Page 23 of Bodyguard Daddy

“I’m sorry. I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Cory stammers. She’s trying her best to keep calm, but I know it’s not going to last much longer as the woman waves a gun in her face.

The bouquet of flowers is in my way as I nudge them away from the door. The plastic crinkles and I immediately dip back outside to the hallway. The woman screams at Cory, “I told you you were going to pay! Bjorn did this!”

Cory tries again to reason with the woman who’s spiraling. “I’m sorry that Bjorn did whatever he did to you or whatever you think he’s doing to the county. If you reach out to his office in Carson City… Hell, I can even call him and tell him to make some time to speak with you. You’re a concerned citizen who is in desperate need of his attention.”

“I had his attention and he threw it away. He threw me away.” The woman whimpers and breaks down into loud sobs. I crack the door open to see if I can sneak in, locking eyes with Cory who nods subtly as the woman wipes her face on her sleeve.

It doesn’t take long for me to make my move. Two large steps has me behind her where I wrap one arm around her torso and bring the other under her arm and behind her neck. A quick jerk or two makes her drop the gun, which clacks against the floor like a plastic clipboard rather than an actual gun.

Relief washes over me that it isn’t real.

“Call the cops, Cory. Now,” I tell her.

The other woman is grunting under the weight of my knee in her back. “Get off of me you asshole.”

“You just broke into a woman’s apartment, held her hostage, and threatened her life. No, especially when the woman you threatened is the woman I love.”

“I didn’t threaten her life. I just wanted to make a point. Her father-”

“Cory’s only got one Daddy and his name isn’t Bjorn Girard.” I refuse to let that piece of slime be associated with Cory any longer. Look at the amount of chaos he brings to Cory’s life. Hopefully, this is the only lunatic with a grudge.

It only takes minutes for the police to arrive and arrest the belligerent voter. One of the officers hangs behind to ask Cory a few questions when an actual detective arrives. They speak with indifference as if this is an everyday occurrence. He looks at both Cory and then myself, “Morning folks. I’m Detective Harbeck and want to ask you a few questions about Melinda Grace.”

“That’s the woman’s name?” I ask.

He nods and looks at Cory who’s standing in a short robe, making me move beside her. Cory laces her fingers through mine and we stand together in front of the cop.

He’s still speaking like he doesn’t care about the situation. “Yeah, Melinda Grace has been sending threats to various politicians. They like to call her a polecat in Carson City.”

“A polecat?” Cory scrunches her face in confusion.

The detective looks up from his phone to see we’re both confused. “Um, sorry, yeah. Poll cat, like pussy for the polls. She’s like a politician groupie. Anyway, we’ve been tailing her for a few days now. We saw her at the luncheon yesterday and she slipped away from us this morning. When we got the call from here about the intruder, we showed up and it’s her. At least, we have enough to lock her up for a bit. Can you both make some time to give an official statement to the District Attorney?”

“Of course,” I tell him. When I motion to the gun, an officer comes in to bag it and I tell him, “It’s fake.”

They both look at it and the detective takes the gun from the uniformed officer, moving it up and down like he’s weighing it. “It is. Bag it and add it to the rest of the evidence files. Um, I don’t think we need anything else from you two. Just a rundown of what happened and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

Cory’s voice shakes at first, but a gentle squeeze of her hand comforts her. She tells the officer with conviction in her tone, “The doorman told me I had a delivery. There were a lot of things that happened yesterday, so I assumed it was someone sending an apology bouquet and let them up. When I opened the door, she pushed me inside and locked the door behind her. I saw the gun and Collin made his way in. At the right moment, he was able to restrain her and that’s when I called you guys.”

“Did she say anything?” Detective Harbeck asks with a heavy sigh.

“Nothing that made sense,” I tell him. “She was angry about a prison project yesterday, but today it sounded personal.”

“It always was, we believe,” the detective says. “Apparently, Senator Girard has been bouncing around along the campaign trail leaving broken hearts in every town. It’s consensual. Disgusting and predatory in my eyes, but all consensual. Thanks. I’ll leave my card on the counter and you two try to get on with the rest of your day.”

The officers leave, and alone with Cory, I wrap my arms around her and hold her close. The soft beat of her heart against mine, the steadying of her pulse because of the way I hold her, it makes me never want to let go.

“Did you tell that woman that you love me?” she asks, tipping her angelic face up to me.

“I did. It’s the truth no matter how bizarre you may think it is. I know what I feel and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.” My sincerity pushes through and I can read it in the redness of her face.

When we lock eyes, I want her to see how much I care for her in mine. She looks away, but I turn her chin back toward me.

“Don’t be afraid to let me love you, Cory.”

“I’m not afraid. I was feeling the same and didn’t want you to think I felt it because we’ve slept together. I love you, Collin Conyers.”

“Good, and there’s one other person who needs to know this.”

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