The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 321

Most of the children had already been picked up by their parents, and the crowd at the kindergarten entrance had thinned. Felix Bridges, however, was still standing in the same spot.

Ivan's mother shot him a sideways glance, then let out another laugh.

"See? Nobody wants him. Look at the time, and he's still just standing there all alone. Your kindergarten is far too lenient. If it were me, I'd have been blowing up the phone of a problem parent like that long ago."

A nearby parent couldn't stand it anymore and frowned, trying to intervene. "Ivan's mother, that's enough. Why say such things in front of the children?"

"Why should I stop? My son got hit for nothing. That little bast—"

Before she could finish the word, the area suddenly fell silent.

The quiet spread inward in waves from the outer edges of the crowd.

First, the grandparents stopped talking. Then, the fathers who were showing off their new car keys fell silent, their gazes all fixed on a single point.

Ivan's mother sensed the stillness behind her, a chill creeping up the back of her neck.

She trailed off, turning around suspiciously.

Just a few feet away, a man had appeared, though she hadn't noticed when.

He was dressed in a crisp, black SWAT combat uniform, his tactical boots making no sound on the pavement. A pair of sunglasses hid his expression.

Everyone around him instinctively took a step back.

This wasn't your average beat cop who handled neighborhood disputes.

Rhys Huntington walked straight past the woman, knelt on one knee in front of Felix, and took off his sunglasses, clipping them to his collar. The usual coldness in his eyes softened.

"Sorry, I'm late."

Felix's lips formed a pout as he complained softly, "You're so slow."

He huffed internally, having almost given up on the man showing up at all.

Rhys explained in a low voice, "I couldn't help it. I'm not a Heron Bay cop. It was hard to borrow the uniform."

He'd used up all his favors for this outfit, even signing a stack of written guarantees for Mitchell.

He leaned down slightly, a chilling smile playing on his lips. "Officers like to be reasonable, but sometimes, when we meet kids who don't behave, we might not be so reasonable."

Ivan, being just a child, burst into tears with a loud "Waaah!"

Ivan's mother finally snapped out of it, pulling her son behind her and pointing at Rhys. "Does being a cop give you the right to scare children? I'm going to file a complaint! What's your unit? Your badge number?"

Rhys didn't flinch. He took a step forward and stated his badge number himself.

"Brighton City SWAT, Deputy Chief Rhys. Got that? Do you want the complaint hotline number too? Or should I give you the number for Internal Affairs so you can call them right now, in front of me?"

The woman was silenced.

She looked at the two faces, one large and one small, that were so strikingly similar. Then she glanced at the SWAT patch on his sleeve.

This was no fatherless wild child.

This father looked more intimidating than anyone she'd ever met.

She forced a smile. "A misunderstanding. Kids will be kids, just playing around. Our Ivan was in the wrong, too... I'll have him give the cube back, okay?"