The Amendment (Arrangement #2)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

PETER

T here was a body in our garage.

A decaying body.

It wasn’t the first time and I was sure it wouldn’t be the last, but this time I had no control over it.

It wasn’t my doing.

I didn’t know what unfortunate misstep the person—I was assuming it was a woman, but I couldn’t be sure—had taken to end up wrapped in a tarp in my garage.

I couldn’t press Jim. Couldn’t ask too many questions.

After that first night, that had always been the rule between us.

But with the evidence on my property, I had everything to lose here and nothing to gain.

Nothing except his silence, and even that was uncertain.

I knew Jim. I knew that whatever I was doing to make him happy now would only keep him happy until the next favor he needed. I didn’t know why I’d fooled myself into believing it would be any different now that we were grown and out of college.

We weren’t kids anymore.

We had families, careers…

But neither of us had stopped doing the things that had bonded us back then, and he knew it. He’d used it to control me before and he could still control me with it to this day.

“Did you hear her, Peter?” Ainsley was saying, her voice shrill. When I looked up, I noticed every eye at the table was on me.

“Hm? Sorry, I zoned out. What’d you say?”

Maisy was picking at the food on her plate. “I quit dance.”

It took a moment for it to sink in. “Oh… Okay, then.” I glanced toward Ainsley, trying to gauge how I was supposed to be reacting. “When did you decide this?”

“Last year,” Maisy said. “I haven’t started back.”

Now I understood the pinched expression my wife was wearing.

“Oh. I didn’t realize.”

“Me either,” Ainsley said. “I found out today when I realized she didn’t go to her recital last night. I assumed you were paying for the classes.”

“I… Yeah, I assumed you were.” I turned to face my daughter. “You should’ve told us, Maise. Did something happen?”

“Not really.” She twisted her hand over her arm. “I just didn’t want to do it anymore. Jennessa and Bailey quit, too.”

Ainsley was still looking at me, watching my reaction, but I had no idea if I was acting appropriately. In truth, I never cared if Maisy took the dance lessons in the first place. That was Ainsley’s choice. And frankly, her quitting was saving us a ton of money.

“We invested a lot in your dance lessons,” Ainsley said, running the tines of her fork across her plate gently. “I just want to be sure you’re positive about this decision. Is it the schedule? Or do you want to take a different style this year? What about jazz? Or tap?”

“I just don’t want to do it,” she said firmly, staring down. “Can we please just drop it?”

“Yes,” I said.

At the same time, Ainsley said, “Are you crying?”

I looked across the table at Maisy, spying the glimmer of a tear at the corner of her eye.

“Maisy, what’s wrong?” Ainsley pressed up out of her chair in an instant.

“Awkward,” Dylan said with a sigh, pushing back from the table.

“Knock it off,” I snapped.

“Talk to me,” Ainsley whispered as Riley watched intently, his expression filled with genuine concern.

Maisy shook her head. "It's nothing, I swear. I just don't want to do it anymore. Please don't make me."

Ainsley took a hesitant step back, but it was my turn to speak up. "We'd never make you do anything you don't want to, Maise. You know that." She looked at me gratefully, brushing away a tear.

Ainsley watched me and it was obvious she wanted to say more, but instead, she leaned down and kissed the top of Maisy's head. "You know you can always come to us with anything, right? No matter how busy or stressed we seem, you're what matters to us."

"Your mother's right," I chimed in, just as my phone began to buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out, though I desperately didn't want to, and glanced at the screen.

My heart sank.

Not again.

Not right now.

"Can I go to my room?" Dylan asked. His plate had been empty for several minutes and he was already standing, not waiting for an answer.

"Of course," Ainsley said, though I could feel her eyes on me. I considered ignoring the call, but I knew that would only make Jim angry. Sweat beaded at my hairline as I thought back to the body in the garage.

The very, very dead body.

"Peter?" Ainsley called, staring at me strangely.

"I have to take this." I darted out of the room and pressed the phone to my ear. "Yeah?"

"I need another favor."

I huffed, stepping out onto the porch and walking farther into the yard. "Of course you do."

"You home?" He didn't miss a beat.

"You can't come here now. The kids are home and we're in the middle of something. Come by tonight."

"Won't take long."

"It doesn't matter. Look, Jim, you can't keep doing this to me. We agreed on one favor and now we're up to three. When does it end? I’ve done all that I can do for you. I don’t owe you anything else. "

"Doesn't seem like you really have a choice, does it?" he said simply.

“What the—” Before I could argue any further, the line clicked and he was gone. "Dammit!" I threw the phone to the ground, anger radiating through me. I shook my head, trying to clear it. How was I going to get out of this—

"Peter?"

I spun around, shocked to see Ainsley there. I guess I shouldn't have been shocked, not knowing her as well as I did.

My wife was always there.

Always around.

I scrambled to pick up my phone, running my hands through my hair. "Sorry…" I didn't know what to say, how to explain what a mess I'd gotten myself in.

"Is everything okay?"

No. Nothing's okay.

"Yep, great."

She pursed her lips, stepping toward me. "It doesn't look great."

Before I could answer, headlights flashed across her face in the dim evening light. I spun around, staring out at the driveway where I could now see the gray truck heading in our direction.

“Who’s that?”

I tried to keep my voice calm, to prevent her from hearing the panic I was feeling. “A friend from work.”

“The same friend who was here the other night?”

Shit. I’d forgotten about that.

“What’s going on, Peter?” she asked, reading the expression on my face just as Jim’s truck came to park in front of us.

I shook my head, forcing a laugh. “Nothing, I told you. It’s just work stuff. I’ll be back inside in just a minute.”

Jim was already out of the truck and walking toward us. When he saw Ainsley, his brows raised, a longing gaze trailing down the length of her body and back up. Fire burned in my belly as I stepped forward, placing myself between them.

“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” he said, outstretching his hand toward her, ignoring me. “James Slater.”

Ainsley’s eyes fell to me for a second, but I’d sooner tell her to run than give her permission to shake his hand—not after I’d seen the look in his eyes.

“I’ll be inside in a minute,” I said again, firmly.

To my relief, without shaking his hand, she stepped back, offering a gentle wave. “Nice to meet you.” It seemed as though she sensed the danger, or my panic, and I was grateful to see her walking away from us quickly.

Once she was gone, Jim whistled, his brows still raised in a way that had me feeling ill.

“Damn, Greenburg. No wonder you didn’t invite me to your wedding.”

Yeah, right, that was why.

“What do you need, Jim? I told you we’re in the middle of something. This isn’t a good time.”

It took too long for his eyes and attention to come back to me, and finally, he groaned. “Right. Yeah, well, it’s just a small package this time. And this one won’t be here long at all. I have a buyer picking it up this weekend. ”

“This weekend? No, that won’t work.”

“Why? You got a nail appointment?” He smirked.

“We’re…” I thought better of telling him we’d be out of town at the lake house and instead settled on, “We’re having company over. It’s going to be a whole thing. I can’t have anyone else here.”

He clicked his tongue thoughtfully, peering around. “Alright, I could probably come pick it up early Saturday morning. What time will everyone start arriving?”

“Friday evening. Saturday’s no good for me.”

“Well, we’re going to have to figure out something, aren’t we?” he pressed.

“Where have you been keeping this stuff before now?”

“Here and there,” he said with a shrug. “So you can see why this arrangement’s a lot better for me.”

“Well, it’s not an arrangement. You said you needed to keep one thing in the room for a while. I’ve kept up my end of the bargain and then some. You’ll have to find somewhere else to keep this one. I’m sorry.” My hands were up in the air as I figuratively washed them of the problem. “You can’t keep it here.” If he argued, I might have to kill him. Either that, or he’d kill me. But I desperately didn’t want either of those scenarios to happen. Not while my kids were home. I’d have to lure him into the room and do it there. I’d have to hope they didn’t wonder about my absence too strongly.

He drew in a long breath and the seconds seemed to drag on as I waited to hear his response.

Finally, he said, “Alright, fine. I’ll figure something else out.”

As he started to walk away, obviously disappointed, I stepped forward, stopping him. “What about the rest of it? How much longer do you plan to keep it there?”

“I’ve told you I don’t know exactly. I’m figuring things out.” He patted my shoulder. “Just enjoy your garden party. I’ll take care of the rest.” I saw him clock something over my shoulder, his whole demeanor filling with warmth again. When I followed his line of vision, I saw Ainsley’s silhouette in the porch light. She’d been watching us. From where she was, I wondered if she could hear us. Surely not.

He tipped his ball cap toward me, then waved at her. “Tell the missus good night from me, would you?”

I didn’t respond, but he didn’t seem to notice, giving my shoulder a squeeze and making his way back to the truck.

The headlights washed over me as he backed up and turned around, disappearing down the long, curving drive.

The tension disappeared slowly when I’d caught the last glimpse of his taillights. When I turned around, Ainsley had gone back inside.

Still, I knew it was far from over.

These two—my wife and my friend—had enough dirt on me to send me away for the rest of my life. They were dangerous, each in their own way.

Now I just needed to decide whom I was more afraid of.