Page 99 of Cuffed By Your Love

Chambers nodded. “Already uploading to the secure drive.”

“Then it’s clean,” Milner said, rubbing his face. “Jesus Christ.”

I didn’t say anything. Just waited.

Milner finally looked me dead in the eye. “Go home. Take two days. Mandatory eval with Dr. Abrams. But off the record? Thank you. You saved that woman’s life tonight, Edmonds.”

The room went quiet except for the hum of the fluorescent bulbs. Then the lead investigator leaned back. “Bodycam footage confirms shots fired by both parties. However,”—he slid a transcript across the table—“the suspect made an emotional statement prior to his death. Did you hear it clearly?”

My stomach tightened. Kam’s words echoed in my skull, raw and jagged:Tell her I loved her. Tell her I know you’ll love her like I never could.

“Yes,” I answered evenly.

“And how do you interpret it?” the investigator pressed.

I kept my voice flat, cold, because I refused to let them twist it. “Doesn’t change what he did. Doesn’t change that he refused my orders to drop his weapon. Confession or apology, it doesn’t erase the rope, the pills, or the fact that he pulled a loaded gun on an officer. His words don’t negate his actions.”

Chief Milner nodded in agreement.

Chambers finally stepped forward, his voice sharp. “Clean shoot. I saw it. He raised first. Elias fired to stop the threat. Case closed.”

The investigator shut the folder, his tone clipped. “We’ll complete our review, but as it stands… your actions appear justified. You’re on standard administrative leave pending full review.”

Chief Milner, stated, annoyed at the theatrics, “I said that already,investigator. You’re dismissed, Edmonds. Go home.”

I stood, sliding my badge back into my palm. The weight burned against my skin. My voice stayed low but steady. “Do what you have to do. The facts don’t change.”

When I stepped out into the hallway, the air hit differently. Cooler. Freer. But my chest was still heavy, not with doubt, but with the words I couldn’t forget, words I’d already promised Jonay she’d hear from me, not from a transcript.

Tell her I loved her. Tell her I know you’ll love her like I never could.

I clenched my jaw and walked toward the exit. Protecting her meant carrying those words, standing tall in front of IA, and never letting them twist the truth of what went down.

But I didn’t go home. I went to her.

When I pulled up to her daddy’s house, Jonay was on the porch wrapped in one of those old HBCU blankets like it was a shield against the world. Her eyes were red. She looked up when she saw me, and I swore I damn near fell to my knees.

She slowly stood, like she didn’t know whether to run into my arms or run away from everything she felt.

“I killed him,” I said, barely above a whisper. “He pulled first. But I ended it.”

She didn’t speak. Just nodded, tears welling.

I walked up and wrapped my arms around her like I was tryna fuse our bones together. I held her so tight I could feel her heartbeat stuttering beneath my ribs.

“I’m here,” I murmured into her hair. “I got you. You ain’t gotta be scared no more. Ever.”

She trembled against me, her voice cracking. “You could’ve died, Elias.”

“But I didn’t.” I pulled back and cupped her face. “And even if I had, I would’ve done it a thousand times if it meant protecting you.”

Her daddy stepped out onto the porch with a nod. No words. Just the kind of look a father gave a man who proved he’d go to war behind his daughter.

He clapped my shoulder. “You need anything, son, you got it.”

“I already got everything I need,” I said, looking at Jonay.

And I meant that shit with every molecule in my body.