Dangerous Defiance (2 page)

Jessica Manning, age twenty-six and he was right on the big city: Washington D.C.

He handed it back to her. “Thank you,” he said. He put a hand on her thigh and pushed her legs into the cabin. “Strap in.”

“My car…” she said.

“I’ll have my deputy pick it up, Ms. Manning.”

“I can drive myself. Just tell me where the doctor is.”

“I don’t think so, ma’am,” he said, drawing the seatbelt across her chest himself when she didn’t do it. “I’m curious what you were doing out here and I’m even more curious about your friend,” he said, gesturing toward the hat. “Strap in.”

She looked down at the hat while he waited, the seatbelt at the center of her chest. It was a moment before she took the belt from his hand and clasped it in its place. He closed her door, walked around the front of the car and climbed into the driver’s seat. He navigated the narrow road toward town.

“You know you’re lucky you weren’t hurt more badly,” he began, glancing at her.

She didn’t speak; instead, her mouth tightened.

“So tell me about your friend.”

She turned to him. “Look, Sheriff, I appreciate you helping me and I realize now that I should not have gone beyond the police tape…”

“Ms. Manning,” he began, “I’m not a stupid man.” He put on his blinker and when the light changed, he turned off onto the side street and parked in front of the doctor’s office before looking back at her. “If I hadn’t come when I had, you’d likely still be up there trying to dig yourself out from under that pile with a rusty nail lodged in your leg.”

She had the decency to drop her gaze to her lap. At least momentarily.

“I realize compared to our nation’s capital, New Hope, Georgia is a small, backwards town, but people lost their lives here a couple of weeks ago and eleven families are now homeless. You claim that hat belonged to a friend. That ‘friend’ was an FBI agent. You can imagine my curiosity, can’t you, given where I found you today?”

She opened her mouth to speak but he put up a hand.

“Let’s get you inside and stitched up. We’ll have a nice long talk afterwards.”

“Look…”

“Afterwards,” he said, coming around to her side of the car. She had already opened the door and was climbing out, but he lifted her once again in his arms. She left the hat in the car but brought her purse in with her.

“What have you got here?” Janey, the assistant, asked as soon as the door opened.

“Ms. Manning had an accident with a rusty nail. I think she’s going to need stitches,” he said.

“I can walk, if you’ll just put me down,” Jess said. “It’s not that bad.”

They both ignored her as the nurse led the way to the examining room and Jackson set her down on the table. The doctor came over and pulled the bandage back after introducing himself.

“Ouch,” she muttered.

The three of them made a face when they looked at the wound.

“I’ll get her stitched up, Sheriff,” the doctor said.

“I’ll be waiting for her inside,” Jackson said, taking her purse from her and walking out into the waiting room.

“My bag…” she began as the nurse pushed her to lie back and the doctor prepared a needle.

Jackson just closed the door behind him and took a seat. He unzipped her bag and pulled it open, intending to find her car keys and send Carl to pick up her car. His eyes narrowed though when he glimpsed the shiny badge and the barrel of a gun. He pulled out the badge and had a closer look, shaking his head. The woman was FBI.

Chapter Two

Jess lay on the table, her entire body tense as the doctor stitched up her leg. He had given her a shot to numb the area, but even though she tried not to watch the needle do its work, she swore she could feel every single stitch and every little pull of thread.

But she had a feeling this was the least of her problems.

For the last six months, she and Ben had been investigating an anonymous tip of water contamination in the area. It had caught Ben’s attention because Larimer, an energy company that had come under some scrutiny several years ago, had been engaged in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the area. Although this particular project had not received special attention, environmentalists were fighting the legality of fracking, claiming the chemicals used to fracture the rock leaked into the water supply, polluting it, contaminating the local rivers. But it was legal as of now and Ben had a history with Larimer. He had wanted to keep the investigation a secret until they had surefire evidence against the company.

Two weeks ago, Ben had come to New Hope to talk to some of the residents. It was during this visit that the dam had collapsed, killing him along with two residents.

“All set, young lady,” the doctor said, patting her leg. “You did very well.”

“How many stitches did it need?” she asked, sitting up, just barely able to glance at the long cut that would surely scar.

“Four.”

And she had had to have a tetanus shot. Even at twenty-six, Jess hated shots. She swung her legs off the table, the area still painful even with the numbing agent he had given her.

“I’ll give you some Advil for the pain,” the nurse said.

“Thank you.” She went to rise and immediately took her weight off that leg, flinching with the pain.

“And a crutch to lean on at least for the next day or so, honey.”

“How did it happen?” the doctor asked, filling something out in a folder.

“Long story,” Jess said. “Can I go?”

“Sheriff’s waiting for you,” he said, giving her a look.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” she muttered under her breath. “Thank you, Doctor.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I’ll just take your insurance information out front,” the nurse said as she pushed the door open and held it for her.

“I’ll get you my card,” Jess answered, her eyes landing on the sheriff who stood when he saw her. She hobbled toward him, noting how he held her purse. She reached for it but he held onto it.

“You want me to carry you?” he asked.

She stared at him. Was he serious? “Um, no, thanks. I got it.”

“You all set here, Doctor?” he asked.

“Just need her insurance card, Sheriff,” the nurse said.

“I need my bag,” she said to him, hopping on one leg.

He handed it over to her. She took it, unsure what to make of his expression. She then hobbled over to the counter where the nurse handed her a small sample bottle of Advil.

“Thanks,” she said, taking it. She unzipped her bag and fished for her wallet, glancing over her shoulder at the sheriff as she passed her hand over the butt of her gun. “Here you go,” she said, taking out her insurance card.

It was a few quiet moments while the nurse copied some information, then handed the card back to her. She put it in her wallet. She rummaged through her purse in search of her keys, but was unable to find them.

“My keys?” she began, wondering if they’d fallen out at the site.

The nurse walked around the counter and held a crutch out for her. She paused. It was then that the fact of why the sheriff was looking at her like that dawned on her. She turned to meet his cool gaze.

“I hope you don’t mind that I went into your purse to get the keys and had my deputy get your car to your hotel.”

He knew. There was no way he would have missed her badge and definitely no way he could have overlooked her gun. She dropped her gaze, slinging the bag onto her shoulder. “No, of course I don’t mind, Sheriff. Thank you.” She took the crutch and thanked the nurse as well.

He opened the front door and let her pass, their bodies almost touching as she awkwardly made her way outside. They walked silently to his truck and she didn’t argue when he lifted her into it, taking her crutch and setting it in the back. He closed the door as she strapped in, placing Ben’s hat once again on her lap.

Once he was inside, he put the key in the ignition and started the engine. “You’ve got some explaining to do, Agent Manning.”

* * *

“There’s nothing to explain, Sheriff. I’m working undercover and…”

“Don’t bullshit me, Agent. FBI closed the case last week citing dam failure.”

He glanced over to find her scratching a piece of dirt from the hat, her expression not sassy like he expected it to be but more sad.

“How long have you been with the FBI?” he asked.

“Almost a year.”

He exhaled a breath. He was angry about the case being closed. He was angry at how quickly it had been deemed an accident with hardly any investigation at all and he was angry at how quickly Larimer had resumed operations. But all this paled against the human cost. That didn’t just make him angry. It made him furious.

“You said he was a friend?” he asked.

She nodded, although she wouldn’t look at him. He knew why she wouldn’t a moment later when one tear fell onto the hat. He turned away, giving her some privacy.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Agent.”

“Me too. And for the others who died and the families who lost their homes. It’s a terrible thing to have happened and I’m sorry for all of it.”

“You talk like it was your fault.”

She glanced at him. “Not directly, no.”

He pulled into the parking lot of the Dorado Hotel.

“How did you know where I was staying?” she asked, noticing that her car was parked in the lot already.

“There are only two hotels in town. It just took a phone call.”

He parked the truck and turned to her.

“Oh. Well, thanks for getting my car and… helping me with this,” she said, gesturing to her leg. “I guess I’ll go check in.” She pushed her door open.

“Not so fast, Agent,” he said, stilling her with a hand on her leg. She may be mourning a friend, but there was too much at stake and she could be the key to unlocking more of the mystery.

She glanced at it, at his big hand wrapped around one bare thigh, then met his eyes with suspicion in hers. “We need to talk. Care to do it here or in my office?” he asked.

“What is there to talk about? There’s nothing.”

“Well, for starters, there’s the fact that you not only entered an off-limits area but you removed something that could potentially be considered evidence from the site,” he said, glancing at the hat. He had no intention of taking it from her, but he would let her think that if he could get the information he needed from her.

“You said yourself the investigation was closed. It was ruled an accident,” she said. He knew from her tone she had no intention of backing down.

“The dam had been inspected just weeks prior to the ‘accident.’ I don’t believe there’s any way in hell it failed and I’m guessing from your presence here that neither do you.”

Her expression changed infinitesimally but he didn’t miss it.

“I’ll tell you another thing, Agent. I found it quite the surprise when the assistant deputy director of the FBI showed up on site here in our small town of New Hope, Georgia, to claim a body that had yet to be identified.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” he said, pausing, giving her a moment to absorb. “Something is going on in my town and my people are getting hurt. I have a feeling Larimer’s involved, but I’ve got no proof. Not yet anyway.”

“Listen, Sheriff, I’m here on my own. I’m on leave and as sorry as I am for what happened, there’s nothing I can do to help you. I only came to see where Ben had died.”

“Bullshit.”

“This is inappropriate, Sheriff,” she said, pushing the door wider. “You’re harassing me now.”

“I just saved your ass, Agent,” he said.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, giving him a look that told him to go to hell, and put her good foot on the step of the truck, balancing her weight on her arms and that one foot.

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” he said, opening his own door when he realized she wasn’t going to listen to him. When she tentatively tried to maneuver her way out, he jumped out of the truck.

“Ow! Ow! Ow!” she screamed. She had landed hard on her injured leg.

“You neither follow the rules nor do you listen very well,” he began, lifting her once again, this time tossing her over one shoulder.

There was a moment where he imagined she was processing her position before she began to beat on his back, but her little fists barely made an impression as they landed. “Let me go! Put me down, you have no right. Let me the fuck down.”

“And that’s another thing, you have a foul temper and a mouth to match it,” he continued, walking her to the front office.

“Sheriff,” Aida, the old clerk began. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full,” the old woman said, taking in the scene, her expression mischievous.

“Evening, Aida. May I have the key for Ms. Manning’s room, please?”

“You do not get to have my key! Put me down… do not give him that key!” Jess yelled.

“Feisty little thing, isn’t she?” the old woman said, handing him the room key. “Carl dropped off her car keys a bit ago,” she said, handing them to him as well. He stuck them into his pocket. “And that’s her suitcase.” He picked it up and thanked the older woman before walking out of the office.

“This is not happening!” Jess kept going.

He had to hand it to her, she had some energy.

“Quiet down now, you’re calling attention to yourself.”

“
I’m
calling attention to myself?
I
am? You put me down this instant!” she called out. “You overbearing son of a…”

He slid the key card into the lock and pushed the door open. “You ready to calm down and behave yourself?” he asked.

“Screw you!” she yelled.

“I guess not then,” he said, setting her down carefully so she sat on the bed. Her face was bright red, her hair partially out of its bind, long, curly strands twisting all around her face and shoulders. She tried to stand, but it must have hurt because she sat back down and glared at him. He put her car keys on the desk.

“How dare you?”

“I have half a mind to spank the nonsense out of you,” he said.

Her mouth just fell open and she had no comeback.

“You just sit here and calm down.”

“I said screw you. Get out.”

“All right, I’m going to say that’s coming from the painkillers the doctor must have given you.”