Dangerous Defiance (3 page)

“He didn’t give me any painkillers.”

He checked his watch. “It’s late. You get some sleep and I’ll be back to talk first thing in the morning when you can hopefully be more reasonable. You’re not to leave this room without my permission, understood?”

“Are you arresting me?” she asked, her eyebrows arched, her eyes wide, incredulous.

“I suppose you can call it a sort of house arrest. For your own safety. I’m not sure you wouldn’t try to head back up to the site and get yourself into more trouble.”

“You can’t. You have no right.”

“You’re in my town now, Agent. We do things differently here than in D.C. I’ll be back tomorrow morning early and we can try this again then.”

“I can’t believe this.”

“Good night, Agent Manning,” he said.

He walked out the door and back to his truck. It was fully dark now and he imagined she would stay in. Her leg would be hurting her and she didn’t know the area well enough to attempt anything stupid. At least he didn’t think so.

Chapter Three

Jess woke up in the morning feeling slightly better. Her head at least felt better, her leg still throbbed but it wasn’t as raw a pain as yesterday. She checked the time. It was half past seven. She threw the covers back and sat up, touching the now bruised skin around the bandage that covered her cut.

She stood, able to put some weight on her leg this morning. She had slept just wearing her panties last night as the air conditioner, although it worked hard, was no match for the heat and humidity that seemed not to let up even at nighttime. She grabbed her toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and conditioner and went into the bathroom to have a shower, no longer able to put off processing what had happened last night.

Sheriff Jackson Montgomery would be harder to put off than she liked. Thing was, she had to do this alone. The FBI had closed the case too quickly. It stank of cover-up and what she had learned last night about the assistant deputy director coming to claim Ben’s body before the locals had even identified it only made her more sure. Dam failure seemed like convenient timing for somebody to not only commit murder but also to cover up evidence. Wiping out an entire neighborhood and the death of three people was collateral damage, she supposed. The sheriff did not believe the dam had failed. He too was suspicious. She wondered what evidence he had, but she couldn’t involve him. He was just a small town sheriff. He had no idea what he was up against.

She switched off the shower. She’d go up to the dam today, take some photos of the damage.

Photos. Crap! She grabbed two towels, binding her hair in one while wrapping the other around her body. She had taken a lot of photos at the site yesterday but she hadn’t seen the camera in her bag when she had taken out her insurance card. Her feet wet, she padded through the hotel room to her bag only to have her suspicions confirmed. No camera. She remembered putting it down when she was trying to get Ben’s hat but didn’t remembered picking it up again.

Crap.

She dressed quickly in a pair of shorts and a tank top and slid on her flip-flops. She picked up her car keys, hesitating for a moment as she considered the sheriff’s words last night. She then shook it off and made her slow way to the car. After all, he had no authority to put her under house arrest. She had done nothing wrong.

* * *

Jackson walked to his car with two take-away cups of steaming coffee and a box of donuts. Maybe last night’s approach hadn’t been the best way to have gone about things. She had been hurt after all, had had some painkillers. She had a lot on her mind and she didn’t know him. She didn’t trust him and that was fair. It was smart, even. They had just gotten off on the wrong foot, and today, he would remedy that.

It was just a few minutes past eight o’clock in the morning when he turned into the parking lot of the Dorado Hotel. His eyes narrowed immediately when he saw the empty space where her car should have been. The hotel had outdoor entrances and he stopped his truck in front of her room. He didn’t even shut off his car. Instead, he walked to her door and knocked, or really banged, with his fist. There was no answer and he could hear no sound of occupancy from within. He turned on his heel and climbed back into his truck.

He changed his mind, no longer doubting his approach. The only thing he was sure of this morning was that he’d been far too easy on her. He should have spanked her ass. She was irrational and naïve and after not quite a year with the FBI, inexperienced. She was going to get herself hurt.

* * *

Jess climbed out of the car, limping a little. She didn’t like the crutch but she could have used something to lean on. She muttered a curse at the sheriff. While he had been busy manhandling her last night, he had forgotten her crutch in the back of his truck.

She half hopped, half walked to the site and slipped under the police tape, feeling slightly good about doing it. She inhaled deeply but rather than taking in fresh air, the scent of marijuana filled her lungs. She looked around the site but hers was the only car and she heard no voices. This was strange. She took another inhale and sure enough, she smelled pot. It was coming from the one structure where a part of the wall seemed to still be standing. Someone giggled from that direction.

Probably teenagers skipping school and if they were high, they would be anxious to stay out of sight. She went to where she had found Ben’s hat and sure enough, her camera lay there out in the open. She was just glad it hadn’t rained and that the teens hadn’t found it.

She made her way to it and picked it up, checking it for damage, glad there wasn’t any. That was when she heard the same sound she had heard yesterday: tires on loose rock.

Crap. This could not be happening again.

She turned her head to look, recognizing the truck straight away. She inhaled deeply and exhaled, prepared to defend herself. And when he stepped from the car, she knew she would be doing just that.

“What part of my house arrest order was difficult for you to follow?” he asked.

Someone gasped and another someone let out a squeal. She and the sheriff both turned to watch three kids, about sixteen years old, run out from behind the structure.

“Hold it!” the sheriff called out.

Jess just stood back and watched as the kids ran in three different directions. But when he whistled once, they all froze. It was almost comical.

“Lisa, Renee, and Joey. Get over here!” he said, his tone absolute authority.

“We’re sorry, Sheriff,” the boy started. All of them walked over, one still holding the smoking joint. As soon as she realized it, she dropped it, stepping on it to put it out.

“Pick that up, Renee. Now!”

They all began to talk at once and Jess watched him stand there, his expression changing just a little, just enough to let her know he was only pretending to be so angry. And it was working because the kids were scared.

She stood back as he lectured them, listening to them plead not to tell their parents.

“If I find you out here or anywhere else for that matter smoking this stuff, I will make sure you’re all grounded until graduation next year, you hear me?”

“Yes, sir,” they all said, heads hanging.

“Now get your butts back down the road and to school before I call one of my deputies to pick you up!”

“Yes, sir, thank you, sir,” they said, all obviously relieved. They didn’t hesitate but ran down the hill.

“Well done, Sheriff,” Jess said. “That was actually really great.”

They both stood watching them. “A little fear, a little friendly. They’ll think twice next time but it doesn’t mean they won’t do it again.”

The kids disappeared from sight and he turned to her.

Her smile quickly faded when she saw his expression.

“You, on the other hand,” he began. “I have a feeling there’s going to be only one way to get through to you. What are you doing out here?” he asked.

“I left my camera behind yesterday,” she began, moving her shoulder to point it out.

“How’s your leg?” he asked.

“Would have been better if I had my crutch.”

“Then you should have waited for me like you were supposed to. I was coming with hot coffee and warm donuts.”

Her stomach growled at that. “I didn’t want to take a chance it would get stolen or damaged. It’s a good camera.”

“What about the house arrest part?” he asked.

“What about it? You weren’t serious.”

“Oh, honey, you have no idea,” he said, taking her by the arm and walking her toward a thick tree stump.

“What are you doing?” she asked, trying to pull away but not managing to free herself.

“I’m going to give you that spanking I felt too sorry to give you last night,” he said with the most even, level tone.

“You’re joking,” she said, really pulling back now.

He turned to her when they reached the stump. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

No, he did not, in fact. Not one little bit. Alarm bells went off and Jess clutched her camera when he sat down.

“Get over my lap.”

Her eyebrows went up. Where was her gun when she needed it? “Pardon me?”

“You heard me, Agent. Over my lap.”

“Ok, that does it. The water is definitely contaminated and you’ve been drinking too much of it because you have obviously lost your mind,” she said, tugging but still failing to get free.

“I’m thinkin’ so too on the contamination, but that’ll have to wait a minute. One more time,” he said, gesturing for her to lay herself across his lap.

She looked at it, at his powerful thighs, his big hands which suddenly resembled paddles. She wondered if she should be afraid or furious or… something. But she only looked at him and her heart rate remained somehow level. This was almost… comical. Sheriff Jackson Montgomery was going to spank her? Out here in the open? Her? An FBI agent?

“I really don’t think so, Sheriff,” she said with a chuckle.

“Suit yourself,” he said and with a dexterity she would not have imagined from a man built like him, he relieved her of her camera and tugged on her arm while his other hand gripped her waist, and the next thing she knew, she was lying face down across his lap, her hands on the ground, her feet kicking up a storm.

“You cannot do this!” she yelled. “This is… this is…”

The flat of his hand landed across the center of her shorts-clad bottom, silencing her instantly, at least momentarily.

“Oh my God!” she called out when the reality of what was happening dawned on her. “Sheriff…”

He spanked again, this time one cheek first, then the other. “I’m thinking,” he said, not even out of breath as she struggled frantically against him. “We should be on a first name basis. We’re about to get to know each other very intimately.”

“I cannot believe… you… Ow! That hurts, you jerk!” When she reached back to slap his hand away, he only grabbed her wrist, effectively trapping her to him, her torso dangling over his hard thighs, one hand on the ground, the other caught.

He spanked again and she kicked as hard as she could, but that only served to trap her further when he swung one powerful leg over the backs of her thighs, pinning her completely.

He spanked hard and fast, maybe ten, maybe twenty landing on her bottom. It stung at first, but that soon turned into a sting followed by absolute fire as he kept it up. She cried out the entire time calling him every name she knew.

“That is no way for a lady to speak,” he said, the volley of spanks halting momentarily.

“That hurt, you jerk!”

“Jackson. You can call me Jackson, Jess.”

“You can call me ‘I’m having your ass arrested,’ you bastard!”

“Hm…” he said, reaching around to her belly.

She came to a complete stop.

“What are you doing?” she asked, even more panicked now, knowing exactly what he was doing.

He succeeded in unbuttoning her shorts and pulling down the zipper.

“Oh no no no! Please don’t. Not bare. Please, no.”

“Change of tune?” he asked, his hand gripping the waistband of her shorts.

“Please!” she begged.

“They’re coming down, Jess,” he said, simultaneously taking them to her knees so her bottom was now only covered by a lacy black thong.

“Oh…” she managed, her free hand flying back to cover her bottom. He only pulled that one into the hand that held her other wrist.

“And these,” he said.

“Please.” This was a soft plea, a squeak even. Her eyes were wide on the earth, her body trapped on the man’s lap, her bottom about to be bared for a spanking the start of which only hinted at the pain that was to come, not to mention the humiliation of her position.

He slid the lace down to where her shorts were at her knees. He took his time doing it and she turned bright red imagining herself like this, imagining someone walking up the hill to find him chastising her
like this
. Not to mention the view he had of her bottom and whatever else he could see.

“Please, not bare,” she said, knowing it was a little too late.

He placed a hand on one cheek and circled there, pausing. “Yes, bare, Jess. I’m going to spank you hard.” There was no joking in his tone anymore. “I don’t think you realize what you’re dealing with here. I think you’re naïve and your inexperience is going to get you into trouble. Real trouble that will make this spanking look like a walk in the park. Look at me.”

She shook her head, suddenly, absolutely silent.

“Look at me,” he said, smacking her bottom once, the sting causing her to gasp.

She turned, feeling hot tears in her eyes.

“This isn’t a joke. Three people are dead, your friend among them. I don’t believe the dam failure was an accident, I believe it was made to fail to coincide with your boss’s trip out here. I don’t know who is behind this, Jess, but your Ben Sanders was close enough to the truth that someone killed him for it and you’re walking around here like this is child’s play.”

“I’m not,” she said, wanting to defend herself.

“You are. You may be FBI but you’re green. You don’t know who you’re dealing with and you can’t do this alone. You’re not going to.”