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He reached out to touch her but stopped before making contact. She was probably bruised from the fall, and he didn’t want to add to her pain right now. But he had to get her attention and make he
r understand that his personal vendetta no longer mattered. Not when she was at risk like this.
“Ainsley.” He waited for her to look at him again. After a moment, she finally met his eyes. “Please, listen to me. I don’t care about the Woodses. I don’t care about any of this anymore. I just need you to be safe.”
“I’m fine.”
Her flippant tone made him clench his jaw. “No, you’re not. Someone attacked you from behind—I can’t ignore that, and you shouldn’t either. I want whoever did this to pay.” In reality, he wanted to spend a little one-on-one time with whoever had done this so he could work out his frustrations with his fists. His imagination turned up a quick fantasy of beating Steve into submission, an idea that was deeply appealing right now.
“He will.” Ainsley’s tone was grim. “Look, I know this is bad and getting worse. But it’s personal to me now. And I’m not going to give up. I want to take them all down.”
Santiago opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off. “Please.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed. “I know you don’t like it. I don’t, either. But we need to finish this.”
His doubts must have shown on his face because Ainsley’s expression hardened. “It’s my decision,” she announced, her tone making it clear she would tolerate no further argument.
Santiago sighed, knowing she was right. He could beg, plead and cajole all he wanted, but in the end, Ainsley was the one who had to press charges. And if she wasn’t willing to do so, there was no point in calling the police.
“Will you at least let me take you to a doctor?” That bump on her head felt large, and had to hurt. She could have a concussion, or maybe something worse.
She smiled sweetly. “No.” She gave his hand a pat before withdrawing her touch. “I really am fine. Besides, we’re going to pretend like nothing happened.”
“We are?” This was news to him. What was she planning?
“Yep.” Ainsley leaned forward and placed the now-filthy paper towels on the coffee table. “I’m going to take a quick shower, and then we’re going to go to breakfast.”
“Why—” the word stuck in his throat, so Santiago coughed and tried again. “Why are you doing this?”
Ainsley stood and he noticed a scrape on her knee that he hadn’t seen before. “I told you,” she said patiently. “I’m going to win this thing. If we act like nothing out of the ordinary has happened, it will drive my attacker crazy. They’re bound to slip up and reveal what they’ve done.”
“This isn’t a mystery,” Santiago protested. “I know it was Steve who hurt you.” How could she have any doubts at this point? It’s not like there was anyone else it could be...
Ainsley frowned. “Actually, I’m not so sure about that.”
“What do you mean?” A chill went down Santiago’s spine. Was there something she wasn’t telling him? Had someone else threatened her lately?
“I’ve never seen Steve on those trails,” she said. “In fact, Jenny’s mentioned in group sessions that he sleeps in all the time rather than helping her with the baby.”
“Yeah, but now that they’re at this retreat with no baby, his sleeping habits might have changed.”
“I don’t think so.” Ainsley shook her head. “But even if it has, he’s not a runner.”
“What makes you say that?” Despite his frustration, Santiago was curious to hear her logic. Ainsley’s conclusions were generally sound, even though in this case he thought she was mistaken.
“Haven’t you noticed his stuffy head and frequent sneezing? Jenny mentioned his allergies are terrible right now. I find it hard to believe he’d choose to spend time outside when he already doesn’t feel good.”
She did have a point, though it was circumstantial at best. “All right,” he said, spreading his hands palms up. “For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re right. We’ll pretend Steve didn’t do this. In that case, who did?”
“My money’s on Brett,” she said promptly. “I think the Woodses use him to intimidate spouses who aren’t cooperating with their plans, the ones who resist the gaslighting and manipulation. He makes them feel unsafe and uncertain, making them more susceptible to the Woodses and their suggestions.”
“They probably act like nothing is going on,” Santiago said slowly, thinking out loud. “Brett terrorizes the spouse, but everyone around them acts like nothing is happening.”
Ainsley nodded. “So they think they’re going crazy. They can’t trust their own perceptions. Maybe they really would be better off alone? And they’re getting such a good deal...”
A little shock went through Santiago as he realized she might be right. “I can believe that,” he said. “But in your case, you’ve been attacked. You have injuries that prove you were assaulted. You can’t talk a person out of physical signs like that.”
“True, but I never saw who hit me,” she pointed out. “I imagine if I said something, they’d tell me I’d been hit by a falling branch. And since I didn’t actually glimpse anyone behind me, I can’t deny it’s possible. If I were on my own here, with a husband who was actively trying to get rid of me, isolated from other people... I might question my own reality.”
“My God,” Santiago whispered. “I think you’re on to something.”
