Page 47 of The Amendment

She spun around, peering into the garage. “I don’t remember it, no. Why? Do you think someone’s been here?”

I gave an embarrassed laugh. “No, I guess not. Like I said, it was silly. I just had a bad feeling and overreacted.”

She watched me for an extra second. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, the coast is clear.”

I watched as she backed away from me slowly, moving back toward the kids, and motioned for them to get out of the car.

“What was that about?” Riley asked, obviously shaken.

“It’s nothing, sweetie. Your dad was worried someone might have tried to break in because the light was on. But he’s checked it out now and we’re safe.”

“You thought someone was inside our house?” Maisy gasped, her voice filled with horror.

“Bit of an overreaction. Everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Even Dylan seemed hesitant to go in.

“Promise, bud.” I patted his head. “Help your mom and me with the bags.”

With that, we loaded up the luggage and carried it inside. Once everyone had set off on their own, I ventured back to the garage. It was probably nothing, but I had to check, just to be sure.

I shut the door behind me and crossed the garage toward the wall. With a quick check over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t being watched, I nudged the shelf out of the way and began to press the bricks in, waiting for the wall to open.

Once it had, I stepped inside, my breathing catching in my throat. The body had begun to decay, its rancid smell filling the room. I needed to move it to the freezer, though I’d been warned not to touch it. But now, I wasn’t sure that would even be possible.

In fact, it seemed impossible I would ever locate the freezer again. The room was filled with boxes I’d never seen before. As if a moving truck had hauled in a whole home’s worth of packages and dropped them in every nook and cranny it could find. I could hardly step inside, only a very narrow path through the center of the room still available.

“What the hell?” I muttered under my breath.

I stepped forward, no longer caring about our agreement, since he obviously didn’t care, either. I tore open the first box, spying the stacks of passports, ID cards, and social security cards.

Fakes, I assumed.

All of them.

I pieced through them, shaking my head before dropping the box and tearing open the next one. It contained more of the same.

What the hell?

I had no idea what sort of things Jim was into, but I knew they likely weren’t good. Still, this came as a shock.

I suspected he’d crossed further lines since we were in college—that he was dealing harder drugs, involving himself with more dangerous men, and probably hurting a lot more people. But keeping him close to me had always kept me protected.

We weren’t friends anymore, but I sent him a good amount of work. We’d been cordial. Pleasant.

He stayed in his world and I stayed in mine.

As long as that remained the unspoken agreement, I was fine with it. But this…this was crossing a line I didn’t even know I had.

The next box was filled with three briefcases, all locked. I could hazard a guess that they contained weapons of some sort. The next was filled with vials of a clear liquid. I dropped them back into their boxes, backing out of the room, my stomach roiling.

What had he done?

What was he thinking?

This couldn’t happen. Once out of the room, I shut the wall, then I stepped out of the garage and pulled out my phone, dialing his number. I had no idea what I was going to say to him, only that I needed to put an end to this now.

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