Duped (Atlantic City's Most Wanted Book 4) by Charity Parkerson

Author:Charity Parkerson [Parkerson, Charity]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Punk & Sissy Publications
Published: 2025-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

The stiff, shocked silence Tarek rode home in had Portland ready to snap. Even after Portland gave him a drink and headache medicine, he stared at nothing—like a broken toy. Portland ordered them food and waited for Tarek to come back to himself. It aggravated Portland more than a little that Tarek obviously didn’t believe Portland would take good care of him.

When his nerves finally broke, Portland headed for the garage. He grabbed the expensive leather duffle bag from the trunk. Portland almost laughed at the way he had forgotten about it until now, considering the lengths he had gone to collect. He stormed back inside and dumped the bag on Tarek’s lap.

“Would you please stop looking like I destroyed your life? I told you I would take care of you. You don’t need to work.”

Tarek blinked. He glanced down at the bag. “What’s this?”

“It’s yours.” Portland stood over him with his hands on his hips. He realized it probably looked like he tried to intimidate him and relaxed his pose and softened his tone. “Seriously, baby. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Tarek unzipped the bag. His entire body froze. “Is this a bag of cash?”

Portland resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was obviously a bag of cash. “Fifty grand. Deposit it as you need it, but never deposit more than nine grand at a time. You don’t want to trigger the IRS. If you need more than nine K for something, just let me know and I’ll buy it.”

Tarek’s chin lifted. “You’ve been carrying around fifty thousand dollars in your trunk all week.”

Portland shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve needed it.”

Tarek blinked. “But… why? You came out of the casino with this. Did you win it?”

Portland didn’t lie. He wanted to climb from as few holes as possible when Tarek learned the truth about him. “In a way. I collected on a debt.”

Tarek moved the bag from his lap to the coffee table. He twisted his fingers, looking ready to cry. “Will you tell me why Saul doesn’t trust you?”

Portland’s shoulders relaxed. Tarek didn’t sound like he intended to boot Portland to the curb. Talking was a good sign. He joined Tarek on the couch and stole one of his hands so he’d stop fidgeting. “Saul works for one of the biggest and most protected criminals in the country. He doesn’t trust anyone. Trusting people could get him killed.”

“I’ve seen him with his husband. He trusts him.”

Portland smiled. “I’m sure that’s different. There’s not a person in his sphere that isn’t fully investigated. Yes, that includes you. He knows who the innocents are in his life. Yes, that includes you. I, on the other hand, am also considered powerful in my own right. That makes me dangerous in his eyes. I can afford to challenge him in certain ways. In his world, that’s a bad thing.”

Tarek nodded. He relaxed and Portland pulled him against his side.

Portland pressed his lips to Tarek’s temple and stayed like that for a moment.

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