Page 35 of Two Steps Ahead

Weston leaned close to Kayleigh’s ear. He spoke in a low tone, knowing that wouldn’t carry as far as a whisper. “Remember the grove?”

She nodded. It was a couple miles off the property, but they had gone there a few times with Henry as kids. The trees were bigger there, they’d have more places to hide.

“Stay with me. Step where I do.”

She nodded again.

He took her hand, pulling them both into crouches. He moved quickly, aiming for spots of soft wood and moss to cover the sound of their steps. Behind him, Kayleigh did as he’d asked: stepped where he stepped, grabbed where he grabbed.

He knew she had to be scared—it was dark, there was thunder in the distance, and people were chasing them. But she held it together.

And he was going to do whatever he had to do to keep her safe.

Chapter Eleven

“I think they came through here.”

Weston pressed his fingers back to his lips as the people tracking them passed close enough for them to hear their whispered words.

As if Kayleigh needed a reminder to be quiet.

Weston’s chest brushed hers as he brought his mouth to her ear and it was all she could do not to shiver at his touch.

“Take this.” He slipped his phone into her pocket and Kayleigh stilled as his lips grazed her skin. “If anything happens, you run as far and as fast as you can, and then you hide. Find cell service and call any number on speed dial. My brothers will take care of you.”

“I don’t want to do this without you.” She was barely keeping the panic at bay as it was.

He kissed her forehead. “You won’t. This is just a contingency plan.”

She shook her head, understanding, and Weston turned around to watch the grove again. He had his gun in his hand and was keeping himself between her and the bad guys—a cedar elm pressed up against her back.

She appreciated his protectiveness, but also didn’t want him to get shot trying to save her.

“We’ll have to get through him to take her,” one voice said, a little closer now.

Kayleigh’s stomach dropped.

Visions of her kidnapping flashed through her head. Darkness, the storm. Her jaw ached to make noise, to cry or scream. Anything. But she kept her mouth shut and her breathing quiet.

“I have no problem with that. She’s what’s important,” another voice said.

It felt like the two men were right on top of them. Weston stepped closer, adjusting his stance, making sure she was fully hidden. His frame was steady but tense, ready to move if needed.

“Looks like they came through here, but I can’t tell where they went after.”

The other guy groaned softly. “This is too much ground to cover just the two of us.”

Only two of them was a good thing.

“We keep looking. I’ll call for backup.”

The other man grumbled but didn’t object. Soon the footsteps and voices faded away into nothingness, leaving only the whisper of the wind through the trees and bushes.

The silence stretched on as Kayleigh counted the seconds, wanting to move, but Weston stayed still. It was nearly five minutes before Weston’s body finally relaxed.

“I wanted to make sure they weren’t trying to draw us out,” he said, voice still low. “But they’re gone.”

“How do you know?”

---