Trusting Danger (Danger, #2)(65)

She rose from her dining table and walked to the window. Another TV news van was pulling up on the street to join the others. The media circus below had started yesterday, shortly after the network interview she’d done. News of a kidnapping attempt would likely draw in more viewers than the day-to-day squabbles of Washington politics, and the vultures wanted to be there to snatch up every possible morsel.

Claire shook her head as she recalled the interview. Although Nick had given the network conditions for the questioning, she had still expected a grilling. At the very least, she’d thought her father, who’d sat in on the interview, would receive one.

But the reporter had been surprisingly professional, for the most part. She’d shown a great deal of sympathy when Claire had choked up while discussing what had happened to Jeremy.

Her mouth going dry, Claire thought of the decision she’d made. She wouldn’t be taking the bar. There was no way she could go through life as a corporate attorney; her heart just wasn’t in it. Although she wasn’t up to having the conversation with her parents yet, she would soon.

Ironically, it wasn’t the situation with Gabe that had prompted the decision—it was all that had happened with Grayson. He’d pushed her away, breaking her heart in the process, but he’d also done something else. He’d made her see what could be.

It was possible to have passion in her life and in her career . . . she just had to find it.

As she moved away from the window and picked up her tote, Alex stood up from the sofa.

“All set?”

Claire nodded.

He had been invaluable these last few days, especially with the reporters. She hadn’t discussed Grayson with him, but he seemed to sense how she was feeling and had given her space.

As she walked outside her building alongside Alex, microphones were thrust at her, making her wince.

“No comment,” Claire repeated several times as Alex kept a hand on her elbow and steered her toward his SUV.

As he sped them away from the reporters, Claire dropped her head against the headrest and let out a groan. “How does anyone deal with that on a regular basis?”

Alex shot her a grin. “Not a fan of the media?”

She shook her head. “I’ve been around it all my life, but it’s never been anywhere near this bad. The good news is that as soon as something else exciting or horrible happens, they’ll all go away.”

She studied Alex for a moment, wanting to ask about Grayson, but decided against it. She turned her gaze back to the window. It wasn’t worth it; she’d only become emotional if she asked about him. The only thing she could do was try to put him out of her mind.

Fat chance of that happening.

Resting her chin in her hand as she propped her elbow on the door, she stared out the window, her vision blurred.



When Claire and Alex arrived at the jail a few minutes early, she spotted Leah and hurried over to pull her aside, needing to talk. Something was going on with Leah, something to do with Chris, and Claire was determined to find out what it was. Their client deserved their best efforts on his behalf, and she wasn’t convinced Leah was entirely on his side.

Taking Leah by the elbow, Claire told Alex, “Give us a minute. We’ll be right over here.”

Alex nodded. “Sure. I’ll wait down the hall.”

When he’d walked away, Claire turned to Leah. “Is there something I need to know?”

“What do you mean?”

“About this case. Your heart isn’t in it.”

Leah froze and looked away, not meeting Claire’s gaze. “It’s just hard for me, all this drug-dealing shit.”

Confused, Claire tilted her head as she studied her friend. “Why?”

When Leah finally met Claire’s eyes, she blinked rapidly as if fighting tears. “My older brother was in a car accident a few years ago and got pretty banged up. The painkillers they gave him helped, but his back and neck kept giving him problems, so he asked his doctor for refills.”

Claire froze, having a pretty good idea where this was headed. The opioid crisis was all over the news, so many sad stories of ordinary people with no history of drug addiction getting hooked on painkillers after a surgery or injury.

“Pretty soon, his doc told him no more refills, but by then he was hooked and we had no idea. Oxy’s available on the street, but at thirty or forty bucks a pill, he couldn’t afford it for long. So he tried meth. Then heroin.”

When she met Claire’s gaze again, Leah’s eyes were filled with tears. “My brother was dead within a few months. Accidental overdose. He was a good man, Claire, a really good man. But those damn drugs killed him. And every time we talk to Chris, I wonder if we’re doing the world any favors by helping him.”

Stunned, Claire could only stare at Leah for a moment, trying to pull her thoughts together. She had no idea Leah even had a brother; she’d never mentioned him before. Her heart breaking for her friend, Claire reached out and gripped her hand.

“Leah, I’m so sorry for your loss. What you and your family went through is horrible, there’s no doubt about it. But Chris isn’t a bad person, you know that. He’s just a kid trying to survive on his own with no family to support him. Given another chance, I know he’ll do better. You saw how terrified he was when we first interviewed him, remember?”