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“Okay, Karl.” I licked my lips, breathing out as I prepared myself for his next answer. “And what about the packages and texts I’ve been receiving? They found the burner phone in your apartment, along with the masks.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Charlotte,” he said, lifting his cuffed hands and dropping them back down in utter exhaustion. “I didn’t send you any packages, nor have I purchased a phone of any kind or have sent you any messages. You know all of the passwords to my accounts. Just take another look, and you’ll see I’m telling the truth. I told you Kate and I were being followed, Charlotte. I know it’s a long shot, but I think…” He paused, a tear sliding down his swollen cheek. “I think whoever killed Kate could be responsible for all of this.”

“And what has you so certain she was killed?” I asked.

“Because when my truck was in the shop, the mechanic told me it didn’t have any brake fluid in it, which is bullshit because you and I both know that I’ve always taken great care of our vehicles.”

I nodded. Karl wasn’t wrong about that.

“When I asked the guy if there was a leak, he told me no, just that the brakes weren’t working because the fluid was gone. Now, again, when I took Kate out that night, I got us there with no problems and the brakes were fine. We were at the restaurant maybe a little over an hour, two at most, and it wasn’t like we were paying attention to what was going on outside in the parking lot. That’s plenty of time for someone to sabotage my truck and escape without getting caught, Charlotte. I mean, think about it. I’m right about this. I have to be.”

“I need proof, Karl. If you and Kate really were being threatened, we need proof to back it up.”

Tears shimmered in Karl’s eyes. “I-I don’t have any. I told you I got rid of everything months ago because I thought it was all bullshit.”

“What about Kate? Did she keep any of the death threats?”

Karl shrugged, and I could tell by the look on his face that he truly didn’t know. “I’m sorry, Charlotte, but I can’t answer that. Kate told me she’d been receiving them, but she never told me if she kept them. If I had to take a wild guess, I’d say no, she probably trashed them just like I did.”

“Fuck, Karl.”

“But,” he continued, his eyes lighting up like he had an idea, “it’s possible she may have spoken to her parents about it. If she did, and they can back up my claims, then that should help me, right?”

“It’s possible, yes,” I agreed. “But it may be hard trying to convince them to help you when they’re trying to throw your ass in prison.”

“And that’s what I need you for,” Karl said, his voice pleading. “You can convince them I’m innocent, Charlotte. I know you can.”

I let out a sigh. “Karl…”

“I know this is a lot to ask for,” he muttered, his voice cracking. “And I don’t blame you if you protest. I mean, I do deserve it after what I did to you, but I don’t deserve to go to prison for crimes I didn’t commit. I’ve made my mistakes and I’m willing to own them, but I’m sorry, I absolutely refuse to admit to something I didn’t do. I need you, Charlotte. If you truly believe I’m innocent, then help me, please. You’re literally all I have.”

A loud buzzer that rang my ears erupted through the room, signaling visiting hours were over. A group of guards came in and one by one, grabbed ahold of an inmate and began escorting them out.

“Please, Charlotte,” Karl begged as he was yanked away from me and toward the door. “At least think about it. Please!”

I didn’t know what to say to him and by the time I could form a response, it was too late. Karl was gone, doomed back to his cell with a river of tears flooding down his battered cheeks.

thirty-three

Unknown

Ilit up a cigarette later that night and puffed on it twice, cracking my neck as I leaned against the trunk of my car and stared down at my phone in my free hand. My nostrils flared, and it was all I could do not to smash the phone to smithereens when I accessed the live feed and found Charlotte naked, riding Detective Rhodes on her couch while Hutch’s hands were wrapped around her gorgeous head, forcing her to eat his cock.

The sight disgusted me, making my blood boil to the point I had to force myself to look away and talk myself out of sniping both of their asses through Charlotte’s living room window. My plan in framing Karl had worked and I could not—no—I would not fuck this up and risk getting caught. I worked way too fucking hard to lose everything now.

Somehow, some-fucking way, Charlotte Greene would be mine.

And that was a fucking promise I intended to keep, no matter who I had to kill to help me succeed.

Putting my phone away, I spun around to the trunk and opened it, smirking down at the dead body currently folded like a pretzel in my trunk.

“Come now, Blaire,” I muttered, grinning bigger as I took another puff off my cigarette. “Let’s give them something else to fret about, shall we?”