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He made a tutting sound. “Temper, temper.” He swung his gaze up and scowled as he looked over at Parker. “I see Donahue is here.”
“I want to see Logan,” she repeated.
“Your wish is my command,” he said snidely, waving his hand with a flourish.
Mason opened the car door and bent over as he looked inside the vehicle. In a few seconds he emerged with Logan in his arms. When Logan saw her he let out a cry. “Mama. Mama.” He held out his arms and reached for her.
“Logan!” she called out, grabbing her son and rocking him against her chest. She wasn’t sure if she would ever let him go. She pressed a kiss on his temple, inhaling the sweet smell of him.
Dear Lord. Thank you for keeping him safe from harm. He’s my entire world.
Mason leaned toward her and whispered, “I hope you know I have a gun in my back pocket. And if you change your mind about exchanging yourself for Mason, I won’t be afraid to use it.”
Cadence’s pulse quickened. She’d come this far to protect her son. This wouldn’t be over until Logan was safely far away from Mason. “Let me hand him over to Parker,” she said.
He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, his nails digging in to her skin. “Don’t try anything. Tell him you need to come back to tell me something.”
She broke away from him and began walking with Logan in her arms towards Parker. How was she going to pull this off? A part of her wanted to just ride off into the sunset with Parker, Logan and Jason. But Mason had told her he had a gun. For all she knew he might shoot her in the back the moment she reached Parker’s side. That’s how unstable she believed her ex-husband to be. She locked eyes with Parker, whose gaze was trained on Logan.
The expression on his face was powerful. He was looking upon his son for the very first time. And she could see his joy despite the tense circumstances.
When she reached his side, she looked from Logan to Parker and said, “Parker. Meet your son.”
“Hey there, buddy,” Parker said. He reached out and grabbed Logan’s fingers.
Logan looked at him with big eyes and pulled his fingers away.
“I know you don’t know me at all, but that’s all about to change,” Parker said in a soft tone.
“Parker, why don’t you hold him?” she asked, her mind whirling with a hundred different thoughts. If Parker and Jason could leave the park and keep Logan safe, all would be right in her world. As a mother, her instinct was to protect her son at all costs. She’d been handling Mason for three years. Somehow she would find a way to get away from him later on. But for this moment in time, she needed to go with him.
She shoved Logan toward Parker, who stared at her with a slight look of fear etched on his face. “Cadence, I don’t think he’s quite ready for me to hold him.”
She darted a quick look behind her at Mason. He was still resting against the car. He patted his pocket when she met his gaze, letting her know in no uncertain terms that he had a weapon. She took a step toward Mason, only to feel herself being forcefully pulled back by strong hands.
Parker looked down at her with a frown etched on his face. “What are you doing? It’s time
to go.” His features were tense. His tone crisp and no-nonsense. “What’s going on?”
She was tongue-tied. “I-I forgot to get Logan’s things. I’ll be right back.” She quickly turned her back on Parker and Logan and proceeded to walk away. The sound of Logan calling out to her was heart wrenching.
Suddenly, two dark cars came speeding toward the parking lot. Mason, clearly startled by the sound, and the sudden intrusion, stumbled as he tried to pivot and get back in the car. He fell hard to the ground. Parker moved forward and grabbed Cadence by the arm and gently pulled her toward his car. Jason was beside him, holding a squirming Logan in his arms.
Before Cadence could figure out exactly what was happening, the two cars surrounded Mason’s car. Men jumped out of the cars and hauled Mason to his feet. Although Cadence couldn’t hear what was being said, she watched from a distance as Mason’s hands were pulled behind his back and he was handcuffed.
“Stay here with Jason,” Parker instructed as he walked toward the scene. Jason pulled her closer to the car and handed Logan over to her. She cradled him against her chest and watched as Parker shook hands with one of the men and began having an animated conversation with him. One of the men pushed Mason into the back of his car.
A few minutes later Parker rejoined them.
Cadence felt her eyes widen as the dark cars roared off, taking her ex-husband with them. Her eyes trailed after the cars. She felt like pinching herself. Had Mason just been arrested before her very eyes?
“What happened? Who were those people?” she asked. Clearly, Parker knew some of the individuals who had carted Mason off.
“The feds have been watching Mason for a while now. One of the reasons he fled Florida was because he knew he was going to be arrested. He probably figured he would lay low here in Sonoma until his lawyers could sort things out,” Parker explained. “Plus, he’s now being investigated in relation to Keith’s murder. The guy he hired to run Keith off the road has been talking from inside a prison cell. He’s trying to cut a deal by turning evidence against Mason for hiring him to kill me and actually killing Keith by mistake.”
“You arranged for them to be here?” Cadence asked, still in shock.
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “They’ve been staking out this area for hours. They were ready to take Mason down.”
