Waking Up Cuffed

by Melissa Stevens

  Warren gave his head a slight shake. After his big break through the night before, nothing new had clicked, but then he’d slept pretty hard once he’d made it to the bed. This morning it had been slow getting going, almost as if he’d exhausted his brain while trying to figure out what they’d missed. It hadn’t wanted to wake up this morning and was still a little sluggish after three cups of coffee.

  “What’s the plan?” Warren wished he’d grabbed another cup before sitting down. Now he didn’t have the will power go get up and go get one.

  “I called Dillon Becker and asked him and his wife to come in. I gave some bullshit reason we couldn’t go to them.

  “When will they be here?”

  “Supposed to come in at three. We’ll see if they show up.”

  “Think they won’t?”

  Zeke shrugged. “Never can tell. Sometimes I’m sure they will, and they run. Then when I think they’ll run, they show.” Warren’s partner shook his head. “I’ve learned not to try to guess.”

  “Then we’ll just see. What else do we have on the agenda for today?”

  “I’ve got a couple of cases I want you to take a look at. I’ve been over them until I’m seeing faces in my sleep. We need a fresh pair of eyes on them.”

  “All right. Give me the info and I’ll start getting acquainted with them while we wait on the Beckers.”

  Chapter 34

  Hayley was glad to finally have a day off as it gave her a chance to catch up on the things she’d not had time to do during the week and today she’d added a trip to the grocery store. She finally had someone else to cook for and she was going to make the most of it. She’d planned several meals and needed to get a few things so when he could make it, she would have everything on hand.

  She checked her phone after she’d carried her groceries into the house, but there was nothing new. He is busy, she reminded herself as she put her phone back in her pocket.

  Warren had texted her this morning and asked what her plans were for this evening. She’d responded, but hadn’t heard back, at least not yet.

  Even though she kept checking.

  She wasn’t normally the type to be so impatient and she didn’t know why she was today. She’d spent the evening last night with her sister. Denni had come over here and brought dinner and the two of them had talked for a couple hours before she’d gone home. When Hayley had finally slid between the sheets, she’d missed the warmth and comfort of Warren’s arms around her. It had taken forever to fall asleep and it seemed like she’d woken at least a dozen times before she finally gave up and got out of bed at a little after six.

  She was becoming way too invested in Warren, way too fast. She shook her head and wondered again if maybe she shouldn’t slow things down between them. But just the thought of not seeing him tonight, much less again, sent a sharp stab through her chest. Hayley wondered at that a moment but didn’t want to look too hard. She knew she wasn’t ready for what she might find if she examined that too much. Instead, she busied herself putting away the food she’d just bought.

  She’d moved on to folding laundry, and was half way through the load waiting on her when her phone chirped, making her jump. She glanced at the clock, 2:30 p.m., while she pulled the phone from her pocket. It had been more than six hours since she’d messaged him and she wondered if he’d picked up a new case. Crime wasn’t huge in Blackjack, but there was always something under investigation.

  She pulled up the new message and sure enough, it was from Warren.

  Sorry, got caught up reviewing some files. Sure, I’d love to come to dinner. I should be free by 7 but I’ll let you know if I’ll be later.

  She typed up a quick response letting him know that was fine and wishing him luck with whatever he was working on then went back to the laundry. She still had several hours and now she needed to decide which of the meals she’d shopped for she’d be cooking tonight.

  Chapter 35

  Warren knocked on the front door, then tried the knob, like the last message from Hayley had told him to do. The door swung inward, and he stepped inside.

  “Where are you?” he called as he made sure the door latched and turned the deadbolt behind him. He didn’t like the idea of her home alone with the door unlocked where anyone could walk in.

  “In here.”

  He followed her voice to the back of the house and into the kitchen where he found her standing next to the stove, stirring something in a low, wide pan.

  “I don’t know what you’re making, but it smells amazing.” He moved close, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and dropped a gentle kiss on her neck.

  “I’ve got a spiced, roasted chicken, asparagus, and this is risotto. It still has a little while to cook. Why don’t you grab something to drink from the fridge and tell me about your day?”

  “I’d rather hear about yours,” he said as he went to the fridge. “You want something?”

  “I’m good for now.” She shook her head. “And my day was boring. Housework and grocery shopping.”

  “What about your evening with your sister? Did you do anything good?”

  “She brought over take out and we sat and talked for a couple hours, gossiped about her new boyfriend mostly.”

  “Did you tell her about me?” He couldn’t resist the urge to snuggle against her back as she continued to stir the contents of the pan on the stove.

  “I told her I’m seeing someone, but not who.”

  “Did she try to get it from you?”

  “Of course.” Hayley laughed. The sound made him want to hear it again. He’d have to figure out how to make her laugh, as the sound lifted something inside him. “She hates not knowing something, especially when I know, so she spent a good thirty minutes trying to con, pry or bribe your name out of me.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “That I wasn’t sharing until I knew if it was going to last more than a couple weeks. It will do her good to learn to wait.”

  Warren chuckled. “Somehow I don’t think she took that very well.”

  “Oh, god no. She called me names and threatened not to tell me the latest about her and Stacy. It only made her crankier when I told her that was okay, I don’t need all the dirty details anyway.”

  “What happened after that?”

  “She finally gave up. She knows better than to think I’m going to give in, but I know she always will because she needs someone to talk to it all about and I’m it. She’s not willing to share intimate details with anyone else.”

  “Intimate details?” He lifted one brow, intrigued by the idea and wondered what she’d shared about him. He had listened to some of the guys at the station house and the Silver Spur talk about the women they’d been dating, comparing notes per se, and while he’d listened in, it wasn’t his thing. He didn’t care much for telling anyone not personally involved about his personal life.

  “Yeah.” Hayley rolled her eyes. “Denni is a little lacking in self-confidence when it comes to dating. It’s been several years, but she was in a difficult relationship. Her ex did a real job on her. She’s getting better, but she still runs nearly everything by me to make sure she’s not screwing things up too badly.”

  Warren frowned he hated see women abused. It was worse, at least to him, to see someone as professionally strong as Denni, Zeke had told him about a couple of times he’d faced the public defender in court and he’d told Warren she was an extremely capable and talented in the courtroom. He hated to think of her being abused or suffering the after effects.

  “How did it go?”

  Hayley glanced over at him with a frown. “What do you mean?”

  “She’s telling you the ‘intimate details’ about someone. Have you met him? What’s your impression?”

  “I’ve met him. She’s been out with him several times and I’ve gone along on a few.”

  Warren found himself scowling at the idea of her going along on her sister’s dates.

  “H
e has a brother who’s visiting, the brother is nice too, strikes me as a good guy. He was willing to go along, and spend several evenings with two strangers just so his brother could see the girl he likes.” She frowned. “Girl he likes. God that sounds like high school.” She shook her head and continued. “Anyway. Stacy seems like a good guy. I think he’ll be good to her, if they can get past her reluctance to get too deeply involved with anyone. She’s working on it though. Denni seems to really like him.”

  “I take it Stacy is the guy she’s seeing? Not the brother.”

  “He is. The brother is Tracy.”

  Warren blinked once half sure she was pulling his leg. “Tracy and Stacy? Are they twins?” Why else would someone give their children rhyming names like that? He was so glad he wasn’t a twin and that his parents had named each child not had a theme.

  “No, just brothers. I asked the first time I met them,” she said with a laugh that rolled across him and made his heart soar.

  “Did you go out with them to the Silver Spur a while back?”

  She looked at him a moment then nodded slowly. “Yeah, why?”

  “I saw you there with a guy.” He looked away then back at her. “I had to fight the urge to step in between you and tell him to back off, you’re mine. But we weren’t together yet and it was a bad idea, I knew.”

  She leaned close and dropped a gentle kiss on his cheek.

  “Tracy is a nice guy, but I’m not attracted to him.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe because he’s not a smart mouthed detective with jeans that hint at just how tight his ass is.” He watched her a moment. “Maybe because I’ve been busy watching that ass for weeks, wishing there was some way we could get together without risking my reputation and position with the department. I don’t know. He’s nice, but he doesn’t do things for me.”

  He understood that feeling. He’d met plenty of women over the last several months that he felt the same way about. Lord knew that Johnny had tried to get him interested in dating and several women in particular, but none had interested him. He couldn’t say why, and Johnny had tried to figure it out. Now Warren realized it was because they weren’t Hayley.

  “What did you tell her when she wanted you to go out with this Tracy again?”

  She turned off the burner and slid the pan off the heat before looking up at him again.

  “I told her I was seeing someone and the only way it could happen was if you were there too. I knew that would defeat the purpose for having me there so I suggested she invite one of the women she works with.”

  He resisted the urge to get up and go wrap his arms around her again. Having her in his arms was good. For some reason it felt right. “I don’t want to come between you and your sister, but I’m glad you told her no. At least for this.” He fell silent for a moment as he watched her bustle around and finish putting dinner together. It had only taken him a couple dinners, and offering to help each time, to learn she didn’t want him under her feet while she cooked, but she would let him help with the dishes afterward.

  He waited until she’d set their loaded plates on the table and sat across the table from him before he spoke again.

  “It looks as wonderful as it smells.”

  She smiled across the table.

  “Taste it.”

  “I will, give me a second.” He shot her a frown that was grumpier than he really felt. He wanted to ask her something, but didn’t want to make her feel like he was pushing, and he didn’t quite know how to go about it. Instead they ate. Hayley really was an amazing cook. Warren hadn’t had anything she’d made that wasn’t better than almost any restaurant he’d ever eaten at. He didn’t know how she did it, he could barely boil water without burning it. How she turned out these multi-dish meals that were all ready at the same time, and all tasted like a professional chef had prepared them, was beyond him. His plate was about half clean when he knew he had to say something, he only hoped he didn’t piss her off.

  “I agreed to keep this between us for a while, and I’m not trying to change your mind or back out in anyway. But I need to know how long we plan to keep it this way. How long until we can tell people?” It wasn’t only that he wanted to take her out and not have to worry about being seen by someone who might talk, he also wanted to introduce her to Nancy. He wanted to meet her sister again and get to know the woman better than just in the court room or from the stories Hayley or other officers told.

  He wanted to build a life with her.

  The thought surprised him as it ran through his head, but it only took him a moment to realize how true it was.

  Chapter 36

  Hayley blinked as she wondered what he was getting at. Why was it so important to him to have a time? Why did he need to know? Her mind was spinning as possibilities.

  “I’m not asking for a specific date.” He sighed and looked down at his plate. “I’m screwing this up.” His gaze lifted again. “I just need an estimate. An idea of when I’ll be able to tell my sister about you. When I’ll be able to take you to meet her.” He shrugged. “Two weeks, a month, three months, six? I just want an idea, so I know how long until I can share the best part of my life with the world.”

  Her heart fluttered in her chest at the idea she could be the best part of his life. Could it be true? No, it was too soon. Either way she found herself considering his request.

  “One month,” she found herself saying before she knew the words were going to come out her mouth. “If we’re still seeing each other after a month, then we can go public.”

  “One month,” he nodded his head once, “I can live with that.”

  Hayley drew an unsteady breath and hoped she was ready by the time the month was up. One way or another, she’d set herself a deadline. Either she had to be ready to go public or she’d have to call it off before the month was over.

  “Where’s Jake tonight?” She didn’t want to talk about this anymore, and Jake was a safer subject.

  “I took him over to Nancy’s. The kids love him and shower him with attention. Nancy wanted to know why I couldn’t stay and who I was seeing tonight. I hate keeping things from her, at least things like this. She and I have always been close and it’s hard to not tell her everything.”

  “Now you know. Should we think about having a dinner party and inviting both our sisters so we can tell them?” She really didn’t want to think about how she might feel if they didn’t last the month, but she hoped that if they didn’t then it would be soon enough it wouldn’t hurt too badly.

  Warren shook his head. “Only if you want four rug rats running around screaming and making it impossible to talk. Besides, we have some time. Let me see what I can come up with. We can do the dinner thing and invite them both, but let me see if I can find her a sitter so we can actually talk and not chase monsters.”

  Despite the disparaging words, Warren’s affection for his niece and nephews was clear in his voice. It made her wonder.

  “You like kids?”

  “I do. At least some of them.”

  “Some?” She frowned, but her curiosity got the best of her.

  “Yeah, some. I like kids as long as their parents haven’t let them become total assholes.”

  “And where do your niece and nephew fall on that scale?” She lifted one brow as she watched him.

  “They’re pretty good. I can’t help but love them. They’ve had a lot of change in the last year and a half and they’ve come through it pretty well.”

  “And yet you still call them rug rats and monsters.”

  “Well, yeah. All kids under the age of five are rug rats. And the more you have in an age range the more monstrous they get. The noise level doesn’t just double when you have a kid, it multiplies and when there are several? It’s insane. Are you sure you’re ready for it?” His words said one thing, but the grin on his face made her unsure if she should believe him.

  She stared at him a moment. She’d never spent much time
around kids, not since she was one. His words made her a little nervous, but she took a deep breath and pushed away her doubts.

  “You think you’re funny don’t you?”

  Warren didn’t answer but it was hard to miss the light dancing in his eyes as he watched her in return.

  “All right then.” She squared her shoulders and decided to ignore his remarks as she started thinking about and planning a small, casual dinner party so her sister could find out who she was seeing and she could meet Warren’s family. She could only hope it wasn’t too soon.

  Chapter 37

  Warren headed into work the next morning unable to keep the smile off his face. He’d been surprised when Hayley had offered to have Nancy and her kids over and had been unable to resist the temptation to tease her a little about having so many kids around. He’d gotten the impression she didn’t know much about kids and he’d been unable to stop himself. She’d hesitated a moment then pushed on with her plans. He liked that she didn’t scare easily and even if she was scared, she didn’t let it stop her at all. Images of the night before played through is head as he made his way up to the second floor and to the double desk he was sharing with Detective Howard.

  “Just in time.” Zeke’s voice pulled him from his thoughts as Warren sat.

  “For what?”

  “I’ve got officers bringing in Dillon Becker.”

  Warren frowned. “We don’t have enough evidence and he’s sticking to his story. What came in?”

  Howard sat back in his chair and grinned. “They techs finally got through with all the data from the subpoena. Not only do we have proof he was seeing her, but we also have proof he knew she was pregnant and trying to push her into abortion.”

  “Hot damn.”

  “It gets even better.”

  “Let me guess, we’ve got proof they were together the night she died?”

  “I knew you’d catch on.”