Love, Honor, and Betray by Roby, Lawson (ebook reader ink txt) 📕

down to his side. “They have to stay clear of the doorway and the sidewalk because myson is planning to walk out with Mr. Rush. He’s talked him into letting the girls go first, and then he and Mr. Rush willexit together.”

“Can you at least put the phone on speaker?” the chief asked.

Curtis hadn’t thought of that before now, but it was actually a good idea. He still had the call muted, but he was sure hisBlackBerry would allow the call to be on speaker at the same time. So he pressed the button for it, and it worked fine.

“Matthew, you’re a good kid, you know that?” Mr. Rush said. “Your parents have raised you very well.”

“They have, Mr. Rush, and I know they can help you, too. Especially my dad. You know he’s a pastor, right?”

“Yes, but it’s too late for all that, son. What I’ve done is completely unforgivable, and there’s no hope for me.”

“God forgives everyone. And He’ll forgive you, too. He forgives all His children because He loves them,” Matthew told him.Tears streamed down Charlotte’s face, and Curtis couldn’t have been more proud of his son than he was right now. He was sobrave, and the idea that he was telling Mr. Rush what he knew about God brought tears to Curtis’s eyes as well.

Curtis looked over toward the front door of the school and saw it opening. The crowd cheered and applauded when Jennifer andTasha walked out of the building. Two officers quickly pulled them to the side and away from the entrance, and their parentsmade their way over to them.

“Thank God,” Curtis said.

“Thank God indeed,” Charlotte added, and she and Alicia hugged each other.

“Matthew, I want to thank you for everything, but son, I really need you to leave now,” they heard the history teacher say.

“No, Mr. Rush. If I leave, you might try to hurt yourself.”

“Matthew, please. I’m begging you to go.”

“Why won’t he just come out?” the police chief said. “Why won’t he escape while he has the chance to?”

Curtis could tell by the look on Charlotte’s face that she was thinking the same thing, but not him. Not anymore, anyway,because he now knew Mr. Rush wasn’t planning to hurt Matthew, and that the reason Matthew didn’t want to leave him was becausehe knew what the result would be. He knew Mr. Rush was planning to kill himself.

“I won’t leave without you, Mr. Rush,” Matthew told him.

“But you have to. You have to go before those officers come in here and start shooting.”

“They won’t do that as long as I stay here with you.”

“Well, we can’t stay in this classroom forever. You do know that, don’t you?”

“I don’t want to stay in here forever, but I’m willing to stay as long as I have to. I’ll do whatever I have to if it meanssaving your life.”

“But I already told you. I don’t deserve to live anymore. I’m all washed up now. I’m a filthy disgrace to this school andmy family, and I’ve hurt two innocent girls. I violated them, and there’s no making up for that. So, I’m asking you to pleaseget on out of here. Your parents must be worried to death about you.”

“Of course they are, but they wouldn’t want you to kill yourself either. No one wants that.”

“I’m not leaving,” Mr. Rush said matter-of-factly.

“Okay, then, at least give me the gun.”

Charlotte sucked in her breath, and tears gushed down Alicia’s face. “Matthew, no,” Alicia said, as if he could hear her.“Please just come out of there.”

“If I give you the gun, will you leave?”

“Yes. But I still want you to come out with me.”

“Fine,” he said. “Here.”

“I’m really proud of you for doing that, Mr. Rush. Now, let’s go so we can get you to a hospital.”

The chief and the three detectives who’d been standing near Curtis, Charlotte, and Alicia for the last few minutes rushedback closer to the building.

Charlotte grabbed Curtis tighter. “Matthew is right, isn’t he? The police won’t shoot at Mr. Rush as long as Matt is with him. Right?”

“No, they would never put Matthew’s life in danger like that.”

Curtis held the phone but didn’t hear much of anything. Finally, however, the front door of the school eased open. Curtiswanted to shout with joy when he saw his son’s face, but suddenly, Mr. Rush grabbed the gun from Matthew, shoved him forwardand slammed the door back shut. Matthew turned, beating on the door with both his hands. “Mr. Rush, please don’t do this!Please! Mr. Rush, please!”

But the gun went off.

Mr. Rush had shot himself as planned, and there wasn’t a thing Matthew or anyone else could have done to stop him. Mr. Rush’smind had been made up, and this was the outcome.

Chapter 29

Thank God you’re all right,” Charlotte said, practically squeezing the life out of Matthew. The two of them were standing nextto Curtis’s SUV, waiting for him to unlock the door so they could get inside of it. They’d all driven their own cars to theschool, but since Matthew and Charlotte had still been so upset, Charlotte’s dad had agreed to drive Matthew’s vehicle home,and Janine’s husband, Carl, had agreed to drive Charlotte’s. Janine had finally gotten there, too, but she’d left about twentyminutes before to go pick up Bethany from the babysitter.

“But what difference does any of that make, Mom? Who cares if I’m okay, if Mr. Rush still dies?”

Charlotte felt bad about Mr. Rush, but the good news was that he was still alive. He’d shot himself in the stomach, and theparamedics had quickly rushed him off to the emergency room. Charlotte hoped he was going to be okay, but she couldn’t helpwondering if Mr. Rush had truly wanted to die. If he had, she wondered why he hadn’t shot himself in the head the way mostsuicide victims did. In most cases, people who wanted to die knew a gunshot wound to either their head or their heart wasmuch more of a sure thing.

But that was neither here nor there because Matthew