Fatal Attraction (Love Kills Duet #2)

9. Nine

Nine

Phoenix

“ T his isn’t a good idea,” I muttered to Spike, my anxiety spiking as I watched Charlotte, who was standing among a large group of civilians, holding a giant white sign with Carter’s name written on it, a wobbly smile on her pretty face.

I took mindful note of her wardrobe, memorizing her jeans, her black long sleeve, her shoes, the way her hair was styled, wrapped in a high bun, fucking everything .

Spike twisted in his seat, facing me with a concerned expression marring his face. “What the hell has gotten into you, man? Why are you acting so weird all of a sudden?”

“Carter is about to find out that not only is his wife dead, but she was pregnant with another man’s baby. Tell me, if that were you, how would you react?”

He smirked at me. “Why don’t you cut the shit and tell me what’s really bothering you, yeah?”

I rolled my eyes and turned away from him. I fucking hated how he could see right through me—read me like I was a walking book. I was stressed the hell out, fucking livid over Blaire’s death and the fact there was now a dead, innocent fetus involved. We’d delt with cases like this before plenty of times in the past. This one, though… It was hitting me a hell of a lot harder than I anticipated.

And then there was Charlotte and everything regarding her safety. If I was right about the perp, then Charlotte had to leave and go far, far a-fucking-way from Seaview Pines, or at least be temporarily placed in WITSEC until we could find what proof we needed to arrest the bastard. When it came down to the people I love, I’d do everything in my power to protect them. Charlotte wasn’t safe being out and open to the public, especially in large crowds like this. What if he was here, watching her right this very moment, tracking her every move? This was far too fucking dangerous, and I said as much to Spike.

“You’re right, okay, you are.”

“But?”

“Tell me something,” he demanded. “Look around. Do you really think the fucker would be bold enough to snatch her in the middle of an airport?”

I sighed, shaking my head after I’d taken the time to scope over the dozens of security guards posted around different sectors of the airport. “Honestly, no.”

“Exactly. Charlotte’s fine, Phoenix, so just breathe a little and try to relax.”

“I’m trying to,” I whispered, torn as I peered Charlotte’s way and found she was still waiting. “She hasn’t brought the Peter thing up yet and I don’t know how much longer I can keep this shit to myself.”

Whoever was committing these barbarously heinous crimes, it had to be someone Charlotte knew personally, someone who’d been disregarded and was desperate for attention.

Her attention.

And I couldn’t leave out how—aside from leaving his DNA behind—this guy was insanely good at covering his ass, which immediately led me to believe this guy had experience in the field. If I was right, then it all narrowed down to one person. Someone who’d been right under our noses this entire time, playing us all like fiddles.

“Peter willingly submitted his DNA,” Spike pointed out for the third or fourth fucking time since I first brought it up to him earlier today. “If he was behind these attacks, then don’t you think he would’ve been more reluctant or had outright refused?”

“Peter gave his DNA to rule him out in Blaire’s murder,” I reminded him. “ Not for Amber and Delilah’s cases.”

I felt like such a damned fool. Peter had access to Charlotte’s house, her cameras, and was knowledgeable about where each and every single one of them was located. He clearly despised Karl for all he was worth, and he even had a fucking meltdown right in front of me when Charlotte declined to put Karl away. I thought it was just tough love at first. That Peter’s anger towards Charlotte and the things he’d said were palpable given what he knew about Karl and all the shit he’d done to Charlotte. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

But there was, however, a way to find out.

Spike must have sensed exactly what I had in mind, because he studied me through tight eyes and said, “Don’t even think about—”

His words faltered at Charlotte’s sudden cry, and together we quickly jumped to our feet as she began wailing Carter’s name, her voice cracking as she raised an arm high in the air and flailed it around. We moved closer, apologizing to a few people we’d accidentally bumped into, and spotted a man from afar in an Army uniform with a dark green beret on his head.

Jesus, fuck.

Carter was a big guy. He stood well over six feet tall and was unbelievably muscular, at least twice, if not three times the size of Spike and I combined. His eyes were distant, like he was completely spaced out and was unaware of Charlotte hollering his name. Then as he grew closer, I shared a frown with Spike after taking in the redness spread across his puffy cheeks.

He knew.

“Carter,” she shouted again, and he immediately shook his head, having heard her this time. “It’s me. Charlotte. ”

His face fell, confirming my fears when he dropped his luggage and broke into a fast run. His arms literally swallowed Charlotte whole when he slightly kneeled down and wrapped them around her, weeping softly.

“Harley told you, didn’t she?” she asked him.

Carter nodded, unhanding her and standing tall, swiping the tears off his face. “She left me a voicemail asking me to call her as soon as I landed. I got off the phone with her just a few minutes ago.”

“I’m so sorry, Carter. I—” Spike loudly cleared his throat, making Charlotte’s mouth clamp shut for a brief moment. “Carter, this is Detective Hutch and Detective Rhodes. They’re working Blaire’s case.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Carter said calmly, sniffling as he wiped a hand down his uniform and offered it to me first.

“I’m Detective Rhodes, but you can call me Phoenix,” I said, shaking his hand before he moved on to my partner.

“And I’m Spike. It’s nice to meet you, Carter. We’re sincerely sorry for your loss.”

“What all did Harley say?” asked Charlotte.

“Not much,” he answered. “Just that she was sorry to inform me that Blaire was found murdered inside our home. I-uh… I assume it was you who found her body?”

“Not here,” Spike cut in just as Charlotte began explaining what happened. “We’ll be happy to answer any and all of your questions, but it’s best we take this somewhere else. Somewhere private.”

“Where are you staying?” Charlotte asked, her wet eyes flicking from Spike to Carter.

“Home was the plan,” he muttered, another tear snaking down his cheek. “But since that’s not an option now, I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to stay in a hotel.”

“We’ll make the arrangements,” I promised him. “Would you like to get something to eat as well? ”

“No.” Carter shook his head. “The only thing I want is to know what happened to my wife.”

“She,” Carter rasped, his body shaking with a puddle of tears pouring down his face. “She was…pregnant?”

“I’m sorry,” Charlotte whispered, wiping her own tears away. “I swear I had no idea she was seeing someone. She never told me.”

We were back at the hotel. Together, Spike, Charlotte, and I had split the cost and treated Carter to the most expensive suite the hotel had to offer.

It was like a fucking mansion in here.

High ceilings. A massive open layout with several sets of designer furniture that cost hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to replace. There was a mini bar fully stocked with expensive top-shelf booze Spike and Carter had no problem whatsoever helping themselves to, and there was a sliding glass door which led out to a gigantic balcony and gave a remarkable view of the surrounding buildings spread throughout the Pines. I couldn’t begin to explain what the actual bedrooms looked like.

Carter got to his feet then, shaking harder as he made his way over to Spike, who was at the mini bar and had Carter’s drink ready for him in no time. He downed his glass, slapping the countertop twice at Spike for another. Spike frowned deeply and poured them both fresh drinks, clanking them before their faces shared an identical scrunch of revulsion.

“Fill it to the rim,” Carter pleaded, cursing as he shook his head, trying not to break down.

Spike sighed but did as Carter suggested.

“How far along?” he asked, turning to gape between me and Charlotte.

“10 weeks,” Spike answered, which had Carter whipping around and cocking his head at him. “And no, we don’t know who she was seeing. We haven’t figured that part out yet. We checked the accounts, texts, and phone calls dated back to the last three months.”

“And?” Carter pressed.

“There’s nothing there. We’re not sure how she did it but somehow, Blaire was able to hide the affair without leaving any breadcrumbs behind.”

Except for the baby , but I didn’t dare say that aloud.

Carter nodded, then brought the full glass to his lips, chugging half of it down within two seconds. “This is all my fault.” He sat down on a barstool, hugging his drink with his fingers. “Blaire begged me not to go on another deployment. She fucking begged me!”

He took another large swig from his glass before chucking it across the room, and Charlotte and I both winced at the sound of the glass shattering.

“She told me she was trying, but that she was at her breaking point with me being gone all the time. She… She told me how lonely she was. How hard it was for her not having me there with her. She told me I loved the Army and defending our country more than I loved her.”

It went quiet for a long moment, none of us knowing what to say.

“War does things to you,” he continued barely above a whisper, his gaze downcast and rooted to the shiny floor. “I’ve been all over the world and I’ve seen horrible…such horrible things. Things that haunt my dreams every fucking night.”

“You have PTSD,” Spike murmured.

Carter bobbed his head. “I know this won’t make sense…but… Coming home has always been hard on me. Any little normal, human sound, whether it be a pen dropping or a microwave beeping, would trigger me. One minute I’m fine, and then the next, I’m back at war. Blaire took me to get help before, but the meds weren’t working. She did everything she could to help me, but, in the end, the only thing that fixed the problem every single fucking time was going back. And now, doing so has cost me everything. I’ve not only lost my mind, but now the love of my life, too.”

“You’ll have to come down to the morgue and identify her body,” Charlotte said, wincing as Carter’s head snapped up and his eyes locked with hers. “I’m sorry, Carter. I’m so sorry. It’s the only way they’ll release her body to you.”

“I don’t even know what she wanted,” he said with a groan, turning and dropping his forehead down against the bar top in a loud smack. “We never talked about funeral arrangements before. I mean, we have for me, just in case I ever got killed in combat, but never for her. I-I don’t know what to do.”

“Sleep on it for now,” I offered, checking the time.

Shit.

“What time is it?” asked Charlotte.

“Half past midnight.”

“We should get going,” Spike said with a miserable sigh. “Would you like for one of us to come pick you up in the morning?”

“Would you?” Carter asked hopefully. “I mean… I don’t want to interfere with—”

“Here are their numbers.” Charlotte pulled a pad from her purse and began jotting the info down. “You already have my number. Call me if you can’t get a hold of them.”