Page 64 of Wicked Games We Play

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“Whitlock, my office.”Wes’s voice boomed through the station in a frigid tone. Internally, I groaned, wondering what the fuck could he possibly be mad about now?

He had the intel he needed, thanks to me. My focus at work had been back to normal, if not better, now that I was back. And for once, morale had been high throughout the P.D. thanks to the new rookies who were hired on after graduating from the academy. Things seemed fine around here, yet the Chief’s tone said otherwise.

“Ah, shit, someone’s in trouble,” Will called as I passed his desk, and I shot him my middle finger in response.

Aaron chimed in next as I passed his desk. “C’mere brother, lemme suck on that girthy finger for you.”

“Fuck you both,” I grumbled as I stopped in front of Aaron’s desk. “The fuck do you want to suck on me for when you just told me last week you found a girl you might want to actually wife up one day?”

“Hey man, keep your voice down. The entire station doesn’t need to know that. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”

“You’re a player,” I said simply, reminding him I knew exactly the reputation he held. It preceded him.

“I prefer the term scoundrel or Casanova. Shit, even rake has a nice ring to it, don’t ya think?” Aaron smiled widely, and I swear to God I could see the wheels in his brain literally turning.

Knocking once on his desk, I said nothing as I walked away and went straight into Wes’s office. The door was open; he was waiting for me.

“Shut it,” Wes barked.

Sinking into the soft leather of the chair by the desk, I lightly tapped my foot on the carpeted floor while waiting for Wes to tell me what the fuck I was doing here. For several minutes, he stared silently down at the paperwork in front of him. His only movements were to shove one paper behind the other when he had finished reading it. I tried to strain my eyes to see what it was, but the angle he held the stack kept it blocked from my view.

My hands clenched briefly around the arms of the chair while my irritation level rose. I had other shit to do, and this was wasting my time. “Is there something I can help you with, Wes, or did you just call me in here so I could assess your reading comprehension?”

“That ruthless tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble one of these days, boy. Still haven’t learned how to speak to your superiors after ten years on the job.” Wes’s tone was clipped, and he shook his head before finally prying his eyes away from the paperwork in his hand. “But that shit attitude of yours is also why we’re promoting you to lieutenant. You know how to handle your business and achieve what others struggle to achieve. Your promotion is effective immediately, and we’ll hold the ceremony in about two weeks when two of the others promote to detective.”

“But I didn’t take the exam or have the interview to see if I qualify.”

“Who’s in charge around here, Whitlock?” Wes retorted, annoyance heavy in his tone. The look on my face told him I wouldn’t answer the question. “Exactly. I am. And I don’t give a fuck about an exam and an interview. You’ve proven yourself ten times over, and I decide when it’s time for your promotion. You’ve earned it, Whitlock. Now get the hell out of my office.”

Suppressing my grin, I stood and walked to the closed door. My hand gripped the doorknob when Wes’s voice stopped me again.

“And, Whitlock?”

I craned my head to the left, looking at him over my shoulder.

“Great job in Bridge Point. We still have a lot of work to do, but that’s a victory you should celebrate. You worked hard out there.”

“Thank you.” I nodded once, acknowledging his words before I pushed the door open and stepped back into the hustle and bustle of the station.

Immediately, Aaron and Will were on me like flies on shit.

“Congrats, man!” Will clapped me on the shoulder.

“Lieutenant Whitlock has quite the ring to it, brother.” Aaron grinned. “Wes better watch out. It won’t be long before you’re gunning for his position.”

Scoffing, I shook my head slowly at the two clowns in front of me. Their excitement for me was contagious and soon a smile overtook my face, their energy rubbing off on me.

“That’s too much responsibility to even think about, but thanks. The promotion was a nice surprise, especially after spending five months in a shithole for the sake of this job. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got about,” I glanced at my watch, “twenty minutes to wrap up what I was working on and get the fuck out of here.”

Aaron waggled his brows. “Gonna go celebrate with your girl tonight? Or is she not your girl again?”

“From now on, when you two jokers refer to Lily, you can just refer to her as my wife.”

“Oh shit! Are you going to propose, man?” Will prodded, turning to me with a look of excitement.

Shaking my head, I waved dismissively as I began to walk toward my desk. “Not any time soon, but there will never be another woman for me, and the sooner everyone knows that, the better.”

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