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Tom doesn't notice any of it.

His gaze lands on Maggie and stays there.

The volunteers decorating tables, the families wandering through the community center, the stacks of donated toys waiting to be sorted… all of it fades into the background as far as he's concerned.

Then his eyes find Lucy.

His expression changes so fast it's hard to track. Hope flickers across his face, chased by desperation, and then frustration that tightens his jaw.

Every instinct in me rises up at once.

"Lucy."

His voice carries across the room, sharp enough to make Lucy jump. The flinch hits me harder than it should and judging by the way Maggie immediately draws her farther behind her, I'm not the only one.

Tom starts toward them, and people edge out of his way with uncertain glances, nobody quite sure whether they're watching a family argument or the start of a fight.

"Tom."

Ashby's voice cracks across the room.

Tom doesn't even slow down. "Maggie, let me talk to her."

Maggie doesn't move.

Fear still shows in the tightness around her eyes and the tension running through her body, but she's planted between Tom and Lucy with the determination of a woman who's spent too long rebuilding herself to let anyone tear it apart again.

And this time, she isn't backing down.

Maggie's chin lifts. "You're violating the restraining order."

Tom lets out a bitter laugh.

The sound turns heads across the room.

Officer Hernandez is already setting down the box he'd been carrying before he starts toward us. Tom gets another three steps before he finally notices him.

The change in his expression is immediate.

"Tom," Hernandez says.

Color drains from Tom's face.

Beside me, Torin crosses his arms and plants himself where he can see everything. Ashby shifts closer to Maggie and Lucy, leaving plenty of room while making it clear exactly who he's standing with.

The room falls still.

Maggie reaches into her purse and pulls out the folded emergency order.

My chest tightens as she unfolds it and holds it up where Tom can see every page.

A few months ago, she would've been searching for a way out of this room. Today she stands her ground and meets his gaze without wavering.

Tom's eyes flick around the community center.

He takes in the officers near the entrance, the volunteers frozen beside half-finished displays, the families pretending they aren't watching while missing absolutely nothing.

Everywhere he looks, someone is watching. For the first time, there isn't anywhere to hide from what he's done.