Hidden Obsession: An Alliance Agency Novel: Book 2

by Kells, India

  “I wish I knew. That fucker punched me right on my wound.” As he said the words, he looked at his hand and was glad to see his scar had held up, although it still hurt like a bitch. “Strong punch, but not as strong as I expected from a man of that size.”

  Mason was glad to see that James and Cain were still in position as he would have hated to have Cleo without a guard, although two lethal ladies were inside with her.

  It didn’t take long for Kingsley to run back to them. “Didn’t catch sight of him. He just vanished. You okay, man?”

  Mason nodded. “Yeah. Just bad luck he punched me in the very spot that could take me down.”

  As they approached the front entrance, Cain and James disappeared to the back of the building, resuming surveillance.

  “Call Mercy. Get her to confirm Spears is still in his hotel room.” Mason knew from Mercy’s pictures and description, tonight’s stalker was similar in build and size to Spears.

  As Shane waited for an answer, Kingsley turned to him. “You want to tell the women inside? Cleo?”

  Mason shook his head. “No, let them have their night off, there’s nothing to be done right now, and I doubt the stalker will return tonight. Also, I think it was more like a poke, testing us, instead of a full attack. You, James, and Cain can continue to keep an eye on the women. In the meantime, I think it’s time I had a little chat with Jeffrey Spears.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mason walked down the hospital corridor past the nurse’s station, his stride confident, the flowers in his hands a simple prop. Nobody questioned a person carrying flowers in a hospital, merely assuming he was visiting a relative, even at this time of night. The nature of the ward meant strict visiting times were not enforced. He walked past the room where Spears’ sister was being treated and slowed his movements.

  The blinds were open, and he could see a much older, petite woman sitting beside the bed holding the hand of a woman who he guessed was her daughter. They had the same shaped face, hair color, and features. It must be Spears’ mother. From what he had read in the file Mercy had composed, the mother was not involved in her son’s way of life. She and her daughter lived here in Miami.

  His eyes were drawn to the corner of the room where Spears himself was sitting in a comfy chair, with his eyes closed. He didn’t want to speak to the man in front of his family. Not because he wanted to protect him but because it felt wrong to drag a woman in her seventies and his sick sister into his disgusting business.

  Spears may not have morals, but Mason prided himself on being a good person. That wasn’t to say he didn’t do shady things to get the job done sometimes, but he had a line he wouldn’t cross and innocents getting hurt was that line.

  Placing the flowers on the chair to his left, he took a seat and decided to wait until Spears left his sister’s room. He had to move at some point, and Mason was comfortable in the knowledge Cleo was safe and busy with the girls. His lips tipped up into a smile as he thought of the violet haired beauty who had turned his world upside down.

  Cleo was a beautiful soul, full of life and vibrancy. She loved like she did everything else—with complete, unabashed joy. Her friends had become her family, and she lavished all the love in her heart on them. He was a lucky son of a bitch to have her, and he knew it. His jaw hardened as he thought about the threat to her life. Nobody was going to hurt Cleo on his watch.

  The scar on his side ached as he sat hunched on the hard plastic chair. Something about the attack tonight felt off. Had the man known about his injury and targeted it or was it dumb luck? It wouldn’t be hard for anyone to find out about it. When the news had leaked about Sydney and her uncle, it had been reported he was injured during the incident.

  If whoever was stalking her had looked into him, he would look for a weakness to use against him. It was precisely what he would do in the same position but whoever the attacker was, he hadn’t banked on Mason’s desire to protect the woman who had burrowed into his heart and set up camp.

  The door to room one-sixty opened, and Spears stepped out, stopping when he saw Mason stand.

  The two men eyed each other, taking each other’s measure before Mason spoke. “Jeffrey Spears.”

  The man tilted his head; he had long thick grey hair that instead of making him look old, made him look distinguished in a hippy way. His cool blue eyes were bright without any signs of the cannabis he was reputed to smoke. “Who wants to know?”

  Mason clenched his jaw, trying to keep control of the anger that was surging through his blood as he stood in front of the man who had effectively stolen Cleo’s family from her. And tried to take her innocence and freedom too. “My name is Mason Bentley, and I’d like to ask you a few questions regarding Cleo Darwin.” The name moved past his lips, and he wanted to snatch it back as he saw the seedy smile that crossed the man’s features. Every muscle in his body tensed as he saw the light of interest in the man’s eyes.

  “Now that’s a blast from the past. How is my little Cleo?”

  Fury was vibrating through him now, and Mason fought for control. “Cleo is not your anything. She is nothing to you, only a memory.”

  “See, she was, but now you’ve piqued my interest.”

  “Listen up, asshole. I know who you are and what sort of sick set-up you have going on.” Mason glanced through the window to Spears’ sister lying in bed looking weak and frail.

  “You came looking for me not the other way around.”

  “Have you seen Cleo lately?”

  Spears shook his head. “Not since I tried to catch up with her in Mesa. We could’ve had a good life, and her momma misses her, but she made it clear she wasn’t interested.”

  He was lying. Mason could spot a lie easily, but this man was good, and it was subtle, but the tell was there in the way he kept glancing at his sister. He wasn’t comfortable with this conversation happening there.

  “Do you know where she is now?”

  “No. I don’t have time to keep track of all my subjects that have flown the nest.”

  Mason curbed the curl of his lip at the use of the word subject. The man had a god complex, and he had lied again. He knew precisely where Cleo was, but did that make him the man who was stalking her? Mason wasn’t sure. Mercy had confirmed he’d been here when the man attacked tonight so was he getting his minions to do it?

  That felt off to him; the attacker felt like he was making things personal which didn’t jive with getting someone else to do the dirty work.

  “Good, keep it that way. If I find out you’ve even looked up her name on the internet, I will come for you and believe me when I say you do not want that.” Mason glanced at Spears’ sister and mother, meaning clear in his eyes.

  Not waiting for the other man to respond, he walked away. He was in the car driving home when he realized he had just threatened innocents. He would never do it—or would he? Was he prepared to sacrifice an innocent woman to protect the woman he had fallen in love with? The answer was simple—yes, he would. He would drag them all down to hell to protect Cleo, and that terrified him, but it was a truth he couldn’t hide from. He loved her with an almost obsessive passion, and for the first time, he knew how King and Shane had felt when the women they loved were threatened.

  Parking the car, he took the stairs two at a time, needing to expel some of the energy in his body. When he entered the kitchen, Cleo was clearing up. She looked up, the smile freezing on her lips as he stalked her.

  “Where is everyone?”

  He saw the question in her eyes, as she seemed to feel the tension emanating from him. She put the plates down and faced him. “They just left. I was just clearing away.”

  He reached her and kept walking as she backed up until she was against the wall by the window. ”Fuck the dishes.” His hands grasped her wrists, lifting them to the wall behind her head as he pressed his body against hers, pushing his leg between the sweet heat of her thighs. He heard her breath hitch as her eyes became hooded. Fuck this wom
an-owned him.

  His mouth crashed down on hers in a kiss that was a claiming, a declaration. She kissed him back, her hands moving over his shoulders and back as he lost himself in her. Cleo rode his hip as he teased her with his mouth. Lifting, he drew her shirt over her head before dipping his head and sucking the peak of her tight nipple into his mouth.

  The arch of her neck as she cried out for him and reached for her climax as she writhed against him was the sweetest torture.

  “That’s it, Cleo, ride me. Get yourself off.”

  His words seemed to flip a switch, and she screamed his name as he quickly undid his zipper and grabbed a condom from his wallet. Everything was a fever pitch; he needed to feel her wet heat around him, squeezing him as he fucked her. Sheathing himself, he hitched her skirt over her hips and not bothering to remove her panties, pushed the fabric aside as he thrust into her. Her eyelids fluttered closed on a moan, as her hands clenched on him.

  “Fuck, Cleo, you feel like heaven.”

  His words seemed to spur her on because she dragged his head to hers as she kissed him with the same passion. They were perfect together, like she had been made for him. His hips moved as he drove them higher toward the brink, needing the release only she could give him. Her walls fluttered around him, and he knew she was close. With his cock inside her, his mouth sucking on her nipple and his thumb at her clit she came—hard. Screaming and clenching around him as he felt her grip him so tight, he saw stars. Watching her come down was the single most erotic thing he had ever witnessed. Not being able to hold back, he pumped his cock into her as he felt the ripple of his release along his spine, and then he was filling her body with his release.

  He felt shredded and euphoric as his climax hit with such power his legs almost gave. He felt her hands cradle his head to her chest as they both fought to catch their breath. Finally, he looked up, wondering if he would see anger for being so rough with her. He instead saw a satisfied smile.

  “That, Mason Bentley, was fucking hot.”

  Yeah, she was perfect for him, and he would die before he let anyone hurt a hair on her head. “I love you, Cleo.” His voice was tender as he traced her bottom lip. His dick still inside her, still semi-erect.

  “Well, I guess that’s good because I love you too.”

  His Cleo never failed to amaze him. “Need to deal with this condom, but then I’m going to make love to you in our bed.” He withdrew from her and made sure she was steady before dropping a kiss on her mouth and moving away.

  “Mason.”

  He turned from the door to the hallway and looked at her. “Yes, baby?”

  Her eyes went soft at the endearment. “I mean it, I love you.”

  “I know you do, baby. Now get your ass in bed, I want to make love to you again.”

  He chuckled at the eye roll she gave him but watched as she walked toward the bedroom, ignoring the dishes before he closed the bathroom door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The team were once more around 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 accomplish
ed 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.

  Once she was back behind the desk, her legs gave out, and she fell into the chair. Her brain had trouble remaining in the present and not losing itself in memories and emotions. Would she ever be free of the past? All she wanted to do was live her life and explore what she had with Mason. Her parents were lost to her, but she wanted him to meet her grandmother.

  Returning to her work, that thought lingered as she started scanning documents and filing until the team left the conference room.

  Mason immediately came to her side. “I need to go see Travis. I’ll ask him for his help. He has access to a couple of databases that might give us more information on Spears’ followers.”

  “How come?”

  “Years ago, the government started listing possible cults within its territory. Spears and his group might be there.”

  Cleo frowned. “The government knows about Spears and what he’s doing to these poor people? And they aren’t doing anything about it?”

  Mason lifted his hands in appeasement. “Freedom of religion can’t be touched. So unless he does something criminal…”

  “He’s controlling people, stealing their money. He tried to marry an underage girl! Me!!”

  “Do you think I’d forgotten about that? That I don’t want to tear him apart for it? It’s eating at me, but the fact is, nothing was filed with the police. That’s why he’s free. You escaped, but those who remain do so willingly.”