2
Eric
Present Day
“Radio one, checking in. What do you see?”
Spence’s deep voice crackles in my ear as I lower myself in the front seat of my midnight black truck and watch my client’s wife drive into her lover’s driveway. Checkmate Security is off and running with datebooks filled to bursting with people who want our eyes and skills, but not enough staff to keep shit under control.
Clients come to us for a billion different reasons: to set up home security, for protection if they’re feeling threatened, to put a scare on someone else if that person is being shady. And sometimes they hire us because they suspect their partner is a cheating sack of shit. Usually women come to us because their men have been working longer hours, and they suspect they’re sneaking around. But tonight, I find myself parked in an upscale suburban street with my hat pulled low over eyes that watch mymaleclient’s wife pull up in a hot pink Jetta in the dead of night.
Aaron and Valerie Scanlen are seven years deep into a marriage Aaron suspects is loveless. He’s a local accountant, and Valerie is a publicist who works in the city and commutes every day in her fancy car. He suspects she might be sneaking around with one of her big-name clients, a sports star who was just too tempting to pass up, but after watching the woman for a couple weeks, I think he may be a smidge off.
She’s definitely fucking around on him, but it’s not with an overpaid sports star while she works extra hours in the city. No, it’s with Aaron’s brother, who lives just one street over, drives a minivan to work after school drop-off, and sends his wife and two kids on vacation to their little cabin as often as he can manage it. When his wife is out of range, Valerie’s Jetta zooms into his paved driveway, and just like tonight, she throws herself into his arms and practically humps him in public.
“She’s fucking the brother,” I confirm quietly. “She’s fucking him so often, I’m not even sure which Scanlen fathered her children.”
“Dude’s gonna be hella pissed,” Spence chuckles. “Why do the bitches always gotta cheat? Why do they have to screw around? If you ain’t happy, walk away.”
“Spencer?” I wait for his attention with a smirk. “Are you projecting right now?”
“Shut the fuck up, DeWhit! Ashley fucked me over, and now I’ll never be able to have a real relationship. She scarred me, man!”
“She was your summer fling when you were sixteen!”
“Yeah she was. She flinged, she flunged, then she flopped her whore ass on Toby Mercino’s cock just as soon as the school bell rang first day back. I’ve never had a healthy relationship since. Fuck those bitches.”
“Are you done?” Chuckling, I bring my binoculars up and study Valerie’s brother-in-law’s hand as it moves inside her panties. “How did we end up with this detail, Spence? This is a shitty job.”
“Because you got the last juicy case. We gotta rotate that shit or Jay gets pissy. He has a thing for attention. Like a fuckin’ circus bear. So this time, we get Valerie the whore, and next time, we might get to cut someone’s nuts out.”
“You’re sick.” Switching out my Steiners for an expensive camera, I snap photographs for Aaron to present in their divorce case when she tries to take everything he owns and their English bulldog. “Aaron was right on this one; she’s boning someone else. He wins; she loses.” I snap another picture. Then another. “We’re done here; let’s pack it up and head home.”
“Hold up, Cap.” Spence’s voice changes, then a set of headlights illuminate the street while the secret couple practically fuck against the garage door. “Incoming bogie. This ain’t gonna be pretty.”
“Fuck.” Dropping my camera and fixing my seat so I sit upright, I unsnap my seatbelt as the scorned husband roars into his brother’s driveway and misses hitting the couple by a hair. I jump out of my truck in the same moment Aaron races out with a baseball bat in his hands.
“Spence!” I run across the street with my partner’s racing breath in my ear, and draw my weapon just as Aaron’s arm swings down. “Stop!” I cock my nine-millimeter and slow until his wild eyes come away from his cowering wife. “You can’t do that, Aaron.”
“I was right!” Spittle flies in the space between us from how loud he screeches. “I was right. She’s fucking around on me!”
“Yes, you were right, and now we have proof.” I speak quietly, calmly as I inch closer and try to position myself between husband and wife. “You were right, and I have the proof in my car. But you can’t hit them. Lower your bat, Scanlen, and step the fuck back before you do something that can’t be undone.”
“I want her to die!” The veins bulge in his forehead. “I want you to die, Val! My brother? My fucking brother?” He lifts his bat again. “My little fucking brother?”
I jump forward when Aaron’s eyes change from pissed to straight up murderous. Throwing myself between him and Valerie, I regret my move when the bat swings down and slams over my shoulder until something crunches. “Fuck!” Bringing my gun up and pointing it at his face when he comes back for another shot, I push the hysterical couple back when they do nothing but turn my hearing tinny. Spence races into the driveway, all seven feet of Army Ranger muscle and a not-at-all legal firearm ready and cocked. Without hesitation, he slams his boot on the back of Aaron’s knees until the guy crumbles to the ground and the bat rolls away.
“You okay, Cap?” Flipping Aaron over with a grunt and lowering to his knee, he holds the fucker down and pulls out a set of handcuffs until the guy is hogtied and useless. Spence looks up. “Cap?”
“Yeah.” Rolling my shoulder, I bite off a curse when I feel bone move on bone. “Motherfucker, that’s gonna need more than a Band-Aid to fix.”
“Thank you so much.” Sniffly and annoying, Valerie steps out of her boyfriend’s arms and strokes mine. “Thank you so much for being here at the exact right time. I’m not sure what would have happened if you weren’t.”
“Fuck you, Valerie!” I shove her hand off my arm and step away. Pointing at the man on the ground, I pin the bitch with a glare. “That’s your husband, and you’re cheating on him. He wanted to know why you’re out all the damn time, and now he finds out you’re cheating with his brother? I hope you lose your shirt in your divorce.”
“No!” she cries. “It’s not like that.”
“Yes, it fuckin’ is. I have proof that I’ll hand over just as soon as I can. But then we have proof of him wanting to kill you. So now you’re both fucked, and the real victims here are your kids. I hope you feel good about yourself, you dirty bitch.”