Page 15 of Bennett

Bennett filed that information away before shifting his attention back to the exposed wiring. “Those wires yours or Brandi’s?”

Carter wiped his hands on his jeans again, glancing toward the damaged section with a sigh. “Brandi’s. And I noticed some more inside.”

He scanned the site, noting the calculated damage—not just random destruction, but deliberate sabotage aimed at slowing down progress. Whoever was doing this wasn’t careless.

“You think they’ll come back tonight?” Matthew asked.

Carter blew out a breath. “Wouldn’t surprise me. But once I finish with this system, they’ll have a harder time slipping by.”

Matthew gestured to the bundle of wires looped around Carter’s wrist like a tech-based lasso. “You should’ve gone into electrical work.”

Carter grinned. “You’re just jealous because I have skills beyond breaking things and looking intimidating.”

Matthew smirked. “Only skill I need.”

Bennett tuned out their banter, scanning the area again.

Something about this felt off. The break-ins were too frequent, too calculated. This wasn’t just a couple of teenagers screwing around.

Whoever was doing this wanted to slow down construction.

Or worse—they wanted to stop it completely.

“Come on and check things out,” Carter said, moving back to the door. “I’ll show you the new damage I found downstairs.”

Bennett and Matthew followed, stepping through the back entrance of the large building. The scent of fresh lumber, sawdust, and drying paint hung thick in the air, a sign that work was moving along despite the setbacks.

“What about upstairs?” he asked.

“I haven’t been up there yet today, so I don’t know,” Carter replied. “I’m not sure what we’ll find.”

The bottom floor was already taking shape, framing marking the boundaries of four separate storefronts. Bennett could picture what it would look like once it was finished—big display windows, polished floors, maybe even a fresh coat of paint on the old brick exterior to tie everything together. Right now, it was exposed beams, stacks of materials, and a few half-assembled shelving units that hinted at the plans to come.

In the center of the back wall sat a large freight elevator that was no doubt used to carry furniture upstairs either for storage or display. It would definitely come in handy on future move-in days for the apartments. So would the existing stairs next to it on the right.

They moved deeper inside, ducking under a temporary plastic partition separating the more completed section from the areas still under heavy construction. Bennett’s gaze shifted to one of the storefronts on the far right—the one that looked the closest to being finished. The walls were up, electrical workdone, flooring installed. It wouldn’t take much more to make it move-in ready.

Except for the damage.

Matthew let out a low whistle, shaking his head at a splintered doorframe where someone had taken a crowbar to the wood. “That wasn’t an accident.”

Bennett crouched near a few broken pieces of drywall scattered across the floor. “Neither was this.” His eyes tracked along the base of the far wall, where someone had ripped out part of the newly installed electrical wiring, leaving frayed ends dangling.

Matthew exhaled through his nose. “They’re not just trying to slow things down. They want to make it unworkable.”

Bennett pushed to his feet, scanning the area again. Whoever was doing this wasn’t careless. They weren’t smashing windows or leaving obvious signs of forced entry. They were targeting specific things—things that would cost money and time to fix.

Matthew tipped his chin toward the back of the building. “Let’s check the apartments.”

“Yeah, and hope nothing was touched.” Carter grimaced.

Bennett was doubtful as he followed them out of the storefront and up the old staircase, his boots thudding against the solid steps. At the top, he stepped into the second-floor hallway, taking in the foyer layout. It was roomy but not overly large, with four apartment units branching off the central entrance area. Three of them were still in various stages of framing, wooden beams and exposed drywall giving the place a skeletal, unfinished feel. The fourth apartment stood out with actual walls and a closed door hinting at progress, the most complete unit in the building.

Both outer apartments were larger than the middle two, each running the full length of the building and flanking thefoyer. The layout suggested those apartments were meant to be the premium units, with more space and better views.

But what drew his attention were the exposed wires hanging haphazardly from the open units, some of them clearly monkeyed with. More frayed edges and twisted cables told him the damage wasn’t accidental. Someone had gone out of their way to tamper with the wiring, adding to the time and cost of repairs.

A damn good way to stall the progress. And a damn good way to piss him off.

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