“Excuse me?” Mrs. Gonzales asked, startled by the woman’s sudden appearance.

“That is my son, and with his father incapacitated, I’ll be taking him home.”

Christina shot out of her chair. “No, you won’t. You have no right to be here, Lori.”

“I have every right! He’s my son, and his father is unable to care for him, which means he rightfully belongs with me.”

Nick stood and put his arm around Christina’s shoulders. “Are you really going to do this now?” he asked Lori. “Do you care so little about the man who fathered your child that you would come here and upset people who already have enough to be upset about?”

Lori had the good grace to at least seem ashamed of herself but not enough to go away. “I want my son, and none of you has the right to keep me from him.”

Nick withdrew his cell phone from his pocket. “We’ll see about that. In the meantime, you’re in a room full of cops, and I’d recommend you refrain from doing anything you’ll regret.”

Sam assumed he was calling his friend Andy, who had represented Gonzo in the custody case. She watched him with a sense of pride and awe as he stepped up for Christina—and Gonzo. He walked away from the group to talk to Andy.

Lori hovered awkwardly in their midst, watching her sleeping son with barely restrained agitation.

Sam watched her closely. She wouldn’t put it past the woman to pull a gun on them to get what she wanted. The fact that most of the people surrounding Mr. and Mrs. Gonzales were cops might not deter her.

Nick returned a few minutes later and took a seat next to Sam. “Andy is on his way with everything we need to get rid of her. Apparently Gonzo anticipated this very scenario and took steps to ensure it couldn’t happen.”

“Thank goodness,” Sam said with a sigh of relief.

The tension in the waiting room was amped up by Lori’s presence as everyone tried to pretend she wasn’t there while they waited for word about Gonzo. Sam had no doubt that every one of her colleagues was prepared to do battle to keep Gonzo’s son where he belonged. No one moved or said a word, but they all had eyes on Lori.

Sam smiled to herself. The poor woman had no clue what she was up against with Gonzo’s squad watching out for him. Sam didn’t think cutting Alex’s mother out of his life was in the child’s best interest, but Lori had lost major points with all of them by barging in there to take advantage of the fact that Gonzo had been grievously wounded.