All Kinds of Tied Down by Mary Calmes

else?” Ian prodded begrudgingly.
    “I think I’m crippled,” I complained, my body starting to cramp from sitting so long.
    “That’s what happens when you jump off buildings,” a new voice growled.
    Fuck.
    I winced and lifted my head slowly, which did nothing to lessen the intimidating presence of the man I didn’t want to face. At six four, covered in hard muscle and in possession of the coldest pair of steel-blue eyes I had ever seen, my boss, Sam Kage, was not the kind of man you messed with. And it wasn’t just me who walked on eggshells around him. Ian was a badass Green Beret, an Army captain, but he didn’t mess with our boss either. There was something about him: a fierceness, a tenacity, so that you knew he would get you, hurt you, make you pay. And while I had only witnessed that resolve applied to criminals, I didn’t want to tempt fate.
    “I didn’t have a gun,” I hastily explained. “We were at a party.”
    All the men in my life squinted at me like I was an idiot.
    “So I went after the suspect to tackle him,” I rambled on.
    “Where were you?” he asked Ian.
    “Securing the scene, sir.”
    Kage moved closer to me. “You do it again, Jones, and I will bust your ass to court duty until you die.”
    I coughed. “Yessir.”
    “Go to the hospital and get checked out.”
    “Yeah, but—”
    “Before tomorrow or your ass is sitting home,” he barked. “Until further notice.”
    Shit. “Yessir.”
    His attention moved back to Ian. “You keep letting him get hurt, and I’m going to start questioning your decision to be a marshal, Doyle. Maybe this job is too tame for you. Can’t keep your head in the game without the threat of imminent death?”
    “No sir,” Ian said sharply.
    “Sorry?”
    “I said, no sir.”
    Kage grunted. “When I added to my original five-man team, with Ching, Becker, and then you, Kohn, and lastly Jones, I figured you’d all be with me a good, long time.”
    Ian kept silent.
    “But if your plan is to not actually watch out for your partner, I can find someone who will.”
    The muscles in Ian’s jaw clenched.
    “We’re a team, Doyle.”
    He cleared his throat. “Yessir.”
    Kage turned to Bridger. “Let me know what else you need from my office, Detective.”
    Bridger nodded, taking the card from Kage with a sharp inhale. It made sense; the man was really scary. His height, the powerful build, the icy stare: all of it gave you the impression that if you fucked up, you’d be gone. I certainly never wanted to be in a position to test him.
    “What floor is homicide on now?”
    “Fifth,” Bridger answered quickly. “May I ask why, Marshal?”
    “I need to speak to one of the detectives I’m supposed to be meeting here.”
    “Which one? I can call up for you; check if he’s here this late.”
    “He is, because, again, we scheduled a meeting. And it’s Duncan Stiel.”
    After a moment, Bridger chuckled. “Oh, you mean the billionaire’s boyfriend?”
    Big. Mistake. Ian wished he could scowl with such icy contempt. Bridger actually swallowed.
    “No,” Kage said flatly. “I mean the highly decorated homicide detective.”
    Bridger coughed.
    “Fifth floor, you said.”
    “Yes.”
    “I can find him myself.”
    Bridger remained silent.
    His gaze landed back on me. “Hospital.”
    As though I would disregard a direct order from the man. “Yessir.”
    Kage glanced at Ian and then turned and strode out of the room. People scuttled out of his way as he moved down the corridor we could see through the glass windows on the far side of the room.
    “He’s sort of intense,” Bridger commented. “That’s gotta be loads of fun.”
    “That’s true,” Ian agreed. “But lemme tell you, when you’re stuck somewhere, there isn’t anyone you’d rather have either coming for you himself or insisting someone else get off their ass and ride to your rescue.”
    “Yeah,” I said, chuckling. “The term ‘moving heaven and earth,’ that was made for