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He could have gotten into my apartment…
—
Wednesday afternoon couldn’t have come fast enough. Porter had been craving a beer all day long, and tonight was guys’ night at Mickey’s, a local pub in Vegas where all of the Club Sin Masters met weekly to shoot the shit.
Porter sat in his black Dodge Charger and zoomed his camera on the couple sitting in the small park that was only blocks away from the office building owned by the multimillionaire computer whiz Malcolm Holmes. Two weeks ago, Malcolm’s wife had come to Porter with suspicions of adultery. She’d been right on the money. Porter clicked his camera, taking pictures of Malcolm with his hand on the breast of a young woman in professional attire.
While Porter had mixed feelings about capturing the secret affairs of others, it also gave him a high. He loved the hunt, but he liked it even more when the person he tracked was proven to be innocent.
Malcolm was not such a case.
Through the investigation, Porter had learned that Malcolm was twenty years older than the woman he was currently devouring. The woman seemed to be anything but enjoying it. Porter supposed that sometimes money made someone ignore a lack of sexual attraction, since the money was attractive enough. It made Porter glad few people knew of his wealth.
He lived modestly, buying a Dodge Charger that wasn’t anything fancy but that suited him. His house wasn’t luxurious, but a good-sized home that he could raise a family in when the time came. His parents, who lived a retired life in Argentina, had been smart with money and had given him a trust fund, since he was an only child. Porter became a millionaire at twenty-one without doing a single thing. He still had that money, he just didn’t use it. He preferred paving his way with his hard work.
A couple more clicks of his camera had given him enough damning evidence to prove to Mrs. Holmes that her husband was indeed cheating on her. When Porter first got into the PI business, working under the best PI in Vegas, who was a friend of his father’s, he’d hated these types of cases. Breaking up marriages wasn’t a part of the job he preferred. Though after years of seeing men and women disrespect their marriage, he hoped that the wronged spouse eventually moved on and found someone he or she deserved, and a life built on honesty and integrity.
Four years back, Porter had formed his own company, Marshall Investigations, which investigated everything from crimes to cheating spouses to everything in between. He was proud of what the company had become. His name was well known now, and there wasn’t a case that he hadn’t gotten to the bottom of. But that was also due to the three PIs working for him, though his best clue finder was Chloe Nash. She made his job easier. For that, he paid her well.
He took one final picture of the couple getting up from their bench and straightening their clothes. Porter snorted, not understanding the stupidity of people. Cheating behind closed doors made sense. Cheating in public was just asking to get caught. Maybe that’s what Malcolm wanted.
They strode off down the stone pathway, and Porter put the camera back in his bag and then started up his car. The loud rumble of the engine was a sound that always made him smile. He put the car into gear and drove off. Streets flew by his window as he drove on the back roads to avoid typical Vegas traffic. When he made it onto the strip, the sounds and smells coming through his open window, and the hordes of people, delighted him.
Born and raised in Vegas, he loved this city.
He took a hard right onto one of the side streets and parked behind Kyler’s Dodge Ram at the curb. Within seconds, he was out of his car and rounded the corner, entering Mickey’s in only a few short strides. The scent of greasy food and the loud banter washed over him, and he couldn’t think of a better place to meet. The pub was the kind of place where peanut shells littered the floor and sports games played on the big-screen televisions.
The door shut behind him and he immediately spotted Kyler, Dmitri, Aidan, and Sawyer sitting on stools at a bar table. He was disappointed not to see Miles, but wasn’t surprised since Miles hadn’t been to Club Sin in weeks. The man worked harder at his construction business than anyone Porter had met before. He’d even heard Miles recently talking about selling his company and investing in businesses instead. Porter was sure Miles was very likely financially sound already. He suspected that Miles was tired of the grind and ready to get a personal life.
As Porter reached the table, Kyler mused, “He finally decided to join us.”
Porter hopped onto a stool next to Dmitri, grinning at Kyler. “Had some pictures to take.” He waved at the waiter and pointed to Kyler’s beer. The waiter gave a nod, retreating to the bar to get Porter’s drink.
Dmitri smiled. “Someone doing something they shouldn’t be?”
“Not
doing something, doing someone they shouldn’t be,” Porter retorted.
Loud laughter erupted as the waiter delivered Porter’s beer. Seeing that all the menus were gone, indicating the guys had likely ordered already, Porter said to the waiter, “I’ll take an order of the hot wings.”
“I’ll put your order in with the others,” the waiter replied.
As the waiter headed back to the bar, Porter examined Kyler, who couldn’t sit still in his seat. “What’s with you?” he asked.
Kyler stilled on the stool, bowing his head and drawing in a deep breath. “I have some news.”
“Good news, I hope?” Aidan asked.
A slow smile spread across Kyler’s face. “Ella’s pregnant.”
Silence.
Kyler scoffed, shaking his head. “I’m happy she is.”
Breaths of relief followed before congratulations were given. Aidan ruffled Kyler’s hair, giving a beaming grin. “Our Kyler is going to be a dad, hmmm?”
“Seems so,” Kyler replied, his eyes lit with an inner glow. “She’s only a couple of weeks, so let’s keep this to our inner circle. Ella doesn’t want to make it public until she’s passed the first trimester.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The other part of the news is we’re getting married on the weekend.”
