“If this lands me in court, I’m telling the judge that the Devil made me do it,” I warned him.
“Honestly, I use that line every time I can, because it guarantees we get an angel for the trial. When the Devil made you do it is the truth, that’s when the cases get fun. Nowadays, the judges don’t even bother questioning me until they’ve called in an angel to confirm that yes, the Devil reallydidmake me do it. And half the time, he’ll show up because human courthouses amuse him. If your witness’s family accuses you of kidnapping, I recommend you use that line.”
“Wait, his family?”
“He does have parents and several siblings, and they’re concerned.”
Well, that just complicated my case. “Have they been questioned?”
“Not yet.”
I frowned, wondering how I would question them without the handcuffs becoming a problem—or the curse hitting one of his family members. “I don’t suppose you can ask the Devil if there would be any fatalities if his family were to be brought to the hotel for questioning regarding the matter of this curse?”
“Most of our cops take at least several months to get the nerve to ask if we can abuse the Devil in such a fashion. You’re going to work out great here. As a matter of fact, yes. It won’t cost me very much for that sort of peek, and it falls into a part of our job. Basically, we’ll put your witness in our precinct’s version of witness protection. You’re his protection.”
“I’m not going to be effective protection when handcuffed to him, sir.”
“Well, he won’t be escaping you while handcuffed. Be grateful for that. I tried to put my wife into protection once. She was eight months pregnant and viewed it as a challenge. I had regrets, but she had fun. She was officially off duty due to pregnancy and was not happy about it. She wanted to work until she burst at the seams. She hates being a freeloader. She did not view pregnancy as a job.”
“I may regret asking this, but is she insane?” I blurted. Thanks to my various issues, I’d given up on the idea of becoming a mother, something I’d have to adapt to in the future. Until I’d been sucker punched by an archangel, children hadn’t been a realistic option. “Another dumb question. How much do I actually owe that archangel?”
“You don’t owe him anything, I promise. It’s really precinct procedure to take care of health issues of all sorts if possible. Bailey is sensitive over it, and she’s hoping to push broader health care awareness into the general population. I wish her the best of luck with that, but she’s fixing what she can. Sick cops can’t work efficiently, and we run into a lot of situations where angels, devils, or demons have to barter to handle mortal affairs. You came in at a good time. Mr. Mortan’s situation has gotten a lot of attention.”
“Really? But from whom?” I couldn’t recall hearing anything on the news or on the internet about the man or his curse.
“From divines in general. I don’t think it’s directly divine in origin, but I can also tell you that you’ll need to be on your toes. Someone is playing with magic they shouldn’t be playing with, and I’m not sure what your witness has done to be the focal point of it. Everything we’ve gotten out of him and those who know him is that he’s just a good guy and nobody can think of any reason why someone would target him.” My chief huffed. “I’ll be headed in as soon as I get the wife peeled away from her coffee maker. I’ll call to get the wheels in motion on my end of things. Don’t be surprised if you get a call from the commissioner. He gets cranky when his cops end up in the body shop for any reason. He tends to do personal check-ins as soon as he’s notified about the situation. I have an hour to notify him before he drags my ass over coals for delaying on notifying him. I’ll ask him to wait considering the circumstances, but I can’t promise he’ll listen.”
“I’ll be ready for his call,” I promised.
“Good. Today will be busy, but I have every confidence you can handle whatever is thrown at you.”
After having been sucker punched by an archangel, I believed him. “I’ll do my best, sir.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. You can’t do your best every day, as that would be your average and you’d never have the ability to shine when it’s needed the most. Save your best for when it’s truly important. The rest of the time, give a good effort but forgive yourself if it’s not your best. Chew on that food for thought while you order breakfast—and get whatever you want, as my uncle will be footing the bill.”
He hung up, and I contemplated how to handle my day. I began with shaking Alec’s shoulder.
“Five more minutes,” he begged, and he burrowed under his pillow.
“Can you wait for your five more minutes until after I order breakfast and we unlock the door so someone can bring my laptop and some files over?” I asked, grinning at his tone, which reminded me of my failed efforts to cajole my alarm clock into giving me five more minutes. “Once I’m set up to work and can start reading over the case files, you can sleep in as long as you want. The Devil is handling your work, so you can enjoy an unconventional vacation.”
While Alec grumbled, he got up, and after a little dance to figure out how we’d get out of bed while cuffed, we got the door unlocked, slipped the cuffs long enough for some privacy in the bathroom while maintaining a suitable distance, and otherwise prepared for a long day.
“Isn’t it cheating if we take the cuffs off?”
“We’ll go insane otherwise,” I pointed out. “Mostly, we’re cuffing ourselves so we don’t forget, although considering who our informant is, we’re being had, and I don’t really understand why, but I don’t care. I care about getting to the bottom of this case.”
“Do you think he’s trying to trick us?”
I eyed Alec and raised a brow. “I would assume so. That’s his whole gig, isn’t it? So. Breakfast. Apparently, the Devil is paying, and my chief feels we should run the bill up.”
“Then it sounds like we should order a feast and eat ourselves silly.” Alec narrowed his eyes. “Or sick. What do you think your chiefs will do if you get ill?”
“Bring an archangel into it,” I muttered.
“Are you saying we could end the world through ordering too much breakfast?”
I considered the room service menu with interest. “You know what? Let’s find out.”
