Page 50 of Two Steps Ahead

“Maci! Maci, where are you?”

Weston shook his head. Chance’s actions announced their presence to anyone still in the house and made them vulnerable, but Chance was running on autopilot. Logic held no sway in his mind.

And Weston knew if it was Kayleigh in this house, he’d be doing the same thing. So, he would back Chance up, even if he was being a dumbass.

Because that’s what brothers did.

Both of them slid to a halt when their office manager poked her head out from the hallway before stepping into the livingroom with a duffel bag in hand. “I’m right here. I’m fine. No need to announce to the entire state of Texas that we’re inside.”

For a moment, Chance relaxed. They both drank in the sight of Maci, unharmed and as safe as she could be in the middle of a crime scene. Weston lowered his weapon, although he didn’t holster it.

The second that Chance caught sight of the bag in Maci’s hand, he went nuclear.

“What the hell is that?” His eyes darkened and he stepped as far into Maci’s personal space as he could without pressing their bodies together.

Weston wasn’t sure if it was restraint, the need for consent, or self-torture that forced his brother to keep that small bit of distance, but it made Weston’s lips twitch with the ghost of a smile.

Chance’s fingers flexed at his side, but Weston knew that even though he was upset, his brother wouldn’t grab a woman in anger. None of the Patterson brothers would.

“You should have left the house the second that you noticed something was wrong. Instead, you packed a damned bag. Are you out of your mind?”

Maci glared at him, dropping the duffel to rest her hands on her hips. “Excuse me? I don’t know who you think you’re talking to that w—”

“No, I’m not kidding, Maci,” Chance growled. “We’re dealing with people who are actively trying to hurt Kayleigh and her father. They don’t care about collateral damage. Who knows what would have happened if you’d caught them in the act. And instead of finding someplace safe to wait for us, like you should have, you stayed and packed a bag. Are you always this stupid and reckless or is it just today’s luck?”

Weston winced as Maci’s face froze into a type of cold fury he hoped to never be on the receiving end of. She breached thegap between them and, even with their height difference, anger made her a formidable opponent, especially when it felt like the air around them cooled twenty degrees in a heartbeat.

“Stupid? You think I’m stupid? I’ve been working for you guys for over a year now, Chance. This isn’t the first time I’ve been in a dangerous situation. So, yes. I knew what I was dealing with and what I could have walked into, and I made the decision to do my job anyway. Isn’t that what you’re paying me for? To do my job?”

Maci continued to rant, but Chance wasn’t responding anymore. Weston knew right away what was happening. Chance’s body was there, but his mind was running through every terrible thing that Maci could have experienced if they hadn’t been in time, if the thieves had still been in the house when she’d arrived.

All the Patterson brothers had their own childhood trauma—abuse, neglect, fear. The years before Sheila and Clinton had taken them in had shaped them in different ways. They each had their own way of dealing with the residual trauma when it popped up.

Luke resorted to his fists. Brax used his charm and words. Weston reverted to silence.

Weston dug deep into the strategic part of his mind and thought of all the possible...everything.

It was what was happening to Chance now—what happened when he was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do. Where most people could fight their way through the feelings and into consciousness, Chance just ran scenarios and shut down.

Weston grabbed Chance by the shirt collar and got right in his face. He needed to break this cycle before Chance sank too far into it.

“Chance, you need to take Maci outside while I confirm the rest of the house is secure.”

Chance stared at him with no indication he had any idea who Weston was. He didn’t move or say anything. Damn it. Weston shoved him a little, trying to force a reaction.

“Chance! Get Maci outside where it’s safe. Right now. Get Maci safe.”

That did it. Chance blinked at him, recognition dawning in his eyes. “Weston?”

“Get Maci outside.”

Chance looked around, and Weston could see him putting it all back together. His brother was a genius and it only took a split second.

“Right, outside.”

“I’ll secure the house.”

Maci was staring at them both with huge eyes. Weston wasn’t going to explain anything to her. That was up to Chance.

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