The next day, Kit loaded Justice into the back seat of her SUV to make the short drive to the grocery store. It wasn’t even a mile away, and Kit felt silly driving such a short distance, but she knew she’d appreciate the vehicle when she had multiple heavy bags of groceries that she didn’t have to lug through the snow. Also, despite all the patrolling they did on the job, Justice still loved car rides. Smiling, she glanced at her dog as he rested his jowly muzzle on the back of the seat so he could gaze out the rear window.
She wished she could borrow some of his simple peace. Her mind hadn’t stopped working since Wes had told her the night before that he’d overheard Elena talking on the phone about taking someone’s fingerprints. That seemed so…odd, and Kit couldn’t make sense of it. Wes had heard her mention the names Juliet and Sebastian, and Kit had spent half the night going over the reports from the homicide and arson, as well as the viner fire and kidnapping, trying to find a mention of those names. The closest she could find was Jules. She decided to arrange another meet-up with Elena. Kit had a lot more questions for her.
As they approached the bombed-out building where the police department had been, Kit slowed and frowned. There was a sleek, low-slung car parked in the lot that she didn’t recognize. Even though she had only been working in Monroe for a couple of weeks, she was beginning to get to know the residents and their vehicles, and she would’ve noticed this one if she’d spotted it before. The car looked almost ridiculously impractical sitting in the snowy lot, its yellow paint blinding in the bright mountain light.
Curious, Kit pulled into the lot, parking behind the car. After she jotted down the license plate number, she got out and approached the front left door, automatically looking through the back windows as she went. Except for a woman sitting in the driver’s seat, the car was empty, its seats bare and clean. There was a rental sticker, which surprised her.
The window rolled down a crack as Kit reached the driver’s door. The woman looked to be in her thirties at first glance, but Kit revised that by at least a decade when she looked closer and recognized the signs of plastic surgery. Around the edges of the huge sunglasses, the driver’s skin was smooth to the point of looking frozen.
“Everything okay?” Kit asked. This woman, like her car, didn’t fit in Monroe.
“I need to speak with a police officer.” Her voice was low and husky, but calm, almost cold. She gestured toward the blackened shell of the building in front of them. “This is obviously not the right place.”
“I’m a police officer,” Kit said, smiling through the woman’s skepticism, which was easy to read despite the Botox and oversized sunglasses. “I’m off-duty at the moment, but I can show you where the station is now.”
“I would appreciate that.”
“Follow me. It’s not far.” She headed back to her SUV and reversed out of the lot. As Kit waited for the woman to get her car turned around, Justice stood up and rested his muzzle on her shoulder. Eyeing the adorable mass of wrinkles smooshing his jowls and cheeks, Kit lifted a hand to rub behind his ears. “Maybe we should get you some Botox injections,” she told him, and he rolled an eye to look up at her face, making her laugh. “You’re right. You’re perfect just as you are.”
With a drawn-out sound, Justice let his head rest more heavily on her shoulder as she massaged his neck. Glancing at the bright-yellow car still in the lot, Kit echoed her dog’s groan, but for a different reason.
“Of course she’s stuck,” she muttered, easing out from under Justice’s heavy head and getting out of the SUV. The woman had reversed into a drift, and her wheels spun as she managed to bury the car even deeper into the snow. Kit tapped on the driver’s side window, and it slid down, revealing the woman’s glare. Kit knew she would’ve looked furious if her face had been capable of forming expressions.
“You need to push,” the woman said, and Kit held back a laugh.
“There’s no way you’re getting out of this snowdrift without the help of a tow truck,” Kit said, taking a step back so she wasn’t blocking the door. “Leave it here. I’ll give you a ride to the station, and you can call for a tow from there. It’ll be warmer than waiting here.” Kit hoped there was a local service. Knowing Monroe, all tow-truck drivers might have moved south for the winter.
The woman pressed her artificially full lips together before giving an audible huff. “Fine.” Climbing out of the car, she yelped as her feet sank shin-deep into the snow. Kit knew the feeling of snow dropping into too-short boots, and she grimaced in sympathy.
“Do you have a coat?” she asked when the woman shivered.
“Yes.” Popping the trunk, the woman waved toward the rear of the car, but didn’t make any move to walk toward it.
Although Kit knew immediately what the woman wanted her to do, she feigned ignorance, staying still and waiting quietly for the indignant squawking she knew was coming.
“Well?” the woman asked after just a few seconds had passed. “Are you going to get my coat? It’s right on the top. You can’t miss it.”
Kit couldn’t help herself—she laughed. “No, I’m not getting your coat. This isn’t what ‘public servant’ means.” With another amused snort, she headed back to her SUV. “Besides, it’s my day off.”
When she reached her car, she saw that the woman was still staring at her, mouth slightly agape.
“Grab your coat and let’s go before you freeze,” Kit called before climbing into her blessedly warm SUV. Justice had spotted the woman, and his tail was whipping back and forth as he pressed his nose against the window. “Don’t get too excited, buddy.” She kept her voice low, aware that the woman had finally grabbed her coat and was stomping through the snow toward them. “I doubt you’re going to get many ear scratches from this one.”
Her words didn’t seem to affect Justice’s enthusiasm, however, and he wiggled with excitement as the woman yanked open the passenger door, her affront clear in every line of her body. As she settled into her seat, Justice poked his head between the seats, looking at the new arrival with the confidence of a dog who believed that everyone loved him.
The woman drew away from Justice with a disgusted hiss, and Kit restrained an eye roll. Did the woman have to bring every cliché to life? Then again, maybe she was allergic or fearful of dogs. Kit chided herself for being judgmental. “Justice, down.”
Throwing a mournful look at the woman, he obeyed, lying on the back seat. Once his slight whine faded, silence settled over them.
“I’m Officer Kit Jernigan,” she offered, feeling like she should make an attempt to be polite. Also, her curiosity was still raging.
There was a pause before the woman introduced herself. “Courtney Young.”
“What brings you to Monroe?” Kit asked.
The woman let out a quiet huff. “I’d rather wait and discuss that with a detective.”
“A…detective?” Trying to hold back a laugh, Kit focused on the road in front of her a little too intently. “I think you’re overestimating the size of the Monroe Police Department, especially in the winter.”
The woman waved an impatient hand. “Whatever. I need to talk to someone who actually has some influence, not a jumped-up meter maid.”
Instead of being insulted, Kit just wanted to laugh again. Courtney Young was coming off as such a caricature of an evil rich person that Kit couldn’t take anything the woman said seriously. She looked forward to telling the other K9 cops about the encounter. Hugh, especially, would get a kick out of it. Kit smiled a little at the thought. Despite what had happened at the tower the day before, she was still hopeful that she could become part of the K9 team. Once they got to know her better, they’d figure out that they could trust her to have their backs—and watch out for their kids.
“Why are you going so slowly?”
Courtney’s complaint interrupted Kit’s thoughts, bringing her attention back to her passenger. “With this snow, driving can be treacherous…as you discovered. I’m surprised the car rental agency didn’t recommend a more snow-worthy vehicle.”
“They tried to switch and give me something like this.” Her hand flicked toward the SUV’s dashboard, contempt thick in her voice. “I refused. How was I supposed to know that this backwards hole wouldn’t plow its streets?”
Kit was about to tell Courtney that the streets were plowed and she’d gotten stuck because she’d driven her very impractical car into an unused parking lot, but she just sighed instead, knowing it would be a waste of breath. Besides, they were right in front of the station. Kit pulled up to the curb and parked. “I’ll walk you in.”
Courtney’s attention was fixed on the squat building across the street. “What’s that?” Her tone was surprisingly interested, considering she was looking at a dingy, small-town VFW.
“That’s the VFW and the temporary home to the town diner.” She wasn’t even finished speaking when Courtney opened her door and jumped out. As Kit watched, the woman hurried around the front of her SUV and across the street toward the viner entrance. She moved surprisingly fast on the slick pavement for someone wearing boots with four-inch heels.
Kit jumped out of the SUV and followed, her curiosity reignited. “You’re heading the wrong way. The station’s over here.”
Without pausing in her dash toward the viner, Courtney tossed over her shoulder, “I’m going to get some coffee.”
Although that was actually a good idea, since the quality of the station coffee varied greatly from barely drinkable to almost tolerable, depending on who made it and how long it had been sitting, Courtney’s manner was a little too urgent. The fire had caused more of a mess than true damage, so the viner was already open again for business. Kit hurried to catch up with her, following her closely into the entry. From the intent look on the woman’s face, Kit figured that Courtney had an ulterior motive for coming into the viner—unless she really loved her coffee.
Just as she entered the dining area, Courtney stopped, forcing Kit to shift to the side so as not to crash into her back. There was an almost immediate hush, one that Kit recognized from her first trip to the viner. The sight of a stranger in town was apparently a big deal.
Jules turned from where she was clearing an empty table and caught sight of Kit by the door. She started to smile, lighting up with genuine welcome, when her gaze moved to Courtney.
Her face instantly blanched of all color. The tray of dishes in her hands wobbled and fell, hitting the floor with a crash and breaking the frozen silence.
“No!” Jules darted across the room, and Kit tensed, trying to figure out what was happening. It felt like an accident scene, filled with action and chaos and requiring split-second decisions on her part—but she had no idea whose lives were in danger or why.
Jules skidded to a halt in front of a booth where Sam, the twins, and Dee were sitting. All the kids wore horrified expressions that made Kit tense even more. Something was wrong—very wrong—but Kit didn’t know what. All she knew was that Courtney was somehow the cause.
“You!” A tiny, triumphant smile slipped across Courtney’s face before disappearing just as quickly. Raising her arm, Courtney pointed at Jules dramatically. “Officer! Arrest that woman!”
Movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention, and Kit turned her head to see Elena retreating into the kitchen. Kit let her go, her focus switching between Courtney and Jules’s protective stance in front of her family. She wished she’d brought her radio with her, but she had to settle for pulling out her cell phone and calling Theo. As it rang, Courtney charged forward toward Jules.
“Hold up!” Kit grabbed Courtney by the arm and hauled her back a few steps. When the woman started fighting her grip, Kit held her phone to her ear with her shoulder and used both hands to restrain Courtney. “Settle down and just stay here until we get this—whatever it is—worked out. Ms. Young, if you don’t stop fighting me, I’m going to have to use restraints—Theo,” she interrupted herself as Theo answered. “I need backup at the viner. Appears to be just a verbal dispute at the moment, but Jules is involved.” Her voice lowered. “She’s terrified.”
“Five minutes,” Theo clipped out before ending the call.
Courtney’s struggles had stopped, so Kit kept one hand on her arm while using the other to turn on the recording app before dropping her phone into her coat pocket. “Okay, let’s go across the street and figure this out.”
“No!” Courtney twisted out of her hold, and Kit grabbed her again, this time putting the other woman into an arm bar. “You have to arrest her immediately. If we leave her alone, she’ll just steal my children away from me again!”
Startled, Kit blinked before giving Jules a questioning look. A white-faced Jules just stared back, not denying the accusation, and Kit tensed. For now, she was the only cop on scene, so it was up to her to keep things under control.
“Jules, could you take a seat next to Dee?” she asked.
Acting as if she hadn’t heard, Jules continued staring at Courtney as if the older woman had stepped right out of Jules’s nightmares. If Jules tried to run before Theo arrived, Kit was going to have to chase her, which meant either letting Courtney go or dragging her along. Her gut told her that Jules was more trustworthy than Courtney, but she really didn’t want to have to leave either unguarded.
“Jules.” Kit put more force into the command. “Sit down.”
Tearing her gaze from Courtney, Jules met Kit’s eyes before flicking from the entrance behind Kit and Courtney to the kitchen door. Kit’s muscles tightened, preparing to move. She knew what Jules’s look meant. It meant that desperation and panic were warring about which absolutely wrong decision she was about to make.
Kit softened her tone. “Jules, Theo’s going to be here in just a minute. Nothing is going to happen until then. Once he’s here, all of us are going to talk and figure out what’s going on. You trust Theo, right?”
Although she didn’t answer, Jules focused on Kit again. Her panic was still obvious, but she looked as if she was actually listening now. It seemed that Theo’s name was the magic word.
“Why don’t you have a seat,” Kit continued, using the same calm, hopefully soothing tone. “It looks like Dee could use your company. We’ll stay over here, and you sit with your family, and when Theo gets here, we’ll work everything out.” Tensing in Kit’s grip, Courtney took a breath, but Kit squeezed her arm before the woman could say anything. Kit knew for certain that nothing Courtney added to the conversation would help. Even worse, it would likely be the trigger that sent Jules and the kids bolting for the door.
Jules stayed frozen for several moments—long enough that Kit thought that her persuasive monologue hadn’t helped—but then she glanced quickly at a terrified-looking Dee, who was staring at Courtney with huge eyes. “Oh, sweetie,” Jules said softly, sounding heartbreakingly sad as she stiffly eased down on the bench next to her sister. Her voice was so quiet that the only reason Kit could hear her words was because everyone else in the viner remained completely silent.
On the other side of the booth from Jules and Dee, Sam started to slide out of the seat, but Kit caught his eye and shook her head. His expression looked just as frantic as Jules’s. Normally, he was so good at hiding his emotions, and Kit knew that he must be completely panicked if his guard was down like that. Ignoring her silent signal, Sam stood.
“Please sit down, Sam,” Kit ordered. Sam’s gaze flickered over to her for only a brief second before returning to glare at Courtney. Kit braced herself, anticipating that Sam would rush at them. If she was occupied with Sam, she wouldn’t be able to restrain Courtney or watch Jules and the other kids. It would be chaos.
His gaze flicked to Jules, and they exchanged a quick, telling look before Sam faced Kit and Courtney again. Dread filled Kit’s belly as she read his expression, a mixture of determination and resignation that told Kit he was going to throw himself to the lions in order to save his family. He knew that she wouldn’t be able to stop Jules and the other kids from running if he charged them—and as much as Kit was on their side, as a cop, she had to be a neutral party. She couldn’t just let them run. Kit glanced briefly around the diners for someone who could help, but the average age was approximately eighty. She was on her own.
Hurry up and get here, Theo!
“Wh-wh-why are y-you h-here?” Sam demanded. His fists clenched at his sides, but he stayed by the table…for now.
“How can you ask that, Sebastian?” Courtney sounded choked up, but a quick glance showed that her face was as smooth and expressionless as ever. It was a discomforting juxtaposition. “I’ve been heartbroken since you were stolen away from me by that…that…bitch.” She paused to glare at Jules, who stood up to stand next to Sam. “Your poor father…” Her voice broke, but it was eerily empty of emotion. This woman didn’t love these children. Kit knew it deep in her gut, but she couldn’t let her feelings affect how she handled the scene. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, to see Jules, the twins, Dee, and—worst of all—Sam, her sweet training buddy, stare at her as if Kit was a betrayer, a monster. She couldn’t let the family just run out of the diner, though. It went against all of her instincts as a cop. “It took away his will to live.” Her tone changed from sorrow to fury. “You killed him, you ungrateful bitch!” Jules flinched at that, turning chalk white, and Sam’s face went blank with what Kit guessed was shock.
“Dad’s dead?” Dee asked, sounding bewildered, and Jules reached behind her to grab the little girl’s hand. The twins both stared at Courtney from their positions in the booth, silent and still for the first time since Kit had met them.
Courtney pressed her fingers to her lips as she let out a sob, but her smooth cheeks remained dry. Kit eyed the woman, her brain working through the information that had just been revealed. Courtney was either Jules’s mother or stepmother—stepmother would be Kit’s guess—and she was accusing Jules of kidnapping her siblings. Pieces clicked into place—Jules’s mistrust and paranoia during the training session, the clear signs that Sam had been abused, even Theo’s overprotectiveness. He’d known that Jules had committed a crime, and the entire K9 unit had been trying to hide it from Kit. It felt like a repeat of what had happened at her last department, only worse, since it seemed Jules had a very good reason to commit her crime.
Kit’s gaze turned to Courtney, and a bone-deep loathing filled her. This woman had hurt those kids, hurt them badly enough that Jules had felt the need to commit a serious crime to get them away from her. Her thoughts filled with every domestic violence case that Kit had tried to intervene in. So many times, she’d been forced to stand by, watching as the system failed the victims, as abusers walked free, as children were returned to homes where Kit knew they weren’t safe. The maddening frustration of each of those situations hit her in a wave, the memory of every time justice had failed because there hadn’t been enough evidence or someone had screwed up.
This couldn’t be one of those times. She couldn’t be the person who sent these kids—these sweet, wonderful kids—back to their abuser.
Catching Jules’s agonized gaze, Kit jerked her head toward the kitchen. Jules straightened, her shoulders jerking back in shock, looking confused for only a fraction of a second before she flew into action, motioning the terrified kids out of the booth.
“Where are they going?” Courtney’s voice grew shrill as the kids piled out and Kit didn’t say a word to stop them. “You’re letting them go? What kind of police officer are you? This woman kidnapped my children, and you’re just allowing them to leave? Stop them! Stop them right now, or you’ll never work as a cop again!”
Kit faced forward, trying not to flinch at Courtney’s threat as the kids ran for the kitchen door, followed by Jules. For nearly ten years, Kit had tried her best to follow the rules, to make a difference in the strict confines of the law, but she couldn’t do this. She’d seen how happy the kids were with Jules, and she couldn’t rip that away from them.
A swirl of cold air and the thump of boots in the front entry made Kit glance over her shoulder to see Theo, Hugh, and Otto rushing into the viner.
“Wait!” Theo made a beeline for Jules, who froze at the kitchen entrance, her expression a mix of love and grief. “Don’t run, Jules. We’ll fix this. We’ll figure it out together.”
After taking in the scene at a glance, Otto and Hugh moved over to Kit, and she felt her shoulders fall slightly in relief. Her partners were here to back her up. That might not be something she experienced for much longer, if Courtney had her way, and it made her even more grateful for their presence.
“They can’t go back,” Jules said, a sob in her voice as she clutched the edge of the door, her gaze jumping between Theo and the kitchen, where the kids must be waiting. “I won’t let them go back.”
“We won’t let them.” Theo stepped closer, his face both tender and fierce, all at once. “They won’t go back to her. I promise. Whatever we have to do to keep that from happening, we’ll do it.”
Jules crumbled, her legs sagging underneath her, and Theo rushed to hold her up. She collapsed against him, and he supported her as she cried against his shoulder. Kit swallowed as her throat tightened in reaction to the other woman’s relieved sobs.
“Sam, Ty, Tio, Dee.” Theo said each child’s name seriously, as if they were also a vow. “Come back in here, please. No one’s going back with Courtney.” His gaze flashed to her, ferociously cold anger in his eyes. “Ever.”
The kids filed back in and clustered around Theo and Jules.
“You’re all crooked cops,” Courtney spat out, glaring at Theo and then at Kit. “Every single one of you.”
“Okay!” Hugh clapped his hands loudly, making half the people in the diner jump in their chairs. “Unless you’re a cop, being restrained by a cop, or you’re related to Jules, breakfast is now over. Everyone out!”
There were a few grumbles, but all the customers quickly gathered their coats and hurried out the door. Silence descended on the viner except for the soft murmur of Theo’s voice as he spoke too quietly to Jules for Kit to hear. When the door thudded shut behind the last customer, Otto locked it and returned to the dining area as Hugh turned to Courtney.
“Who is this?” Hugh asked, his mouth a grim line. It was a sharp contrast to his usual good-natured expression.
“Courtney Young.” Kit was the one who answered. “Jules’s stepmother, apparently.”
Hugh and Otto exchanged a look.
“You brought her here, to Jules?” Hugh demanded.
You’re glaring at the wrong person, Kit thought, but kept her voice even as she answered. “No, I brought her to the police department. She came here and spotted Jules. That’s when I called for backup.”
“I saw that kidnapping bitch on the news, standing in front of this building,” Courtney spat. “She was wearing a waitressing uniform. Last night, my PI confirmed that she was here with the kids, and I caught the first flight this morning.”
Otto cursed under his breath, and Kit’s eyebrows shot up. She’d never heard him swear since she’d met him.
“Pretty much, big guy,” Hugh said with a sigh, looking back and forth between Courtney and the frightened family huddled around Theo.
“Let me go.” Courtney tried to twist out of Kit’s hold. “I don’t understand why I’m being treated like a criminal. I’m the victim! My children were stolen from me.”
Kit hung on. “If we were treating you like a criminal, you’d be in handcuffs in an interview room across the street. Let’s go to the station and get this straightened out.”
“It’s not a disagreement that needs to be ‘straightened out.’ This was a heinous crime, and Juliet needs to go to prison!” As Courtney’s voice carried across the viner, Jules’s face whitened even more and Theo looked like he wanted to murder someone. Sam’s fists had clenched again, the twins’ expressions were grim, and Dee started to cry.
Kit turned back to Courtney, determined to get her across the street, even if she had to drag her, but before she could make a move, a stranger’s deep voice came from the doorway.
“That’s enough, Ms. Young.”
Jules gasped audibly, but Kit didn’t look at her, too focused on the man who’d just entered the viner. He was tall, broad, and looked to be in his thirties, darkly attractive despite his scars and scowl. He strode into the dining area with such confidence that Kit immediately wondered if he was a state or federal investigator. Courtney stiffened in Kit’s hold.
“Who are you?” Theo asked sharply.
“And how did you get in here?” Hugh didn’t wait for the stranger to answer before adding, “That door was locked.”
“My name is Mateo Espina.” He ignored Hugh’s question. “I’m here because I received a text from Jules last night, telling me that there was an emergency, and that I was needed.” His gaze flicked to Courtney. “I see she was telling the truth.”
Everyone’s eyes moved to Jules, who looked confused. “I didn’t text you,” she said.
Mr. Espina frowned slightly before appearing to dismiss that, at least for now. “I have some information about the current situation that you might find useful.”
“Don’t listen to him!” Courtney’s voice had a shrill note that revealed her fear and made Kit even more interested in what Mr. Espina had to say. “He’s a criminal, just like Juliet. They’re in on it together. He blackmailed me, made me promise not to go to the police. If it wasn’t for him, I would’ve found where Jules was hiding the kids months ago.”
Mr. Espina didn’t looked fazed by her words. Instead, he simply cocked his head slightly, as if he found what she was saying only mildly interesting. “And what evidence, Ms. Young, did I use to blackmail you?”
Courtney tried to take a step away from him, but Kit blocked her path. “It’s not evidence. It’s lies and doctored video.” Seeming to regain some of her confidence, Courtney straightened. “Also, it was illegally obtained. My lawyer isn’t worried about it, so neither am I.” After shooting Jules a triumphant, poisonous glance, she looked back at Mr. Espina. “There’s no way I’ll be convicted, but she will be.”
Dee started to cry harder, and Kit frowned. “We need to move this to the station. The kids shouldn’t be hearing this.”
Otto moved toward Mr. Espina, and to Kit’s surprise, he didn’t object as the cop approached. Instead, Mr. Espina just said mildly, “Left jacket pocket.”
Otto cautiously reached in and pulled out a flash drive as Mr. Espina lifted the large envelope he was carrying and dumped it out on the table in front of him. Glossy pictures scattered over the surface of the table, and Kit peered at them, unable to see the photos at that angle. By the way the muscles in Otto’s jaw tightened and twitched, however, they were upsetting.
“What are those?” The shrill note was back in Courtney’s voice as she pulled against Kit’s hold. “If those are what I think they are, then I will sue you. How dare you invade my privacy like tha—”
“Quiet,” Otto ordered, the harsh word as effective as a slap. Courtney snapped her mouth closed, her face paling under the layers of contoured makeup.
“I gave you a choice, Ms. Young.” Mr. Espina idly straightened the corner of one photo, lining it up squarely with the one next to it. “You chose poorly. Jules might be going to prison, but you will be joining her.”
“No!” The word burst from Courtney, but then she calmed, even smiling slightly. “Like I said, I discussed this with my lawyer. Those pictures, whatever you have on that flash drive, aren’t admissible evidence. So what if my relationship with Sebastian was a little…inappropriate? What boy wouldn’t want to be in his place?”
Kit glanced at Sam, fury and heartbreak at what had happened to him sweeping over her. He stared at the floor, refusing to look at anyone. “What else did you do to them?” Kit asked, trying to keep her voice neutral even as she raged inside. She knew that there’d be more. With people like Courtney, there always was.
Courtney gave an impatient huff. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Jules’s voice shook. “You hit me, locked me in a closet for hours, tortured me. You call that nothing? And what about what you did to Dee at the pageants? Burning her with the curling iron if she didn’t sit still? Not letting her use the bathroom all day?”
“It was for her own good.” Courtney waved a hand at Dee. “Look at her. A couple of months away from me, and she looks like a homely boy. As for you, you were a difficult child. I didn’t do anything you didn’t deserve. You don’t know how hard it was. I was basically a single mother.”
“You’re going to jail,” Theo gritted out, flat hatred in his gaze. “I’m going to enjoy helping to send you there.”
“Please,” Courtney scoffed, sounding as if she was regaining her confidence. “I’m not going anywhere except back to Florida with my children. All of that so-called evidence was obtained illegally by someone who doesn’t even have his mob buddies backing him up anymore.” She smirked at Mr. Espina. “Yes, my PI told me how pathetically powerless you are now that all your criminal business associates are either dead, in prison, or in hiding.
“All that’s left is my word against a kidnapper’s—and a few crooked cops that are in on it with her. You all knew about it for months and didn’t turn her in. I’ll need to check with my lawyer about the proper terminology, but I believe that’s called ‘aiding and abetting.’” The triumph in her voice was almost as sickening as the casual way she’d admitted to abusing her stepchildren. “No court is going to convict me—but they will convict all of you and give me custody of my children.”
The diner went almost silent for a frozen moment. The only sound was Dee’s muffled crying.
“Y-y-you f-forg-g-got ab-bout m-m-me.” Sam took a step toward his stepmother, his skin so pale it was almost green.
“What?” Courtney gasped on a sharp inhale.
“I’ll testif-f-fy ag-gainst y-you.”
Jules pressed a hand to her mouth, silent tears streaking her cheeks as she stared at her brother.
“Sebastian! How could you threaten to do such a thing? You know you enjoyed every second of it.” As Courtney tried to move away, Kit tightened her grip, giving the woman’s arm a harder tug than technically necessary. She didn’t have to see the photos to know what was in them, and her heart broke for sweet, brave Sam, even as disgust for the woman she was restraining filled her. Courtney tensed, and her expression went cold as she gave a sharp, short laugh. “You think anyone will believe you? They’ll all think you’re lying.”
“He’s not lying.” Ty’s face was tight and his voice had a slight quaver, but he didn’t drop his gaze from where it was fixed on his stepmother. “I’ll testify, too.”
“Of course you’d defend your brother,” Courtney scoffed. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
There was a short, intense silence, and Kit could see the effect of Courtney’s words on Sam. His rigid posture started to collapse as his resolute expression flattened to blankness. Kit couldn’t stay quiet and watch him take all the blame for something that was not his fault.
“I believe them,” Kit said, meeting Sam’s surprised gaze when it darted to hers. “And the jury will believe both of us, since I’ve recorded this entire conversation—including when you confessed to child abuse. Courtney Young, you’re under arrest.” Glancing around the room, she saw that only Theo was in uniform. “Theo, can I borrow your cuffs?”
He grinned at her—the happiest, friendliest smile she’d ever seen on him—as he pulled a pair of handcuffs from the case on his belt. “Definitely.” He tossed the cuffs to her, and she grabbed them out of the air one-handed. It wasn’t until one of Courtney’s hands was restrained that she realized what was happening and started to struggle.
“I’m not the criminal here!” she yelled, trying to twist free. Hugh helped restrain her as Kit secured Courtney’s other wrist before double-locking the cuffs with the key Hugh offered. “How dare you arrest me? By the time I’m through with you, you’re going to be jobless and destitute, do you hear me?”
Hugh took a firm hold of a still-shrieking Courtney and met Kit’s gaze. His small smile was grim. “I commend you on not getting rough with her. If I’d been in your place, I don’t know if I would’ve had the willpower to resist.”
Kit returned his smile with a humorless one of her own. “I was tempted.” As Hugh led Courtney toward the door, Kit glanced around, her mind clicking through what she needed to do. When her gaze landed on Sam, who was having the stuffing hugged out of him by his siblings and Theo, sharp anger pierced her. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the knowledge of Courtney’s abuse and the accompanying rage aside to dwell on later. Right now, she had a viner full of witnesses and victims and who knew what else.
Otto was returning the photos to their envelope, his expression hard, when Kit caught his attention. “Can you escort Mr. Espina across the street to one of the interview rooms?” Otto dipped his chin in acknowledgment before ushering the other man toward the door.
“Wait!” Jules called. “I want to talk to you before you leave town again, and I know that Elena, Sarah, and Grace will want to see you.”
Mr. Espina turned toward Jules. “Tomorrow. We’ll meet at your house at eight.”
After he and Otto left, Kit turned to Theo and Jules’s family, letting her expression soften to a smile when the kids looked at her anxiously. “Let’s move this next door so the viner can reopen for business.”
Jules gave a watery laugh, her arms around Dee and Tio, gripping them to her sides, as Sam and Ty stayed close and Theo loomed protectively over them all. “The poor customers keep getting chased out of here. They’re going to start getting their food to go.”
“Nah,” Kit said. “They like being in on the excitement. This way, they’re first on the gossip chain.”
“True.”
Kit switched her attention back to Theo. “Is there an interview room they all can fit into?”
From his grimace, she took that as a no, so she thought about other possibilities.
“The women’s locker room will work in a pinch.” When Ty looked like he was going to complain, Kit spoke again before he could. “Right now, I’m the only woman who might be wandering in there, so you’ll be safe.”
They gathered up their coats, seemingly unwilling to break out of their tight family huddle, and Kit thought that was sweet. She felt a slight pang that she didn’t have anyone close by, but she was glad that Jules wouldn’t be ripped away from her siblings, and she was very happy that Sam and the others wouldn’t have to live with the awful, vicious Courtney Young.
“Wh-wh-why d-d-did y-you br-br-br…l-lead h-her in h-h-here?” Sam’s accusing question broke the comfortable silence, and Kit looked at him in surprise.
“I didn’t—not intentionally. I just brought her to the police station because she got her car stuck in the snow. When she darted across the street toward this place, I wasn’t sure what to think.” She met Sam’s eyes and was unable to tell whether he accepted her explanation or not. “I’m sorry for my part in springing her on you. That must’ve been terrifying.”
Sam gave her a tiny nod before looking away, but Jules managed a tight smile. The rest of the kids looked overwhelmed and stressed, reminding Kit to focus. There was a lot to do before everyone could head home.
She gave Theo a rueful look. “Every time I try to take a day off, I end up in the middle of some incident.”
He tipped his chin. Although the gesture was slight, his gaze was warm, and she finally felt like she was part of the team. “Welcome to Monroe.”