Chapter 28 Tash
Tash
Sunday was weirdly warm for late December, especially after just having snow, and the creek was swollen from two days of rain and snow melt.
I'd told myself that this weekend would be for napping and reading, but I woke restless, nerves humming, and pretty soon it was obvious the only thing to break the mood was packing my field bag and hauling my ass down the hill.
Huey watched the whole production as I got ready like a bouncer at a nightclub.
He paced the hallway, side-eyeing every move I made, then stuck to my heels as I headed for the door.
Mere was in the kitchen, studying the grimoire Maeve had given her, and Chance and Fifi were outside practicing dragony stuff.
It was nice, both of them happy and focused, but that only made the edge sharper for me needing to do something.
If SkyArc's ridiculous camera setup was supposed to keep me from gathering my data, they'd have to try harder.
I didn't want to know what their idea of trying harder was.
I waved at Chance and Fifi as I headed for the hill that sloped down to the creek. Fifi, or Flora, rather, flapped a golden wing back at me. Chance was still in his human skin, so he just waved normally.
For cripes' sake my life had gotten weird.
The grass was beaten down by all the water, mud clinging to my boots with every step.
Huey loved it. He bounced ahead, nose glued to the ground, tail flagging every time a scent caught his attention.
By the time I got to the creek and started following it, my calves burned, but I made myself keep the pace.
I'd gotten away from any sort of exercise routine since moving to Laurel Gap.
As soon as the holidays were over and life found some sort of normalcy, if that was even going to be possible, I was going to start hiking.
When I finally reached my favorite sampling spot, in full view of the damn cameras put up by SkyArc, I let out a long, shaky breath.
The creek behind the Meyer property ran cold and clear, the water high and laced with silt from the recent storm.
My goal was simple. Get a sense of runoff, new disturbances, anything that would tip my research toward "smoking gun" rather than "nice to have. "
I scanned the edges for cameras. Sure enough, three little globes watched me from the far bank, their plastic backs glinting in the sun. I gave them a sarcastic wave. It wasn't like I could do this in secret anyway.
Huey skirted the water, paws printing loops into the soft earth. He sniffed every rock and plant around me before flopping down, ears swaying gently, eyes never far from the tree line. I set up on a flat, dry rock, brushing aside a carpet of dead leaves, and unpacked my gear.
First thing, wipes, gloves, and a notebook.
I used it and the tablet to track data, since the notebook never ran out of charge.
I fanned out my tools. Sample bottles lined up like little soldiers, labels ready to go, even the pens color-coded for pH, nitrate, and "miscellaneous shadiness. " Old habits, hard to break.
With the way the creek burbled and the air smelled of damp leaves and moss, it should've been peaceful. But something, probably the damn cameras, had me on edge.
Chance's warning echoed in my mind. SkyArc was watching. If they wanted the data gone, they'd do it in a heartbeat. But it was really odd they'd gone to this much trouble and expense, even if they planned to sell those cabins for a premium.
Instead of borrowing trouble, I focused on getting my samples and labelling them.
Two samples in, I heard the first crack of brush from upstream.
My stomach flipped. I palmed the Sharpie like a weapon, then dug in my windbreaker pocket. No keys, no mace. The tablet had and my phone had cell service, but it was patchy at best out here. The only reason it worked well at Chance's house was because of his Wi-Fi.
Huey growled, head up, his whole body locked on the sound.
Two men made their way down the embankment.
Like me, they were dressed in windbreakers and jeans and work boots coated in mud, hands empty except for a tablet and what might've been a rolled-up site map.
William led the way. Sandy hair, mirrored shades, and a friendly smile on his face.
His partner trailed him, taller, beefier, with a face locked in permanent frown.
Closer, William's grin belonged in a used car commercial with the announcer saying, "Trust Me, I'm Reasonable."
"Nice day to play in the mud," he called brightly. "Mind if we join the fun?"
I shifted to standing rather than kneeling.
"The rivers and streams are public access, but you have to enter the river somewhere else.
Right now you're trespassing on Meyer land.
You do need to bring your own kits, sorry, I'm not in education.
" I wasn't actually sure the land was Meyer.
The spot in the stream where I'd been sampling was very close to the border. He ignored me, anyway.
He snorted, amused. "Dedication. That's the word. Not many people are workaholics. Most of us relax on Sundays."
His beefy friend drifted to the side, blocking my path back up the hill.
It was deliberate, like they'd coordinated the move.
The first prickle of nerves crawled up my spine, but I forced myself to keep smiling.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and held down the button on the side.
It brought up the option to turn off the phone or call 911.
I was ready to hit the emergency call button if I had to.
"Yet here you are. I'm catching runoff after the rain, which sometimes happens outside work hours," I said. "And it happens that I'm done. So I'll be seeing you later."
William made a show of tucking the tablet under one arm. "Actually, we wanted a chat. Keep things neighborly, you know? The way I see it, there's no reason to complicate life for any of us."
He drifted closer, boots snapping old sticks. The laconic charm was pure theater. I could almost see him rehearsing in a boardroom.
I considered my options. I could run in several directions, but they were no doubt a lot faster than me. My panic began to spike a bit. "Life's complicated. But my job isn't."
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 of his 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. Why hadn'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.
William jerked the case, nearly taking me off my feet as the mud squelched around my boots. "You don't get it, do you? We own this valley. We own you. You walk away, or you get crushed."
"Go to hell," I shot back. "I have everything I need to shut you down."
A roar, deep, angry, almost seismic, ripped through my head. Caden. A challenge so primal I couldn't believe William didn't hear it.
He yanked the sample case again, but all I could hear was the echo of the dragon. Every cell, every bone in my body snapped to attention.
I clung to the box, refusing to let go.
Backup was on its way.