Page 86 of Conflicted Lies

By my hand.

He will be the ultimate prize.

Yet, I’m not fueled by the usual rush and adrenaline. Instead, I want to cry.

Stupid, stupid girl.

CHAPTER42

Braxton

Hope can most likely hear this entire conversation. A crackle of tension stirs in the air as Lucas sizes me up. Neither of us is sure about the other at the moment. Loyalties, once bound in blood to protect one another and have each other’s back, are being tested.

I knew the moment he sent me a message about Hope he was onto something. I wanted to hear it from him first. I don’t let my emotions get the best of me; I compartmentalize them, preparing myself for what I know has to be done.

It unnerves me to know he betrayed my trust and researched me, finding out about my living situation and this apartment building I own, especially when it might call into question my ability to afford such a place. I’m the only tenant because I prefer my peace and privacy not to be disturbed.

And right now, Lucas is being very disruptive.

“Okay. Well, you need to arrest her. I was coming to you as your friend first. But since she’s trapped in the bathroom, we need to work together on this. You need to trust me. There was something that didn’t make sense about all the murders. It felt like evidence kept coming up missing or was messed with.

“I noticed Tyson had taken a photo of a weapon at the crime scene of that murder with the multiple stab wounds months ago. The weapon never made it to the labs. But then I found this sucker,” He holds up a fine knife which would’ve aided in Hope opening the window to kill his sister. Fuck, if she wasn’t wearing gloves, it has her fingerprints all over it, which means she might’ve been startled by the boyfriend coming back into the room.

I thought hiding the boot print was enough but I didn’t see that in the bushes.

Messy. It’s all become so messy.

“I know you said we couldn’t trust anyone else, and I think someone really has been covering this serial killer’s ass.” He’s driven by the need to put someone,anyone, away for his sister’s death.

“The weapon had clay on it. And the footprint outside of Kylie’s lover’s house…” His voice trembles. “It might’ve been half covered up, but they’re certain it’s the same size as Hope Ivanov’s. Braxton,she’sthe killer.”

His words hit me like a truck. I’ve been following her for months now. I know Hope better than anyone. I should’ve known he’d be desperate enough to dig further and further to the point of no return.

“I wanted to tell you first before we took it to the station to arrest her. She’s been using you, Braxton.”

My jaw grinds as I look down at the evidence he’s presenting me. “How many people have you told about this?” I ask as I look over to my crime board near the dining table. I’ve had the case cracked for months, and memorized since the bodies began to appear.

“I came here first. We’ve finally got her,” he says, his eyes clearing. “I can finally put this to rest for my sister.”

Remorse sours my stomach as I nod at my partner. “You really did figure it out, didn’t you? Except you’re missing one piece.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, glancing at his evidence and then me.

I strip away my humanity, as I’ve had to do many times before. I pull my badge over my head, looking down at it sentimentally.

I knew it would come to this. I fought it for as long as I could. Because up until now, Lucas had served a purpose. He was a pawn on the board, but then he tried to become more.

“Braxton?” he asks, looking at my badge, confused.

With rapid speed, I twist behind him and wrap the cord of my badge around his throat. He drops the evidence, his fingers clutching at the cord and trying to work their way under it.

“I understand. I’ll reunite you with your sister,” I whisper into his ear as I tighten my grip.

It saddens me to have to do this. I liked working alongside Lucas, but the deeper he dug, the harder it became for me to play the pieces.

“Brax—” He chokes, trying to fight me. His senses had dulled over the last few weeks as he tiredly worked on this case, and I put all my efforts into covering the tracks of my messy little devil.

“This is how one of your friends died, by the way. Send my condolences. It was nothing personal,” I confess to him. I hadn’t wanted to kill them, but they’d become an immediate obstacle. If the families knew we were sniffing around them, it would have drawn attention to me and how closely I was watching Hope. I couldn’t have anything interfering with my obsession. I’m sure it pisses Hope off to have two other murders added to her “serial killer” reputation, but it was also the easiest way to throw off the scent of the killer being a singular woman. I was even the one who interfered with her boot print outside his sister’s murder scene. “Oh, and Tyson works for me.” I’d be sure to reprimand him for being careless.

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