In good news for my patience, Alec already attended therapy. I worried I would need to attend therapy, too, if I needed to stay handcuffed to him for longer than a few days. Judging from the water cooler talk at my previous precinct, cases could take months to resolve.
Months handcuffed to Alec would test me in more ways than I cared to think about. Months handcuffed to anyone would test me, but everything I’d seen about him indicated he was nice and single to go with his good albeit average but attractive appearances.
When partnered with nice and single, average had a tendency of becoming ridiculously handsome in a hurry.
I needed to not think about Alec classifying as handsome when there were handcuffs involved.
“You’re right. It doesn’t. But if we can find out the details on this curse and why you were targeted by this curse and free you from it, everyone is better off. Especially you, though.”
“I really can’t think of anything I’ve done to justify being cursed,” he said, frowning and staring in the general direction of the handcuffs. “I’m also not sure what I’m supposed to think about these handcuffs.”
“To say the least, I fully understand your hesitancies. I’m supposed to be doing the cuffing, not being cuffed.” As I realized how that sounded, I shrugged and added, “And since we’re going to be involved in a rather unique relationship moving forward, my name is apparently Josefina. That’s what my license and badge state, but I’ve been called McMarin for so long I forget I have a first name.”
“I noticed the cops tended to address each other by their last names. Why is that?”
“I honestly don’t have a clue. The day I became a cadet, I underwent a mystical transformation, switching from Josefina to McMarin.”
A snorted laugh indicated the Chief Quinns had managed to sneak into the hospital room without anyone noticing. “It’s easier to read the name tags, which go by our last names. Without those name tags, we would be lost, confused, and surrounded by nameless co-workers,” Samuel informed me. “It’s also efficient, as we don’t get many cases of matching last names in the precinct, whereas there are at least ten Michaels working in our precinct, and two of them are on our floor.”
“I can see how that would become complicated,” I acknowledged. “Do I get to escape this joint tonight, sir?”
“That’s more paperwork for my new detective,” Bailey said, and she snickered.
“We don’t get to give her any extra paperwork, as she is being handcuffed to our witness. That’s punishment enough.” Then, he shrugged. “It might be a reward. Who knows? Are you feeling rewarded or punished, Mr. Mortan?”
“Having met many cops, I feel I have been slated to be handcuffed to one of the highest quality members of law enforcement,” he replied. “I can’t state I am being punished at this point in time.”
All-in-all, I gave him full points for his dignified tone and bearing, as he made his announcement with a straight face and no sign of cracking under pressure.
“Oh, that’s a good one,” Bailey said, and she stared at her husband with wide eyes. “It was the perfect rebuttal.”
“You got side zinged, and you can’t help how much you enjoy a good zinger,” her husband replied.
“It’s true. I can’t even feel bad for losing. I’m taken and get to go home with my good catch. But I don’t get the handcuffs.”
With a raised brow, Samuel stole her handcuffs. “Are you sure about that?”
“I will go make sure the doctors hurry up with that paperwork,” Bailey announced, and she fled the room.
“You’re not going to actually handcuff her, are you?” Alec asked.
“I probably will, otherwise she’ll try to follow you back to your hotel room and hover because she doesn’t know any other way to approach the situation. You do not need an audience to go along with your case of cuffed for the foreseeable future.” With a grin, he went to the door and peeked into the hallway. “She is picking a fight with the nurse in charge of your discharge. The nurse is amused, so I can’t tell which one of them is winning yet. As she’ll have a meltdown if I don’t take you to your hotel and see you safely inside, you get to deal with us hovering for at least thirty more minutes. Unfortunately, I am going to ask for you to figure out how you’re handling the cuffs, as the last thing I need is either one of you getting in trouble on the way back to the hotel. I’ll leave you two to that discussion.”
Well, so much for having limited freedom until the hotel. “Understood, Samuel, sir.”
He chuckled. “You’ll be fine, McMarin. If either one of you becomes uncomfortable, just give me a call. I’ll arrange for a sleepover party.”
As I could see the sleepover party resulting in someone’s premature demise, I would make certain neither one of us had a reason to make that call. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
After he left the room, I sighed. “He forgot about the IV. We’ll deal with the cuffs after I’ve been freed from the IV and get changed. We’ll pretend that you standing outside of the bathroom is the appropriate distance before we get this show on the road.”
“I am so sorry about this.”
“Don’t be. I’d rather deal with being handcuffed for a few days than the alternative. I’ll just keep this in mind when it comes time to ask for my next raise.”
Exhaustion made copingwith the reality of being handcuffed to a witness easier than I anticipated. Upon making it back to my hotel room, which had become our hotel room, we acknowledged our exhaustion would win within a few minutes. After a brief dance to use the bathroom involving averted eyes and a determination to handle the basics like adults, we flopped onto the bed and passed out. Alec started snoring within moments, and I joined him within five minutes, after waging a brief battle with the handcuffs and the blanket.
My alarm went off, resulting in a tangle of arms, legs, and blankets. Curses from my new roommate and unconventional partner reminded me of my life’s odd left turn into the absurd. After a brief struggle to free my right hand, I silenced my phone. “Sorry about that, Alec.”
