Page 3 of Last Resort

Chance couldn’t give him one under these circumstances. “I’m not comfortable signing something that would require me to keep secrets from my brothers.”

The Patterson brothers didn’t keep secrets from one another.

Chance grit his teeth. Actually, he’d been keeping a pretty damned big one from them for the past few months.

Benjamin shook his head. “The NDA will permit you to tell your brothers anything you deem necessary, but requires you to keep the identity of my employer and anything he discusses with you confidential, even if you choose not to take the assignment.”

“Put the NDA through the mail slot. I’ll look it over.”

A quick read proved it to be a standard document, with the only changes being what he’d outlined. He could share information with his brothers and their employees as necessary, but no one outside the company. There were no penalties or clauses that would make things difficult if they didn’t take the assignment either, so he signed it and unlocked the door, handing the stack of papers back to Benjamin.

“Thank you, Mr. Patterson.” The older man tucked the contract into his briefcase and stepped back. “Mr. LeBlanc will be pleased. He’s anxious to meet with you all to discuss the situation.”

“Nicholas LeBlanc?” The Texas real estate tycoon? He wasbigmoney. “What exactly does he want to hire San Antonio Security for?”

Someone of LeBlanc’s stature would have his own full-time security team.

“Mr. LeBlanc would prefer to give you the details himself. If this afternoon works, he has an availability at 3:00 p.m. Top floor of the VanPoint Tower.”

“We’ll be there.”

With an efficient nod, Benjamin left, getting into the back seat of a town car at the edge of the sidewalk. Chance watched him go, then turned back into the office. He needed to find out as much as he could about Nicholas LeBlanc and get everyone into the office stat.

Looked like a quiet morning working on his own was not in the cards.

“WHYAREWEall here again?” Luke asked as they stepped into the glass elevator in the VanPoint Tower’s lobby later that afternoon.

Chance looked out at the pristine building. “Because Nicholas LeBlanc is the type of client whose recommendation could set us up for years.”

Chance and his brothers had started San Antonio Security five years ago. They’d wanted to work together and, between the four of them, had years of prior military and law enforcement experience. At the beginning of their business journey, they’d had to take whatever assignments they could get, which included a lot of following cheating spouses and hunting bail jumpers.

But in the last couple of years, San Antonio Security had grown to become one of the most respected firms in their hometown. Now they did a lot of personal and corporate security—not only the bodyguarding, but situational awareness and tactical defense.

They were brought in by companies and individuals to find and fix the holes in their security, to stop the bad things before they happened.

But sometimes the bad things were already in motion when San Antonio Security was brought in. Chance was afraid that was the case now with Nicholas LeBlanc.

The elevator gave Chance and his brothers a view of the indoor complex that housed a virtual warren of businesses. LeBlanc Holdings held the top two floors—announcing its prestige and prosperity without ever saying a word.

The elevator doors opened, releasing them into a large lobby. People were everywhere, talking, walking, typing. Phones were ringing all over the place, but there was order even in the chaos.

“Mr. Patterson?”

Chance turned and found the man who had showed up at the office this morning. “Yes.”

“I was under the impression that you were bringing your brothers with you, not employees. Security downstairs listed you all as Pattersons.”

“That’s because we are. These are my brothers—Brax, Luke and Weston Patterson.”

It was a common misconception, since none of them looked alike.

“I see. My apologies for the error.” Once again, Benjamin was all efficiency. “Mr. LeBlanc is waiting for you. Follow me.”

Chance followed behind everyone else, taking in the office and the atmosphere. Though the office was guarded downstairs, he saw a man stationed near the elevator and another near the stairs. Both security guards had a line of sight to the door Benjamin was knocking on.

Was it LeBlanc who was in danger then, or was that standard practice?

“Come in.” Benjamin pushed the door open, and Chance found himself in a corner office with more windows than walls. The city was sprawled out, with buildings dotting the horizon and tiny people and cars jostling about like ants.

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