His tone pisses me off from the start. I’ve never been fond of Dunn, never pretended to be friends with him or tried to kiss his ass. As long as I do my job, and do it well, it shouldn’t matter how much I like him or if he likes me.
But the tone as he tells me to sit down has my spine straightening, and I clench my jaw. The anger with Sanders is still fresh on my mind, so I take a deep breath and sit down, determined not to let one occurrence influence the other.
Leaning forward on his desk, he links his fingers like he always does. His blue eyes are angry as he takes a deep breath. “A complaint has been lodged against you. It accuses you of ethical misconduct with a witness.”
Standing from the chair I just put my ass in, my bodyreacts as if he just landed a cheap shot to my jaw, every muscle tight, and I clench my fists as I tower over his old desk. “On what fucking grounds?”
He leans back in his squeaky chair, his eyes narrowed. “Sit down.” Each word is sharp and punches through the tension.
Looking over his head at the wall, I take a deep breath as I lower myself back down in the chair. I need to calm down, or I’ll end up without a job.
Keeping his reclined position in his chair, he slides a folder across his desk, an anonymous complaint. “I need to know if there is any truth to it, and what I need to tell the Inspector General.”
“Of course there’s no fucking truth to it! The woman is difficult as hell, and I’m just trying to keep her safe.”
It’s true, sheisdifficult, and Iamtrying to keep her safe. They don’t have to know that I’ll put a bullet into the head of anyone who tries to hurt her, whether it’s attached to this case or not.
I reach for the folder, and open it to the first page.
Everything is typed, Kinley’s name is listed as the witness. Every instance that Sanders has been witness to is listed. The fucking coward couldn’t even make a complaint without hiding behind the black redacted bars stamped across the page where the accuser’s name is.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I slip my finger in to push the button to silence it.
Flipping the first page, there are witness statements from the police department from when we interrogated that stupid fuck, Finney.
“Everyone in the conference room witnessed your behavior during the meeting when a derogatory comment was made about the witness, Abbot. I asked you then if there was anything I should know.”
Lifting my eyes from the file, I have to loosen the musclesin my jaw to answer him. “Because there’s nothing to know. Because I want to keep her safe doesn’t mean I want to take advantage of her!”
For the first time in my life, I’m going to lie through my teeth. For my job and for Kinley’s dignity. I won’t drag her through a humiliating investigation through the Inspector General if I can help it. This is my fault, all I had to do was control myself.
Something about her makes me lose all of my common sense, no woman has ever had that kind of power over me.
But I don’t regret it, I don’t regret anything with her. I’ll carry the weight of all this, she doesn’t need to feel any of it.
Looking back down, I flip another page. “I’m going to appeal.” Without looking up at Dunn, I continue. “This is Sanders’ way of getting back at me for embarrassing him in front of the guys, and telling him he needs to stop sniffing around the witness. He’s had a hard-on for her since we first brought her into custody.”
“Are you suggesting that Sanders has stepped outside the lines?”
Looking up at him, I lift my eyebrows and nod. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
My phone buzzes again, and I slip my hand in my pocket to silence it again.
“So, you’re telling me there is no basis to this complaint?” His chair squeaks as he turns sideways and links his fingers in front of him, his elbows on the chair arms.
“No, there’s not! I don’t know for sure why Sanders has taken it to this level. I thought he was just pushing boundaries and engaging me in a pissing match. But this is baseless, a misuse of company resources, and a waste of everyone’s time.”
He stares at me as he tips his head. “You know we’ll have to assign the witness to another agent.”
My heart clenches, and everything in me wants to refuse and tell him to go fuck himself. She’s mine to protect and take care of.
“She won’t go with another agent, she’ll go back to her ranch. I had to practically beg her to leave her family to stay with me after the incident at her cabin.”
“We still have to try. She has every right to refuse protection, but if the Inspector General gets involved, they will insist.”
“Then don’t send this to the Inspector General.”
He lifts his hands in surrender. “It’s out of my hands. Sanders copied the executive assistant director in Oklahoma City. He’ll be reaching out to me.”
