Page 131 of My Brother's Best Friend

“I have a gun pointed at my mother because I’m going to do to her what she tried to do to Maddie,” I said through gritted teeth, stepping toward her. “I’m going to shoot her dead becausesheordered the mob to kill the woman I love.”

“What?” Oliver said to my left.

My arms shook, but I kept the gun pointed at Mom. “Admit it!”

Mom stayed quiet for a long, long time, and then she dropped her gaze to the ground. “Alec, you don’t understand. It was the only way I could get us all back together. She was pulling you away from me. I told you that I’d do anything to get my family back. Let’s talk about?—”

“You ordered the hit on Maddie?” Oliver whispered, almost to himself.

“There isn’t shit to talk about, Mom!” I shouted, finger hovering over the trigger.

If I killed her, if I fucking killed her … all my dreams would be dust. I’d be sentenced to prison for the rest of my life, and I would leave Maddie all alone in this world and in this shitty town without protection.

“Put the gun down, Alec,” Mom said. “I know you, sweetheart. You won’t shoot?—”

Before she could finish her sentence, Oliver snatched the gun from my trembling hand, aimed it at Mom’s head, and pulled the trigger three times in quick succession.

CHAPTER80

ALEC

My arms dropped by my sides, my eyes widening with tears as the pops echoed through my ears. Mom collapsed to the ground, a puddle of blood forming underneath her as the light left her eyes for good.

“You tried to kill my fucking sister?!” Oliver screamed, dropping the gun and snatching Mom’s corpse from the ground. He hurled her to the other side of the room, her blood splattering all over the white walls. “I fucking loved you, and you tried to kill her?!”

I stared at them in horror, not knowing what to feel. Oliver had loved her? Mom was dead. I could barely process what had just happened. But all I could think now was that Maddie was safe from the people who had tried to hurt her.

At the thought, I relaxed my shoulders and let out a low sigh.Maddie is safe.

While Oliver continued shouting at Mom’s corpse, I pulled back one of the accent chairs and slouched down into it, throwing my head back against the cushion, my nerves coming out in a belly laugh. I must’ve looked—and sounded—crazy, but I didn’t care.

If Mom had really been behind all of this, then had she planned my rape? Had she planned for it to happen again and wanted to watch? I had so many questions that I would never find the answers to now that she was gone.

I would have to live with the unanswered trauma.

But at least Maddie was safe.

Another laugh escaped my mouth. She was all I cared about.

After a couple more moments of letting this all sink in, after staring emptily at Mom’s paling body, I finally raised my gaze to Oliver, who paced around the room while running his hands through his hair.

“Go clean up,” I said to him. When he didn’t make a move toward the bathroom, I stood and gripped his shoulder. “Oliver, go clean up. Wash the blood off your hands and take a shower if you need it. It’s going to be okay.”

Tears welled in his eyes. “I thought … I thought she loved me.”

“She was using you,” I whispered. “She was using all of us.”

“Why?” he choked out. “Why’d she want to kill Maddie? Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know,” I said, nudging him toward the bathroom. “Go clean yourself up.”

A sob escaped his mouth, and he dropped his head. Then, suddenly, his arms came around my shoulders, and he pulled me into a hug. “I’m sorry for everything, Alec. I’m sorry I screwed up our relationship and yours with your parents.”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” I said even though he had.

But I didn’t want him to feel bad about this. I needed him to think clearly because I needed his help with our next steps.

How do I explain this to Dad? Should I hide her body? Burn it? Bury her? What happens next?

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