Detective Landry pulled up next to his car, but Braxton didn't stay inside like he normally did. Their exchanges had mainly taken place just like this, with rolled down windows the only thing linking them. But the parking garage was completely empty, making him feel comfortable enough to get out of the car.

He almost slammed the door behind him, but remembered how much he loved his Range, and made his way to the passenger side of Landry's car.

Swiftly, he pulled out his piece and put the barrel right up to her forehead. "You've been fuckin' wit' me," he said as a statement, not a question. "You got three seconds to be honest wit'me or it's yo' life."

Her whole body went stiff, but she played it off. Still, he knew he had got to her.

The entire time she had been feeding them information, all the evidence pointed to Nadine being guilty. But he had just witnessed Lorena entering the police station, and all signs really pointed to her being the informant, not Nadine. So either Detective Landry was feeding them false information, or she was simply wrong.

"Lower the gun, Wright."

"Nah, you ain't makin' demands here."

"You called me saying you needed me to do something. I agreed to meet. So what is it you want?"

"The truth."

"About what?"

"Who is the real snitch? Cause after today, I'm not sure it's Nadine."

Truthfully, he had always had his doubts whether or not Nadine switched sides. But this just confirmed that he was wrong, and he pushed her away. It made his heart clench to know that she could be out there in a bad situation because of his unwillingness to listen.

"You know what I think? I think you been lyin' this whole time. I think you and Lorena working together, and both of y'all planned to put this on Nadine. And you thought it was gon' work out, being that she's missing. But how do I know you two don't have nothin' to do wit that?"

The detective swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "I don't know how Lorena is involved, all I know--

"Shut the fuck up. Apparently you don't know shit," he said, pressing the barrel deeper into her forehead. He was still working through it in his mind, trying to figure out what Det. Landry had to gain by working with Lorena. And why Lorena was even snitching on him in the first place. That piece, he hadn't put together yet.

"Y'all got forms and shit, right? I know it's somewhere in writing if Lorena is working with the police. I need to see the documents."

"I've already searched Det. Brenner's records. He don't have Lorena or Nadine listed in any official paperwork."

"Then find the unofficial paperwork."

"There ain't none. He has an agreement with the Chief that ain't on the books. I don't know where I'd look."

He sighed in frustration. He did not want to come at Lorena with accusations of the highest degree without proof, but he literally watched her lie to his face and go to the police station. What more proof did he really need?

Why was he really here?

Braxton claimed to be looking for the truth, but he had seen the truth. He knew within him that none of this was Nadine's fault, as his sister tried to warn him. He was just stalling, looking for any excuse to not have to believe that Lorena was responsible for the raid that had got him shot, barely within an inch of his life. That Lorena was responsible for helping the people who wanted him in jail or dead. His mind simply could not process that someone who he loved the way he loved Lorena could betray him and smile in his face as she did. Just as he couldn't process Nadine doing the same.

It was like he had been betrayed twice, though the first time was completely his fault. He clenched his jaw to keep from screaming— or crying.

These thoughts offered him a bit of clarity, enough to make him lower his gun from the detective's head. She blew out a sigh of relief and rubbed the spot where his gun was pressed just seconds ago.

"Have you ever seen her at the precinct?"

"Lorena? No. Brenner just flagged her because of her relationship to you, but he's never brought her in for questioning."

Braxton shook his head, knowing how sneaky the cops were. "Nah, you never seen him bring her in for questioning. That don't mean she was never there."

"Whatchu tryna say?"

"I'm sayin', you being played. Does Brenner know you dirty?"

She smacked and looked him up and down. "I'm not dirty. And no."

"You sure? Cause my guess is Brenner fed you Nadine's name, knowing you'd run and tell me, and that she'd become number one suspect as the snitch. He knew that no one would be looking at Lorena, and that's why he chose her."

He thought about it more. Lorena was the most distantly attached to the current state of Braxton and Darius's business; it had been years since they were deeply romantically involved, despite the fact that they still kept in touch. No one would ever think that she was giving the cops information, because she didn't have an obvious way to get it.

"Your intel is shit, Landry."

"No. Brenner isn't smart enough to figure me out; I highly doubt he knows about my connection to you."

"Alright, say he don't know our deal. Regardless, that nigga gettin' too close for comfort. Needa handle that."

"Yeah, well, I don't know how you doin' that without being suspect number one."

Braxton needed Detective Brenner out of the picture quickly, but he needed to have his priorities straight: 1) talk to Lorena 2) find Nadine. After those were settled, maybe he could go put a few holes in Brenner. But for now, it would have to wait

"I need you to check the cameras at the precinct and see if you ever seen Lorena goin' in prior to tonight," was all Braxton said before getting out of her car and getting into his own.

Driving to Lorena's house, he was a nervous wreck. The anxiety in his chest wasn't something Braxton enjoyed, but it was becoming more and more common in this state of his life. Something was always going down and he felt like he couldn't catch a break. Rivals, enemies, he could handle all of that. But betrayal by loved ones? That stung more than any gunshot.

He didn't have many people in his life, but that wasn't necessarily by choice. When he and Darius were just corner boys, they had plenty of friends surrounding them.

But it gets lonely at the top, and people die trying to make it up there.

Aside from Darius and Raegan, Lorena was the only other person Braxton called family until Nadine came around. Driving down the streets that made him who he was made his mind slip into a memory.

"Braxton?"

"Mhm," He responded, looking up from his phone.

Lorena took a seat beside him, laying her head in his lap. Her shoulder-length locs spread out across his sweats, drawing his fingers to them. "I wanna talk to you."

"We talkin' ain't we?"

She smacked and rolled her eyes. "I'm serious"

"I'm listenin'."

"How do you feel about... kids?"

Braxton swallowed hard. Him, a father? It didn't seem probable at all. He was so young, and he was just moving up...

She looked disappointed in his reaction. All he ever wanted to do was make her happy, but lately they just hadn't been seeing eye to eye. He doubted having little juniors running around was going to fix their problems.

"Think about it, baby. Starting a family would give you a reason to get off the streets. Find a real job, and--"

"So you think bringin' in a fucking kid would make shit better for us? You being forreal right now, Lo?"

She sat up, putting distance between them. "Well you won't get out for me, but maybe you would for your own kid." Her lips formed into a pout and her eyes watered as if she were going to cry.

This was the point of tension in their relationship. Lorena didn't want him selling on the streets anymore, as it was getting dangerous with raids and arrests going down all the time. Living fast like that was fine for a while, but she was starting consider what life would be like without it. And she never let a moment pass by without letting that be known.

"Don't start that shit. We're young as fuck, what we doin' wit a kid, ma? When you and me can't go a day without bein' at each other's necks."

If he were going to have a kid, he wanted them to grow up in a stable environment. He didn't want them to ever worry about their parent's fighting or having split custody, or not being able to provide. They were both young, at 20 years old. Despite having been romantically involved for the past five years, no way they were ready to bring another life into this world. They were still growing as people and he refused to have a child when he didn't yet have enough respect to ensure both of them were taken care of. Once he got his money up, maybe. But not right now.

"Lo, I love you. I wanna put a baby inside you, maybe two or three. I want you to be the mother of my children, but I ain't ready for that yet. And I'm not ready to quit bangin' when I'm so close to the top."

He imagined their children, who would have been 5 or 6 years old by now, running across the yard as the sprinklers went off. He would have loved any child he had with everything in him. He would have held his babies and Lorena so close and never let go.

But that just wasn't the reality now. Lorena, despite how much love they had for each other, had shown her true colors. And what he was about to do would show his.

Every light in the house seemed to be off, and he couldn't see any movement from the windows after he knocked. "I know you in there," he said, waiting patiently for her to open the door. A wave of calm settled over him, meaning something bad was about to happen.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, with a text from an unsaved number showing on the screen

555-3231
Attachment: 3 images
Attachment: 1 video

There were three pictures of what seemed to be the entrance of a building. A hooded person wearing sweats and glasses was walking through the door with their head low. He didn't even need to see their face to know it was Lorena: a single loc peaked out from under her hoodie, the same hoodie that used to belong to him. She always had a habit of wearing his old clothing, even after they had broken up.

The curve of her slim body, her attire, the way she walked in the video, it was undoubtedly Lorena.

Since she hadn't responded to his call through the door, Braxton tried the handle. It was locked, but he knew where she kept her spare key: taped to the back side of the lamp. Within seconds he was in.

It was a weird feeling breaking into a place you once lived. Though many things within the space had changed, he still knew where everything was with the lights off. He turned the corner and walked to the bedroom they once shared, anticipating she would be there.

Inside, Lorena lay on the bed, eyes closed, breathing steady. She looked like an angel, caught in a pleasant dream. Her face was peaceful, as someone incapable of doing what she did. In another life, he'd be laying next to her. But he couldn't focus on that, otherwise this would be worse for him.

He flicked the lights on and sat on a stool by the door. For the first few minutes she was still, with only a little tossing and turning. Eventually, her eyes groggily opened and she slowly sat up, looking around confused. Once her eyes landed on him, she almost jumped out of her skin, eyes going wide.

"Oh my God, what are you doin' here?" She placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm down her startled breathing.

He remained silent, just watching her from afar. When he didn't reply, she spoke up again.

"Braxton, it's three in the morning. How you even get in?" She yawned and squinted, her eyes still adjusting to the light.

"Lorena. I'm only finna ask you this shit once. Be honest wit me."

Lorena scrunched up her eyebrows. "What's goin' on?" She was still shaking off sleep, but she was more alert and awake now. "Don't be gettin' buck wit' me when you the one who showed up unannounced with no permission to enter."

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

He stared back, daring her to lie.

"You know what the fuck I'm talmbout Lorena. Do not fuckin' play me like a fool because I'm not in the mood."

"Braxton, what--"

"She trusted you like you were her blood. She loved you like a sister. She killed for you, yet you still did that shit. "

Lorena just sat in bed, shaking her head and acting confused as to what he was saying. Though he was keeping his cool, he felt enraged at her trying to lie and get out of the situation.

"Are you talmbout Nadine? I had nothing to do wit what she did. I'm sorry that she hurt you, but she hurt me too; I'm still tryna recover from what went down and how it felt to have to betray her. Don't take your pain out on me, okay? We can talk about this later," she turned around as if she were going to go back to sleep.

He scoffed. "You're not fucking serious right now."

"Nadine did you wrong, not me. I'm sorry Braxton, I really am."

He pulled out the pistol from his waistband and aimed it at her head. "Don't fuckin' say her name again."

She gasped and sat back up as she eyed the gun. He had never actually aimed one at her, and doing so felt wrong. If you would have told him he'd be doing this a few years ago, he would not have believed you.

"I know you the snitch, Lorena. So we can quit all the bullshit right now." Her eyes started watering and she shook her head.

"I just want you to explain."

"I didn't do anything Braxton, I swear--"

"Shut the fuck up! I don't wanna hear shit from yo mouth unless it's the truth."

"That is the truth, I— I swear." She was obviously hiding something, but he didn't know if he had enough patience to get it out of her.

"Why the fuck did you do this to me, huh?"

At this point, something broke within her. She cried hysterically, snot and tears coming out of her eyes and nose. "Braxton please, I-- I had n-no other choice.."

Every part of him wanted her to deny it and have that be true. But that admission was all he needed to know that Lorena was indeed the one who had set him up, not Nadine. A piece of his heart shattered, but he didn't let it show on his face.

"Well neither do I." His heart was heavy, and every part of his body felt weighed down, like he was drowning. For a second, he doubted he could even do what needed to be done. This was his first love, his first real relationship, his first everything. And now, none of that mattered.

His throat ached, and he felt himself wanting to cry as much as she was right now. However, his eyes remained dry and his jaw clenched. He was like an iron wall, his real feelings locked away deep inside him.

He walked closer to her, putting the gun right on her forehead. She tried moving her head or pushing him away, but he was far stronger than her. He gripped her chin and held it in place.

"Look at me," he said lowly. She continued crying, fat tears sliding down her cheeks. She kept struggling against him, weakly fighting to get away. "I said, look at me."

"Braxton, no, please." She said through hiccups and slobber, shaking her head.

"Lorena, look at me."

Lorena's red eyes, surrounded by long, wet lashes, met his.

This was like a form of self torture, staring into the eyes of a woman he once loved more than life itself, knowing what he was about to do.

He stared right into those murky green eyes as he pulled the trigger, the sound of gunshots ringing through his ears.

a/n: bye lorena?? 😭 someone hold a memorial for our good sis. it took me forever to come up with how this scene was gon play out but i hope y'all liked it 🥴 let me know how y'all feel. also, how y'all think Darius and Rae finna react when they find out👀? what's going on w Nadine? is braxton ever gon find out what she was hiding? vote + comment for me.

-ColeWoorld