In Strange Woods - Claire Cray Page 0,62

felt a strange quivering under his skin, like he was about to break.

Sully shook his head and then leaned back in his chair with a low whistle. “I’m glad you made it out of that, James.”

“I’m the only one who heard him confess,” James said hoarsely, and blinked in surprise as tears started streaming down his cheeks. He wiped them away with shaking fingertips and stared at them numbly. “Fuck.”

“You’re almost done, son.”

The tears kept falling as he recited Domino’s confession. He made it to the part where Robin confronted Domino, and then he broke down and sobbed.

Chapter 25: Take a Rest

By nine p.m., James was out of the police station. There was more than enough evidence against Domino for the cops to let him walk. In New York, police would be returning to the townhouse to walk through the confession and reexamine evidence. Sully was confident that the case would be closed soon enough.

Sully walked him to his car and shook his hand. “Glad to be here with you, James,” he said. “I’ll call your uncle and fill him in. I don’t want you to worry about anything now, all right? The worst is over.”

“Thanks, Sully. I appreciate it.” He liked Sully. No doubt he was a force to be reckoned with in his field, or he wouldn’t be representing a member of the Worthington Crane family. But he had a touch of that down-to-earth, plainspoken warmth James had come to associate with the Northwest. It put him at ease, and finally he realized the value of having a lawyer he could actually confide in.

“You headed back out to Hunter’s?” Sully asked.

“I don’t know.” James paused at his open car door. “I think I’ll go back to the Sea Witch. I don’t want anybody looking for me at his place.”

“Are your things still out there? I can have them picked up for you.”

“No, I’ll figure it out. Hey, thanks for being here.”

“You’re welcome. You take it easy. And call me any time, day or night. We’ll talk soon.”

With tired eyes, James drove back to Brooks. His cell phone had died at the station, and while he was seriously looking forward to chucking it in the trash, he was mostly anxious to get back to the Sea Witch and call Hunter back. He’d had to look up the number in an actual phone book and write it on his arm.

Back in his room, he sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the phone and dialed.

“Hello?”

“It’s me. My phone died. I’m back in Brooks, at the Sea Witch.”

“Why? You okay?”

“I can’t come back,” James said. “Not right now. I mean I didn’t want to. Well, I want to, but I can’t. Or I guess I could…”

“James.” Concern sharpened Hunter’s voice. “What happened?”

“A lot. I’m worn out. I’ve been talking for a long time.” James rubbed his brow. “It was my mom’s lawyer. He was the killer. He came out here to find me, get help escaping. Followed me to the bridge, pulled a gun. I went for it, he went over the side, and he’s dead.”

“Jesus Christ,” Hunter exhaled. “What do you need? I’m coming by.”

“You’re a good man. But I’m no fun tonight.”

“If you wanna be alone I’ll leave you alone. Otherwise tell me what to pick up.”

James’s eyes filled with tears again and he wiped them away impatiently. “Liquor, maybe.” He didn’t really want it. But he did want to see Hunter.

“Okay. Twenty minutes.”

James hung up the phone and stood up, stripping off his clothes and heading for the shower. The bathroom was full of steam by the time he stepped out. He dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist, then sank down in the chair by the window and dropped his head back.

He’d cried for half an hour. Cried all the way through his account of Domino’s confession and then cried harder, slumped over the table with Sully’s hand resting patiently on his shoulder.

Was Sully right? Was the worst part over? For now, he tried to believe it. The scene on the bridge had swung so quickly from terror and death to wonder and joy that he still felt off balance. But now the thought of Beau was like a fire holding the darkness at bay.

He was on the verge of dozing off when he heard Hunter’s knock on the door.

Clearly, Hunter had had a long day. He looked dirty, tired, worried, and, as always, smoking hot.

James was too tired to think twice before