“Ma’am, you can’t be here,” an officer says, but I show him my badge.

“I’m Sarah Cox, the social worker on this case.”

“Oh, great. We’ve been waiting for you. Sergeant Monroe is right over there. She’s in charge.”

I jog to the petite blonde with shrewd eyes and introduce myself. “What’s happening?”

“He’s holding them fucking hostage,” she says, shaking her head. “He’s a mean son of a bitch.”

“To put it lightly,” I reply with a nod.

“Why wasn’t the family put in a safe house?” she demands.

“Because Mrs. LaCroix wouldn’t allow it. She wanted to wait until school ends in a couple of weeks.” I cross my arms over my chest and square my shoulders. “I offered her several options, but she wanted to keep her kids in the same school.”

“Stupid woman,” Monroe mutters. “Well, he’s back, and he’s good and pissed.”

“Has he hurt them?” I ask.

“We don’t know much. The youngest daughter, Jasmine, called 911 on her brother’s cell phone. She couldn’t give the operator much information before he found her and took the phone from her. She did say that he’d hit her mom and her brother, but we don’t know how bad.”

“I was told they asked for me?”

“Yeah,” she says with a nod. “I approached the house, but he wouldn’t open the door. He said he’d only talk to you. He doesn’t like you much.”

I shrug. I don’t like him at all, so I don’t give even one shit what he thinks about me.

“Is he armed?”

“Yes.”

“So now what?”

She picks up a cell phone and dials a number, putting it on speaker. “We call him.”

The phone rings three times before Greg LaCroix answers the phone.

“Why the fuck are you calling me?”

“Because you’re putting your family in danger, Mr. LaCroix,” Monroe says calmly. “You know you’re not supposed to be here.”

“Fuck you and fuck your restraining order! This is my family. Mine! I will come and go as I goddamn please.”

We can hear the kids crying in the background. He must have them all gathered in the living room.

“Stop fucking crying!” he screams. “Or I’ll give you something to cry about!”

There’s a loud whack and more crying.

“He’s hitting them,” I say, everything in me wanting to run inside there and protect Margie and her children from the terror her husband is causing.

“Who the fuck is that?” Greg demands. As I watch the house, I see him pull the curtains aside so he can look out. “Is that the cunt social worker that tried to take my family from me?”

“Sir, we need you to calm down,” Monroe says.

“I’m calm, damn it.”

And with that, he hangs up, the curtain falls back in place, and he’s gone.

“Nice language,” Monroe says.

“I’ve been called worse,” I reply with a shrug.

“Really?” She cocks a brow. “I thought that was as bad as it gets.”

I just shake my head and look at the house. “How do we get them out?”

Suddenly, Monroe’s phone rings in her hand, and she nods, then answers. “This is Sergeant Monroe.”

“I want that bitch to come in here,” he says immediately. “The social worker. I want her to come in here.”

“Sir, I think you know that’s not going to happen, especially with the way you’re acting.” I nod emphatically, but Monroe puts her hand up and shakes her head. “It’s not safe for Ms. Cox to go in there.”

“I won’t hurt her,” he sneers. “I want her to see what her interference did. She ain’t done no good for nobody. She needs to see it. My kids crying is her fault. My wife’s bruises are her fault.”

“Mr. LaCroix,” she begins, but I grip her arm in my hand. She mutes the call. “I’m not letting you go in there.”

“I’m armed,” I reply. “I might be able to talk him into leaving on his own. At this point, he’ll kill them all and himself. Let me try.”

“Do you have any training in hostage negotiation?”

“Yes,” I lie easily.  Kurt was an expert in hostage negotiation, and he and I talked for hours and hours about cases, how he handled them, how he could have handled them differently.

“You’re a bad liar,” she replies and takes the call off mute. “You can talk to her on the phone.”

“No. I want her in here.”

“Fuck, he hung up again,” Monroe says and paces away, then back again. “This does not feel right.”

“I’m with you there,” I reply, but adrenaline is running too fast through my veins for me to be nervous. “I’m pissed, Monroe. He’s been terrorizing these people for years. This isn’t the first time the cops have been called and there’s been a standoff. This has to end today.”

“I’m well aware of what a piece of shit he is, but you’re a civilian. I can’t send you in there alone. An extraction team is on the way.”

“Excellent. You can send me in with the team. I’ll go ahead and they can stand outside. If anything happens, they can come in and save the day.” I raise my chin and stare her in the eyes.

“Get me a vest!” Monroe calls out. “You’re not going in unprotected. And I want you to stand on the porch with the team. No going inside. He’s not going to hold you hostage.”