“Sure,” I say, switching the destination of our ride. “They’ll be here in ten minutes. Want to tell me how your meeting went?”
The DEA lobby is vast and empty except for the lone reception desk in the center, but I spy a bench in a far corner and head toward it. As someone who spends the majority of my day on my feet, I always appreciate an opportunity to sit.
Mason follows, but pauses to stare down at me when I park myself on the uncomfortable wooden bench. My neck prickles with the intensity of his gaze, like he’s looking for something specific.
“I’ll tell you what: I’ll tell you how it went as soon as you tell me the real reason you didn’t want to go in with me. You were a witness, so you had every reason to be there too. Not to mention knowing the SAC personally.”
“I told you . . .”
He snorts. “You told me some bullshit story about something that happened more than a decade ago. What happened to sharing all our secrets?”
He’s as relentless as I am with the need to uncover the truth, but the prickling sensation up my spine only intensifies. My face heats and I grit my teeth. The fact that he’s fishing is telling.
“You already know, don’t you?” I flash a glare at him and stand again so I can be at his level for this.
“What do I know, Callie?” He crosses his arms, rocking back on his heels as he continues his intense stare. I don’t particularly like this version of him, but only because of the shame that creeps in over my deception. But I only let it stew for a second. If this is going to go anywhere, I don’t want to start off with any lies between us. He’s already been so forthcoming, and about some very difficult things too.
I sigh and raise my hands in surrender. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that my mom’s a senator. I didn’t think it was relevant, okay? People treat me differently when they know. But what I’d like to know is what the hell business you have with her. Please don’t tell me it’s top-fucking-secret.”
“You really don’t know, do you?” he asks, forehead furrowing. At least his glare of mistrust has disappeared.
“What the hell am I supposed to know? Mom and I don’t talk, and we pretty much only see each other once a year at her party.”
“Callie, your mom’s committee manages the task force in charge of this operation I’m involved in. She’s pretty much my goddamn boss. She’s also the only person who can get the approval for the deal Zavala wants before he’ll let Zoe go. She’s the reason I’m still in Denver. I can’t leave until she gets that approval.”
I’m floored by the revelation that Mom is still so tangled up in DEA and I never had a clue. I always thought she left the Agency and ran for office to put distance between herself and the memory of my brother’s failed operation.
Mouth open, I plop back down on the bench, shaking my head. “I can’t believe she never told me.”
“Well, you did just say you two never talk.” He sits down and takes my hand, squeezing it. “Do you want to go up and say hello or something? She’s still up there waiting to see how the interrogation goes.”
I grimace. “Coming clean to you about her is one thing. I don’t think I’m prepared to explain to her what I’m doing with you. She has a history of not approving of the men I date.”
He snorts. “Well, if the others were like the last guy, neither do I. Not sure I’d approve of me, for that matter, so I think the senator and I would get along great on that count. But I’m pretty sure she already likes me. I’m good at earning points with moms.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m not sure I want to dig into what that actually means. Let’s just take it slow on coming out about this to my mother, okay?”
“Yeah, I’m more than fine with that. I’d rather not get on her bad side, given the circumstances.”
I peek at my phone to check the progress of our ride. Three minutes out. May as well go wait by the doors. But as we stand, the elevators ding and two figures begin to cross the lobby. My heart stops when I recognize Mom and her assistant, Anton. In a clumsy rush, I spin and push Mason toward the wall and out of sight. He glances over his shoulder with a quizzical look.
“Mom,” I say under my breath. He makes an “oof” sound when I press him against the wall at the corner where I still have a view of the lobby as they pass by.
Once they’re both out the door, I heave a sigh. It takes a second for me to register the squeeze of his fingers at my hips and the warmth of his breath at my ear.
“Is the coast clear?” he whispers in an amused tone. “Or should we sit tight to make sure they’ve driven off?”
He dips his head, and my blood heats when he grazes his lips over the sensitive skin beneath my ear. I keep my eyes on the windows facing the parking lot, watching the pair of figures grow smaller, then climb into a car and drive away. But I’m too distracted by the way Mason is kissing my throat to tell him it’s safe.
At my next sigh of pleasure, he chuckles, then places a tender kiss on my mouth. “I could do this anywhere, any time, but we do have places to be. How long until our ride gets here?”
I blink,
