“Officer Brady,” Sarge said from the mouth of his office, “A word.”
My heart lurched into my throat as the feeling of dread coursed through me. Was I getting fired? Did I stay on that last crime scene too long?
His black mustache bristled as he sat down. Then with a commanding motion, he gestured for me to close the door and sit.
“Did I… do something wrong, sir?” I asked carefully.
A part of me was terrified of getting fired, but there was another part of me that was hoping it would happen. It would make everything with Luke easier.
I’d find another job. I’d work to uncover something else I was passionate about, even if I had to—
“You did incredible police work on the serial killer case, Brady,” he said without a change in his expression.
“Thank you,” I said, not sure where this was going.
“You found a key detail we missed at that factory. That stud’s got a smeared partial fingerprint, but it matches the suspect’s. Without it, our jobs would be harder.”
I nodded in agreement.
“You continued to gather evidence that fell into place at the same time the case was coming together. Not only did you do reactive police work, you did proactive as well.”
There was a silence that hung between us; then Sarge cocked his eyebrow at me.
I felt like there was something I was missing.
Then he finally came out and said it: “Have you ever thought about detective work, son?”
It was like all of the neurons in my head lit up like a Christmas tree. “Yes! —Yes, sir, I’ve thought about it,” I said quickly, trying to conceal my excitement.
“You would make an outstanding detective. Are you interested in joining our program?”
“I’ll have to talk to my partner first,” I said, thinking of Luke. Discussing this next step in my career with him sounded spectacular.
Sarge gave me a curt nod and said, “Very well, then.”
He went on to talk about all the steps I would need to take to become a detective, but it sounded like everything was achievable.
My mind was going a mile a minute as I practically salivated at the thought of getting to tell Luke all of this.
“You what?!” Luke cried when I told him on the way to Parsons.
I smiled and nodded vigorously.
“Adam, that’s amazing!” he said, threading his long, thin arms around me.
I wrapped my arms around him and swung him in a circle.
He giggled when I set him down, smiling from ear to ear.
“Gay!” Someone shouted from a window somewhere.
“Oh fuck you!” Luke cried, flipping the bird in his direction.
I cracked up at his sudden rage, filling the street with my laughter.
Luke started laughing too, then interlaced his fingers with mine. He looked up at me with a wistful expression and pulled me in for a kiss.
I felt like I’d been given a second chance. Just yesterday, all of this… this life with Luke felt like something of the past. I was wishing for what was happening now: The little things like walking Luke to class and kissing him on the street.
It was like a dream that I would wake up from at any moment.
When Luke pulled away, he had a small smile on his face, like he was so happy inside that it bubbled up into his expression. “So, when you’re a detective, will that make your job less… stressful?”
I squeezed his hand. “Maybe, I guess It depends on the types of cases I get.”
“Could it be more stressful?” Luke asked with curiosity.
“Probably not.”
“Wonderful!”
We walked in a blissful silence for a block. My mind was already spinning up scenarios of being a detective: Getting to solve cases, finding clues, piecing together evidence…
“What are you thinking about?” Luke asked.
He was knocking on the door of my brain, hoping for something to connect to. He wanted to be woven into my thoughts in that way. “I’m thinking about how much better off I’ll be if I’m a detective.”
“When you’re a detective,” he corrected.
“Right. When,” I amended. “One of the things that has always bugged me about being an officer is that we never get to figure out what happens on a case. Shit will go sideways, we’ll slap some handcuffs on some bad guys, but we’ll never get to know how everything turns out.”
“Like with the skinheads?”
“Yeah. Never got to figure out how they’re related to Fenwick and the sex trade and all of that. All I know is that Fenwick is neutralized.”
Luke nodded slowly.
“Hey, you feeling okay?” I asked.
He’d been surprisingly calm for being kidnapped only yesterday.
Luke squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them. “I’m feeling… surprisingly well. Yesterday something happened with my anxiety. When I was on top of Fenwick choking him out.”
“That was so badass,” I added, feeling a pulse of intense pride for my partner.
“Thanks,” Luke said with a smug smile. “It made me feel… stronger. Like I’ve gained some type of mastery over it that I didn’t have before. I dunno, it’s hard to explain…”
“Take your time,” I encouraged.
“It’s still there, don’t get me wrong. But it feels… blurrier. I’m wondering if this sense of control is only temporary.”
“Well, whether it is or not, I’m here for you,” I said proudly, squeezing his hand.
Luke smiled and squeezed it back. “I’ll discuss it with Dr. Brinkman at my next appointment. But for now, it feels like I’ve got a handle on my anxiety. Maybe even enough to start wedding planning…”
A firework of excitement shot through my gut at knowing that almost a year from now, I would be marrying the love of my life.
“I have one small request before we do that, though,” Luke said.
The excitement within me re-formed into a question mark shape. “What’s that?”
“That we… get more involved in the kink community here. I want to learn more of the ropes, so to speak.”
“Oh, that was a bad pun!” I groaned.
Luke smirked. “Only the best for you, babe. But I was thinking about all that collar stuff Lily was telling me. She knows way more than
