Finally, Dex looked up. “Well, they’re legit.”
“They’re real?” Caleb echoed.
“Yup. They’re based out of Tallahassee. Been around eight, nine years, mostly midsize land development, mixed-use builds, commercial renovations. They’ve got a professional website, investor reports, and a lot of big projects they are working on. The VP of Strategic Acquisitions has been on urban growth panels and quoted in trade magazines.”
“So why the hell would they want this small project in Haywood Lake?” Finn asked.
Dex shrugged. “No idea. But remember Lainey’s part is small. The redevelopment project itself is good size. They’ve got a variety of projects going on, from port authorities, housing districts, to waterfront revitalization. This isn’t something out of their wheelhouse.”
Lainey crossed her arms. “They weren’t happy when I turned them down.”
Chase glanced at Dex. “Any ties to local officials? Council members?”
“Nothing obvious,” Dex said, looking up from his laptop. “No campaign donations or shell filings. Clean on paper. But I’ll keep digging. Sometimes it’s not about money but favors.”
Lainey let out a breath. “So this was just business?”
Dex shrugged. “Apparently.”
Lainey sat back in the chair. Hearthstone might not be crooked, but someone was mighty interested in the project.
And she was running out of time to figure out who.
Finn was watching her, either worry or disappointment in his eyes. It made her stomach twist.
“I should’ve told you,” she said softly.
“You should’ve,” he agreed. “But you’re telling me now. We can work with that.”
Chase cleared his throat. “Okay. We’ll treat Hearthstone as a nonissue for now.”
Dex nodded. “I’ll flag any movement.”
“That part is good news,” said Caleb. “But what are we going to do to keep the site safe?”
All eyes turned to Finn. He leaned forward, elbows braced on the table. “We double down. Lock it up tight.”
“We already have perimeter cameras. What else is there?” asked Lainey.
Chase looked at her. “Overnight patrols, remote alerts, physical checks on the equipment.”
“Motion sensors,” Finn offered. “Trip alerts on the scaffolding and important equipment.”
“Good,” Chase said. “We’ll also have someone swing by during the night, make sure nothing else happens.”
“I can take tonight,” Caleb said.
Lainey frowned. “You mean someone’s staying at the jobsite overnight?”
Finn shook his head. “No one’s staying. Just regular check-ins through the night. But whoever’s messing with you won’t catch us off guard again.”
She rubbed her temples. “The council already thinks I dropped the ball. If they find out I’ve got security posted round the clock, they’ll think things are worse than they are.”
“They are worse,” Finn said gently. “Think about what’s happened. We’ve got to gain control, and we only have ten days to do it.”
She looked around the room. At the men who really didn’t know her. At Finn who thought he did. They were trying to help.
Having people actually care was not something she was used to.
