Quinn
The day simply refused to end. Dealing with my cousin turned into one of the nicer parts of my shift. A dead political hopeful, a possible suicide but probable homicide, would keep the station busy until someone figured out the truth. My temporary replacements wouldn’t appreciate the trouble I was about to dump on their laps.
Any other day, I would’ve cared more, but I had three uninterrupted weeks of time with Bailey ahead of me.
“Almost over,” Perkins said, checking his watch. “You can survive for five more minutes.”
I was done. Fuck the five minutes. My brand-new plan involved bolting for my cruiser and dragging Perkins along for the ride. “We sneak out in thirty seconds and hit the staircase at a run.”
“We’re on the eighth floor.”
“So?”
“I’ve had a long day. I’m not going down eight flights of steps. We’ll walk to the elevator without looking desperate. I’ll even agree to do so early. That’s more likely to work. Be realistic. It’ll take us an hour to reach the elevator. Everyone knows they won’t be able to reach you for three weeks.”
I loved being a cop. I even loved being a chief, but some days, I wanted to quit so I could go home and mooch off my wife. At least once a week, she promised she’d let me model underwear for her. She’d tossed the idea of having me model for profit.
According to her and her insane budgeting abilities, we could live for at least a hundred years on what she had in the bank account. On interest alone.
Sometimes, I wondered about Bailey. I never suggested she should change her job field, however, despite the obvious staring me in the face. When she touched money, magic happened.
Her new stock accounts agreed with me. I’d set them up after talking her into a hundred thousand of seed investment, and I managed the account to her specifications. She told me when to buy and sell, what to buy and sell, and she’d more than quadrupled her money.
She had no idea she’d quadrupled it, however. She claimed she trusted me to do the evil technological stuff she didn’t want to be bothered with, and that was that.
Perkins waved his hand in front of my face. “Earth to Sam. What did Bailey do now that has you off in la-la land?”
“She didn’t do anything. Well, not really.”
“Sam, you were staring off into space trying to figure your wife out again. I know that expression. Just spill it.”
“I was thinking about her stock investments,” I admitted.
“Her stock investments? She’s playing the stock market?”
“Not exactly. More like she made a stock investment plan when she was bored one week. It was when we had the shooter at Grand Central. She was fretting, I told her she wasn’t to come anywhere near the place until it was safe, and so she made a stock investment plan. She showed it to me, and I asked her if she minded if I implemented it on a hundred thousand dollar budget. It took some coaxing, but she agreed.”
“That poor woman. I swear, she needs some serious therapy for her self-esteem issues.”
I hadn’t mentioned anything about her self-esteem, but at the heart of it, he was right. “She’s been doing better.”
“While true, she is terrified of disappointing you.”
“Yep.”
“So? How did it go?”
“I keep reinvesting that hundred thousand she finally agreed to, and I have her update her plan once a month. Right now, there’s almost half a million in profit, after taxes, sitting in an account because I haven’t figured out the best way to tell her she’s a fucking genius.”
“Don’t tell her.” Perkins shrugged. “She’ll just freak out, and you can put that money into your retirement fund. She’s good at the stock market?”
“She’s better than good at it. She’s amazing. She’s had a few failures, but she’s got a knack for it.”
“Or a lot of time and an interest in market research?”
“I don’t know how. She can barely use my laptop.”
“She’s tricking you,” Perkins announced.
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“A woman that smart is not that stupid. She’s probably convinced if you know she can handle things herself, you won’t spend as much time with her.”
I hated he was onto something. “She has a piece of shit phone that can barely make phone calls, she had a computer, but I ordered it to be napalmed and she never got another one.”
“She just wants to use yours because it’s yours.”
Once again, I hated that Perkins was probably onto something. “I’m going to need time to think about that. Let’s get out of this joint.”
Perkins checked his watch. “Two minutes early. We could put a sheet over your head. That might work to get us out of here on time.”
“No.” I’d done the sheet walk once and only once for Bailey when she’d visited the station after a bad shift. She’d laughed so hard she’d crawled to the elevator, negating the sheet’s effectiveness. As I’d already sacrificed my dignity for my wife, I’d enjoyed trying to startle the officers on the floor.
It had made her laugh harder.
I hadn’t appreciated everyone calling me Casper for a week, but some prices were worth paying.
Gathering everything I needed for three glorious weeks off work, I decided on the bold approach, stepped out of my office, and announced, “If you don’t see me in January, the future Chief Quinn didn’t handle news of her promotion well. Wish me luck, have a great holidays, and I’m leaving. Ambush the stand-ins with any questions, and if you need anything from me, the answer is probably no. Expect to call the other Chief Quinn Chief Bailey, as I expect she’ll look at me if you try to call her Chief Quinn.”
Everyone laughed.
“We could just call her Chief Gardener,” Perkins suggested.
“No.” I’d won Bailey fair and square. “Chief Bailey will be more comfortable for her. You’ll have to use Quinn if we’re near reporters or officials, but she’ll need to be eased into it.”
Amanda, who had a desk not far from my office, chuckled and grabbed her coat. “We’ve got a new batch of puppies, and they’re looking promising. Any thoughts on if Bailey would make a good handler?”
Bailey teamed up with a police dog seemed like a disaster in the making. “If you can find a puppy capable of working with a fire-breathing unicorn, I’m game to try.” I was always game to try something that might offer Bailey a few extra protections. “What breed?”
“We have a few Malinois, a German shepherd, a Tibetan mastiff, and a wolf-dog. She’s half Egyptian, half Siberian husky.”
“Who on Earth thought that was a good idea? What’s an Egyptian wolf?”
“Think Anubis.”
Perkins snickered, and I sighed. My family would just love it if Bailey worked with an Egyptian anything, but especially a dog that resembled one of my divine relatives. “Test the wolf-dog with the horses. If the puppy doesn’t wash out, we can try it. If the puppy does wash out, why do I get the feeling someone is getting a puppy for Christmas? Keep me in the loop.”
A wolf might be able to guard my wife.
“Sucker,” Amanda muttered. “Break from Bailey’s self-defense courses until February?”
“Good idea. Email me the contact details for the trainer and if there are any leads on a retiring or retired dog Bailey can work with. May as well make sure she’s ready for handling if the puppy doesn’t wash out.”
“The wolf-dog puppy happens to be upstairs today,” Amanda informed me.
I frowned. Why would the puppy be at my station? The puppies were typically trained at a compound on the mainland and brought to a facility on Long Island for additional training and partnering with one of my cops, after which they came to Manhattan to serve in the force. It wasn’t the most efficient way to do it, but we didn’t have the space needed for the intensive training.
It also saved me thousands of dollars a year. I did have a kennel and exercise room for the dogs in the building, but it was meant to keep dogs fresh on their skills, not train them from scratch.
I narrowed my eyes and stared at Amanda. She smiled.
“All right. I feel like I’m being set up.”
Amanda shifted her gaze away from me.
I crossed my arms and arched a brow. “Spill, Amanda. Who wants Bailey to have this puppy and why?”
“Commissioner Dowry,” she confessed. “He thinks the chief pairs should have at least one dog moving forward. Chief Bailey’s the type.”
“For what? Creating a calamity with her new canine sidekick?” I loved my wife, but she held the title of the Calamity Queen for a reason. Where she went, trouble followed.
Once again, everyone laughed.
“Come on, Chief. She loves babies. Baby animals especially. She also needs a dog who can keep up with her. Sure, wolf-dogs don’t typically make great police dogs, but she’ll be a great police dog for her.”
“What’s one more disaster in the making? Take me to this wolf-dog puppy, but you better have a really good sales pitch.”
“Commissioner Dowry said so. That’s all the sales pitch I need.”
“On a puppy who will likely wash out? Come on, Amanda. The wolf-dog is part husky. Huskies are great dogs, but they’re not great police dogs. They’re exhausting.”
“He found someone to help with the training.”
“A husky wolf-dog,” I repeated.
“Fine. So she’s a little energetic.”
Heaven help me. “Perkins?”
“Sir?”
“I don’t own anything for a puppy, and I have a feeling Amanda is implying I’m taking a puppy home with me tonight. We’re going to be late leaving.”
“You accepted this rather quickly,” he replied.
“Why waste my time or breath on the inevitable?” I sighed. “I don’t even know if Bailey actually likes dogs beyond her shameless drive to rescue them from dumpsters.”
Amanda chuckled and headed for the elevator. “We’ve the word of an angel that the wolf-dog will adore you both but will always be her dog.”
“Angels are assholes.”
Why did everyone have to laugh at my suffering?
“Come meet your new dog, Chief Quinn,” Amanda ordered.
When she issued orders, she meant business, so I obeyed without further complaint. It wouldn’t do any good to fight it.
I’d already lost the battle and the war, and everyone knew it.
Bailey
A blend of shit traffic and snow cost us three hours, but we arrived in Atlantic City without incident. After so long in New York, the quiet streets creeped me out.
“It’s so empty,” I whispered.
“Without the summer tourists, it becomes a ghost town,” Perkette replied with a shrug. “The hotels and casinos are on a skeleton staff, the boardwalk is closed, but the strip clubs stay open year round. That leads me to a very important question: men, women, or both? Lap dances or no lap dances?”
What had I gotten myself into? “I have transformatives in my purse. And my pocket.” And in my cleavage, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. After my misadventure involving my kidnapping, an incubus, and a warehouse, I always kept a stash of pixie dust and transformatives in my cleavage. “If anyone other than Quinn tries to get onto my lap, I’m transforming and lighting him on fire.”
“It could be a woman on your lap.”
“I will light her on fire, too. I’m an equal opportunity pyromaniac.”
“They don’t touch you when they dance, and I won’t take you to a brothel. There’s a line, and brothels are not on the right side of the line. At least without our husbands. And your husband? Well, he’d probably faint before making it through the door. Angels and brothels don’t get on too well.”
“Unless a member of a triad is retrieving their demon from the brothel,” I countered. Just three weeks ago, Quinn had gone to a brothel to retrieve the angel, the incubus, and their wife from a cranky succubus who’d wanted the incubus for herself. “He goes to brothels as needed for work.”
Perkette shot me a glare. “If your man went to a brothel, that means my man went to a brothel, and that means my man went to a brothel without me.”
“For work, Perkette. For work. He didn’t work the brothel, I promise you!”
She cackled. “Well, maybe you’re not quite as innocent as I feared.”
Nope, I was really as innocent as she feared, and I knew it. Quinn knew it, too—and he enjoyed teasing me and driving me crazy every single day. Instead of answering her, I grunted.
“Come on, it’ll be fun. They won’t touch you unless you want them to.”
“I will light the entire club on fire.”
Perkette snickered. “Pose with a stripper for your chief? I’m sure we can find a lingerie store. His demonic side will adore it. His angelic side will have a freak fit, but those incubus genes will kick in and you’ll have a great night.”
That I would. Every night with Quinn was a great night. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not intentionally stripping in public.” The first time Quinn had seen me naked, I’d been fresh off a napalm bender and collapsed against him. He still twitched if I even mentioned Wall Street.
He didn’t need to tell me he loved me. All I had to do was mention the day he thought he’d sent me into a contaminated building to die. He told me anyway, as often as possible, to make it clear he meant it.
I wasn’t as good at using my words, so I communicated with him the only way I knew how. Perkette was right. I was at least half the reason I didn’t get enough sleep.
“No wonder it took an incubus in disguise to evict you from the virgin pool. Fine. You don’t have to strip. How about a picture with a succubus?”
Narrowing my eyes, I considered her question. I’d been around enough succubi to be almost comfortable with them as long as they kept their kinky sex magic to themselves—and they usually did. My magical ball and chain helped with that. “But what if the succubus is related to Quinn?”
“It’s even funnier that way. Come on. Live a little. It’s a great prank. I’m not asking you to sleep with them. It’s just a few pictures. What could possibly go wrong?”
I pointed at myself. “I’m called the Calamity Queen for a reason. We’re somehow going to end up in jail. Again. Well, you are. I don’t pull your stupid shit, so I just tag along to make sure you don’t stay there.”
“You can afford my bail.”
“I like how you automatically assume you’re going to jail.”
“The last time I went to a strip club, I spanked a bouncer because I was drunk and he was hot.” Perkette giggled. “I do stupid things when I’m drunk. By the way, you’re driving tonight. I’m going to get so drunk we go to jail.”
“Remember how I said there’s no way anyone would make me a cop? This is why. You’re going to get us thrown into jail before we get to Vegas.”
“General holding until we sober up. Not an actual offense.”
I’d almost learned how to tell Quinn no over the past few months. Almost. “No.” It worked so well I tried again. “No.”
“Come on, Bailey,” Perkette whined. “Live a little.”
Why had I thought sleep was so important? What had I been thinking, agreeing to travel with Perkette? Then again, our initial planning had lacked strippers and alcohol. “No.”
“You’ll have fun, I promise. You can record the entire night if you want. We won’t do a single thing that’ll show up on your permanent record.”
I’d been around enough troublemakers to recognize one hard at work. “And what about your permanent record?”
“I enjoy community service and find general holding highly amusing.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have more issues than I do.”
“Thank you for noticing.”
Quinn
I’d worked with enough lycanthropes to recognize a wolf when I saw one, and from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail, the puppy was pure wolf. “Really, Amanda? A husky wolf-dog? Anything else you’d like to sell me along with some oceanfront property in Arizona?”
“How about a raise?”
“Depends on how good you are at selling me this ‘husky’ wolf-dog. This is a wolf. This is a very young wolf.” The puppy sat on my foot and stared at me with adoring eyes. “And she’s sitting on me.”
Arnold Falhavert, the lead trainer of the precinct’s dogs, laughed. Knowing him, he laughed in my face, well aware I’d be taking the puppy home with me. “It’s a measure to counter Mrs. Chief Quinn’s inexperience on the force. The puppy is a gift.”
“From whom, exactly?”
“Me,” my great-grandfather announced from right behind me. “Her name is Sunny, and she’s Bailey’s wolf, but she’ll give you plenty of love when you’re feeling needy. Consider her a belated wedding gift. Mr. Falhavert agreed to help with training, but you’ll find her a quick learner. Next year, her fur will shed to a lovely golden color.”
“When a divine sneaks up on me and brings me a wolf, I worry. That the divine happens to be a relative worries me less but still worries me. Grandfather must be the angel in question?”
“The other dogs would be frightened of your bride, and she has enough issues.”
While true, I considered taking a few swipes at my great-grandfather over it. I restrained myself. My great-grandfather always wielded the truth like the weapon it was, and fighting him over it wouldn’t win me anything. “Mrs. Chief Quinn braided coral snakes together last week. She’d adore a chance to groom your fur.”
“No.”
“Anything I need to know about Sunny?”
“Of course. I’m sure you’ll be kept busy figuring it out. Do say hello to your bride for me. Sunny already knows Bailey’s scent in both of her forms.”
Of course the wolf did. “How’d you manage that?”
“I cheated, of course.”
Of course. “Thank you. Why now?”
My great-grandfather, with no care I was in the police station and supposed to be managing everyone present, ruffled my hair. “Your bride will inevitably need Sunny when she loses her way. It’ll happen the first time. My present to you won’t make much sense now, but I ask that you trust me. When your bride loses her way, don’t fear. She’ll return. Some journeys she must travel alone, and for all your talents and magic, you can’t hold living flame in your hand.”
I tensed at the memory of Bailey igniting 120 Wall Street. Reconstruction had already begun, but I avoided the place, unable to forget the moment I’d almost lost her. “Again?”
“Again. She’ll be fine. You’ll panic, of course. That’s what you do when it comes to your bride, but she’ll be fine. Sunny will help her home.”
“Are you trying to help or make me worry even more?” If my great-grandfather was trying to induce an anxiety attack, he was doing an admirable job. I didn’t suffer from them often, but without fail, Bailey had something to do with them.
“A little of both.”
“You’re a terrible great-grandfather.”
Anubis grinned and displayed his sharp teeth. “Sunny isn’t truly a wolf, but she’s not a golden jackal, either. You’ll find her suited for Bailey, second only to you, so try not to become too jealous.”
Sunny panted and nuzzled my leg. “I’m jealous she’s getting a dog.”
“Sunny will get jealous of most other dogs, although she’ll accept a certain individual with no fuss. She can share, somewhat. How about a cat?”
“Will the cat like Bailey more than me?”
“Inevitably.” My great-grandfather smiled. “You’ll be fine.”
“It’ll still be my cat.”
“Lion, tiger, panther, or other?”
“I can’t keep a large predator in my house.”
“I’ll find you a small one.”
Why was I even talking to my great-grandfather? All of my relatives were lunatics, especially the divines. Saying so had never done any good in the past, but I couldn’t resist the urge to reply, “You’re insane.”
My great-grandfather chuckled. “You make this so much fun. Sunny might appreciate some company of the feline bent. I’ll ask around the family.”
What had I done? “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
“Of course. Do watch over young Samuel, Sunny. He’ll be almost as much trouble as your ward. Do try to be patient with him. He’s a most unreasonable human when it comes to his bride.”
“I’m supposed to be unreasonable. She’s my wife!”
“Yes, yes. We’ve heard this many times. Ah, Perky?”
Hah. Bailey had corrupted my great-grandfather. I’d have to reward her for that later.
“Sir?” Perkins asked.
“I took the liberty of calling in a prescription for a human-suitable chill pill for little Samuel here. Do pick it up after you acquire Sunny’s things. He’ll need it.”
My great-grandfather vanished.
Everyone stared at me, Perkins included.
“It’s only partially his fault I qualify to be your chief,” I complained. “And if you could forget this happened, I would really appreciate it.”
“No wonder Mrs. Chief Quinn blushes if I ask her if she had a good morning. You must be a beast in bed.” Amanda smirked. “Enjoy your vacation, sir.”
“You’re a terrible woman, Amanda.”
“But I’m a fantastic cop and a better self-defense instructor. Still. That explains a lot.” Still smirking, Amanda wandered away, waving as she went. “Happy holidays.”
I sighed, bent over, and picked up Bailey’s new puppy, who licked my hand and wagged her tail. “Happy holidays. Make sure everyone plays it safe while I’m gone.”
“Always.”
“Falhavert, email me with everything I need to care for Sunny, please.”
“Of course, sir. I’ll leave basic instructions for her initial training. We’ll start the real work after you’re back to work. For now, your job is to bond with her. I’ve been told she’s already bonded with Mrs. Chief Quinn, so you need to work on your relationship with Sunny. It should be easy, as she already likes you. Keep a firm hand with her. She’s going to be assertive and demanding, so you need to make certain she knows you’re still the boss of the relationship. I suspect Mrs. Chief Quinn will have an easier time, as we’ve already established that Sunny is serving as her protector. You need to establish how your partnership will work. But, as long as you handle her correctly, she’ll make an excellent companion and partner.”
“How young is she?”
“Young enough she still gets some special milk with her raw meat. Honestly, she just likes it, but it’s good for her. Her diet is more specialized than a regular dog’s. You can wean her off at any time—or don’t, as you choose. I’ll have her basic supply list sent to you in a few minutes.”
“This is going to cost me a fortune, isn’t it? The instant you said raw meat, it became clear my great-grandfather staged a successful ambush of my wallet.”
“You’re doomed,” the trainer confirmed.
“I’m trusting you with Bailey,” I informed Sunny. “You have one job, so please don’t screw it up.”
Sunny licked my hand.