Killing Lucas would end it all. But there were reasons he just couldn't. Not now.
Firstly, Lucas had been his companion for years. He had been with him from the beginning. They weren't friends, but Lucas wasn't someone he could just discard.
At the end of the day, he was still one of his own.
If Lucas had blatantly tried to stab him in the back, that would've been different. Atticus would have killed him without hesitation.
But that wasn't the case.
There were suspicions that he had just proven. Lucas hadn't done anything to warrant death, not yet.
And killing him in cold blood didn't sit right with Atticus, no matter how he tried to rationalize it.
Secondly, if something was being planned, Lucas wasn't acting alone.
He was weak.
He couldn't even harm a strand of Atticus's hair, even if given the opportunity.
And most importantly, he was feeling regret.
