Page 6

Weston sat straight up in bed, sleep gone in an instant. Something was wrong. He immediately reached for his weapon on the nightstand next to him.

Waking up this way—with a knowledge something wasn’t right—was a habit his brain had developed as a child. It had saved him more than once when his abusive dad had been coming for him, allowing Weston to escape and hide. It had helped him in other foster care situations when bigger kids had decided to sneak up on him when he was sleeping.

It had taken almost a year after living with the Pattersons’ constant affection and patience before that defense mechanism had learned to stand down.

But now it was back.

He moved out of bed in his gym shorts, slipping on the shoes lined up at the side of the bed, but not stopping to put on a shirt. He headed out the door and toward the main house, staying in the shadows, eyes searching for anything that was amiss.

The storm had burned itself out hours ago. None of the sensors had gone off to alert him of an intruder, and a quick search of the property also resulted in nothing. But Weston knew something wasn’t right—his instincts were still going wild.

The door to Kayleigh’s cabin was locked, so he used his key and began searching the front rooms first. No sign of forced entry.

Then he heard Kayleigh cry out from her bedroom.

He bolted back to her room, weapon raised, ready to defend her from an attacker. But there was no attacker. There was only Kayleigh, thrashing in her bed in the dimness of the night.

It only took a second to realize she was caught in the grips of a nightmare. A bad one.

Realizing there was no immediate threat, he lowered his weapon and slowly approached the bed so not to suddenly startle her. She cried out again as he knelt by her side, placing his gun on the floor before speaking to her in a soft, soothing voice.

“Kayleigh, can you wake up for me, sweetheart?”

“No. Please don’t hurt me. Please. Please. It’s too dark.”

Her voice was odd. Not at all the way it normally sounded. It was higher pitched, softer.

“Daddy will come for me. I won’t die like Mommy.” She wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. “Please come get me, Daddy.”

Weston’s spine straightened. This wasn’t a nightmare at all. This was a memory .

She had kicked off the sheet with her thrashing around, so he reached out and laid a gentle hand on her bare arm. “Kayleigh, you’re safe. It’s okay to open your eyes.”

“No! I’ll be good. Please don’t put me back in the dark.”

He looked over at the bathroom. The light had gone out. He’d noticed she’d kept it on at night, but tonight it was dark. He rushed out to turn on the switch in the hallway to at least give her some light when she woke.

“No, I’ll be good. Don’t hurt me. Please. Please. I want my daddy.”

The sound of her voice, so small and frightened, caused his heart to clench. He knelt by the bed again, gently sliding a wisp of her brown hair off her face.

“Kayleigh, it’s Weston. You’re safe. Can you open your eyes? You’re safe, sweetheart.”

He kept murmuring soft words to her, easing her hands away from the bedsheets as she balled them up and started to scratch them down her arms.

“No dark. No dark. No dark.”

“It’s not dark here, Kayleigh. Open your eyes, you’ll see.”

She finally did. She sat up, sobbing, arms held out in front of her as if to ward off a blow.

Weston eased himself back. He knew what it was like to need a second to figure out what was going on, for the mind to adapt back to reality.

“It’s Weston,” he whispered. “You’re safe. It’s okay.”

She turned and stared at him with her big green eyes. He wanted to touch her again, but wasn’t sure if that might make things worse. He’d never wanted to be touched coming out of a terror-filled sleep. She might not want—

She launched herself into his arms, sobbing.

He caught her automatically and lowered them both to the floor so she was sitting across his lap.

Then he just held her. Let her cry out all her pain. Hated to hell that she had so much pain to cry out. He’d had no idea.

He held her until the sobs subsided and the shaking stopped. She all but drooped across his chest, but that didn’t bother him a bit. He kept his arms wrapped around her.

“I’m sorry,” she finally said with a soft hiccup. “I still have nightmares sometimes. It was the storm that triggered it.”

“Something bad happened to you.” It wasn’t a question.

She nodded, still curled up in his lap. “Yes, but it was a long time ago. I... I was kidnapped.”

“What?” He’d had no idea, and he knew a lot more about her life than either she or Leo realized.

“Dad made sure it was kept out of the press.” She took a shuddery breath, her voice still shaky. “Someone was trying to use me to force Dad to change a business decision. He didn’t want to give anyone else ideas.”

If Leo was here, Weston would lay into him. Not letting Weston know about a previous successful kidnapping attempt, no matter how long ago it had been, made Weston less effective at protecting Kayleigh.

But Leo wasn’t here. Kayleigh was, and she needed his attention.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you.” His words felt so inadequate.

She shrugged one shoulder. “As far as kidnappings go, it wasn’t so bad.”

“I doubt that.”

“Comparatively, it really wasn’t.” He ran his hand in gentle circles on her back, more than glad she was still cuddled up against him. “I was taken from school, smacked around a little, kept in a dark closet.”

“That’s why you like a light on at night. The one in the bathroom went out, so I turned on the hall lamp.”

“Thank you. Believe it or not, I would’ve been more of a wreck if I’d woken up and it was completely dark.”

He pulled her tighter against him. “How long did they have you?”

“Three and a half days. It was dark almost the whole time.” She let out a little sigh. “The only thing I could hear was a storm, although I found out later that was a noisemaker they’d put on the other side of the door.”

“Not surprising a storm triggered you then.”

She shook her head. “It’s been twenty years. You would think I’d be over it by now, especially with all the therapy I’ve had. And a lot of times I’m okay, but sometimes...”

“Sometimes the triggers catch you off guard,” he finished for her. “They’re vicious bullies.”

He knew that firsthand.

“Yes, exactly.”

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I have some triggers of my own, so I understand. And age or time away from the trauma sometimes doesn’t matter at all.”

“It happened just a few weeks after the summer you were working at the house. That was a really hard time for me. Mom had died the year before, then one day you stopped showing up. I didn’t really understand what had happened. Even when Dad explained Henry had died, I thought you could still come. I thought you didn’t want to be my friend anymore.”

“Oh God, no, Kayleigh.” He pulled her closer. “If there had been any way I could’ve gotten back to see you, just to say goodbye, I would’ve done it. My life got turned upside down after Henry died.”

“I know,” she said quickly. “I understand that now, of course. As a kid, I didn’t have much frame of reference. I didn’t even really understand that Henry wasn’t your biological father.”

“I wish I could’ve been there for you. I’m so sorry.”

She leaned back so they could see each other eye to eye. “We were both caught up in situations we couldn’t control. I wish it had been different for both of us. You were my best friend, even if it was only for the summer.”

He leaned his forehead against hers. “You were the only friend I’d ever had. Those weeks I spent with you and Henry are some of the best childhood memories I have. But I wish I could’ve been there when you needed me.”

He would’ve found a way. If he had known, even at ten years old, he would’ve found a way to get back and help her through it.

She cupped his cheek with her hand. “I was okay eventually, although Dad was completely overprotective for years—still is. And like I said, comparatively, it truly wasn’t that bad. Some bruises and scrapes. A lingering fear of the dark and storms.”

He’d seen enough in his line of work, as both a police officer and with San Antonio Security, to recognize her words as truth. It truly could’ve been much worse. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t suffered.

“It was more than what most people go through in their whole lives, so don’t discount the trauma.”

Her hand fell back into her lap. “I feel like a baby.”

“You don’t let it control you. That’s what’s important. Not that you don’t get scared, but you set it aside when you need to. You haven’t locked yourself away in a tower with twenty Jasper clones, as I’m sure Leo would like.”

“Yeah, Dad would be thrilled if I agreed to that.” She gave him a watery smile. “Thank you.”

He smiled. “Do you think you can go back to sleep?”

“I don’t think sleep is in the cards for me tonight.”

“It’s nearly dawn. How about if I make us some coffee and breakfast, and then we go out on the boat today?”

Her smile got bigger, some of the twinkle back in her green eyes. “That sounds absolutely wonderful. Thank you.”

He hated to let go of her so she could get off his lap, but was glad she was feeling stronger. They got up and he kept a hand at the small of her back as they headed into the kitchen.

He hadn’t been there for her when young Kayleigh had needed him, but he could be here for her now.

“H OW ’ S IT GOING , brO ? Ready to pull your hair out yet?”

Weston was getting the boat ready to take Kayleigh out on the lake when Chance called.

“Would you believe me if I said I’m actually enjoying myself?” And it was true, except for the part of Kayleigh’s nightmares terrifying her.

“You mean the great, silent loner is enjoying spending multiple days with someone? Inconceivable.”

Weston rolled his eyes at his brother’s impression of a famous movie line even though Chance couldn’t see him. “You find out anything on Leo Delacruz’s merger?”

“Brighton Pharmaceuticals is the company he’s buying out, and it’s not friendly. Owner is a Beau Kesler.”

Chance sounded much more like himself than when Weston had talked to him a couple of days ago. That was good. He needed Chance focused.

“Never heard of him. Any arrests or history of violence?” Weston asked.

“Nothing that we can find,” Chance replied. “He stands to make money from the merger even if it’s a hostile takeover.”

“Who stands to make the most from the merger not going through?”

Following the money was almost always a good place to start an investigation.

“We’re looking into it. There are a number of competitors that will be hurting if the merger goes through. We’re concentrating on a guy named Oliver Lyle right now. He’s already got some red flags.”

“What kind?”

“The violent kind,” Chance said. “No arrests, but ties to the type of people who I wouldn’t want to run into in a back alley without my sidearm.”

That wasn’t what Weston wanted to hear.

“Okay. I know Leo has his own team, and I don’t want to step on their toes.” Although, admittedly, irritating Jasper would be pretty fun. “Find what details you can so I can be ready if they decide to come calling. Right now, keeping Kayleigh hidden is probably our best bet.”

“Agreed and will do. I’ll touch base soon.”

Weston loaded the rest of the food for today’s boat picnic. Hopefully, it would get Kayleigh’s mind off the nightmare. “Thanks, Chance.”

“Anything for my favorite brother.”

Weston chuckled. They all called each other their favorite when the others weren’t around. It had been a running joke for years.

“Just one question though,” Chance said.

“What’s that?”

“Is your client pretty? Do you have a crush on her? Is she the future Mrs. Weston Patterson?”

Weston told Chance in no uncertain terms what he could do with himself.

His brother was still laughing when Weston hung up the call.