Free Dangerous Defiance by Natasha Knight

want to reach out and punch him.
    “I’ll get to the point, Agent Manning. I have some idea what Ben was doing out here but I’d like to hear it from you. Hear how the hell Ben ended up at this site at the time of the dam failure.”
    She hesitated but knew she had no choice. The fact that he was out here, that he had tracked her down, her—a junior agent, well, it could only spell trouble for her and she knew it.
    “We were investigating claims of water contamination, sir. We had a tip from a resident of the area. Ben wanted to keep it quiet, not excite anyone, not attract any attention in case it wasn’t anything.”
    Hanson nodded, his expression thoughtful. She wondered if he believed her.
    “I thought so,” he said. “Well, Agent Manning, I’m not going to beat around the bush and I suppose there’s no harm in telling you now that Ben went against protocol with this and his involving you was plain wrong. The information I’m about to share is confidential. Make sure it stays that way.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Another team is just wrapping up the investigation of the claims. The water has been tested, more than once, and the level of chemicals that have been found in the water as a result of the hydraulic fracturing has been deemed not a danger. By law, Larimer is working well within their rights and we have no more business here.” He paused, perhaps for effect. “You can imagine my surprise when I learned you were here, Agent.”
    “This was our case,” Jess said. “Which team was assigned to it? It fell well within Ben’s jurisdiction.”
    “Not really, Agent Manning,” he said, rising to his feet. He walked to a window and drew the curtain aside to glance outside before turning back to her. “We’ve been well aware that over the last few months, Ben had been working on his own, without FBI approval, to bring Larimer back into focus. The initial case was closed a few years ago, earning Ben his demotion…”
    “As well as your promotion,” she cut in, unable to check her tone.
    He stopped short and if there had been a hint of friendliness in his voice before, there wasn’t any more.
    “I’m your superior, Agent. You’ll address me with respect.”
    She gritted her teeth, trying hard to keep her hands from fisting. Without dropping her gaze from his, she spoke. “Apologies, sir.”
    He studied her, and she knew he knew that she only said what she had to say.
    “Ben was demoted over the Larimer case. He never got over that and when this tip came in, he went rogue and tried to take you with him. He managed to get himself killed. You don’t want to follow in his footsteps, do you, Agent?”
    Her breath came short and fast, her eyes feeling hot with tears she would absolutely not shed in front of this bastard.
    He sat back down.
    “Listen, it’s Jessica, correct?” he began.
    She nodded, surprised by this change in tactic, wondering if he was going to reach out and take her hand next. “You’re young and you have been misguided. Whatever Ben got you involved in isn’t worth your career—or worse.” He paused while she absorbed his words, his threat?
    A shiver ran through her.
    “I know he was a friend as well as your mentor and I understand you need time to process his death. You won’t find anything here to help you with that, Jessica. Go home. Take your time off there. Hell, go to Mexico, have a real vacation. You’ll come back to your job refreshed. We’ll get you reassigned back at the office. You’ll have a whole new start.”
    Was he so cold? Did he really think a vacation in Mexico would just make all of this go away?
    “Thank you, sir,” she said, forcing herself to drop her gaze to her lap. “I think I’ll go home.” She nodded, looking back at him.
    “Good,” he said, standing. “There’s nothing for you to do here. Check out and go home tomorrow morning. I promise it will be best for you.”
    He excused the other agents, who walked out the door but left it open