“I’m sorry to hear that,” she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. “Your paycheck will be mailed today.”
George gave a short nod and turned.
Lainey looked at the younger man still standing there. “Are you quitting too?”
“No, ma’am.” He shifted his weight. “Just wanted to let you know the crew is spooked. People are talking.”
“What kind of talk?”
He hesitated. “Just rumors. Sabotage, maybe. Sometimes things like this happen on-site. Sometimes it’s worse. Tools gone missing. Tires punctured. That busted window.” He looked at Finn, then at her. “Doesn’t feel random.”
She forced herself to nod. “Thank you. Tell the others I’m taking precautions. No one has to be afraid.”
He looked as if he wanted to believe her.
But he didn’t.
“I hope that’s true,” he said. “This is a good job. We’re getting decent wages, but no one wants to get hurt.”
“I understand,” she said softly. “Thank you for coming to me.”
The man turned and followed George out.
She walked back to her desk and put her head in her hands and sighed. Then she looked at Finn. His expression was darker than before.
“What?” As if she didn’t know. But what the hell was she supposed to do? Now she’d have to spend the day going overthe books, seeing where she could spare the money for cameras, coming up with extra for the security and still making payroll.
She was so screwed.
Travis leanedagainst the side of the building, sipping burnt coffee from a travel mug, watching the door to Lainey’s office click shut.
George didn’t say much as he passed, just gave a quick nod and headed toward his truck. The kid behind him looked rattled. Good. It wasn’t much but just enough to stick.
He hadn’t told anyone to quit. Didn’t have to. All it took was the right questions and a few facts casually framed.
“Hope they’ve got insurance. This window has been busted once.”
“More tools gone missing?”
“Get that slashed tire fixed?”
“You don’t think it’s kids, do you?”
He didn’t lie.Just made subtle hints.
People saw and heard what they wanted to see or believe. He just helped them focus.
And now, Lainey Harper was down a crew member, facing growing rumors and surrounded by threats she couldn’t trace.
He took another sip and thought about Finn.
There was something about that guy. Travis knew he was in construction. He’d seen Finn working at a site down the street, but there was something else about him. Something familiar. There was a stillness about him. A weight. He moved like someone who didn’t need to prove anything.
The kind of presence Travis had only seen in one place.
It was the kind of look soldiers wore when they’d seen too much, doing things they couldn’t come back from. He’d worn it too. Before they kicked him out for crossing a line, they said shouldn’t be crossed.
He didn’t know Finn’s history yet. But he’d bet money the guy was an ex-something. SEAL, Ranger. One of those specialty soldiers trained to disappear into a mission.
