by Dara Girard
“But then what?”
“But then he wanted me to poison you. And I almost did. I put rat poison in the eggs, but I couldn’t go through with it. He was so angry.”
“And he’s scary when he’s angry.”
Delana bit her lip. “Yes. But he isn’t always angry. When he isn’t he’s wonderful.”
“What happened the other day? Who hit you?”
“We’re so happy together.”
“What’s the name of the man who hit you?”
“He said he’d visit me. When will he visit me?”
“Delana what’s his name?”
“And we’ll leave here together. I did everything he told me to. He won’t be angry now.”
Michelle sighed. She’d lost her connection with Delana. She’d been able to channel her fear to persuade her to speak, but her fear and affection for this unknown man was stronger and Michelle couldn’t seem to break it because she didn’t know enough about Delana to manipulate her thoughts. But at least she’d gotten Delana to confess to giving James sleeping pills and trying to poison her. That would ruin any settlement. But didn’t prove James’s innocence. The prosecution could argue that James had found out what she had done and that was why he’d attacked her.
Michelle left the room then stopped when she saw a familiar figure talking to one of the nurses. She jumped back inside the room, drew open a curtain and hid behind it. She saw the shadow of the man as he passed her.
A man from the past.
A man James had once trusted.
Chapter 46
She was right behind him.
Graham softly swore when he saw Michelle’s face reflected behind him in the window of his silver Porsche. Graham made sure his sunglasses were firmly in place before he turned around and said, “What a surprise.”
Michelle folded her arms as they both stood outside his car. “Cut the crap. You—”
He held up his hand. “Before you begin, let me get one thing clear. I don’t get caught. You may figure this all out and I may tell you some things. But by the time you tell anyone what you think I did or didn’t do I’ll be long gone.”
“You tried to kill us.”
Graham shook his head. “No, only you.” His voice turned cold. “You ruined a perfect life. My life. You were the beginning of the end for me and I didn’t even see it. The first moment James saw you I should have seen what was coming. But I underestimated you. We all did. I hate being wrong.” He raised his voice. “Are you recording this? Yes, that’s right, I wanted you dead.”
“You planned to kill me and have James charged with murder?”
His voice returned to normal. “No, you’d just disappear. You might not have heard, but another unfortunate woman disappeared here years ago. Never solved. You’d suffer the same fate. Your body would never be found. If Delana hadn’t panicked it would have worked. I had to come up with a new strategy to get rid of you.”
“Assault and battery.”
He shrugged. “I knew why James left you all those years ago, remember? I thought the past should repeat itself.”
“Why? James trusted you.”
“I did it for the money. I’m not a fool. James stopped trusting me the moment he met you. And after you and James ran off, Joanna didn’t trust me much either. I managed to hang around long enough because Joanna was a mess when James left. However, when James finally returned with Joanna, as we knew he would, things were never the same. Don’t know why he felt the need to go back to London. It was only six months, maybe nine, before the shit really hit the fan. The home invasion,” Graham said with a cynical smile. “Left James in a coma and put my future on shaky ground. I had to think fast. I travelled with James here to St. Clarine, but I still needed insurance and I found an insurer.”
“Who?”
He glanced at the sky. “I feel like a drink.” He looked at her. “My treat.”
“I’d never go anywhere with you. Who did you go to?”
“You still don’t realize how valuable James is to the Winfields. Even after his attack, his mind was as sharp as ever. They depend on him and his keen insights.”
“Who?”
He flashed a cruel smile. “I’m not sure I want to tell you.”
Michelle reached out to touch him.
He blocked her hand and his smile fell. “No, don’t try your witchcraft on me. I know all about you. Are you still recording this?”
“I’m not recording anything. And I don’t care about a parasite like you. Who are you working for?”
He shook his head and clicked his tongue in pity. “Still haven’t guessed? To me it was obvious.”
“Stop playing games.”
He lifted up his sunglasses revealing a bruised eye. “Is this what you were trying to see?” He pulled the sunglasses back in place. “Hurt like a bitch, but I had to trick James into hitting something.” Graham had gone into James’s room and whispered words to provoke him to respond while he was still asleep.
Michelle turned. “You’re wasting my time.”
Graham leaned against his car and said, “James really was a wreck when he left you. I think the attack in his apartment did him some good. He was in pain anyway. It gave him something to focus on.”
Michelle spun around. “Were you behind the home invasion?”
He placed a hand on his chest in mock horror. “The thought. Why would I do such a thing? I’ve known him since he was a kid.”
“That’s why he trusted you.”
“That was his fault. You don’t trick me and think you can get away with it. It’s not my fault he still thought I worked for him. When he came to this island I helped him find the property he purchased. I knew the location was perfect to keep him isolated and away from everything. I would suggest you do the same. There are a lot more skeletons in the Winfield closet.”
“Where’s Joanna?”
“Haven’t you guessed who I work for yet?” Graham folded his arms and rocked on his heels. “No? Let’s just say his Aunt Angela isn’t the doting aunt she likes to pretend to be. She’s still nervous about Cory’s place in the family. If something were to happen to James…” He let his words trail off and shrugged. “Cory has no idea what his dear mother would do for him.”
“Where’s Joanna?”
Graham opened his car door. “Do you know why I told you all this? Because you still have no idea what and who you’re dealing with.” He laughed. “No idea at all.” He sat in the driver’s seat and looked up at her. “It was nice knowing you. We might meet again, but I doubt it.”
Chapter 47
Michelle held James’s hand as they sat in a private jet soaring high over the Caribbean Sea. She couldn’t wait to get home. James was free. Georgia had been able to present Delana with the evidence that she’d lied and after hearing her voice on the recording she admitted the truth. Graham had hit her and after she’d regained consciousness, he’d told her what she was supposed to do and say. Graham, as predicted, was nowhere to be found. But Michelle didn’t care, James was safe and vindicated. Now she only had to convince him that their nightmare was over.
He’d tentatively said yes to returning to the States with her, to spending some time at her house, but he hadn’t said he’d stay.
“All that’s happened still doesn’t mean we can be together,” he’d told her on the drive back to his place in St. Clarine after he’d been released from jail.
Michelle stared at him surprised by his words. “Of course it does. It proves the curse is broken. Graham hurt Delana. He may have been involved in your home invasion attack too.”
James didn’t react with much surprise to Graham’s treachery and when she asked about his mother he pulled something from his trouser pocket and held it up instead. “They thought this was mine.”
Michelle glanced at the item and saw it was a man’s diamond pinkie ring. “That’s Graham’s ring.”
He nodded. “I felt it when we were searching through Delana’s thing
s.”
“So you knew?”
“I suspected. I guessed by the shape and the feel…and the energy.”
“But you didn’t say anything.”
“If things went really bad I would have.”
“You should have told me. You should have spoken up sooner. It would have helped solve everything.”
James slipped the ring back in his pocket. His voice was quiet. “Not everything. He wasn’t there that night.”
His words sobered her. That night. She still remembered that awful night, the claw marks on her back, the blood on his fingers, the dark energy in the house. But she still felt they had a second chance. She’d proven that when she put her mind to something she could succeed. She was returning home victorious. Her business was safe and James was free. Anything was possible.
She looked at him now. He sat with his head back and his eyes closed. She lightly touched his arm. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“What are you thinking about?”
James started to smile. “That you still owe me one night.”
Chapter 48
He wanted a thousand nights with her. More. A hush, still evening surrounded Michelle’s darkened bedroom. James groaned low in his throat as he sank deeper into the pure pleasure he found between his wife’s thighs, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin. His hands explored the curves of her body—her back, her waist, her hips, her thighs—and remembered every soft line. His body burned with heat but she was chocolate ginger ice cream—rich, creamy and cool to the touch. It was just what he needed to keep from setting them both aflame. She knew how to touch him, where to touch him, what he needed.
But the pleasure brought pain. She wanted to deny what he was, but he’d never put her at risk again. He knew what he was truly capable of. He knew the darkness still followed him.
He could only have one more night, that was the only reprieve his body would allow. Tonight he would make love to her with every fiber of his being. He would cherish her, worship her, adore her as he had the moment he knew she was his. With each taste of her lips, touch of her hand he felt himself slipping away, drawn to the dark abyss he’d once thought he’d conquered. He could no longer fight it. Instead he would surrender. He would give all of himself to her and hold nothing back. No matter what it cost him.
I love you so much, she said.
But he was too far gone to reply with words so he wrapped her in a memory of love that spanned all time.
And Michelle held onto him, her bare body wrapped so tight around his as if they were one, so she wouldn’t be swept away by the swirling visions of different places, different races, different ages, different times. But what remained constant was the depth of unwavering love. His love. She felt it all around them and felt buoyant.
She’d won. She’d beaten the darkness. Her love meant something. She saw their future together. A bright future where he wouldn’t be isolated by his limitations. He could be part of the world again. She imagined describing what the CCBE looked like now, giving him a tour and introducing him to the people she worked with. She imagined having her sisters and their families over for dinner and reuniting him with them. She imagined their home together, going on holidays and the life they would share.
But what she didn’t imagine was waking up the next morning and James not doing the same.
Chapter 49
At first she thought he was pretending as she tried to rouse him to wake, but when he didn’t move a feeling of dread crept over her. “James?” She shook him.
She shook him harder.
He didn’t move.
She felt his arms, his neck, held his face in her hands. “James can you hear me? James!” Her voice became frantic. “James, honey, please…please I can’t lose you again. Don’t leave me like this.” Her mind began to spin. Was this why he made no promises to stay, why last night had felt like a final goodbye? Had she truly failed him in the end? Was the power of her love a lie?
Michelle gripped her hands into fists, stealing herself against emotions that threatened to destroy her. No, she would not think about that right now. She wouldn’t panic, she wouldn’t despair. She had to stay in control and think. He was still warm to the touch and had a pulse, he was alive.
She dialed the emergency number and gave them his medical history.
But he didn’t respond in the ambulance and hours later doctors remained baffled as to what was wrong with him. She told them everything she knew about his past illnesses, but nothing worked. Michelle sat alone in the waiting room as they conducted more tests. The doctors seemed to be giving up hope. They spoke to her about keeping him comfortable or considering life ending options, which she flatly refused. He was still in there. She knew it. She would fight for him. If he still breathed, there was still a chance to save him.
But she couldn’t save him alone. She took out her cell phone and for the first time, with shaking hands, reached out for help.
“Wake up, Sweets. Something’s wrong.”
Teresa rubbed her eyes and stared at Sean as he quickly changed. She glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning. It had been a long day and she’d only just managed to drift off to sleep. But by his efficient movements and the look on his face she knew they faced an emergency.
She jumped out of bed now wide awake. “What happened?”
“I just got off the phone with Jessie. Michelle’s at the hospital—”
Teresa stared at him alarmed. “How bad are her injuries? Do we—”
Sean shook his head. “She’s okay. It’s not her. It’s James.”
Teresa pulled on her shirt then froze as a vision came to her.
He stared at her. “What is it?”
“I just had a terrible feeling.”
“Get changed. Your sister will be okay.”
Teresa shook her head. “No she won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because the monster is here.”
On the drive to the hospital Teresa called Bertha, surprised by her friend’s tone as if she’d expected her phone call. “I’m sorry to call so early, but it’s an emergency. Michelle’s asked for help and I sensed the monster again,” she said. “What does it mean? What should I do?”
“Call BJ and have him meet you at the hospital.”
Teresa thought it was odd that her cousin would need to be present, but trusted her friend’s words. “And then what?”
“Remind Michelle to remember the story.”
Chapter 50
As a doctor, Sean had grown used to delivering bad news. But nothing had prepared him for this moment. He returned to the private waiting room where Teresa, BJ, Jessie, Kenneth and Michelle sat in plush cream chairs that matched the surrounding walls. All eyes turned to him when he entered. He took a deep breath; there was no other way to say it. “He’s dying. There’s no identifiable reason why, but he is. However, there is brain activity. Two nurses have heard him mumble ‘I can’t protect her. I have to protect her,’ but that’s all he’ll say. He won’t respond to any other stimuli. He’s tormented somehow. He’s a healthy man, there’s no reason he should be in this state. He’s willing himself to die.” Sean turned to Michelle. “You have to talk to him. Reach him, even if you don’t think he’s listening.”
Michelle shook her head and looked at the ground. “No.”
Sean blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“His wife would kill him,” Michelle said in a low voice.
“What?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “That’s what the prophesy said.” She looked at her sisters. “It said that his wife would kill him. This is what they meant.”
Jessie shook her head in frustration. “Mich, you’re not making any sense.”
“What prophesy?” Teresa asked.
“Did James have a mistress? Were you secretly seeing him all this time?”
“No,” Michelle said.
Teresa rolled her eyes. “This is not the time for that.
”
“I was curious,” Jessie said. “Weren’t you?”
“James didn’t do anything wrong,” Michelle said.
“What prophesy?” Teresa repeated.
“I didn’t tell you about it because I didn’t want to believe it. I thought I was strong enough for anything. He’s dying because of me. He’s…he’s scared he’ll hurt me.”
“So he did hurt you,” Jessie said in a tight, angry voice.
“No, there was something in the house. Something that came over him and it only happened once—”
“Once is enough,” Kenneth said in a grim tone.
“It wasn’t him! He’s not a beast. It was the darkness I sensed all those years ago. Somehow it comes over him. It clings to him, but it’s not him.”
“Remember the story,” Teresa said.
Michelle looked at her and frowned. “What?”
“That’s what Bertha wanted me to tell you. It’s the only way to defeat the monster.”
Michelle’s lips thinned. She hugged herself and shook her head. “James is not a monster.”
“I didn’t say he was, I only—”
“You don’t understand. This is all my fault. I should have stayed away. This is happening because of me. He’s dying because of me.”
“I don’t believe that,” Sean said. “I think he’s longing for you. When I was ill, all I could think about was Teresa.”
Michelle flashed a bland smile. “That’s because Teresa is a healer. I’m not.”
“But it’s worth a try,” Teresa said in a gentle tone.
Michelle’s voice turned bitter. “I did try. It didn’t work. It will never work.” She looked at Kenneth and Jessie then Sean and Teresa. “I envy you. I envy your pure love. James and I don’t have that. Never have. It’s always been cursed. I was arrogant enough to think I could beat it but I was wrong and he’s suffered for it. I won’t see him suffer anymore.”
