Page 22 of Bennett

Bennett’s mouth twitched. “Something like that.”

Laurel crossed her arms and leveled him with a look. “All I want is a quick peek. You can even come with me to make sure I don’tstompon any evidence. Aunt Annie asked me to report back, and unless you want to explain to her why you wouldn’t let me do that, I suggest we go inside.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Bennett replied, still blocking the doorway. “You can report back to herafterGabe clears the scene.”

The man was infuriating. And unreasonably good-looking, which was a problem, because her temper tended to flare more when there were handsome, bossy men involved.

She tried another approach, her tone dropping to something closer to reasonable. “Okay, then don’t come in. You can all follow the sheriff’s orders, and I’ll takemychances. What’s the harm in me taking a quick peek in the building I’m now managing?”

Bennett’s eyes met hers, and for a second, she thought he might actually relent. But then he shook his head, that damn stubbornness of his refusing to budge.

“No harm if you stay put,” he said. “You can see the damage just fine once Gabe gives the all-clear.”

“I’m starting to think you just like being difficult.”

“Only when people insist on making things more complicated than necessary.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “Would it help if I said please?”

“Not even a little.”

She blew out a frustrated breath, but a part of her couldn’t help but admire his unyielding stance. He didn’t even have the decency to look apologetic. Just cool, calm, and irritatingly sure of himself.

She narrowed her gaze on him again. “You know, you’re awfully smug for someone who just pissed me off.”

He just shrugged, and his expression remained maddeningly unaffected. “You could always wait inside Carter’s van. Better to be in the shade than standing out here.”

And he better consider himself lucky she wasn’t prone to violence, because Laurel was just about ready to punch Bennett Vaughn in his ridiculously handsome face.

But before she could give into the temptation, the sound of an approaching vehicle snagged everyone’s attention.

A black sheriff’s SUV rolled up and parked just outside the site, dust swirling around its tires. The door swung open, and Gabe climbed out, his gaze sweeping the area before landing on them.

Poor guy looked like he already needed another pot of coffee.

“All right,” the sheriff said, his voice all business as he strode over. “Somebody walk me through what’s going on this time.”

Carter immediately snapped into work mode, his expression serious as he launched into a rundown on the new damage. “The culprit,” he added when he finished, “seems to be targeting stuff that takes time and money to fix.”

Laurel’s chest squeezed despite having already heard it.

Gabe’s jaw tightened. “How recent are we talking?”

“Best guess? Last night.” Carter scratched his neck. “I only had time to set up one camera out here yesterday. I checked the feed, but whoever’s doing this knows how to avoid detection.”

Gabe’s brow creased. “When did this start?”

“It’s been an ongoing problem,” Matthew replied. “Brandi’s the designer, and she hired us yesterday. She said they noticed little things fiddled with over the past two weeks, but it’s gotten worse, hence the reason we were called in.”

“They aren’t vandalizing random things now,” Bennett said, his tone clipped. “It’s deliberate, calculated sabotage.”

Matthew exhaled. “They know exactly what they’re doing.”

“Fantastic,” Gabe muttered, scrubbing a hand over his jaw.

Carter nodded. “Yeah. That’s why I called you.”

“You got cameras up?” the sheriff asked.