Page 12 of Two Steps Ahead

But outside of his family, Weston was very much reserved and liked to be alone. Even during his three years in the San Antonio Police Department, he’d had a reputation for being a loner.

So the only call he’d had to make to slip out of his regular life for two weeks to allow him to protect Kayleigh was to the office. Nobody else would even realize he was gone.

It was getting dark as he dropped by his apartment to grab some clothes and his personal weapons. His Glock 19 was rarelyaway from his body, but this situation also called for some other firearms.

While packing, he made a call to Chance. Since his other brothers had families now, he didn’t want to bother them. Chance was single, like Weston, and he would be the best at digging up intel on the potential threats surrounding Brighton Pharmaceuticals.

“Hey,” Chance answered after the second ring. “Heard you’re besties with Leo Delacruz.”

Weston shrugged and put a couple of T-shirts in his duffel bag. “I see Brax hasn’t lost his flair for the melodramatic. But yeah, Delacruz wants to hire us for a security detail.”

“Okay. Do I need to get it on the schedule?”

“No, I’m going to do this one myself. Live-in security for two to three weeks.”

There was a moment of silence from Chance. “So you are Delacruz’s bestie.”

“I knew his daughter back when we were kids. She doesn’t like the current security team, so Leo wanted to see if she’ll do better with me.”

“Fair enough. At his estate?”

“No, we’re going to a property at Lake Ray Roberts. I’ll send you the info.”

“You’re not usually one to volunteer for live-in security. Cuts into your alone time.”

He added some socks to the bag. “I guess I’m willing to do this one for old times’ sake.”

And because, if anyone was going to protect Kayleigh, Weston wanted to be that person. Even though they came from opposite worlds and probably had nothing in common.

Maybe he was doing it for kid Weston, who never had the chance to get closure with that friendship. Or maybe for theKayleigh who had been such a good friend then and needed help now.

Or, if he was honest, probably because he’d never been able to get her out of his mind as a kid, teenager or adult.

“I need you to look into this merger Delacruz has, involving Brighton Pharmaceuticals. See who has the most to lose by it.”

“Has he gotten direct threats?”

“Mostly vague, but I’d like to know what we’re dealing with. Maybe you can get intel Delacruz can’t because they’re watching for him to make a move.”

“Smart. We’ll get on it.”

He finished putting the rest of his clothes in the bag. “And can you ask Maci to clear my schedule for the next couple of weeks? I don’t have much on the calendar, but some of it will need to be juggled.”

There was a long moment of silence from Chance. “Why are you asking me to do that?”

“Because I’m on the phone with you, dumbass. When you see her tomorrow, ask her for me.”

“Right. When I see her tomorrow.”

What in the world was going on with his brother? “Are you okay, Chance? Had some sort of head injury in the last few hours I don’t know about?”

Chance was the most sharply focused of all his brothers. This behavior wasn’t like him at all. Then Weston heard a woman’s voice in the background at Chance’s house.

That explained it. Or at least some of it. Chance dated quite a bit, but he’d never known any of the women to be a distraction.

“Never mind, you have company. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll be sure to give Maci the message. Tomorrow. When I see her.”

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