Page 88 of Taken Away

“Don’t try to manage this,” he said, softer now. “This isn’t a quarterly report you can spin. Let us do our jobs.”

Her fingers tightened on the edge of the desk.

“I don’t know how to do nothing,” she said.

“Then start by locking the doors,” Burke replied. “I’ll call you soon.”

He stepped out into the hall. A moment later, the quiet click of the outer door carried back through the glass.

The office fell impossibly quiet.

Aubrey stood there, listening to the hum of the HVAC and the faint rustle of the vineyards outside. The spreadsheets open on her laptop glowed on the desk—2023 casing margins and cork discrepancies and Tree of Life projections—like they belonged to someone else’s life.

Bennett moved first.

He crossed to the desk, closed her laptop with a gentle click, and set her reading glasses on top of it.

“Those can wait,” he said.

Aubrey swallowed.

“What exactly are we supposed to do until he calls?” she asked.

“Eat something,” Bennett said. “Breathe. Pretend to be normal for the staff so they don’t panic before Burke even gets here.”

“Pretend to be normal,” she repeated.

He studied her for a long beat.

“You’re shaking,” he said quietly.

She glanced down. Her hands had a fine tremor.

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

He didn’t argue. He reached for the Tree of Life binder and set it aside.

“I’ll go run the cellar crew and let Savannah know Burke may want people later,” he said. “You go back to the house. Lock up. Stay with Moose. I’ll meet you there once I’ve wrapped things here.”

Aubrey opened her mouth to protest—to say she didn't need a handler, that she could manage all of this on her own—but the words dissolved on her tongue.

Somewhere out there, the person who had killed Mabel was still free.

She nodded once.

"Alright," she said. "I'll... I'll head back."

Bennett stepped aside to let her pass.

She brushed by him without thinking.

Two days ago, she would've gone out of her way to avoid the contact.

She kept walking.

"Lock the door behind you," he said.

TWENTY-TWO