Page 35 of Handcuffs and Hexes

I rolled my eyes. “Ugh!”

“How you feeling, Sarah?”

Hayes calling me by my middle name reminded me of how strange it was that Liam and Seth called me Hazel or whatever nickname they decided to give me. I’d been Sarah since I’d stepped foot in Darlington, and while part of it was because Hazel was too close to Hayes, it was also because I had a negative connotation from my first name mostly because it reminded me of my parents fighting. But I found that it wasn’t so bad now, especially coming from Seth and Liam. They didn’t fight the way my parents had fought. Their relationship was strange, sure, but healthy.

“Meh. Still have a headache, you?”

“Yeah, still do. How’s the wizard treating you? I couldn’t believe Chief agreed to lethimwatch over you. I told him we had a guest room. It’s not too late now. If you want to, you can come over.”

Mike was worried about me. That was sweet, but I was afraid of answering his question lest he figure out something was happening between Seth, Liam, and me. I knew I was a shitty liar, but I also felt like I couldn’t tell him the truth. Firstly, because he was my partner, and whatever was happening here was definitely unprofessional. But also because Mike kind of viewed me like a little sister he never had, and I was sure that if he knew what was happening, he wouldn’t hesitate to start a fight.

“I’m fine,” I said noncommittally. “He’s actually not a jerk all the time. I know, it’s surprising.” There, that was believable, right?

“Well, if you need me to remove any body parts, just holler.”

I chuckled. “You got it.”

“And remember, if you decide you’d rather recover here with me, the offer still stands.”

“I don’t think your wife would appreciate that at all.”

“She wouldn’t, but I don’t trust that wizard. And I trust his demon even less.”

“Liam’s actually the gentleman in the outfit.”

“Huh, I guess that makes sense to have the patience to deal with Seth.”

There was a beep on the line, and I checked and saw that it was Chief calling. “That’s Chief now. Gotta go. Bye, loser.” I picked up the incoming call. “Hey, Chief.”

“Cooley! How’s that head of yours?”

“It’s better,” I said, hoping that he couldn’t hear the lie through the phone.

“Bullshit,” he said. “Seriously, how’s the head?”

Ugh! Why did he always know?

“Like I said, it’s better,” I insisted. “It’s not perfect, but it’s not like the first day either.” At least that part was the truth. “Sometimes the headache goes away completely.”

Like when Liam and Seth were all over me, but I kept that detail to myself.

“I heard you guys are short-handed,” I said, attempting to lead the conversation away from me and my head.

“We are,” Chief said. “We had to spare quite a number of officers to watch The Breach since we can’t have anyone with active magic near it. Did you know they started calling it the ‘wizard swallower?’ That means the EA is at a disadvantage for once. Usually, it would be fine, but it’s like all the troublemakers knew what was happening and timed their shenanigans all at once. We had another jewelry store robbery yesterday. The idiots almost got away too. And I heard through the grapevine that the EA head office is sending some big shot from Rome to take over the case. They think we’re not doing enough to—” Chief cut himself off. “Anyway, it’s nothing for you to worry about. Just focus on getting better.”

“I’m sure Mike and I will be back soon.”

“I hope so. But don’t push it. I only want you two back when you are fully ready. No lying about shit so you can get back to work early, ya hear me?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Chief.”

Satisfied, he told me to get some rest and hung up.

With nothing else to do, I turned my attention over to Liam, who was sitting in front of a fancy gaming setup, swearing into a headset. I mused over his words from before. It didn’t surprise me that Seth’s head went to dark places when left to its own devices. In my profession, I’d run into the WEC plenty of times. Those wizards really did act like they owned the world and everyone else was there to cater to them. Growing up with one as a father would’ve been fucked up.

A few years ago, they’d been the masterminds of a plot to kidnap dozens of women to use their untapped magic and life force to power a spell to bring back The Wall. It turned out it was a lot easier to control the world when no one knew about magic and couldn’t see that they were manipulating everything, from the church to politicians to large corporations. Police departments worldwide had even had to fire several prominent figures after The Wall fell when it was discovered that they’d been using their powers to cover up large scandals.

When forced to choose between the WEC and their positions on the police force, it became abundantly clear where their loyalty lay.

---