Page 27 of Bennett

“Damn,” she whispered.

“Yeah.” Matthew’s voice sounded resigned. “Sorry, Laurel.”

She moved slowly around the space, arms folded tightly over her chest like she was holding herself together by sheer willpower. Bennett couldn’t blame her. The damage was onething, but the intent behind it? That was what made his blood run cold.

This wasn’t just about tearing up some old building. It was about sending a message. And whoever was sending it wasn’t planning to stop until Annie gave up or got hurt trying to fight back.

“Well, they can break whatever they want,” Laurel said, her voice strong despite the tremor beneath it. “It’s not going to change anything. This place is getting finished, and it’s going to be amazing.”

“Damn right it is,” Carter agreed, his grin making a brief reappearance. “And when it is, you’ll be the first to see the security system in all its fancy glory.”

“Assuming you don’t blow something up before then,” Matthew added, earning himself a middle finger from Carter.

The banter only half-registered. Bennett’s attention remained locked on Laurel as she walked through the rooms, her eyes darting over the damage with a mixture of fury and hurt. Because this wasn’t just about some construction project.

It was personal.

“Is there anything you want to know, Laurel?” Gabe asked, appearing behind them. His gaze followed her movements before he crossed his arms and eyed her directly. “You’ve seen everything. Anything else you need to know?”

Laurel didn’t hesitate. “Just how soon you think you can stop this.”

Gabe’s expression was grim. “Hard to say. We’ve only just gotten involved. But we will do what we can to track down whoever’s responsible. In the meantime, I’ll have my deputies do drive-bys, but I won’t lie. We’re probably going to hit a few walls in the process.”

True. Bennett knew first-hand that some investigations took time and patience. And she appeared all out of the latter.

“I understand.” The woman nodded, straightening her spine. “Then I guess I’ll just have to move in.”

Silence dropped like a hammer.

Bennett’s heart lurched. “Excuse me?”

“I’m moving in,” Laurel repeated, like it was the most obvious solution in the world. “Into this apartment above the nearly finished shop. Someone’s got to keep an eye on the place, and it might as well be me.”

“No,” Bennett said flatly.

She tilted her chin, defiance sparkling in her eyes, causing something not unpleasant to spread through his chest. “Yes.”

“This apartment isn’t even finished,” he stated, waving his hand in a sweeping motion, which was useless since she was already halfway down the hall toward the kitchen. He rushed after her with Gabe on his six. “There’s no security in place, no guarantee the culprits won’t come back and make things worse. You’d be putting yourself in danger for no damn reason.”

“First of all,” she began in a voice too calm for his liking, as she turned to face him, “Carter is installing the security right now. And secondly, whoever’s doing this isn’t going to stop with me staying with my aunt. They’re going to keep coming back until they get what they want.”

“And you think camping out here is going to stop them?”

“I think it’s better than sitting around doing nothing.” Her gaze never wavered. “Besides, if someone’s trying to scare us off, what better way to show them it’s not working than by moving in here?”

Hell no.

“You’re not moving in,” he growled.

“Okay. Except I am.”

He narrowed his eyes, trying another tactic. “I thought you were in town to take care of your recuperating aunt.”

She blinked, but his attempt to bring her to her senses appeared to fail when her chin lifted higher, and she shrugged a shoulder. “Nice try, but Aunt Annie is at the point where she can take care of her own…personalneeds. She just can’t lift anything, which I will remind her.”

“But isn’t she getting her other wrist operated on soon?” Matthew asked, and Bennett could’ve kissed him for it.

Again, she shrugged. “Yes, but not for another ten days. Surely the good sheriff here, with the help of the amazing ESI team, will have apprehended the miscreant responsible for the vandalism way before that happens.”