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Marcia frowned.

“Actually,” Dempsey said, “she has two active warrants right now, for this county. She won’t be going anywhere but the county jail.”

Shelby, my sweet Shelby, didn’t say anything to that.

She just crossed her arms and glared.

My fingers twitched as I once again had to fight the pull to yank her into my arms. Protect her from her mother, the woman who stole her away from me.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” Marcia cried out. “I don’t have a warrant for anything.”

“You have two open warrants. One for failure to appear for a child custody hearing.” Dempsey jerked her chin toward my kid. “And one for kidnapping.”

“Kidnapping!”

“At the hearing that you missed,” I said softly, “the judge awarded me custody. When the police found you that one time when she was eight and a half, and informed you that you were in contempt of court and didn’t have custody of her, you ran with Shelby instead of giving her to me or waiting to figure it out in court.”

Marcia stayed stubbornly silent.

“On that note,” Dempsey said. “You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and…”

Dempsey read her her rights, and thankfully she didn’t put up much of a fight.

Dempsey had her in her car and was walking back to us when Shelby launched herself at me.

I caught her, thankful that Jessamy had opened the gate in time.

I curled my girl in my arms, a rightness settling into my bones that hadn’t been there for a long, long time.

She gave me all her weight, as she used to do when she was little, and I wasn’t expecting it.

I hit the ground, my knees to the gravel, and didn’t feel the pain.

What I felt was the utmost relief.

Home.

She was finally home.

In my arms, where she was always supposed to be.

“Baby.” I closed my eyes. “You’re home.”

She started to shake as the tears overtook her. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I’m so sorry I forgot you.”

I blinked open my eyes at the pain in her voice.

My gaze caught Jessamy’s over the top of Shelby’s head, and somehow, I knew that she’d orchestrated this. She’d found my girl for me, and I owed her everything.

It still felt surreal.

Shelby was back under my roof, but she wasn’t the little girl she’d been before.

We were back at my place, and Shelby was standing in the doorway of her old bedroom staring in shock at all the pink.

“It looks like a princess threw up in here.” She laughed.

God. That laugh.