Page 46 of The Amendment

His response came in the form of an exhale, as if he’d been waiting for me to say exactly that. “Then we’ll take care of him.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

PETER

Rather than staying at the lake house for the entire weekend like we’d intended, we headed home Saturday night in decidedly less pleasant spirits than we’d arrived.

Maisy had been quiet for the rest of the day, audibly regretting ever telling Ainsley the truth about her dance coach. Ainsley and I were attempting to convince her things would be alright and stewing separately on what we’d learned as we tried to decide our best course of action.

Whatever we decided, it would be less vicious than what I wanted to do to him. If I’d been able to leave without getting caught, I’d have already torn the man limb from limb.

What kind of a sick freak could do that to kids?

I wasn’t missing the irony of the situation, for the record, but my victims were always adults. I’m not claiming to be a saint, but I did, at least, have some sense of morality.

We drove down the driveway in silence, everyone seemingly lost in their own thoughts. As the house came into view, I reached up, tapping the button to open the garage and froze.

The light was on.

It had definitely been off when we left… Hadn’t it?

We’d left in the middle of the day. There would’ve been no reason for it to be on.

I glanced at Ainsley in the passenger seat, but she didn’t seem to have noticed, still lost in her own world.

“Did we leave the garage light on?”

“Hm?” she asked, still not really listening.

“The light…”

I parked the car in the garage and stepped out first, looking around defensively. The shelf was still in place, nothing else appeared to be moved, but still, I found chills lining the back of my neck. The kids slid out of the car next. I could smell the lake water, sunscreen, bug spray, and sweat on them, even from where I was.

Dylan made it to the door, but I hurried forward, key outstretched. “Wait!” I tugged at the handle, grateful to see it was still locked. Ainsley yawned behind me, oblivious to my panic. When the doorknob turned, I stepped in front of Dylan, trying to squeeze my way inside first. “Wait,” I warned again.

“What’s the matter with you? You gotta take a dump or something?” he teased, stepping back and letting me through.

“Shh…” I whispered, turning back to face them. “Wait here.”

Now I had Ainsley’s attention. She cocked her head to the side, sensing the seriousness in my expression.

“Get back in the car, kids.” Her tone carried weight, and none of them bothered to argue.

“What’s going on?” Maisy asked just before I heard the car door shut. I was already moving forward, opening the closet next to the garage door and grabbing an old lamp I’d been meaning to throw away. I held it above my head as a weapon, preparing to walk up the stairs with as much bravery as I could muster.

I heard footsteps approaching me from behind and turned around, shocked and relieved to see Ainsley there, following closely. “What is it? Should I wait with the kids?”

I pressed my fingers to my lips, trying to listen.

She stayed still, keeping watch through the open door on the children waiting in the car. I lost sight of her as I made it upstairs and rounded the corner, making my way cautiously down the hall. I checked each of the bedrooms, the laundry room, and the bathroom. I pulled back the shower curtain and the regular curtains, checking in closets and under beds. In the living room, I checked behind the entertainment center and under the table in the dining room.

To my relief, our house appeared empty and untouched. So, perhaps we had just left the light on, after all.

The tension had just begun to leave my body as I returned to the garage, giving Ainsley a wave with a puff of air from my lips. “False alarm. Everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure? What happened?”

“I don’t know; it was probably silly. It’s just… I don’t remember leaving the garage light on, do you?”

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