Chapter One
Abrupt knocking startled Chance Patterson into spilling hot coffee across the back of his hand as he poured it into his mug. He muttered a curse. This wasn’t how he’d wanted to start his Monday morning.
The San Antonio Security office—the company Chance had started with his brothers five years ago—didn’t open for another hour. He’d come in early in hopes of getting some time to work without interruptions. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen.
Throwing a towel over the puddle on the counter, he pulled out his phone, swiping to look at the doorbell camera.
On the office’s stoop stood a man dressed in a suit, carrying a briefcase. Thanks to the HD camera, Chance could see him clearly enough despite the early morning’s naturally low light. He had a medium build and was middle-aged and somewhat pale—not unusual for someone who worked in an office full-time.
“May I help you?” Instead of going to greet the man, Chance used the microphone feature on the doorbell. Security Business 101 was not to open the door to just anyone, regardless of how official they looked.
“Is this one of the Patterson brothers?” The man’s voice was clipped and his words concise. Like he was used to only saying what he needed to and not a single word more.
“It is, but we don’t open for another hour. If you want to come back then—”
“I can’t,” he said stiffly, not at all bothered by cutting Chance off or speaking through the microphone. “I’m here as a proxy for someone who wants to hire your services. To whom am I speaking?”
“Chance Patterson. Look, have your employer call us, and we can schedule a time to talk.”
“I can’t do that either. My employer is busy, and the issue is incredibly time sensitive.”
Chance barely refrained from pointing out that he was busy too. He ran his burned hand under some cool water at the sink next to him, while pouring a new mug of coffee with the other. “Who is your employer?”
“I can’t provide that information until you’ve signed a nondisclosure agreement.” He waved a manila folder in front of the camera. “His need for privacy is very real, which you will understand if you sign. For now, I can tell you that my name is Benjamin Torres and that your business came highly recommended to my employer by Leo Delacruz. Once you sign the NDA, I can provide further info.”
Chance turned the water off and dried his hand. Leo Delacruz was basically extended family at this point. The man had hired San Antonio Security—specifically Chance’s brother Weston—to guard his daughter, Kayleigh, to protect her when a merger got dangerous a few months ago.
Leo was a well-known Texas businessman and associated with a lot of people, so knowing he’d recommended their company didn’t narrow down who Benjamin worked for.
The man didn’t shuffle or fidget in the silence while Chance thought this through. He came across as not impatient, but efficient. He had things to do and needed his answer.
Chance couldn’t give him one under these circumstances. “I’m not comfortable signing something that would require me to keep secrets from my brothers.”
The Patterson brothers didn’t keep secrets from one another.
Chance grit his teeth. Actually, he’d been keeping a pretty damned big one from them for the past few months.
Benjamin shook his head. “The NDA will permit you to tell your brothers anything you deem necessary, but requires you to keep the identity of my employer and anything he discusses with you confidential, even if you choose not to take the assignment.”
“Put the NDA through the mail slot. I’ll look it over.”
A quick read proved it to be a standard document, with the only changes being what he’d outlined. He could share information with his brothers and their employees as necessary, but no one outside the company. There were no penalties or clauses that would make things difficult if they didn’t take the assignment either, so he signed it and unlocked the door, handing the stack of papers back to Benjamin.
“Thank you, Mr. Patterson.” The older man tucked the contract into his briefcase and stepped back. “Mr. LeBlanc will be pleased. He’s anxious to meet with you all to discuss the situation.”
“Nicholas LeBlanc?” The Texas real estate tycoon? He was big money. “What exactly does he want to hire San Antonio Security for?”
Someone of LeBlanc’s stature would have his own full-time security team.
“Mr. LeBlanc would prefer to give you the details himself. If this afternoon works, he has an availability at 3:00 p.m. Top floor of the VanPoint Tower.”
“We’ll be there.”
With an efficient nod, Benjamin left, getting into the back seat of a town car at the edge of the sidewalk. Chance watched him go, then turned back into the office. He needed to find out as much as he could about Nicholas LeBlanc and get everyone into the office stat.
Looked like a quiet morning working on his own was not in the cards.
“W HY ARE WE all here again?” Luke asked as they stepped into the glass elevator in the VanPoint Tower’s lobby later that afternoon.
Chance looked out at the pristine building. “Because Nicholas LeBlanc is the type of client whose recommendation could set us up for years.”
Chance and his brothers had started San Antonio Security five years ago. They’d wanted to work together and, between the four of them, had years of prior military and law enforcement experience. At the beginning of their business journey, they’d had to take whatever assignments they could get, which included a lot of following cheating spouses and hunting bail jumpers.
But in the last couple of years, San Antonio Security had grown to become one of the most respected firms in their hometown. Now they did a lot of personal and corporate security—not only the bodyguarding, but situational awareness and tactical defense.
They were brought in by companies and individuals to find and fix the holes in their security, to stop the bad things before they happened.
But sometimes the bad things were already in motion when San Antonio Security was brought in. Chance was afraid that was the case now with Nicholas LeBlanc.
The elevator gave Chance and his brothers a view of the indoor complex that housed a virtual warren of businesses. LeBlanc Holdings held the top two floors—announcing its prestige and prosperity without ever saying a word.
The elevator doors opened, releasing them into a large lobby. People were everywhere, talking, walking, typing. Phones were ringing all over the place, but there was order even in the chaos.
“Mr. Patterson?”
Chance turned and found the man who had showed up at the office this morning. “Yes.”
“I was under the impression that you were bringing your brothers with you, not employees. Security downstairs listed you all as Pattersons.”
“That’s because we are. These are my brothers—Brax, Luke and Weston Patterson.”
It was a common misconception, since none of them looked alike.
“I see. My apologies for the error.” Once again, Benjamin was all efficiency. “Mr. LeBlanc is waiting for you. Follow me.”
Chance followed behind everyone else, taking in the office and the atmosphere. Though the office was guarded downstairs, he saw a man stationed near the elevator and another near the stairs. Both security guards had a line of sight to the door Benjamin was knocking on.
Was it LeBlanc who was in danger then, or was that standard practice?
“Come in.” Benjamin pushed the door open, and Chance found himself in a corner office with more windows than walls. The city was sprawled out, with buildings dotting the horizon and tiny people and cars jostling about like ants.
It was the view of someone who had money and power and liked both.
Beyond that, the rest of the room was taken over by a massive desk covered in neat stacks of paper. Everything else in the office, from the carpet to the chairs to the paintings, was done in warm, masculine neutrals. Deep navy and warm gray mixed with the dark mahogany of the bookcases to create a type of space that fit the CEO and founder of a multimillion dollar company.
“Mr. LeBlanc, these are the Patterson brothers, owners of San Antonio Security.”
Nicholas LeBlanc stood from behind his desk. “Thank you for coming, gentlemen. Leo Delacruz speaks highly of you. Please sit. Benjamin will get you whatever drinks you want.”
Chance took note of the expensive watch and tailored suit jacket. Everything on LeBlanc’s body—and in his office—was both extravagant and orderly.
Chance had no problem with either. But once again he was trying to figure out why someone like LeBlanc was interested in a security firm like theirs, even with Leo’s recommendation.
Nicholas motioned everyone to a sitting area off to the side of his behemoth desk. They all declined the offer of drinks.
“What can San Antonio Security do for you, Mr. LeBlanc?” Brax asked. As the most charming of the Patterson brothers, he tended to do the initial talking. He had a way of making people feel at ease.
Chance preferred to let Brax talk so he could observe.
“Leo told me that you four were the best at what you do.”
“Thank you. We work very hard and pride ourselves on our solid reputation.” Brax tipped his head in acknowledgment. “Are you needing more personal security? It seems like you’ve got plenty.”
“Not exactly.” Nicholas sighed. “My daughter, Stella, is having an issue. She’s a social media influencer, and recently she’s become the target of a stalker.”
Chance leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. “What kind of stalker?”
“At first it was messages on her social media, comments and DMs from dummy accounts. Then it turned into actual letters being sent to the house with no clue how the individual got the address. Recently it has been bizarre gifts and more. She wants to use what she receives to further build her social media following. Obviously, she doesn’t understand the severity of the issue.”
“Tell us what you perceive that severity to be,” Brax said gently, nodding at Nicholas.
If it was just letters, there wasn’t much anyone could do to stop them. Even the police rarely prosecuted stalking cases. There was too much ambiguity to make them stick in court.
Gifts were the same, as long as they didn’t cause harm. Icky wasn’t illegal.
Nicholas rubbed the back of his neck. “The problem is, no matter what our security measures are, her stalker keeps getting through. We’ve had Stella on lockdown and they’ve still gotten letters inside the compound to her. We’ve gone through three security teams and none of them have been able to stop her from receiving the notes. I’m worried that things are going to get worse, and I don’t want my daughter caught in the crosshairs.”
Brax sat back, resting an ankle on his knee. “So, you want us to bodyguard Stella?”
Nicholas shrugged. “Yes and no. She has guards on her at all times, though she’s not often aware of it. Her constant companion, Rich Carlisle, is someone I hired a few years ago as a social secretary/babysitter. He’s also trained in defense, although that’s not his primary purpose.”
It sounded like Stella had a full team. “Where would we come in?”
“While you might do some guarding and security setup, I’d really like you to focus on finding the stalker. Since we don’t have proof of anyone physically harming or threatening Stella, the police can’t do anything but write reports. I need someone out there looking for whoever is behind this.”
Chance caught his brothers’ eyes. They all knew how beneficial this assignment could be for their business overall, but for something like this, everyone needed to be in agreement before they took it on.
Things had changed for his brothers over the past few months. Luke and Brax both had wives now. Brax even had a kid. Weston was engaged to Leo Delacruz’s daughter, Kayleigh.
Chance was the only one still alone.
An assignment of this magnitude would take a lot of man hours for everyone, even if Chance took the lead.
It would also mean Chance would be spending a lot more time in the office. A lot more time around Maci Ford, the San Antonio Security office manager.
Who he saw every day, while both of them pretended she hadn’t snuck out of his bed in the middle of the night a couple months ago.
All his brothers gave him subtle nods, so he knew they were okay with taking the LeBlanc assignment. Chance gave his full attention back to Nicholas.
“If we do this, we’ll have to split our time between bodyguarding and investigating. It’s going to take a lot of planning and strategy.”
“I’m willing to pay whatever it takes. You kept Leo’s situation quiet, and that’s what I need—someone with both discretion and skill.”
“This isn’t necessarily about the money. What about your own security team?” Brax asked. “Will they feel threatened by us coming in here on top of them? That sort of divided energy makes a difficult situation even harder.”
They’d dealt with that exact situation with Leo Delacruz, and it had ended in bloodshed. None of them wanted to take that on again.
Nicholas shook his head. “No, it won’t be like that at all. I would not even be here talking to you if my team hadn’t vetted you. As a matter of fact...”
Nicholas walked over to his desk and typed something. A few seconds later a man walked through the office door.
He was maybe in his late forties, with salt-and-pepper hair styled neatly to match his black suit. It was tailored, but not designer, and the slightly worn quality of his shoes told Chance he didn’t sit behind a desk all day like LeBlanc. He was on his feet a lot.
“This is Dorian Cane, my head of security. Dorian’s been with me since I started the company, and he’s known Stella her whole life. Dorian, these are the Patterson brothers.”
Dorian stepped forward and shook everyone’s hand as they introduced themselves. When it was Chance’s turn, he watched Dorian’s calculating eyes run over him, stopping briefly at the places where Chance had a weapon of some sort stashed. He only missed one, which said Dorian Cane was good at his job.
Chance sat and cleared his throat. “In your opinion, how dangerous is the stalking situation, Dorian? Based on your experience, are these pranks, someone seeking attention or something worse?”
To his credit, the other man thought before he spoke. “It definitely felt like a game at first, but the messages have been getting stranger as time wears on. I’m worried about escalation becoming a very real possibility in the future.”
It was one thing for a concerned father to say he thought a stalker was dangerous. It was completely different for someone of Dorian Cane’s experience to say the same.
And Nicholas was right. There was nothing about the other man’s actions or mannerisms that suggested he felt threatened or angered by their presence.
But Chance asked him anyway. “You’re alright with Nicholas bringing us in?”
“My top priority is figuring out who this stalker is. Something about him—although it could be a her—has got all my internal alarms going off. You guys are good. I checked you out myself.”
Chance had no doubt that was true.
“I can’t let Nicholas’s other security concerns fall to the side while concentrating on the stalker. Bringing in people we can trust, who can keep it quiet, is the best solution.”
“If we take this job, we’ll need to know that Stella will actually listen to us,” Weston said. He was the quietest of all the brothers, but he knew from personal experience that trying to guard someone who didn’t want to be guarded could be dangerous for everyone. “From what you’ve said, she may not be interested in that.”
Dorian looked over at Nicholas, who gestured for him to go ahead and answer. “Stella is spoiled. She’s used to getting what she wants, and she doesn’t understand that this stalker isn’t something to joke about. It’s unsafe and getting more dangerous by the day.”
Nicholas adjusted his tie. “Dorian’s not wrong. I’ve definitely spoiled and sheltered her more than I should have, but she’s my whole world.”
Nicholas reached for one of two framed photos on his desk and held it out to Chance. He took it, nearly doing a double take.
Ah, hell.
“We’ll accept the job,” Chance said. The picture solidified any doubt he had in his mind.
All three of his brothers looked at him with raised brows until he turned the picture around. Chance wasn’t the type to blindly accept any deal without analyzing the details of the contract, but this time was different.
Stella LeBlanc looked exactly like Maci Ford.
And there was no way anyone who had Maci’s face was getting stalked on Chance’s watch.