Page 38 of Bennett

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?”

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