Page 13 of Bennett (HC Heroes #15)

I f his spine ever forgave him, he’d be surprised.

Bennett rolled his shoulders, the protesting ache a harsh reminder of why normal people didn’t sleep on unfinished wooden floors. His makeshift sleeping bag had done little to cushion him from the unforgiving boards, but it wasn’t the worst place he’d ever slept. Not even close.

Didn’t mean it wasn’t a pain in the ass, though.

He sat up with a low groan, rubbing the back of his neck. Muscles stiff, joints creaky—like he’d aged about twenty years overnight. Great. If he was going to play watchdog for Annie’s niece, maybe he should’ve demanded a damn mattress as part of the arrangement.

Not that he would’ve slept much anyway, which was the whole point.

He’d spent most of the night straining his ears for the slightest sound, keeping an eye on the shadowy gaps between the unfinished walls.

No one had tried to break in. No shadowy figures had lurked around the building. Nothing but his own restless thoughts and the occasional creaking of old wood settling.

Well, that and Laurel’s movements from next door. It had taken him way too long to identify the faint, muffled sounds of her pacing. Or shifting. Or whatever the hell she’d been doing instead of sleeping like a normal person.

The woman was going to drive him insane.

He pushed himself to his feet, rolling his shoulders again to loosen the knots. The early morning light crept through the cracks in the plywood covering the windows, taunting him with its brightness.

His phone buzzed with a text. He pulled it out of his pocket, expecting to see Matthew’s name on the screen.

It wasn’t him.

Bennett’s stomach knotted. Same unknown number. No name attached, no contact saved. But he didn’t need one. It was from his only living relative. His no-good cousin. Bennett had no idea how the guy had even gotten his phone number.

The first text had arrived weeks ago.

“You’re not going to block me without hearing me out, are you?”

Just like Theo—no hello, no acknowledgment of the past. Just straight to guilt.

Bennett hadn’t responded then, but he hadn’t blocked the number either.

He wasn’t sure why. Maybe he was waiting for something.

An explanation. A confession. Or maybe he just wasn’t ready to admit how much damage the guy had done.

Whatever the reason, the texts kept coming. Short. Infrequent. Unanswered. But every time the number flashed across his screen, it stirred up the same sharp, unwelcome reminder—some ghosts didn’t stay buried.

This text said: “Need to talk.”

Not happening.

Muttering a curse, he shoved the phone back in his pocket, then grabbed his duffel bag and stuffed his belongings inside. There were more important things needing his attention.

According to the time he’d seen on the phone, he had a little more than a half hour to swing by his rental cottage, grab a quick shower, and make it to ESI before Mac gave him hell for being late. But first, he needed to make sure Laurel wasn’t making plans to build a hand sanitizer flamethrower.

Pushing thoughts of his past aside, he walked through a makeshift doorway and into what would eventually become the second-floor entry foyer on his way to her apartment. He rapped his knuckles against her door, the sound echoing through the quiet building.

No answer.

He frowned and knocked again, harder this time.

Still nothing.

Okay, so she was either ignoring him on purpose, or she’d somehow found a way to knock herself out during the night.

He was about to bang on the door a third time when he heard a muffled curse from the other side.

Seconds later, the door creaked open to reveal Laurel, hair down and wet, darkened strands tumbling over her shoulders like she’d just stepped out of the shower.

She wore a fitted T-shirt and jeans, the kind of casual look that shouldn’t have been nearly as distracting as it was.

For the first time in a damn long time, Bennett found himself momentarily speechless.

“Well, good morning, sunshine,” she greeted with a smirk. “Come to check if I survived the night, or just to complain about how hard the floor was?”

He recovered enough to arch a brow. “Looks like you made it through without launching yourself at anyone.”

“That’s because you didn’t try to barge in unannounced again.”

“Because you kept your door locked.”

“Thanks to you.” She gave the doorknob a little twist for emphasis. “And for the record, the night was pretty quiet. Which I guess means you didn’t see anything out of the ordinary either.”

“Nothing worth mentioning,” he admitted, his gaze still roaming over her, liking what he saw way more than he should.

Honey-colored hair that looked soft and silky, forcing him to shove his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out and touching. Her amber eyes regarded him with warmth, while her full lips curved into a smile, interrupting the steady beat of his heart.

What the hell?

Giving himself a hard mental shake, he refocused on their conversation. “All I heard was a lot of creaky floors and the occasional groan from the building settling.”

“And you kept me awake half the night with all your stomping around.”

He lifted a brow. “I don’t stomp.”

Delta Force training had taught him to be stealthy.

“Oh, you were,” she insisted with a grin. “I think even the ghosts were annoyed.”

He fought a smile. “Good. Means they’ll leave you alone then.”

“Wow. Is this your way of being chivalrous?”

“Something like that.” His gaze drifted over her once more, and he told himself it was to look for signs of stress, not because she was pleasing to the eye. He leaned a shoulder against the doorframe. “How are you holding up? You doing okay?”

The questions must’ve caught her off guard, because her eyes widened slightly before she recovered. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all.”

He nodded, his concern not entirely eased. “Carter and Tyler will be by soon to finish wiring the system.”

And he planned to do another perimeter check to make sure nothing had been tampered with despite the quiet night, as well as examining the video feeds back at the office.

“Sounds good,” she said, stifling a yawn. “Will he stop by the diner for the key?”

Bennett shook his head as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a second key. “I’ve got a spare to your apartment, so I’ll give it to Carter.”

Her brows lifted. “Wow. You really went all out on this whole security thing, huh?”

“Just doing my job,” he replied evenly, though the hint of amusement in her voice made his lips twitch. “You’ll get it back when Carter is done, although I have to assume Brandi’s people will need it to finish the apartment.”

“Yes, definitely.” She nodded, removing a black elastic band from around her wrist before pulling her hair back into a ponytail. “And speaking of Brandi, she told me construction is picking back up today.”

Good to know.

He had a few questions for the workers.

But right now, he had to get a move on. “You heading out?”

“Yeah, gotta get to the diner. I’m already running behind because I took a shower and totally lost track of time.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “You know, real-life problems for us non-watchdog types.”

“Real-life problems like dodging hand sanitizer assassins?”

“I prefer the term ‘creative defense mechanisms.’”

He let out a grudging chuckle. “Fair enough. Need me to walk you over?”

Laurel rolled her eyes, but he could tell she was amused. “What, you think the ghosts are going to mug me on my way to work?”

“No. Just making sure nothing else does.”

Her smile slipped, and for a moment, the air between them thickened with something unspoken. Then she straightened her spine.

“Well, aren’t you just a bundle of sunshine.” She rolled her eyes again but didn’t seem genuinely annoyed. “And here I was going to thank you for the whole door-locking thing.”

“Yeah, about that,” he said, rapping his knuckles off the door again. “Not going to help much if you open the door to anyone who knocks.”

She stared at him, then gave an exaggerated sigh. “Sorry, Sergeant Watchdog. I should’ve asked who it was instead of assuming it was you. Won’t happen again. Satisfied?”

His lips twitched. “For now.”

They stood there in silence, the awkwardness just heavy enough to make him shift his weight. He should have just turned around and left, but the part of him that had spent all night keeping watch wasn’t quite ready to let her out of his sight yet.

“Yay, me.” Her voice was teasing, but her eyes held a hint of something else. Something he couldn’t quite pin down.

“Walk you out?” he asked, moving back.

“Sure, if you’re that desperate for company.” She stepped out and pulled the door shut behind her. “But only if you promise to keep the scowling to a minimum.”

He fought another grin. “No promises.”

Together, they made their way down the stairs and outside, the morning air thick with humidity and the faint, familiar scent of the sea. They paused at the sidewalk, where Laurel adjusted the strap of her bag and turned to face him.

“Well,” she said, flashing him a quick grin, “thanks for the escort, Captain Grumpy. Try not to miss me too much while I’m gone.”

He arched a brow. “I’ll do my best.”

She winked. “Liar.”

With that, she turned and headed off toward the diner, her stride confident and carefree despite the chaos of the past twenty-four hours. Admiration warmed his chest as he watched her walk to the diner to make sure she arrived safely.

Once Laurel disappeared inside with a quick, teasing salute, he turned and headed for his rental cottage, his thoughts still tangled up with the stubborn woman who insisted on staying in that damn apartment.

Thirty minutes later, freshly showered and dressed in clean jeans and a black T-shirt, Bennett pushed open the door to ESI headquarters. The cool blast of air conditioning was a welcome contrast to the muggy heat outside, but his mood hadn’t improved much.