She shook her head, her forehead creased with concern. “You know I wouldn’t do that, don’t you? You know I’d never hurt you. Not in a million years, Dylan. I love you. I love your brother and your sister. Think about them, okay? Get out of your head about what your dad’s told you, and think about what you know is real. I know this is really scary, but there are things you know, right? You know I’d never hurt you. You know that in your gut.” She pressed a hand to her stomach. “You have to.”
Behind us, Matt groaned again. “Ains…” he whispered, no strength in his words.
Just die already, tough guy.
She took another step toward me, her eyes locked with mine. “He’ll never forgive you, Peter. He’ll never forgive you when he learns the truth. You can’t take this back. You can’t undo it. Even if you kill Matt, even if you kill me, someday, they’ll know the truth about who you are and what you’ve done. And on that day, their hatred for you will be all they’ll know. You’re going to let him do something that can’t be undone, something that will forever change him, for your own sake. Because this isn’t for Dylan. It’s for you.”
“No. That’s not true. I’m doing what I have to do to protect this family.”
“How is any of this protecting this family? You’re hurting this family!”
Matt groaned, and I reached for Dylan’s arms, pulling the gun into position. “Pull the trigger,” I ordered. “Kill him.”
“Dylan, don’t listen to him.” Ainsley stepped in front of Matt, her hands up.
“You may not care enough to protect yourself,” I snarled at her through gritted teeth, “but you’d do anything to protect your kids. So choose now, Ainsley… Who will you put over your son? If Matt dies, Dylan has just killed someone. How far will you go to protect that secret? Stay with me and protect him or…don’t.”
“What?” Dylan whimpered, trying to step away from me. I wrapped my arms around him tighter, the gun still in his hand.
“You wouldn’t,” she snarled.
“I think you’ve seen just how far I’ll go to keep you. So, tell me, who’s more important? You or him?”
“Dad,” Dylan cried, looking at me over his shoulder with such complete heartbreak it was almost enough to make me stop. Almost.
“Him.” She sobbed, her voice powerless. “Him. Of course it’s him. I will do whatever you want. Just stop.” Her hands were up. “I’ll come home. I’ll do whatever you want, just please don’t make him do this.”
“Stop!” Dylan shouted, struggling to free himself. “Both of you, just stop!” He shoved his head back, headbutting me.
I pulled back, covering my lip. I could already taste the blood. “Why the hell would you do that? I thought you were with me!”
“He doesn’t want to do this, you monster!” Ainsley said, through tears of her own.
She reached for him, and he took a step toward her, holding out the gun.
“I’m so sorry, Mom,” he cried, falling into her arms.
She held him tight, patting his back gently and shushing in his ear. “It’s okay, baby. It’s all going to be okay.”
I stepped toward her and she lifted the gun, pushing Dylan behind her.
Fuck.
“Call 9-1-1,” she ordered him. “Find Matt’s phone and call 9-1-1.”
He darted across the room, doing as she said and searching in his pockets for the phone. I backed away, hands up.
“You don’t want to do this, Dylan. You’ll go to jail. You pulled that trigger, not me.”
Ainsley stepped between us, so I could no longer see him. “He’s not dead. No one’s going to jail. No one except you.”
“You really think it’ll be that easy?” I asked. “Your word against mine. How do you know Adele won’t side with me? She usually does.” I cast a glance at the stairs, not entirely sure my mother-in-law hadn’t passed out. “How do you know I won’t start spilling secrets in jail and make sure you join me?”
“What’s he talking about?” Dylan asked.
“Call the police and find out.” I shrugged.
“Mom?” he asked. Wimp that he was.
“I could kill you, you know. It would be self-defense,” she snarled, pressing the gun into my chest.
Dylan stood, moving toward her. Maybe he’d grown a backbone after all. “Please don’t, Mom. Please just let him go.”