"Fine. Slow morning." She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "I just wanted to check if you needed anything."
It's a plausible excuse, but I can tell she's here to assess me. To figure out if I'm a threat.
"I'm good, but thanks." I gesture to the dismantled cabinets. "Should have these doors sanded and prepped for painting by the end of today. Tomorrow I'll start on the primer."
She nods, still lingering in the doorway. "What color will they be?"
"Landlord specified white." I reach for my water bottle. "Not very imaginative."
"No," she agrees, a small smile forming. "White is safe."
"If it were up to me, I'd go with something warmer. Maybe a soft gray or blue. Make the space feel less... temporary."
Her smile fades, and I know I've hit a nerve. Everything about her life right now is temporary.
"White is fine," she says, retreating a step. "I should get back downstairs."
"Beth," I call as she turns to leave. She pauses, looking back at me with those wary brown eyes. "The shop's empty right now, isn't it?"
She nods slowly.
"Take your pepper spray out of your pocket and set it on the counter. Just while I'm here. You're hurting your wrist keeping your hand wrapped around it like that."
She flushes, caught. "I wasn't—"
"It's okay to be cautious," I say gently. "But I'm not a threat to you."
She stares at me, then slowly withdraws her hand from her cardigan pocket. "How did you know?"
"Your right hand hasn't relaxed since you walked in. And you're favoring that wrist."
A small laugh escapes her, surprising us both. "You're very observant."
"Comes with the territory."
"Construction?" she asks, left eyebrow raised..
"That, and other things."
The door jingles downstairs, and her head turns sharply toward the sound.
"Customer," I say, picking up my sandpaper again. "I'll be up here if you need anything."
She hesitates, then nods and disappears down the stairs.
I return to sanding, but my mind remains on Beth Carter. She's terrified but trying hard not to show it. She doesn't trust anyone. Not me, not the federal agents, probably not even herself at this point.
And she's right not to trust. After what Reaper shared last night about the photos I took, her situation is even more precarious than I initially thought.
The man meeting with Wilson and Cruz? He's connected to Judge Harmon, one of the corrupt officials Beth is set to testify against.
Her protectors are working with the very people who want her silenced.
And she has no idea.
Chapter 4 - Beth
"Do you have this in hardback?" The teenager holds up a copy of the latest fantasy bestseller, and I force my attention back to the present.
