William grinned wider. "It could be easier. For you and for us. SkyArc knows how to take care of professionals. Extra consulting fees are a really nice supplement to a government contract. All you'd have to do is, I don't know, focus your findings somewhere else for a while. Simple."
He said it so casually, like he was offering a glass of wine instead of a thinly veiled bribe.
The idea that I'd sell out boiled my blood. I didn't blink. "I'm not for sale. My job is to make sure streams don't die. If you don't want pollution in the data, maybe fix your processes to stop what's leaking into the water."
The air changed instantly. The smile on William's face snapped flat. No more charm. Just ice. He stepped close to me, way too close, boots almost in the water, and looked straight at my samples. With one swipe ofhis boot, he sent all the carefully labeled vials toppling off the rock.
They hit the mud, contents sloshing. One lid popped off.
My temper nearly broke.
"Oops," he said, eyes hard. "Are you sure you're qualified for this? Maybe you should leave it to the real scientists."
Behind me, the second SkyArc guy slid closer. Huey bounced up and lined up between us, in the water, growling low, tail whipping back and forth, but that only seemed to amuse William.
I bent to grab the downed samples with my free hand, and William jerked forward and clamped his hand on my upper arm. His grip dug deep, my skin pinching under the pressure. I tried to move my fingers so my thumb would hit the 911 button on my phone, but he shook my arm. My phone went flying, straight into the creek. Son of a bitch.
His face dropped next to mine, every pretense of friendliness gone.
"Listen carefully, sweetheart," he snarled. "You can wave your little samples around all you want, but the conflict of interest is already out there. Everyone knows you're screwing the property owner. You think anyone's going to take your data seriously?"
I jerked back, but he squeezed harder, and pain shot through my arm.
Huey bared his teeth, growl building. He inched forward, shoulders bunched, ready for war.
William's partner shifted, not moving but crowding me, like a linebacker eager to block the goal.
I tried to breathe and keep my cool.Whyhadn't I taken those self-defense classes Gerty had bugged me about? "You want me out so bad you'll try intimidation? What's next, a SLAPP lawsuit?" I shot back, voice dead steady even though my hands were starting to shake.
William's stare sharpened. "Oh, I think you get what's next. It'd be a shame, wouldn't it, if something happened to disrupt your daughters' new life here? Heard they both would be a shoo-in for the Gifted Program. Sure would hate to see them lose it."
Rage eclipsed fear in a blink.
Huey lunged. He tore in, jaws clamping down on William's calf hard enough to draw blood. William let go of me and screamed, kicking Huey in the ribs.
The force sent Huey sideways, and I bolted toward him. He yelped, tumbled, but even as he skidded into the brush, he whipped around and ran back to me, barking so fiercely it rattled my teeth. He limped,favoring his front right leg, but stayed upright, a small bundle of fur and teeth and fury.
"Not so tough now, are you?" William mocked, voice raw, but there was a bead of sweat at his brow and blood seeping into his trouser leg.
"You touch my dog again, and I'll press charges," I hissed. I was going to press assault charges anyway, but right now wasn't the time to say that. "Or maybe you missed the part where tampering with an endangered species study gets you federal attention."
William's partner inched closer, practically salivating for another reason to shove me down the slope.
I took stock of my situation. My phone was in the creek, the path up the hill was blocked, and my poor dog was injured. The good news was that my samples were mostly upright. All I could do was buy time and clutch my evidence.
I snatched the samples out of the mud and locked eyes with William as I put them in their case. I didn't even have to look at them to get them in there. They wouldn't be neat, but they weren't ruined. That was the important part. "You're making a mistake. I've already filed my recusal forms. Every test I run on this property is documented and above board. And your pet cameras have what just happened in 4K, unless you're planning to erase it?"
My words probably weren't the smartest things I'd ever said, not in this situation, but refusing to play victim kept me upright. I backed away, nudging Huey and praying the adrenaline would keep us moving until this ended.
William glared, nostrils flaring. "This isn't over. No isn't an answer we'll take. You want to play games, fine, but you'll lose."
He stepped forward again, this time grabbing the sample case in my hand. His yank was so hard I almost let go just out of shock.
But I didn't. I locked my elbows and wrenched back, refusing to give him the damn thing. The box swung wildly, sample bottles inside clattering like cymbals, and William's face went from angry to murder in half a blink.
His partner tried to grab me from behind, but Huey whirled, teeth snapping just enough to slow the move. I had to respect the little guy's courage. He could barely hold up his own weight, but he put himself between us like a champion.
I dug in, refusing to yield an inch.
