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Kayleigh spent the entire drive to her house rehearsing exactly what she’d say to Weston if he complained about her showing up. She’d tell him she wasn’t going to let him turn into her father, that she was going to make her own decisions about her life, that she wasn’t the type to stay home and wait for news.

By the time she pulled into the driveway, she’d worked herself nearly into a frenzy.

She got out of the car and headed to the front door, only to find Weston already waiting for her. In the yard, Chance and a woman she didn’t recognize—who must be the notorious Maci—were fighting, though they spoke too low for her to make out what they were saying.

Turning back to Weston, Kayleigh watched him look her over, making sure she was still in one piece. She opened her mouth to start her speech when he stepped back and opened the door for her.

It was all so anticlimactic.

“Did your mom call you? You don’t seem surprised.”

He shook his head. “No, but Dad mentioned you borrowed the car. We have GPS tracking on it, so I knew you were headed this way.”

“Are you mad?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t like that you came here unprotected but, honestly, I’m a little surprised you didn’t arrive earlier.”

“I don’t want to be coddled. Smothered.”

He cupped her arms. “I know. And I respect you too much to even try. You’re strong, smart and capable.”

Hearing those words from him eased the tension she’d been carrying since the moment she’d gotten into the vehicle. He respected her. That meant everything.

“But,” he continued, “we also don’t want to put you in more danger by leaving you unprotected. Until this is over, we’ve got to be sure we’re working together as a team.”

“You’re right. I won’t be reckless.”

He smiled. “And I won’t coddle.”

She turned back to the door. “In your text you said there’s no danger here?”

“No danger, but it’s not pretty, Kayleigh. I’m sorry.”

Woodenly, she stepped in and froze just inside the door. “Oh my gosh.”

She’d expected to see some things on the ground and maybe some broken dishes, but it was so much worse than that. The whole house had been trashed.

She stepped farther in. There were feathers and stuffing from pillows everywhere, flour on the kitchen floor that she could see even from the front door. Picture frames had been thrown across the room and books laid open against the hardwood, their spines cracked unpleasantly, pages creased.

The whole place felt wrong, tainted. This was so much more than a mere break-in.

She felt Weston’s warmth behind her before he spoke. “You can go wherever you want. We’ve already checked the house and no one else is here. You’re safe.”

Kayleigh didn’t feel safe. As she walked through the rooms, with Weston at her back, she took in the ripped furniture, shredded clothing and destroyed pictures on the walls. Everything was ruined, and the more she saw, the more she hurt. Seeing the life she’d built for herself in pieces felt violating.

But the real damage came when she stepped into her studio.

Camera lenses had been shattered against the hardwood, computers knocked over with cracked monitors. There was even a pile of hard drives on the floor—her photographs—each one damaged and twisted like someone had taken a hammer to them. Even the canvases on the wall had been ripped into pieces.

Her safe space was ruined. It was pure carnage.

Kayleigh’s hand flew to her mouth and tears flooded her eyes as she took it all in. “Years of work, destroyed.”

There were backups, of course. And any work she’d done for a particular client had already been delivered. Ultimately, almost all of it was replaceable.

Yet the very violation left her distraught.

She felt Weston’s arms come around her and she was so thankful to have him to lean into.

“Who would do this?” she whispered, afraid if she spoke any louder, her voice would crack.

His arms tightened around her. “We think they were searching for something particular and either couldn’t find it and got angry, or tried to cover the search up.”

“Does this have anything to do with the merger? This doesn’t seem anything like a kidnapping attempt.”

He let her go but stayed close. “Kidnapping, no. But it definitely has to be related to the other things that have happened—the attempt at the lake, the mugging, the fire at Leo’s. How exactly it’s related, I’m not sure. They obviously weren’t trying to get their hands on you while doing this.”

Kayleigh nodded, feeling like a bobblehead when she couldn’t get herself to stop. She needed to focus on what she could control. “Okay. Okay. I can handle this. Insurance will cover the damage, so that’s good.”

Inside, her feelings were roiling.

The cameras at her feet made her chest ache. She’d had most of them for a decade—had never gotten rid of a single one. To her, they signified years of hard work. She had built her career with those cameras and found the most important parts of her life with them. Every picture she’d taken had been one step further to living her dreams.

Now they were gone and, despite the fact that the pictures still existed, it hurt more than she’d ever expected to see this destruction.

“Is it a threat? Someone trying to get me to stop the merger?”

Weston ran a hand down her arm. “I know it’s not what Leo wants, but things are obviously escalating. Stopping the merger would give you an out, remove you as a target.”

She sighed, trying to push past the scene in front of her long enough to think it over.

The more she looked, the angrier she got. “No, I’m not going to stop the merger. In fact, I’m even more determined to make sure it goes through. I’m not going to make my decisions out of fear.”

When Kayleigh glanced up, the look Weston gave her was one of quiet reverence and pride. It gave her the strength to reach for him and take what she needed. For the moment, it was a hug, but she couldn’t help feel the energy between them building. Soon, she’d want more than just that simple touch.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” he said, pulling from her embrace and taking her hand.

She led him toward her bedroom, looking through the remnants of her belongings scattered on the floor. Taking a settling breath, she let go of his hand and gathered a couple changes of clothes to add to what Maci had already put in the duffel.

They walked to the front hall, where they could hear Chance and Maci arguing outside. “What about the house? Do we need to wait for the police?”

He held the door and ushered her out. “Chance and our team will go through the house first, then he’ll call his friends at the San Antonio PD to come in and document the scene. You’ll need to go in and give your statement eventually, but not right now. I don’t want to take a chance that whoever did this is waiting for you there.”

Kayleigh’s jaw tightened, but she gave in. She didn’t like not having control of things; however, she knew it was temporary.

“We’re heading out,” Weston said to Chance as they walked to the car, grabbing the duffel. The two were still glaring at each other. “Call if you need anything, or if there’s any changes we should know about. Maci, if you need a body disposal, call Brax.”

Maci beamed at him. “I promise to leave Chance’s body in the most obvious spot I can so everyone can see my handiwork.”

Chance shook his head in disbelief and pulled his phone out, waving quickly to Weston and Kayleigh before walking off to make his call.

Weston chuckled and turned, placing a hand at Kayleigh’s back to lead her to the car. “Follow me to Mom and Dad’s. We’ll make sure there’s nobody tailing us. This could all be an elaborate plan to find out where you’ve been hiding.”

She rubbed her temples. “I know it’s probably the safest place we could be, but I don’t really want to go back to your parents’ house. It’s lovely, and so are they, but if it’s okay, I’m not in the mood to be around people right now.”

He tilted his head to the side and studied her. “I can understand that.”

“Is there somewhere else we can go?”

“Yes.”

Always a man of such few words. But Kayleigh trusted him. She didn’t need particulars.

They dropped by the Patterson house to grab their things and return the car. Kayleigh hugged both Sheila and Clinton, blinking back tears.

She wasn’t saying goodbye forever, just a few days. When the merger was complete, she would go back and check on them. Whether Weston stayed with her or not, she wouldn’t let go of Clinton and Sheila, not when they seemed to see her for exactly who she was.

As if she’d conjured him, Weston stepped into the kitchen where she was talking to the older couple. He didn’t say anything, but he smiled.

Kayleigh hefted the duffel onto her shoulder, only getting as far as the doorway before Weston plucked it from her to carry himself. He kissed his parents and they made their way to the car, back seat containing all the leftovers Sheila could talk them into taking with them.

They drove, circling around town. Kayleigh knew the drill by now and wasn’t paying much attention. When they pulled into a remote neighborhood on the east side of town, she straightened slightly.

The white bungalow at the end of the long driveway was beautiful with its charcoal shutters and perfect shrubs out front.

She looked over at him. “This is your house, isn’t it?”

A garage door opened in front of them and they pulled in, answering her question before he said anything.

“Yep.”

Suddenly, Kayleigh was nervous. She hadn’t expected him to take her to his house. She was happy to be there, but knew this wasn’t something he did lightly.

He led her inside. Everything about it told her he took pride in his home, and something about that made her heart flutter. It was clean, neat, organized. Looking around, she took it all in. Everything from the furniture to the curtains were simple and solid. Straightforward.

It was all so Weston.

She followed him down the hall. He dropped her bag in a spare bedroom before they made their way back to the kitchen for some food. Thanks to what Sheila had sent, they didn’t have to cook. They ate quickly, then Kayleigh called to check on Leo.

She tried not to be disappointed when Dr. Appleton told her there’d been no changes, but her heart ached. She wanted her father to be awake. She wanted to be safe again. She wanted things to get better.

She didn’t want the merger that had cost him so much to be in her hands. But for right now, she didn’t have a choice.

“Why don’t you take a shower?” Weston asked, loading the dishwasher after their meal.

Kayleigh jolted, realizing she’d just been staring at her phone while her head was miles away.

“It might be good for you to relax,” he continued. “It’s been one thing after another for you practically nonstop. You could do with a break. When you’re done, I want to show you something.”

“You’re probably right,” she said, standing up. She was nearly to the hallway when she turned to him. “What did you want to show me?”

Weston leaned against the counter and grinned. “Shower, then you’ll find out.”

Something about the way he looked at her, like he was excited for her reaction, made Kayleigh’s heart skip a beat. She nodded, pushing a hand through her hair before she returned to the hallway and the stairs beyond.

Back in her room, she was grateful for a private bathroom so she could be alone with her thoughts. Flipping the water on to warm up, she looked at herself in the mirror. There were heavy bags under her eyes, the rest of her face pale and sallow.

As she shucked her clothes and stepped into the shower’s hot water, so many things swirled inside her head that she almost felt dizzy. Her house, her father, the explosion, the kidnap attempt. It was all too much.

So she focused on the one unwavering piece.

Weston .

If it hadn’t been for him, she couldn’t imagine what state she’d be in right now. He was the reason she’d been able to hold on to her sanity through all this.

Knowing he was at her side for the long haul had a gentle warmth flowing through her.

And knowing he had brought them to his house and it was only the two of them here had that warmth turning to a much higher heat.