Page 60 of Two Steps Ahead

Their home was built on the strength of their family’s love—not on things that could be replaced with insurance money. Kayleigh wasn’t going to let anything happen to it if she could help it.

She thought Weston would argue, but he merely nodded. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. I’m part of the team.”

He looked like he wanted to say more but just nodded again.

“We’re on our way,” he said to Brax. “See you there.”

The drive to the Pattersons’ was tense and mostly silent. They didn’t know what they were walking into and neither was happy about it.

Parking the car a couple of blocks away, Weston grabbed her hand and they snuck through backyards to get to Sheila and Clinton’s house without announcing their presence from the front. Weston cracked open the back door and snuck Kayleigh into the house.

Sheila was standing in the hallway. “Didn’t expect to see you two so soon again. Maybe next time you can both use the front door. That’ll be a nice change.”

Sheila’s words were joking but Kayleigh could see the hint of tension that curled Sheila’s shoulders. She didn’t like her house being watched, understandably.

Guilt made Kayleigh’s stomach clench painfully. She’d brought this trouble to their doorstep.

Like he could hear her thoughts, Weston shifted closer so his chest was warm against her back. The slight touch grounded her, brought her around to the problem at hand.

No matter how the trouble had gotten here, it was here now. They needed to help take care of it.

“Come on in,” Sheila said, standing to move to the light switches. She nearly flicked one on before Weston spoke.

“Don’t, Mom. I’d rather make whoever is watching think everyone in the house is sleeping.”

Sheila moved her hand away, nodding to her son. “Your dad’s in the living room.”

Weston’s hand on the small of Kayleigh’s back pushed her into the next room, where Clinton was peeking out the window. When they walked in, the older man relaxed slightly.

“You’re okay,” Clinton said. “I was worried.”

Weston stepped over to hug his father. “We were at my house when Brax called. Tell me what’s going on.”

Clinton looked Kayleigh over again, as if he was checking that she really was okay, and smiled at her before turning back to his son. “I was up late watching a game last night. When I went to shut the blinds, I saw the vehicles—two cars and one van. They stood out because I didn’t recognize any of them. One new car on the block is nothing, but three? And avan? No. Something told me to keep watch, so I did. After an hour, I thought I was going nuts and was about to go to bed. Then another car pulled up and they switched drivers.”

“Organized surveillance, then,” Weston said, stroking Kayleigh’s back absently, like he couldn’t stop touching her.

Clinton agreed. “I watched them do another shift change four hours later and decided to call in the big guns. That would be you and your brothers.”

Kayleigh peeked out the window blinds, careful not to make movement that would bring attention to them. The sleek black car sat in the shadows that bathed the other side of the street, but even then, she could feel whoever was inside watching. It sent goose bumps prickling down her arms.

“I don’t like this,” Sheila said from her position near the doorway. Kayleigh noticed with a painful lurch that she didn’t come closer. She didn’t feel comfortable or safe in the room now that they were being surveilled.

It hurt Kayleigh more than she’d expected to know she was the cause of it all.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“For what?” Sheila asked.

Kayleigh waved her hand at the closed blinds of the window. “This. All of it. They wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t come. You’d still be safe. I’m so sorry I brought this to your doorstep.”

Sheila clucked her tongue and moved to Kayleigh’s side. With a soft smile, Sheila grabbed her hand and patted it gently. “You have nothing to feel sorry for. They’ll learn—mess with one Patterson, you mess with all of us. Whoever’s coming after you better watch their backs because we don’t go down without a fight.”

The woman smirked, hip-bumping Kayleigh to make her smile. “Besides, I’m just waiting for the day when you can visit because you want to see us, not because of anything else.”

Her words shocked Kayleigh almost as much as the thread of longing that gripped her. She wanted to be part of this messy, chaotic, loving family. She wanted it more than she’d wanted anything in years.

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