Chapter Two

Luke Patterson rubbed his face and stared at the tall stack of paperwork covering most of his desk. Closing his eyes, he took a long sip of coffee.

Unfortunately, when he cracked his lids, all the papers were still there.

He sighed. “Damn it.”

San Antonio Security, the company he’d started with his brothers five years ago here in their hometown of San Antonio, really needed to hire an office manager. The business—everything from bodyguard-type work to situational awareness and weapons training to private investigation—had grown exponentially over the past few years. And rightfully so. Among the four of them, the Pattersons had years of background in both the military and law enforcement.

And they had all learned early on in their lives how the world really worked. How to reads situations and people, how to use people’s weaknesses against them when needed.

Having to turn away clients was a good place for a business to be. Buried under paperwork...not so much. But if it meant Luke could work with the three people he trusted most in the world—his brothers—then he’d take it.

He grabbed the top sheet from the most offensively large pile, ignoring the chiming from the bell on the office’s front door. Even if he wasn’t in paperwork purgatory, no one would expect Luke to meet a client entering the office. Brax liked talking to people, which was why his office was near the front.

Luke was the opposite. He was too gruff, too impatient with people to deal with them on a regular basis. Even Weston, quiet as he was, or Chance, always inside his own head, was better suited to talking with clients than Luke was.

A tap on Luke’s open office door a few moments later made him glance up. Brax stood there, a smile playing on the edges of his lips.

“Please tell me that’s the fire marshal and we’re all being ordered to abandon the building, saving me from this.” Luke gestured to his desk.

Brax only smiled wider. Despite the fact that the two of them could be as different as night and day, they were closer than Luke had ever believed possible. Their time together in the army probably had a lot to do with it.

Then again, Luke was equally tight with Weston and Chance, who had skipped the military in favor of careers in law enforcement.

“Someone’s here to see you.” Brax tilted his head toward the front of the office. “She asked for you by name.”

Luke sat straighter. “Who?”

No one ever asked for Luke, especially not women. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date. He blamed it on the business growth, but the truth was he hadn’t found a woman he’d felt like he could open up to—one who could even understand his past, much less accept it.

Brax glanced over his shoulder at someone down the short hall. “He said come on in.”

“I didn’t—”

The rest of the sentence died in Luke’s throat as a delicate blonde woman walked into the office, her big blue eyes pinned on him.

He knew her immediately. “Claire.”

“Luke.” Only one word, but her voice trembled as if she barely had the strength to say his name.

Scratches covered her arms, and she held a big gray cat close to her chest.

The scene was painfully familiar. As a kid, she’d been scratched and bruised way too often, and she’d never gone anywhere without her stuffed cat.

“Looks like you got yourself a real cat.” The words were out before Luke gave himself the chance to think them over.

He started to wince, but she smiled. “Yeah.”

What now? A handshake? A hug?

Nothing seemed right for the girl who’d never been far from his mind, even though he hadn’t seen her in fifteen years.

She loosened her hold on the giant cat, who jumped from her arms and landed gracefully on the chair in front of Luke’s desk.

Stepping forward, Claire offered her hand. Her palm trembled against his, her skin cold. Dark circles hung under her eyes, revealing exhaustion and fear.

“What are you doing here?” He forced himself to let go of her hand after briefly shaking it.

Claire withdrew her palm and hugged herself. “I saw you on TV a few months ago.”

Behind her, Brax snickered.

“Right.” Luke’s jaw tightened. “I remember that.”

It had been following the successful resolution of a kidnapping case. After a heated custody battle, a preteen girl had been taken by her father, who’d then proceeded to barricade the two of them in an abandoned house. As the Pattersons had been hired by the girl’s mom to help locate her, they’d assisted the police in recovery.

A news crew had shown up and stuck the microphone in Luke’s face before he’d gotten a chance to duck away. His brothers still made fun of how awkward and stiff he’d been on camera. But it had brought in even more business for San Antonio Security.

“Hey, did we hear the front door chime?” Weston’s head popped around the doorway, Chance close behind him.

Claire turned and took a rapid step away from them. The cat jumped into her arms and she clutched it to her, discomfort clear on her face.

Luke cleared his throat. “Claire, these are my brothers, Weston, Chance and—”

“Brax.” Brax stepped forward and offered Claire his hand. “I’m the mutt of the bunch.”

Most people did a double take when it was revealed the four were brothers. Since Luke was white, Chance was Hispanic, Weston was Black, and Brax was biracial, they looked nothing alike. Brothers, just not by blood.

Claire seemed to take it all in stride. But she wasn’t most people. She knew Luke hadn’t come from a traditional home.

Brax shook Claire’s hand against the cat for an unnecessarily long time. Luke had to swallow a growl in his throat.

Brax never had a problem finding a woman to date. His charm and wit made him pretty irresistible, not to mention his looks.

It was Chance who read the potential disaster of the situation and hooked a hand over Brax’s shoulder, pulling him back. “We, uh...have the storage closet to clean out.”

Brax’s nose wrinkled. “Since when?”

“Since now.” Weston tugged on Brax’s other arm. “It’s nice to meet you, Claire.”

Luke could hear his brothers whisper and the whoosh of air as either Chance or Weston no doubt hit Brax in the stomach.

And then he was alone with Claire.

With the others gone, the cat jumped to the floor and sat in front of Claire like he was her guard, his hard gaze locked on Luke.

“That thing looks like a watchdog.”

“Khan thinks he’s a dog. He’s protective.” Claire rubbed him with her foot. The cat looked at Claire, somehow knowing she was talking about him.

“Maine coon, right?”

Those cobalt blue eyes lit up with surprise. “Yeah.”

Back when they were kids in their group home, Luke gave Claire the nickname Kitten because she dragged around a stuffed animal cat. Half of what that little girl with braids made of sunshine and eyes cut from the sky talked about was getting a cat one day.

Looked like her biggest dream had finally come true. Despite the exhaustion apparent on her face and the scrapes and bruises, he was glad at least that much had happened for her.

“I’m glad you have someone looking out for you. I always wondered what happened to you.” Luke’s heart squeezed tight. He’d probably never admit to anyone just how much he’d thought about her.

“After I left the group home, I went into two long-term foster families.” Claire shrugged. “It worked out okay.”

It didn’t have to be added—she never got adopted.

“You?” Her pale eyebrows lifted.

Luke’s mouth went dry. He’d only stayed at the group home a handful of days following her departure. She was the only reason he hadn’t run away earlier. Claire had a way of always being the kid who got picked on, and she’d needed someone to watch out for her.

“Not long after you left, I was adopted by the Pattersons.” He chose to leave the few months on the streets, before he was found and dragged back to the group home, out of the story.

“Oh wow.”

“They adopted all four of us. Gave us the chance to take their name if we wanted, and all four of us did.” His voice swelled with pride. “Those two gave me a direction. Stability. I owe them my life.”

The look in her eyes said it was an experience she couldn’t relate to. He pointed to the chair across from his desk and she took a seat. Khan immediately jumped into her lap. Damn thing was nearly half the size she was.

“What about you? What do you do now?” He sat behind his desk, hoping that if he got her talking it would help her to relax. And eventually get her to admit to whatever had brought her through San Antonio Security’s doors.

“Software design and programming.” She shrugged like it was no big deal, but she was stiff.

“That’s great. You always did love computers.”

She fell into silence, not saying anything else about her work. But the hand that stroked Khan was unsteady.

He shifted some papers over so he could lean toward her. “Claire, I’m real glad you’re here, and you’re always welcome to visit... But I get the feeling you’re not here to catch up on old times.”

She slowly lifted her head, her throat rolling with a swallow. He wanted to leap over the desk and pull her into his arms. Promise her that everything would be okay, that he would help now like he’d tried to help then.

But she looked so fragile, like the slightest touch might break her.

He kept his tone gentle. “You have scratches. A bruise on your cheek.”

“I-I was mugged.”

“Do you know who did it?” He grabbed a pad of paper so he could write down details, ignoring the fury pooling in his gut at the thought of someone hurting her.

“No, I...” Avoiding his gaze, she licked her lips. “It’s been rough lately. I-I kind of started hanging out with the wrong people. I think it has something to do with them. And the guys who mugged me know where I live.”

He waited, knowing this wasn’t the whole story, but she didn’t say anything else. Claire was hiding something, the truth buried in details she wasn’t telling.

Not that he needed the full story. Not yet, anyway. She needed assistance, and hell if he wouldn’t do anything he could.

“How can I help, Kitten?”

He hadn’t meant to call her by that old nickname—didn’t even know if she would remember it—but its escape from his lips had been natural.

Claire wrapped her arms around Khan, peering out at Luke from over the protective creature’s head. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I can’t go home. The men who mugged me took all my credit cards and some of my cash.”

Luke kept his features carefully blank. Muggers stealing credit cards and leaving cash behind was highly unusual. It was yet another sign that Claire hid something, but he wouldn’t press for more. Not yet.

Not when she looked like she was going to shatter at any moment.

“When was the last time you got some sleep?”

“I’m not sure.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “A few nights... I didn’t know where to go.”

Still not the whole truth.

“I’m going to get you a hotel room,” Luke said. “I’ll pay for it.”

She parted her lips like she might protest, but in the end, she nodded. “Okay. Thank you. But I don’t want you to think that’s why I came here. I’m not trying to use you.”

“You’re not using me. I’m glad to help out an old friend. Once you get some sleep, we can figure out what to do next.”

She smiled, though it wasn’t without uncertainty. “Okay. Thank you.”

A few minutes later, he had her and Khan bundled into her car and she was following him to a motel a few miles away. He would’ve liked to put her up somewhere nicer—and closer—but she’d explained that Khan liked to go outside to use the bathroom so it would be more convenient not to stay at a traditional hotel.

Damn cat really did think he was a dog.

He took her to a motor lodge where she could let Khan in and out easily and could park right in front of her room. She waited in her car while he checked her in at the front desk, not wanting the clerk to know she was staying alone.

When he came back out, Claire was staring out her windshield, almost glossy-eyed with exhaustion. He’d planned to take her out to a restaurant to eat and talk some more, but instead, he settled for driving her to a nearby fast-food joint where he made her eat. Greasy calories were better than none at all.

Back at the motor lodge he carried her small bag of belongings as he walked her to the door and placed the bag on the dresser inside. She looked like she was about to fall over. “Get some sleep. Everything will feel better after a night of rest, I promise.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, sitting down on the bed.

He didn’t want to leave her here alone, but sleep was the best thing for her right now. And he’d be much more useful back at the office digging into her situation more thoroughly.

“I’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning. We’ll talk more then. Lock the door behind me when I leave.”

She nodded. “Luke, I—” She stopped whatever she was going to say. “Thank you for helping me.”

Unable to stop himself, he softly touched her cheek. “Get some rest, Kitten. You’re not in this alone anymore.”