Page 53 of Hidden Obsession

It was like watching a movie in slow motion. Her heart was firmly in her throat. They were doing sixty on the interstate, and were surrounded by cars. Mason made his way out of the RV and landed on the hood of the vehicle with a hard bump.

As Mason hooked his bloody hand by the window, Malco decelerated steadily. As he carefully made his way to the side of the road, sirens wailed, and over ten cop cars passed them by.

“Get in the back, Cleo, quick.”

Swiftly, she slid in the back as Mason finally got inside.

“Quick! Follow them!”

Malco didn’t have to be told twice. Merging back into traffic at the speed of light, Malco was on a mission.

Mason turned into his seat and reached out to her. “Are you all right?”

All the emotions and fears she’d had since he’d disappeared bubbled up, making it impossible for her to speak. She linked her hand with his for a moment and nodded. They were both alive, if barely, but the reunion she was desperate for had to wait as the phone rang again.

“Sitrep.” Shane’s voice was cold as ice.

“Got Mason. He’s with us, and we’re tailing the RV.”

“Keep your distance. Let the tactical team do their work. The highway patrol is about to close the Interstate ahead.”

Minutes passed, excruciatingly slow. Cleo kept Mason’s hand in hers as they saw a line of blue and red blinking lights in the distance beyond the RV. The vehicle started to swerve, but there was nowhere to go. Cars alongside screeched to a halt, some of them hitting each other, but with the cars decreasing their speed, it helped to avoid any major accidents.

It was obvious Travis knew what was going on as he finally brought the RV to a stop. For a long time, the doors remained closed, but even with the distance between them, Cleo could see a flash of blond hair through the destroyed back window. The man had gone to the man he loved. Had it been to kill them both, try to protect him? Only Travis knew. In an unexpected way, her heart ached for the man. Even in his deviant way, he had loved and wanted to be loved, a very human emotion that unfortunately wouldn’t be fulfilled.

More police vehicles whizzed by their stopped car, followed by a black truck indicating the arrival of the SWAT team. They had to be half a mile from where the RV had been brought to a stop. Mason let go of her hand and got out of the car, Cleo got out too, as did Malco, all three focusing on the scene unfolding out of reach.

Noise and voices were blurred as black shapes with weapons surrounded the RV. There were yells, but Cleo couldn’t discern the words. She didn’t have too. The dark circle tightened until the side door opened. It all happened so fast, none of them could react.

All she could see was Travis disappearing from the back room and opening the side door, one hand in the air as he came into view. But the situation turned deadly when Travis revealed a weapon in his other fist.

The air froze for a moment, and the tactical team fired. In an instant, it was over.

It happened so fast, it was hard to comprehend until Travis’ tall frame was falling onto the road. He was dead and the whole thing felt anticlimactic to Cleo.

Standing in the middle of the Interstate, Cleo couldn’t utter a word, her thoughts still overcome with emotions and adrenaline. All she could do was step toward Mason, who was still as a statue and hadn’t said a word or moved a muscle as his best friend was killed.

Gently, she touched his back, in a silent show of support and comfort. Cleo felt him shiver and inhale sharply before turning around and taking her into a tight embrace. Her world had righted itself again. Whatever lay ahead, Cleo was ready to fight with this man by her side.