“Iamsorry, Mr.Bennet.But I will get back to you, of course.”
Calnarrowlyresisted telling her not to bother.He thought about what Jill had snapped at him as her parting shot today.Well change it.
Like he could just stop decades of practice at being an asshole to everyone around him.
Well change it.
“Thanks, Mackenzye.I appreciate it,” he managed to ground out.“I can call Dautry myself if that’d help.”
“Not necessary.I’ll get back to you by tomorrow.I hope… everything is okay, Mr.Bennet.”
“Thanks.I appreciate it.”He ended the call, still pissed off, but, weirdly, trying to end the phone call on a more positive note didn’t feel theworst.
When someone knocked on his door and it wasNate, the worst started to bubble up.
“What?”Cal demanded.
Nate strode in like he owned the place.
“Sam and I went over the security footage on the building.Whoever left the envelope avoided the cameras on the building.Not impossible to do, but that certainly took some planning.Have you noticed anything off?Like seeing the same car places?The same person?Feeling uncomfortable in a public setting?”
Cal stared at Nate for a full second.“What the hell are you doing?”
Nate finally met his gaze.“I’m looking into a threat against my brother.It’s a fairly reasonable response, all in all.Even if I wasn’t a PI.Which, I’ll point out, I am.”
“I don’t care what the fuck you are, Nate.I can take care of this myself.”So much for not being a surly asshole.
Nate didn’t rise to the bait.He never quite did.Cal was used to pissing people off to get what he wanted, so he never knew quite how to maneuver Nate into the careful boxes he liked to keep people in.
“Why?”Nate asked, calmly and placidly.
Making Cal feel decidedlynotcalm andnotplacid.“What do you meanwhy?”
“I mean why should you handle it yourself?You’ve got an entire private investigator business at your disposalanda bunch of people who care about you.”There was a beat, and then a mutter that sounded a bit like, “God knows why.”
Which soothed alittlebit of his temper.And that was his ownGod knows why, because pissing the people he loved off couldn’t possibly be healthy.Probably something else to bring up the next time he had a call with his therapist.
But for now… “Look, Nate, I appreciate… okay, no I don’t appreciate shit.I can handle this.Maybe you’re thinking it connects to everything with Dad, but that doesn’t add up.The drawing is me as a lawyer, so it’s got to connect to a case.”
“You were involved in Dad’s case,” Nate pointed out.
“Sure, but tangentially—and as much as you and Landon, or even Aly or Sam or Glenda.Singling me out doesn’t add up unless this is something aboutme.Without you guys.”
“Or you’re just the beginning.”
The thought wasterrible, so he had to reject it.“Shit, Nate.Anything’s possible, but that’s a big-ass reach.”
Nate shrugged.No reaction.No response.Certainly no agreement.So impossibly stubborn.
A Bennet trait.“So until something happens to make it even remotely possible this doesn’tjustrevolve around me,I’llhandle it.”
Nate didn’t reply right away.He looked at Cal in that very careful way.It was something from his military days, because Nate certainly hadn’t been a quiet, placid kid growing up.But as an adult, he was a careful man who used his words and silences carefully.
Cal mostly hated it.
“You decided to move back to Marietta, big brother,” Nate said after letting that silence stretch out.“If you thought that didn’t come with two brothers who’d look out for you, you’re not as smart as you think you are.”
At the mention of the brother not currently here right now, Cal got even more uncomfortable.“Landon’s wedding is this weekend.Don’t drag him into this.”
