She was attracted to him, God help her, and that was the worst possible idea ever. The fact he had been stabbed not long ago and had almost died during surgery was messing with her mind, causing her to confuse compassion for attraction. At least that’s what she constantly told herself.
He always wore a suit that fit his body like it was made for him—which it probably was. With shiny shoes and his hair perfectly in place, Mason epitomized the James Bond look. Conforming, polite, and always by the book, he was her opposite in every way compared with her edgy look, purple hair, and outgoing attitude. He didn’t flirt with her like some of the others did, but he occupied her thoughts more than he should.
Shaking her head, Cleo chased the intruding thoughts away. The fact she was thinking about Mason like that meant she needed either a one-night stand or a fresh set of batteries. One of those solutions should take her mind off her sexy co-worker.
As she had now lost all focus for her work, there was no point in staying any longer. She glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it was almost nine. The Agency had been deserted for hours now. Time to call it a night and head home.
Emme wouldn’t be happy that she was alone, but since they were in a quiet neighborhood, there was nothing to worry about. And she had a couple of tricks up her sleeve if some dumbass wanted to test her patience.
After making sure all the lights were off, Cleo turned the alarm on and locked the door.
The night air was fresh, but the menacing clouds above signaled an impending downpour.
The empty parking lot was lit enough to verify she was alone as she walked toward her bicycle chained to a bike rack around the corner from the entrance. Shane had insisted the entire building have no dark spots, the safety of his staff a top priority. The building looked out onto a quiet road with palm trees on the pavements that still gave Cleo a kick when she saw them. The back of the large urban building was more rural, though, facing flat land where the training grounds had been established.
Cleo couldn’t stop the curse that formed when she noticed one of her tires was flat. She could take the bike inside and repair it, but at this time of night, it would take too long, and she didn’t have the patience. All she wanted now was food and a warm bath.
Walking toward the street, she took out her cell phone and opened the Uber app to call a car. After seeing the wait time for the nearest driver, she realized it would be quicker to walk to her apartment. Less than five minutes into her walk, the first raindrop plopped on her face.
She could call one of the Agency’s members that lived nearby, but she felt terrible bothering them at this time of night. What to do?
Her inner debate was cut off as her cell rang. She wasn’t surprised to see Emme’s ID on the screen. “Hey, Emme. What’s up?”
“Are you for real? It’s past nine and you just left the office. What have I told you about working late? You really need to get a life.”
Cleo rolled her eyes. “So says the woman who checks the alarm system’s log. Shouldn’t you be doing dirty things with Shane at this hour instead of checking on your employees?”
The laughter on the other end of the line was a clear indication she had hit the mark with her reply. “I’m letting him recover before having another go at him in a minute. And you haven’t answered my question. Why are you leaving the office so late?”
“Because your employees are lazy and make my life difficult. I’m about to turn mean and not bring coffee in the mornings if they don’t start behaving.”
A metallic clink sounded behind her, and Cleo turned but didn’t see anything. The street looked empty, but instinct churned in her belly. Usually, her instincts were on point, but maybe she was tired.
“Be careful on that bike at night. Cars can’t see you that well.”
“Well, even my bike is against me. Flat tire. I’m walking home. And if I’m lucky, the rain will hold off for a bit longer until I get home.”
A faint banging sound behind her made Cleo turn again, and this time, she noticed a fleeting shadow and cursed under her breath.
“What? What’s going on?”
Ignoring Emme’s outburst, Cleo reached into her bag to retrieve her mace. “I think I’m being followed.”
On the other end of the line, Cleo heard shuffling before her boss spoke again. “I’m sending you someone, leave your phone on, it helps with the tracker.”
“Emme, don’t. I’ll just wait until he gets closer and spray him.”
“Cleo, that won’t work if he has a gun. I’m sending someone. It’s not negotiable.”
The rain started to intensify and promised to be an intense downpour of biblical proportions. Accelerating, Cleo looked back and saw the person following her—a tall figure wearing a hoodie. That was so cliched, she would have laughed if she weren’t so pissed and more than a little scared. Keeping her head was her priority, so she crossed the empty street. Maybe her imagination was playing tricks on her. Perhaps he wouldn’t follow.
“Cleo, talk to me.”
She looked back again, and the hooded man was still following her. With the rain soaking through to her skin, her mace wouldn’t work. “I’m definitely being followed, and whoever is following me is getting closer. I may have to stop talking for a while. I’ll need my breath for running.”
Emme said something, but Cleo decided to pocket her phone and put
