ll meet you at Mason’s place tonight.” Caitlin pumped her fist triumphantly.
Cleo knew when she was beaten and laughed. ”Fine, but you bring the wine. Now go, I have work to do, even if you don’t.”
Cleo looked up as Shane poked his head around his office door and called to her. “Cleo, can I have a word please?” He eyed the other women, his fiancée included, with suspicion. “What are you lot up to? You look like a coven of witches planning a spell.”
“Did you just call me a witch, Shane Rhodes?” Emme scolded.
Shane walked closer and hooked his arm her around the waist, bringing her into his body. He bent down and whispered in her ear, making the gorgeous British operative blush prettily before kissing her cheek tenderly and letting her go. “You got a sec now, Cleo?” Shane looked at her as the others dispersed, Emme with a dreamy look on her face.
Cleo could well understand how Emme had fallen for Shane. He had a dark, sexy, brooding vibe that was hard to resist. Cleo nodded as she followed her boss into his office, wondering what he wanted.
“Take a seat.” He walked toward his desk and sat in his chair.
Her heart began to hammer as nerves set in. Was she in trouble for getting involved with Mason? “What’s up, Shane?” Her voice remained calm, not betraying her emotional state.
“I wanted to check in with you and make sure you were okay? A lot has happened the last week or so and I know it must be hard.”
Cleo felt relief flooding her system at his words. “I’m okay. Everyone has been wonderful looking after me, and I know it costs money to go after this stalker and take people off paying jobs—”
Shane cut her off and raised his hand. “Don’t! You’re one of us, and we protect our own. Someone comes after you, they come after us all. That’s how this team works. We’re family. We fight, we annoy each other, but we stick together and have each other’s backs. That said, I need you to know when I take someone on, I do detailed background checks on them.”
Cleo felt her throat clog, knowing he knew her secret.
“It makes no difference to me, Cleo. We all have a past, things we’d rather not tell anyone, and I don’t blame you, but you need to tell Mason. Don’t tie his hands and watch him fail. He cares about you. We all do, and if there’s any chance this is connected, you need to be upfront with him.”
“I understand.” Her voice was almost a whisper.
“I haven’t said anything yet, but you need to and if you don’t, I will. I won’t have one of my people hurt because I was protecting your pride or privacy. Have some faith, Cleo. None of the team will judge you for it, I certainly don’t. But if you hide this and something happens… Let me tell you, you won’t forgive yourself—ever!” With that, he squeezed her shoulder and left his office to give her a minute to get herself together.
He and Emme had known all along and not said a word. Standing, she walked back to her desk and began to work as she let the mundane jobs calm her whirring brain. Her mind repeatedly went to Mason as she worked through her list of tasks.
The last few days had been effortless; they gelled as if they had been together for years, but the constant buzz from everything being new and exciting fizzed up every time she saw him or heard his voice. The timing sucked! She had a madman wanting to do god knew what to her, they worked together. More than that she hadn’t been honest with him.
She knew she needed to tell him the truth about Spears and her past. Secrets would only fester and poison what they had started and she didn’t want that. Her instincts told her Mason was already following that lead anyway. A part of that made her angry at him for going behind her back, but the more rational part knew she had left him no choice. If the boot was on the other foot, would she have gone behind his back to protect him from someone who wanted to see him harmed? She thought back to the night she had spent by his bedside when he’d been stabbed and lost nearly half the blood in his body. It had been so close. They had performed CPR on him until they had gotten him into the operating room.
She had been so sure she was going to lose him, and they hadn’t even been more than colleagues although Cleo thought perhaps she’d known Mason was special from the minute they had met.
His dark assessing eyes had traveled over her when Emme introduced her, and she had felt a tremor of awareness like never before. Her body had recognized it even before her conscious mind had taken notice.
Would she have gone behind his back to stop the stabbing that had nearly ended his life? Without a shadow of a doubt, she would have. To expect him to do anything else was wrong of her. They needed to talk, but first, she needed some time to get her thoughts together about what she would say and what better way to do that than spend some girly time with her friends.
Chapter Thirteen
Mason saw Cleo fuss around his apartment while she waited for her friends to arrive. When she’d asked him if she could have Caitlin, Emme, and Sydney around for the evening, she’d almost seemed shy, hesitant, which he’d found endearing. However, he was quick to reassure her that his apartment was hers, and she could have her friends over anytime she liked.
The way she smiled and kissed him warmed his heart, and he thought it was maybe another step in their journey together, and he liked it a lot. Cleo walked past him to check the food she had purchased on the way home when he caught her by th
e waist.
“Don’t! I’m not done yet, and the girls will be arriving any minute.”
Ignoring her, Mason closed his arms and took her mouth. She tasted like heaven. When she sighed, and her lips parted, he was unable to help himself and slid his tongue inside her waiting mouth. He was amazed to see how she responded, her hands sliding over his arms to hook around his shoulders. Her breasts pressed against his chest, igniting lust in his blood. He cupped her ass, ready to take her once more when an insistent knock at the door cut its way through the desire.
The sound made him growl in her mouth, and Cleo giggled. She stepped back, untangling herself from his hold, but not before giving him another peck on the cheek. “You made me forget where I was for a moment, Mason Bentley, and that’s dangerous.” She went to the door, and he disappeared into the bathroom for a minute, as he couldn’t greet them with an erection.
When he looked at his face in the mirror, Mason cursed at himself. He was acting like a damn teenager, and that was unlike him. Since he’d met Cleo, he’d had to deal with his swirling emotions and the constant need to be with her and protect her.
Kingsley had said he loved her. Was that it? He’d been so involved in his career and his investigations, he hadn’t thought much about settling down. He’d had women in his life, but none that provoked those feelings and certainly not to this level.
Feminine laughter seeped through the door, and he smiled, enjoying the sound of her pleasure in any form. Now relatively calm and presentable, he made his way out to greet the women.
They were by the counter where Cleo was pouring wine. Killian was already comfortably installed on a pile of blankets in the corner. Mason suspected that he would be cuddled a lot over the next few hours.
Sydney came to him to kiss his cheek. He liked her a lot and was happy she and Kingsley had found each other. She was courageous, fearless, and dedicated, despite all she had been through. A weaker person would have broken down never to rise again, but not Sydney.
“How is your wound?”
At the concern in her voice, he smiled to reassure her. “It’s scarring well. Some pull, but nothing that won’t disappear with time.”
Cleo frowned. “You never told me it was giving you problems.”
Mason winked at her. “Nothing dire. Another scar added to my count.”
Sydney turned somber. “One you wouldn’t have if not for me.”
Mason shook his head. “One I wouldn’t have survived without you, Syd.”
Her smiled returned. It was wrong to think Sydney was responsible for him being wounded on duty. It was the nature of the job. “Okay, so I’ll leave you ladies to whatever ceremony you’re about to undertake and be back later.”
Before he could move, Cleo grabbed his hand. “You’re leaving?”
It was said in a dismissive tone, but her energy and posture said something different. Ignoring the gentle teasing of the women present, Mason brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. “King and Nick are checking the perimeter. Cain and James will relieve them later tonight. Caitlin and Emme will remain with you until I get back.”
“And where are you going?”
“Shane wants to talk to me. And I want to bounce some ideas around with him. Enjoy yourself, have fun, just don’t torch the apartment.”
Cleo rolled her eyes as Sydney, Emme, and Caitlin burst out laughing.
With a last wink at her, Mason closed the door behind him.
Night had descended over the city as Mason stepped out of his apartment building. A warm wind blew, dispersing some of the humidity he disliked so much. Kingsley and Nicholas were nowhere to be seen, but he knew they kept as discreet and invisible as possible, ready for anything or anybody.
Shane was leaning against his car. He’d obviously driven Emme and Sydney to the girls’ night. Caitlin’s car was parked a couple of spots down the street. “I bet that that wine bottle was open before you even got out the door.”
Mason grinned. “Yeah. I’m glad they organized this. Cleo needs the distraction. She still feels responsible for what happened to Killian and bringing the threat to the Agency.”
Shane nodded. “I know. I talked to her earlier, but it’s difficult to convince her of the opposite. And speaking of Killian, I’ve got news on that front. I sent his blood sample to be analyzed, and he was poisoned with a derivative of a congestive heart medication. Quite easy to find if you know where to look, but the most interesting part is, it’s not a pill, but a spray. On humans, it’s sprayed in the mouth. We suspect that for Killian, it was sprayed on his fur, and then he licked it.”
Mason considered his boss’s words. “Someone sprayed it on him. Could that have been done by accident?”
Shane shook his head. “Not according to the concentration level found in his blood sample. And what’s even more problematic is that this product can remain active after being sprayed for quite some time. So it’s difficult to know the exact moment it happened.”
“Has Caitlin been told? Has she given Killian a bath?”
Shane nodded. “As soon as he was discharged from the vet, Caitlin bathed and groomed him, so he’s fine now. I’ll tell her about it tomorrow. I wanted her to have a break before being thrown into it again. She’s barely slept since it happened.”
Mason couldn’t agree more. “So there’s no way to know when the attack happened.”
Shane shrugged. “I asked Caitlin to retrace her steps for the two days prior. Alex and Wolf are looking into it, trying to check cameras or possible feeds, but I wouldn’t count on them finding anything significant. It’s a long shot.”
“Maybe I can help you with that long shot. Do you remember that lead I was looking into? I think we need to consider it a valid threat now.” Mason told his boss all he knew about Spears. He would have liked talking to Cleo first, but her safety came before her pride. “That’s why I don’t think Spears appearing at a nearby hospital with his sister suffering from a heart condition and Killian being poisoned by a medication related to that condition is a coincidence.”
Shane’s expression turned dark. “I agree with you, but we don’t have tangible proof Spears has gone anywhere other than the hospital or his hotel. So far, Mercy and Malco haven’t seen any suspicious behavior from him.”
Mason wasn’t convinced. “He could have an accomplice.”
Shane nodded when he took out his buzzing cell phone. One quick look was enough for Mason to see that something was wrong when he reached back for his gun. Mason automatically reached for his own gun.
“Message from Nick. Someone is lurking in the shadows behind the building. Kingsley is on the lookout too.”
In an instant, the warm night turned into a heated situation.
Shane gestured for Mason to circle the building on the right as he took a left. There were a lot of bushes and trees in the neighborhood, and the buildings and houses were close—too close. Whoever was out there could quickly disappear. Or hide in the shadows, ready to strike.
Trying his best to remain in the dark, while his eyes ceaselessly scanned around him, Mason was at the ready. Maybe it was nothing, but perhaps it was the threat that was after Cleo.
Adrenaline spiking in his blood, Mason decided to widen his search area and go around the house beside the apartment building. The house had a hedge down the side, and the faint wind rustled the leaves, making it even more challenging to see movement.
As he approached the hedge, he saw Kingsley’s tall figure several yards away, coming into the light before disappearing again.
Maybe it was a false alarm. Mason hoped so as he continued checking for a while. He was ready to return to the front of the building and meet up with the others, when something caught his attention. It may have been his imagination, but his gut pushed him to check the flutter of darkness on the other side of the house.
There was no time to call anybody on the team as he silently walked toward the side of the house, his eyes never leaving the point where he�
��d seen something appear then vanish. Careful not to be seen by the occupants of the home, he left his gun down along his thigh but was ready to use it if need be.
As he rounded the corner, his fingers twitched over his gun, prepared for anything, but there was nothing there.
The night remained calm, eerily so. Relaxing a bit, Mason went to turn around when a distinct figure shifted back in the shadows nearby. The clear sound of running footsteps fading away spurred him into action.
Sprinting around the second house, he saw a hooded figure, definitely male, running away. It was Cleo’s stalker without a doubt, and that pushed him to run even faster.
The stalker wasn’t running in a straight line, dashing between the houses, turning sharply into a garden before jumping through a small, broken fence. This man knew the area well, meaning he had walked it, analyzed it. At the realization, rage flared inside Mason.
At another turn, Mason pushed his body harder, gaining on the shadow until he took another sharp turn. Mason was so close; he swore he could hear the man’s breath. Preparing to attack, Mason became airborne as the stalker surprised him and his gun skittered away as he hit the ground.
Training took over, making him roll to his feet, but before he could react, the man punched him on his side, the one still healing from his wound. Mason was almost overwhelmed with the immense pain as he struggled to stay conscious and fight back.
He struggled back to his feet, dots dancing in front of his eyes as he hugged his side. His first clear view was the back of the stalker as he ran away.
“Mason!”
Kingsley was running toward him, but Mason just pointed where the stalker disappeared. Kingsley continued in that direction, and soon Shane was by his side.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” The answer sounded hoarse as he finally stood up fully and looked for his gun. Picking it up, he headed back to his building.
“Was he the stalker?” Shane looked around as he walked by his side.