PULL THE PIN

Chapter 6

The first few minutes of the drive was quiet. Cordelia's mind churned with all the 'what ifs' that could have happened if they hadn't taken precautions. Once again, she was thankful for paying attention, and acting upon, her gut feelings. "Guys, I still have the tracking device on me. I really don't want Gordon to know where I am. But I can't just throw it out. It's a piece of evidence we need to keep. What do I do?"

Hearing this, Silas pulled over into the parking lot by Clearwater Seafoods. "Give me a minute to call the senior officer to see what he wants us to do. Then I am going to call Grandpa. I think he needs to meet us at police headquarters. It's beyond time we dealt with this, so you can live the life you are supposed to!"

While Silas was deep in conversation with the officer, Logan distracted Cordelia by pulling her closer to him. "Are you okay? Silas and I were so afraid they would get to you before we did. I have never been so afraid in my life!" Logan murmured. He brushed a strand of hair off her face and tucked it behind her ear.

Cordelia blushed as the butterflies in her tummy fluttered. She thought it was bad when she was dealing with Gordon's two henchmen, but Logan's actions increased the flutters tenfold, but in a good way. "I think I'm okay. Thank goodness you and Silas showed up when you did. That was scary as hell."

"Sounding the car horn to draw the attention of the other motorist was a great decision. And the live-stream of the incident was brilliant. The officers were recording it as it happened. There is no way those two can dispute anything they said. Their words clearly implicate Gordon as the instigator of an attempted kidnapping." Logan's words acted as a balm to soothe Cordelia's frazzled nerves. "Also, anyone who videoed what happened was made to delete the video after emailing it to the officers. Don't want anything to get out yet."

Before she could respond, Silas interrupted their conversation. "Grampa is already at police headquarters. He is handing over copies of all our evidence against Gordon, Margaret, and Ebony. He will wait for us to give our statements, then we will be able to go back to the suite. Regarding the tracking device, Cordie, can you give it to me? The officer instructed me to disable it, while Anita videos the process. That way, we can prove the device was active until I disabled it."

With Anita recording her every move, Cordelia took the tracker out of her pocket and passed it to Silas. He turned it over and examined it closely. A tiny green light could be seen on the outer edge. "That light indicates the tracking device is active."

"So Gordon knows we are in this parking lot? Is that safe?" Anita's voice was filled with fear.

"Don't worry, they are under surveillance, and we would be warned if he, or any of his men were on their way." Silas' calm voice helped to allay Anita's fear. "I am going to open the case of the device. Make sure you get a clear video of it, Anita." Focusing on the task at hand, Anita drew a deep breath and steadied her hand. Silas proceeded to pop open the back of the tracker, and removed the tiny button battery, thus disabling the device.

Sighing, Cordelia couldn't help but express her relief. "Thank God those assshats can't track me now. I don't ever want to see them again. Not until we are in court, and they are made to pay for their crimes!"

Anita spoke up, "We will need to go back to our apartment to get some clothes. Maybe we can do that after the police station?"

Silas and Logan exchanged glances in the rearview mirror before Silas responded. "Actually, that won't be necessary. This afternoon, while you two were otherwise occupied, Grandpa had Logan and I pack up all your belongings and moved them into Grandpa's suite. We put the furniture into storage. You two are not going back to the apartment."

Cordelia's jaw dropped in shock. "What do you mean, we aren't going back? That's our home. Our safe space!"

Logan reached over to Cordelia and once again took her hand in his. "We had been monitoring the audio and video feed from the house in Bedford. Gordon had ordered two of his men to go to your apartment this evening and clear everything out of it. From a conversation he had with Margaret, they were planning to make it look like Cordelia left on her own accord. Allistar decided we would be one step ahead of them. Finding the apartment empty ought to throw them into a tizzy. It will be interesting to see what they do."

"I can't wait for this to be over. My anxiety level is through the freaking roof." Cordelia muttered in frustration. "Let's get to police headquarters and do what we have to do. Then I just want to go to Grandpa's suite and sleep for a week. Today has just been too much."

Logan pulled her close to him, "Just rest for a few minutes. Traffic is still fairly slow, so it will be about 30 minutes before we get to headquarters. Close your eyes and think of your happy place."

Anita snorted with mirth. "Oh, I think she is already in her happy place, if you catch my drift."

"You hush up, girlie. We will have words later!" Cordelia sputtered in embarrassment, casting a warning look at Anita, who had turned herself sideways in the front seat. Anita smirked, and winked at Logan, causing Cordelia to blush a deep pink. She tried to put some distance between herself and Logan, but he simply tightened his grasp on her, telling her to close her eyes and get some rest. Needing comfort, she did just that and soon fell asleep.

She awoke to the soft murmur of chatter which ceased abruptly when she opened her eyes. Looking around, she saw they had just pulled into the parking lot of police headquarters. She blinked a few times, then realized her head was lying on Logan's shoulder, with his arm around her. He seemed reluctant to let her go when she sat up.

"I am so sorry Logan. I didn't mean to fall asleep on you." Then, with a wry grin she continued, "I didn't drool on you, did I?"

Logan patted his shirt where her head had been, "Nope. No drool, no slobber. You didn't even snore!" His eyes were filled with mirth as he teased her. "But you did talk in your sleep."

"Oh my God. Please tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing."

"Not going to say. More fun to keep you guessing." Logan grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows at her. Then leaning close to her, he whispered in her ear. "But I sure like being the subject of that dream. Maybe when everything is settled, we can make that dream a reality."

Cordelia's eyes widened in horror. What in the world did she say? The dream had been downright erotic. Dear heavens. Just thinking about it made her swallow hard and blush. She sincerely hoped Logan was just teasing her, and that she hadn't said anything too revealing. Deciding retreat was the safest course of action, she unfastened her seat belt and suggested they go inside and give their statements to the police.

Silas asked her to wait before exiting the vehicle. "Cordie, just in case anyone followed us, or is watching, we want to shield you from prying eyes. For now, we want Gordon to think his men succeeded in taking you, and that we are here to report your kidnapping. A couple of officers will be out in a moment to escort us into the station. Logan is getting out first, then you will get out behind him, but crouch down. Anita and I will be behind you, as will the officers. Hold on to Logan, he will guide you into the building. Okay?"

It was obvious to Cordelia that a lot of thought had gone into this plan. Especially when she heard Silas instruct Anita to act distraught and cry as they prepared to exit the vehicle.

"You will be fine, Cordie." Logan spoke to her softly. "We have a plan, and the police chief is fully on board with it. So let's go do what we have to do. Hold on to my hand, and don't let go." He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her temple, shocking her to the core.

She looked into his eyes and smiled. "Let's do this. I am ready to throw the grenades. It's time to blow them out of the water."