Cameron groaned as he took the file and opened it to peruse the contract and the notes the client had written on the application. He hated these kinds of extramarital affair cases, as did Steve, thus the reason they took turns investigating them when they came through the office.

Having grown up with two parents who were still in love after forty plus years of marriage, Cameron believed strongly in the power of monogamy. If you weren't happy in a relationship and couldn't work out the problems, it was time to move on. Having an affair solved nothing and usually ended up hurting too many people once the infidelity was out in the open.

In this current case, the husband suspected his wife of cheating on him. Judging by the comments and notes the man had written on the application, all the key signs were there: his wife working more overtime than usual, receiving hang-up calls at home when he picked up the phone, his wife insisting it was all his imagination.

Yep, they were all classic, textbook ploys a significant other commonly used to deceive and manipulate the other person. And Mr. Shelton was most likely being duped by his not-so-loving wife. He was asking for surveillance, written reports on his wife's activities and who she spent any time with outside of the office, and pictures to use as evidence.

Closing the file on the Shelton case, Cameron blew out a long breath. "Damn, it's going to be one hell of a busy week."

"Speaking of busy," Steve said, a wry note to his voice. "I think we're both feeling overwhelmed by all the business that's come our way lately, wouldn't you agree?"

"Definitely," Cameron said, nodding. "The extra work is great because we've busted our asses to get the company to this point, but I have to tell you, I'm exhausted by the end of the day." And even at that he was taking cases home with him to work on in the evenings.

"Me, too." Steve picked up a pen from the table and rolled it between his fingers. "I've been thinking, maybe it's time to hire someone new to help us out."

It had been him and Steve for so long, the thought of a third person seemed intrusive. However, there was no denying they were swamped with cases and the two of them were only capable of handling so much. "That's not a bad idea."

"We've got to do something. I'd really like to have more quality time to spend with Liz and Cody," Steve said of his wife and son. "I can hardly believe we'll be celebrating his first birthday in a few weeks. Time flies when you get old."

Cameron chuckled. "Yes, you are an old man. And I agree you should spend more time with Liz and Cody."

"And you need more of a social life, and time to pursue things with whatever woman was giving you grief this weekend," Steve added with a grin. "So as we're in agreement, I'll put the word out that we're looking for someone experienced in the investigative field, and we'll see what happens from there."

"Sounds good," Cameron said.

Standing, Cameron gathered his case files, wondering what Steve would do if he knew the woman who'd given him the best kind of grief he'd had in a while was his cousin, Mia. Cameron was pretty sure he knew the answer to that. Most likely, he'd be looking for a new partner.


AS soon as Mia walked into her apartment Wednesday evening after a long day at work, she set her purse and the day's mail on the kitchen counter and then kicked off her heels. Out of habit, she glanced at the message center on the wall next to the phone and found a note from Gina stating that she was staying at Ray's for the night.

Mia tried to ignore the all-too-frequent sickening feeling in her belly that accompanied the thought of Gina being alone with Ray. Gina was an adult, Mia reasoned, and even though she worried about her roommate and the man she was currently involved with, she couldn't protect Gina if she wasn't willing to admit there was a problem in her relationship with Ray.

Retrieving a cold bottle of water from the refrigerator, Mia twisted off the cap and took a long drink to quench her thirst. Considering her own lack of a love life, which did not include her spontaneous night with Cameron, it looked like she had a quiet night of solitude ahead of her. She should have been happy about that, but she enjoyed Gina's company and had grown used to having someone else in the apartment at night, even if she was in her own room working on a stained-glass design.

Being alone was her own fault, she knew. She hadn't had a real relationship with a guy in nearly two years. But like every relationship she'd attempted before, that one had lasted a scarce three months before she'd started to feel restless and stifled and had broken things off. It was a familiar pattern that made her face the fact that she just didn't do relationships. At least not well.

Which was too bad, she thought as she made herself a chicken Caesar salad for dinner, because she'd really enjoyed being with Cameron the other night-their banter, her teasing, and the way Cameron had ultimately lost control with her. But it wasn't as though he'd asked to see her again when he'd dropped her off at her apartment. No, she'd gotten the distinct impression that she was the kind of woman he'd have a hot, illicit affair with but not a long-term relationship. It appeared that their fling was a one-time deal to finally get her out of his system-even if she did secretly wish for more.

Finished making her salad, she took the plate and her water to the kitchen counter and sorted through her mail, figuring that was about as exciting as her evening was going to get She took a bite of chicken as she separated the bills from junk mail and catalogs. At the bottom of a pile she came across a regular-size envelope addressed to her, but there was no indication of who the sender was because there wasn't a return address. The envelope was bulkier than normal, indicating there was something more than just a letter inside.

Curiosity piqued, she set her fork down on her plate and opened the envelope. She pulled out the folded piece of paper, opened it, and the contents spilled onto the counter. There was nothing written on the white stationery, and when Mia glanced down to see what had fallen out, her heart nearly stopped in her chest.

There were five photos of her, and while the pictures were grainy, there was no mistaking that all of them had been taken at The Electric Blue last Friday night. She knew this because two of the photographs were of her with Cameron. The other three showed her with one man she'd flirted with at the bar before Cameron had arrived, and two other guys who'd asked her to dance and she'd taken up on the invitation.

But it wasn't the pictures themselves that devastated and shocked her. It was what someone had written in bold red ink across each photo. Whore. Tramp. Slut.

Prickles of unease skittered down her spine when she thought of someone watching her so intently with the sole purpose of taking pictures of her. The photos might have been taken in a public place, but she still felt as though someone had invaded her privacy.

She double-checked the envelope and piece of paper but came up with nothing. There was no note or any clue as to who had sent the photos or why they felt the need to malign her with such spiteful verbiage.

There was a wealth of anger and hate behind those words, and Mia's first instinct was to take them to work with her tomorrow and drop each one through the paper shredder and pretend she'd never received the offending photographs. But her more practical side told her this could be serious. Whoever had followed her to The Electric Blue and taken those pictures had done so for a reason. And one of those reasons had been to scare her. Though she hated to admit it, even to herself, the person's tactics had worked, because the fear making her heart pound hard and fast in her chest was very real.

She'd like to believe this was a one-time thing, but what if it wasn't? If whoever had followed her to The Electric Blue was deranged enough to take pictures of her out in public and send the copies to her with slurs written all over them, what would stop them from possibly approaching her when she was alone and defenseless? She had no idea what this person was capable of, and she wasn't about to underestimate the situation. Someone needed to know what was going on, just in case something happened to her.

She thought about calling her brother Joel, who was a security specialist, and immediately dismissed the idea. Same with her cousin, Steve, even though he was a private investigator. Both could help her and possibly figure out who had sent her the photos, but she knew all too well what their involvement would cost her. Not only her privacy, but her entire life would be scrutinized and turned upside down more than it already was. And of course Joel and Steve would tell Scott and Alex what was going on, and between all of them, they'd smother her with their overly protective ways and undoubtedly drive her insane.

No, contacting her brother or cousin definitely wasn't an option. Not if she could help it. As she tucked the pictures back into the envelope, she considered her other choices, but the only other person who came to mind who could possibly be of any help to her was Cameron. If she could even convince him to help her without letting her family in on the fact that someone was stalking her. And if he'd even want to get involved with her, even on a business level, after their night together.

The only way to find out was to ask him, she supposed. And because she wasn't about to stop by his office during the day and risk Steve seeing her with him, she'd have to meet with him privately at his house. The sooner, the better. Like tonight.