Page 48 of Hidden Obsession

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Cleo wincedbut stayed silent as Caitlin finished cleaning the gash on her cheek and applying butterfly bandages. “I hope it doesn’t leave a scar.”

Cleo looked up at her friend. “I don’t give a damn about that. We need to find Mason before that psycho hurts him.” Tears threatened, but she preferred to hang on to her anger than her fear.

Caitlin sighed. “Emme and the rest of the team are on their way from Mesa and should be here soon. All available hands are trying to find any sign of Travis leaving the apartment. Nick let everyone know what had happened.”

Would it be enough? That question circled in her mind like a buzzing bee.

Still debating what to do, she saw Shane entering the front door, followed by Emme, Mercy, and Wolf… and her grandmother.

In one swift moment, Cleo’s world narrowed to the older woman, and she found herself running into her arms, the same way she had when she’d escaped Spears’ clutches. And like it was only yesterday, she was once again surrounded with tenderness, warmth, and much-needed strength.

“My little girl.”

Those simple three words made Cleo sob. It would have been so easy to let herself go, to fall apart, but Mason’s survival required her to keep it together. Drawing in a deep breath, Cleo stepped back and smiled through contained tears. “You’re safe now, Nana.”

The older woman, wisps of grey hair awry, her deep brown eyes as steady and deep as ever, looked worried as she took in Cleo. “Me? What about you, my treasured child?” Worry turned to steely determination. “I’m unsinkable. You know that. But you’re hurt. That deranged man did that to you? Your friends were anxious on the plane and on our way here.”

Cleo gingerly touched her throbbing cheek. “No, Nana. It’s a bit complicated… and…”

When she opened her mouth to speak, a ball of tears lodged itself in her throat, preventing her from saying another word. The older woman was wise enough to nod, skimming her bruised cheek with a frown.

“You’re a fighter. Always have been from the moment you drew your first breath until you decided you’d had enough of that nonsense back in Arizona. I can see you are fighting again, and this battle is for the young man your friends told me about, am I right?”

Cleo looked over her grandmother’s shoulder to see Mercy and Wolf eyeing their feet in the corner as if they were the most fascinating sight in the world, which finally made her smile. Somehow, it loosened up her throat. “Has someone been yapping behind my back?”

Wolf coughed, but winked at her, his straw cowboy hat partially hiding his eyes.

Her grandmother followed her look and smiled at the huge man in the corner. “Don’t be too hard on him. I used all my tricks to wrangle information on what was going on.”

Wolf’s shoulder shook a little when he answered. “Yeah, Cleo, your grandma is brutal, have pity on me.”

This brief moment of levity steadied her enough to regain control over her emotions. “Having you here, safe, is what I need right now. I’ll explain everything later, but now, we’re running out of time to save Mason.”

Mrs. Darwin kissed her granddaughter’s brow before nodding. “Dear Emme told me I could go lie down in a room nearby. I have everything I need. Go. Find your young man and then we’ll talk.”

Wolf appeared by her grandmother’s side, a large bag in his hand and he escorted her out of sight. Emme, Mercy, and Caitlin closed around her in a tight circle, a silent show of support, but before anything could be said, the rest of the team, led by a grim-looking Shane, came in. Her boss nodded at her before signaling everyone to head to the conference room.

At last, something was moving forward, and Cleo felt energized as hope steadied her. Surrounded by so many experienced and dangerous individuals, Travis didn’t stand a chance. Almost the entire Alliance Agency team sat around the conference table. Shane and Emme were at the helm.

Shane stepped forward. “Everyone has been updated on what happened at Cleo’s apartment. We’ve all been blindsided and even if we wanted to wallow on the reasons why, our priority is Mason.”

Everyone around the table nodded as Emme continued. “To cover our six, Kingsley, James, Alex, and Mercy are looking for Spears. He may not be our main target, but there’s no way we can let him and his men go free. It’s a disaster waiting to happen, and even if we need all hands on deck, the only solution is to split for the time being, at least until we know Spears’ whereabouts.”

Cleo didn’t want to think about Spears, but she had to agree with her bosses. It would be dumb to dismiss the other threat, but she would have preferred more people trying to find Mason.

“Cleo, is there anything you can think of, any bit of information he might have given away that will help us find Mason?”

Shane’s question was one Cleo had asked herself time and time again. “I wish I knew. He didn’t give anything away, and I didn’t think to ask.”

Malco swiveled closer and touched her arm. “Don’t beat yourself up, Cleo. You were in survival mode. Just the fact you kept a cool head and remembered so much is amazing. I’ve been involved in countless kidnappings and rescues and I’ve seen a definite trend.”

Nicholas smiled at her. “I agree with him. You were scared, but you fought him and tried to escape.”

Their encouraging words settled her quivering stomach. “But bottom line, I didn’t get more information and Travis is in the wind.”

Malco frowned. “I wouldn’t say that. I discussed it with the team as we made our way here. We’ve come up with a theory on what happened.”