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Cadence froze. Mason’s deep baritone voice was unmistakable. “Where’s Logan?” she asked, her voice quivering.
“He’s with me of course,” Mason said. “Would you like to say hello?”
Cadence couldn’t even muster an answer. Adrenaline rushed through her veins. Her head begun to pound mercilessly.
“Yes, please. I want to hear his voice,” she begged, shutting her eyes as hot tears squeezed past her lids.
“Mama,” a little voice cried out. Cadence let out a cry as Logan’s voice washed over her.
“Logan,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Sweetheart,” she crooned.
“Cadence. Is he on the phone?” Parker asked in a low voice.
She nodded at Parker. It felt as if a giant hand was inside her chest squeezing her heart.
“Mama. Come. I’m sad,” Logan said in a shaky voice.
“I’m coming, baby. I’m coming,” she said in a soothing tone. Logan sounded so unhappy. She hated Mason for doing this to her child. “Logan. Baby. Are you still there?”
There were a few seconds of silence on the line.
“He really misses you,” Mason said in a gleeful tone. “He’s been crying out for you. Over and over again.”
Cadence let out a moan. “How could you do this?” she asked in a raised voice. “You’ve barely had anything to do with my son ever since the day he was born. You’ve only done this to hurt me.”
“You gave me no choice, Cadence. I always told you if you ever left me, I’d find a way to make you pay,” Mason said in a hollow-sounding voice.
“What do you want from me? Do you want me to come back? Just let me see Logan. I’ll do anything.” She was b
egging now, pleading for a chance to see her son again. Mason’s tone was alarming. Although she’d always known he was dangerous, he was now sounding unhinged. Vindictive.
“What I want is to see you suffer, Cadence.”
She let out a brittle laugh. “You’ve already achieved that goal, Mason. The last three years have been full of torment.”
“How much do you love Logan?”
“You know the answer to that. He’s my life.”
“So you won’t mind offering yourself up in Logan’s place?”
Cadence didn’t even hesitate. As a mother she would go to the ends of the earth for her child. And she knew Mason well enough to know his end game. He was trying to torture her. “No, I’d do anything for him. You know that.”
“Good. You and your boyfriend can meet me at Stillwater Cove Park by the covered bridge. Tomorrow at noon. We can do the exchange then.”
“Wait! Why not today? I want to see Logan now,” she cried out, letting out a scream of frustration when the line went dead.
“What did he say?” Parker asked. Both he and Jason were standing in front of her, their faces showing their deep concern.
“He wants us to meet up with him tomorrow. And he wants to give Logan back,” she said in a halting voice.
Parker and Jason shared an uneasy glance.
“Sounds way too easy,” Jason said. “Why would he fold so quickly after all of this?”
“Right,” Parker said with a nod. “He took Logan without the permission of his custodial parent and flew him out of state.” He scratched his jaw. “Doesn’t sound like somebody who wants to play nice.”
“I don’t know,” she said with a light shrug. She was telling the truth. She didn’t have any idea of what exactly Mason was thinking or his grand plan. But she knew how she intended to proceed once they spotted him with Logan. She planned to give herself up for the safety of Logan.
