In Strange Woods - Claire Cray Page 0,32

she reached him. She pulled her gun strap around so the rifle hung at her back, then reached deep into the pocket of her camo coat. “You tired? Where the hell you been?”

“Out and about,” James answered. Was this how Beau would talk? Fuck. Fuck! “What’s goin’ on?”

“You know what. Patrol, patrol, baby.” The woman produced a pack of cigarettes and shook two out, offering him one. He accepted it numbly and put it between his lips, praying he wouldn’t cough. He hadn’t smoked cigarettes in years.

“Shit, look at those shaky hands!” The woman’s eyes crinkled as she grinned, flicking open a Zippo lighter. “You overdo it last night?”

“You know me,” he said wryly, commanding himself not to panic. Panic wouldn’t help him out of this. He bent his head to the flame of her lighter and took a quick drag, blowing out a spear of smoke as he frantically tried to come up with an escape plan.

Then it got worse.

“Hey!”

They both looked at the bend, where a tall, burly man was making his way toward them. Also in camo. Also carrying a gun. “Hey, Bud!” the woman hollered.

“The hell you doin’ here, Beau?” Bud looked both puzzled and pleased to see him. “Ain’t we s’posed to give a heads up before crossin’ somebody’s route?”

“Yeah, you got me,” James said.

Guns. Patrol routes. Plenty of outlaws still grow in the backcountry…

Holy shit. Hunter was right.

“Lemme bum one of them cigs, Wanda.” Bud stopped beside them with an outstretched hand, and she passed him the pack with a sigh. While he lit up, Wanda stared happily at James, beaming like his presence had made her day.

Always had a little band of misfits followin’ him around…

Bud passed the cigarettes and lighter back to Wanda and looked at James again as he exhaled his smoke. “Tryin’ to sneak out, or what?”

Fuck, he was in trouble. They were going to spot the difference any second. He stalled by taking a long drag of the cigarette. “Felt like a walk.”

“That’s good, man,” Bud exclaimed, grabbing James by the shoulder and shaking him vigorously. “Walkin’ always does you good. Shit, we’ve all been worried about this stress you’re under. Goddamn cops on your ass again!”

“Yeah, things could be better,” James said faintly, and summoned a cool, casual shrug. A weed kingpin would be cool and casual, right? “It’ll pass.”

“Damn right it will, Beau. It always does. Meantime, you just say the word and we’ve got your back. Whatever you need, man.”

“I appreciate that, Bud.”

“Yeah, you do seem a little off,” Wanda said, squinting at him in a way that made his gut drop.

“Hell, Wanda, give ‘im a break,” Bud complained. “You know the stress he’s under.”

“I know, that’s what I’m sayin’!” Wanda cried, offended. “Goddamn!”

“You get back to your walk, Beau,” Bud said, holding his hands up with a deferential step back. “Take it easy. Hey, everybody’d sure like to see you in the big house for dinner one of these nights. We miss you on that guitar.”

“Yeah,” James said, desperately hopeful that he might actually get away with this. “Soon.”

“Take it easy, Beau!” Wanda yanked him into a tight hug and clapped his shoulders again before she released him. “See you at home!”

“Yeah, see you later.” James stood and watched as they turned back the way they came. Then he turned and headed back toward River Road. Every nerve in his body wanted to break out into a sprint. But he knew if he did that, blind panic would take over. And what if there were others in the woods, and someone spotted him running like an idiot?

Jesus, why had he done this? What was he thinking? His anxiety only grew as he marched down the trail, mud squishing and twigs snapping under his boots. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he ducked into the woods where he could walk behind the branches and brush. It slowed him down to pick his way over the soft earth alongside the road, pushing shrubs and saplings out of his way, but it was better than being exposed out in the open.

Just as he was starting to feel like he was in the clear, he heard the sound of an engine approaching from the distance.

James froze. Looking around quickly, he spotted a thick bank of bushy vines cascading like a waterfall over the side of a giant log. When he dove in, they turned out to have thorns. Ignoring the scratches, he burrowed into the thicket until he