Page 67 of Through the Fire
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.”
