Page 88 of Conflicted Lies

“I only ever did that, so you didn’t think I was capable of killing, you fucking idiot,” I say on a sob.

“She loves him,” Anya states.

“So fucking what if I do? I’m sure I could find faults with your matchmaking. Just please help me.Please,” I beg my father, a twist of uncertainty rolling in my stomach as his blood drips onto the floor. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my father bleed. “Please, Dad. Please.”

Anya clicks her tongue but makes a phone call. My father reluctantly lowers his gun and kneels beside me.

“Did he kill his partner for you?” Dad asks. I’m certain he did. Why else would he go to such extreme measures?

“Can’t we ask these questions later, please? I can’t lose him.”

I lift Braxton’s shirt up and try to look at the bullet wound. I have to stop the bleeding, but I’m not really sure how. I’ve helped my mother patch up my father before, but she does most of the work.

“Fuck,” Dad grits as he stands and goes to the kitchen to grab a bottle of whiskey and some tea towels.

My aunt throws her hands in the air. “Come on, we’re not the type who can patch things up. We kill people, not fix them.”

“Anya, help me,” Dad grits.

“I’ve called the twins and the doctor. The twins will be here shortly to clean up this mess,” she bites back.

“Stage it.” Braxton is barely able to get the words out as he hisses in pain. I take the alcohol towels from my father’s hands and start to clean his wound. My father can’t touch other people. It physically repulses him, and I’m sure Aunt Anya won’t be any help, so it’s up to me. “In his home like a hanging,” Braxton finishes. I pour the whiskey straight over the wound before pressing the towels over it to soak up the blood. This won’t do. It’s only temporary.

“Hmm,” Aunt Anya says with a smirk. “Clever. The doctor is five minutes away from your house, Aleksandr.”

My father and I both whip our heads in her direction. She smirks. “I think it’s about time you had a family discussion.”

I shudder as I think of my mother finding out about everything all at once, and I can tell my father is furious, too. But instead of reprimanding Aunt Anya, he grits his teeth and looks like he’s about to puke as he turns a shade paler. My heart flutters as I watch my father, who can’t stand touching anyone but my mother and me, gather the man I love under his shoulder and begin to lift him. My father physically recoils, but he pushes through, and tears spring to my eyes as I realize how much he would do for me, even at the sacrifice of himself.

Braxton is barely conscious, and my stomach flutters with a dread I’ve never known.Please don’t take him. Please don’t take him.

“Make yourself useful,” Dad spits at Anya, and she clicks her tongue, moving to Braxton’s other side.

“What the fuck?” Hawke asks when he meets us on the stairs. Ford’s eyebrows furrow as he tries to understand the situation. River, Anya’s husband, is already in motion.

“I thought we were killing this fucker!” Hawke shouts in shock.

“It’s a family affair,” Anya says cryptically as she and River share a kiss as they walk past one another. Anya is a capable woman who can help carry his body down the stairs, and she speaks so quickly, instructing the others to move, that I can barely keep up. The only thing I’m focused on is Braxton.

“Stay with me,” I beg as his blood drips down the stairs.

“Fucking stairs. This is what you get when you date peasants who can’t afford elevators,” Aunt Anya curses.

“Anya,” Dad scolds.

“Don’t you,Anyame. He’s getting blood all over my favorite jewels.”

Braxton is barely coherent, his head flopping back and forth. We carry him to my father’s car. I lay Braxton’s head on my lap in the back seat, still trying to apply the pressure.

My father is zipping through the streets at a speed my mother wouldn’t approve of. My aunt is trying to clean herself up and looks over her shoulder.

“Does he know about your little secret?” she asks.

I swallow. Hard. “I think so.”

“And he killed his partner for you?”

“I don’t know if it was for me. I don’t get what happened at all. All I heard was that they should arrest me and that his friend had evidence.”

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