Yvonne instinctively turned her head away, placing a hand over Bennett's lips. "Someone's watching... well, some dog."

Bennett was speechless.

He glanced down at Bullet, man and dog locking eyes. Then, Bennett gave Bullet a gentle nudge with his foot.

"Go on, get out of here."

Bullet let out a soft whine and looked up at Yvonne pitifully, as if tattling on Bennett.

Yvonne laughed, bending down to hug Bullet and pat his big head. "Oh, you poor thing, did he bully you?"

While Yvonne was playing with Bullet, Bennett's phone rang.

He strode over to the coffee table and answered it.

The person on the other end said something that made Bennett's expression turn serious.

After hanging up, he turned to Yvonne. "I have to go out. You should get some sleep."

"Is it for work?" Yvonne asked, her smile vanishing.

"Yeah," he answered vaguely, heading straight to the bedroom to change.

He didn't put on his uniform, instead changing into a black sweatsuit before leaving in a hurry.

Yvonne knew better than to ask about his work. She stood by the window with Bullet, watching a black van pull up downstairs. Bennett got in, and the vehicle quickly drove away.

"Come on, Bullet, let's go to bed," Yvonne said, patting the dog's head, a hint of loneliness in her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes.

By now, the black van carrying Bennett had already left the Cherry Apartment complex.

Bennett was in the passenger seat. Driving was his personal bodyguard, Gordon, a retired Special Forces soldier.

As he drove, Gordon briefed Bennett on the night's operation at Riverbend.

"Mr. Jones and the customs enforcement team have had their eyes on that Riverbend property. For the past month, there's been a lot of late-night activity, and a noticeable increase in boats at the estu tuary. W didn't want to tip them off, so we kept a low profile. After over a month of surveillance, we finally hooked a big one."

Wer

Although Gordon was retired and now worked as Bennett's bodyguard, he was still a soldier at heart, and the thrill of busting a major smuggling ring was palpable.

"A whole shipload of contraband. Enough to get them the death penalty. The nerve

of these guys, acting like Istra is some lawless wasteland."

"They have powerful people protecting them, so they feel untouchable," Bennett said with a cold smile.

"Things got a little chaotic at the scene. We had officers from the Municipal Bureau, customs agents and our guys. Luckily, we managed to apprehend all the suspects mos one got away. Mr. Jones wants you to come by and get a debriefing," Gordon continued. Contént

Bennett nodded.

His bodyguards were officially employees of the Thompson Group. Even though they had done a good thing, they still had to go through the proper channels and give a statement.

The van finally pulled up in front of the Municipal Bureau headquarters.

Gordon parked the car, and they both got out.

A detective from the bureau was waiting at the entrance. Seeing them, he extended

a hand warmly. "Mr. Thompson."

Bennett shook his hand, and the detective led them inside.

"This way, Mr. Thompson. Mr. Jones

is waiting for you in the surveillance room. Our colleagues are

interrogating the suspects we

apprehended tonight," the detective

explained as they walked.

They had arrested sixteen suspects at Riverbend. They were likely just the grunts;

the masterminds rarely showed up at the actual drop-off.