Cuff Me

“I understand, sir. We’re going to take care of you. We’re going to give you some medication to help you relax.”

He nodded slightly and calmed down a bit. He was older, and slightly balding. I didn’t see a wedding band, but I figured he just wasn’t wearing it. I was probably jumping to conclusions thinking he had anything to do with the other murder, but I didn’t have much time to myself before the doctor showed up.

He took one look at his wound and decided to admit him. He was wheeled off in under two minutes. I groaned to myself and went off to the nurse’s station to do the paperwork. Dina had gone off, I didn’t know where. I watched the door every few seconds, waiting on the police.

When Alex walked in, Nate and Max were just on his tail. They spotted me instantly and I thought fuck the paperwork as I got up to meet them.

“I’m guessing you’re here for the gunshot victim?” I asked. They were so imposing standing directly in front of me.

Nate and Max were in their black uniforms, and Alex had on a stark white dress shirt that bounced off his eyes. I was a few feet away and I could still smell them. The scent mixing together…gah, it was maddening.

“Yeah,” Alex said. Though they were all looking at me like they had never seen me in a pair of scrubs. Or never seen me at all. I didn’t look all that special, but they made me feel like it.

“He was admitted. I can see where they took him.” I turned to step off, but Nate stopped me.

“Are you okay?” He came closer, blocking the others from my view. “I told them about last night.”

I had to actively stop myself from rolling my eyes. “Oh. I’m fine,” I said to all of them. Their hard looks told me they didn’t believe me.

“I can get his records for you. Usually you can’t get his statement yet, but—” I shrugged as I led them to the desk. The stark white walls did nothing to calm the screaming red of my desire.

“We get special treatment,” Nate joked. I grinned at his response.

The paperwork hadn’t taken me long, so he was already in the system.

“He’s on the second floor. Trauma unit. Do you think he has any connection to the other guy?” I asked them, thinking they had already seen him.

“Why do you ask that?” Alex cocked his head to the side, his brows drawn together. My eyes passe

d over his body and tried not to picture him naked. Try being the operative word.

“Uh, because he looked like him,” I shrugged. “I guess that’s pretty dumb. I’ll show you the way.”

They followed after me to the elevator. Every female in plain sight was ogling them and it made me jealous. Seriously, jealous? I couldn’t even believe it.

“It isn’t dumb. It’s an important observation,” Max assured me.

The elevator was too small for all of us, it seemed. Especially with them looking at me the way they were. Like they would stop the elevator right then and take turns claiming my body as theirs. I found it odd to believe: I had sex with Alex, made out with Nate, still imagined what Max tasted like…it was surreal.

“Yeah well. He was a real case. Kept screaming about some Irish thug robbing him. Said he tried to kill him.” I almost laughed like it was absurd, but they weren’t looking at me like that.

They were looking at me like they had seen a ghost, and exchanged a look I didn’t understand. Before I asked them about it, the elevator opened, and we were at our destination. I shook off the crazy feeling I was getting and took them to his room.

The man was doped up on meds, watching the television with a deep scowl on. The nurse was in there changing his drip and I told them they could go in. I stayed behind and used the computer at the nurse’s station on that floor, and tried to eavesdrop but it was useless. I definitely didn’t know how to read lips.

I just knew the handsy nurse was overstaying her welcome. She was pretty and thin and blonde and fucking infuriating. Ugh, and it was only two minutes maybe, that she was in there trying to talk the three of them up. I guess I couldn’t blame her for not being able to choose one?

I wasn’t being rational anyway. It wasn’t like I had some sort of insane claim on them, as much as I wanted one. Whoever the nurse was tried to take her sweet time changing his drip and checking his bandage when really, she could just leave. There was nothing wrong with any of his shit. My blood was almost boiling by the time she left with a dumb smile on her face.

“Hello. I haven’t seen you here before.” She plopped down at the computer next to me. I rolled my eyes at the thought of her actually trying to talk to me. I couldn’t believe I was being such a bitch about it, but then I realized it was exactly what Dina was talking about in terms of losing my head.

“I’m from the ER. I just had to bring the police up here.” I gestured to the three globes of muscle questioning the victim.

“Oh. Cool. I wish they would just do away with guns. Unless the cops are wearing them.” She giggled as she swooned over the men in uniform.

I managed a smile and finished updating my files before I logged out and took a walk around the corner just to clear my head. I kept running over the faces they made in the elevator. There must have been some sort of break in the case they hadn’t told me about. I didn’t expect to be told everything, but if it had to do directly with me, I would want to know.

It was the possibilities that were running crazy in my head the most, so I just wanted to set things straight.