Page 16 of Bennett (HC Heroes #15)

Forcing that second unwanted thought out of her head, she reached the counter and began wiping it down for something to do. So far, the only customers were Arthur and Nelson, both comfortably parked in Belinda’s section.

The bell above the door jingled again.

Bennett walked in, with Matthew just a step behind him.

Both looked serious, focused, and damn, even in jeans and worn T-shirts, they still managed to look like a pair of action movie heroes. The sight of them sent a ripple of relief through her, though she kept her expression even.

She straightened and nodded. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.” Matthew smiled.

Bennett didn’t smile, but his gaze was locked on hers, sharp and unreadable. “You okay?”

That made her pause.

No sarcasm. No teasing.

Just quiet concern.

Her throat tightened a little, but she shrugged it off with a small nod. “Fine. Or I will be once you two go check things out.”

Bennett’s jaw tensed, but he nodded. “Let’s take a look.”

She glanced around to make sure the customers were still distracted with their menus. Her voice dropped slightly as she added, “Why don’t you go around back. I’ll meet you by the dumpster.”

Without another word, they left through the front door, so she turned and headed into the kitchen, her heartbeat kicking up as she opened the back door.

Laurel stepped outside, the rising sun casting long shadows across the pavement. The morning air was still cool, but a clammy breeze off the Gulf carried just enough warmth to stick to her skin. She spotted Bennett and Matthew already waiting near the dumpster, both men focused on the inside.

“Sorry for the detour,” she said as she approached, her voice low. “I figured fewer eyes back here.”

Bennett turned toward her, his gaze skimming over her quickly as if double-checking for injuries. “Don’t be sorry. You did the right thing.”

She stopped beside them, hugging her arms loosely around her middle. “It wasn’t burning when I got here. Just…left to smolder. It was like someone wanted to make a mess, not burn the place down.”

Matthew frowned, squinting at the charred fabric and half-melted trash. “Still fresh enough to reek.”

Bennett didn’t look away from the scorched remains. “You sure no one saw anything last night? No one hanging around back here?”

“No,” Laurel said quietly. “Pete was the last one to leave, and he didn’t notice anything.”

“Doesn’t look like the camera will be much help, either,” Matthew said, pointing to the device hanging off the corner of the building.

She muttered a curse. “That wasn’t broken when I threw trash in the dumpster yesterday.”

Bennett shoved a hand through his hair. “Convenient.”

“Very,” Matthew nodded then looked at her. “What about the other servers? Did they notice anything yesterday?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll have to call and ask.”

“We’ll do it,” Bennett said. “Just need their names and numbers.”

Laurel hesitated, unsure if her aunt would approve.

“Look, this is serious, Laurel,” Bennett said, his tone softer, yet firm. “Things are escalating. It’s no time to worry about hurt feelings.”

Matthew nodded. “He’s right, Laurel.”

Sighing, she nodded. “Okay. Come on inside and I’ll get the names off the roster while you two check out the note.”

“Roger that.” Bennett nodded, eyes scanning the parking lot, his posture all tension and calculation. “And Annie doesn’t know?”

“No,” she confirmed as she led them inside. “I called her this morning, kept it vague. She doesn’t need this stress on top of recovering from surgery. I’ll tell her eventually…just not yet.”

The men followed her into the breakroom and frowned at the note.

“They weren’t trying to hide this,” Bennett muttered. “Whoever did it wanted it to be found. Same with the dumpster.”

Laurel’s stomach twisted as a thought occurred. “What if this has nothing to do with the renovations next door?”

Matthew looked up at her. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” she hesitated, lowering her voice even further, “What if this has to do with the diner? Or Aunt Annie directly?”

Neither man spoke for a moment.

“That’s not off the table.” Bennett said. “Which means we double the cameras—here and next door.”

“What about my aunt?” she asked, alarm squeezing her chest. “I don’t think she should be alone, but I also know she wouldn’t let me come back and stay with her now. Taking over the renovation project is more important to her than common sense.”

Kind of ran in the family.

“Don’t worry. We’ll put a shadow on Annie,” Bennett stated, his gaze reassuring. “She’ll be fine. No one will get to her.”

“Yeah. Not with our shadow people.” Matthew grinned.

Although she wanted to ask what they meant, their confidence went a long way to easing the tightness from her chest. “Okay. Thank you.”

“And I’ll talk to Carter,” Matthew added, already pulling out his phone. “He can check whatever feed is on this camera and add more of them here.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose, wondering if she should mention her conversation with Duke or if she was just being paranoid.

“Spit it out,” Bennett said. “Something’s bugging you. Trust your gut.”

She glanced at him and sighed, not bothering to dissect how he knew that, knew her. “I-I’m not sure if this is anything, but I had a weird conversation with Aunt Annie’s old realtor this morning,” she said, before retelling the rest.

“Duke Carver. Got it. I’ll check into him,” Matthew said, phone already to his ear as he left the breakroom.

Laurel rubbed her arms in an attempt to dispel the chill creeping under her skin.

Bennett noticed. “You good?”

No. Not by a long shot.

“Yeah.” She nodded, unwilling to admit otherwise. “Just ready to be done with whoever’s playing these games.”

His gaze held hers for a few warm beats. “So are we.”