Fatal Attraction (Love Kills Duet #2)

27. Twenty Seven

Twenty Seven

Spike

I stood outside Carter’s room, nervously bouncing on my heels while Phoenix, the hungover fucking idiot, sat on the bench beside me, chugging down another large coffee he’d snagged from the cafeteria on our way in. I couldn’t believe he’d fallen downhill so rapidly. That I’d found him and his apartment in such irresponsibly despicable conditions. It had been years, over four long years, since he’d binged like this, and I fucking refused to go down this road with him again.

Not again.

“Fucking finally,” I tiredly snipped when Dr. Giles stepped out.

I wished Phoenix had taken a shower before we left, because this god-awful boozy odor shadowed him when he got up and tossed his empty plastic coffee cup in the trash beside me. It was so rank you’d have thought he’d bathed in the shit from how badly it was radiating out of his pores. “Is he awake?”

The doctor frowned. “I’m sorry, boys. I’m afraid you’ll have to come back later.”

“What?” said Phoenix, his shoulders drooping low in disappointment. “Why?”

“He had another episode. When he woke up this morning, he thought he was back in Iraq again. He attacked two of my nurses and I had to put him under immediate sedation.”

“Another?” I reiterated, my brows crumpling. “When did the first one happen?”

“Last night. First thing when he woke up.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me this, why?” I bit out in anger.

“You two already have enough stacked on your plates as it is with Charlotte’s disappearance. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“But Carter’s okay, right?” Phoenix asked.

“He’ll live, if that’s what you mean. His injuries have improved but I’d like to keep him here another week or two for observation.”

When Carter was admitted, he’d suffered significant head trauma and had fallen into a coma. He had five broken ribs and there was a deep gash along the side of his forehead that had taken almost forty stitches to seal. Dr. Giles and his team truly couldn’t make heads or tails whether Carter would wake up or not, or if he’d even remember what happened that night if he did. Carter was our last and only hope we had left to find Charlotte, and I seriously had no fucking idea what I was going to do if he couldn’t remember anything.

“Does he…” I started, straining to swallow around the lump growing in my throat. “Were you able to speak with him at all about that night?”

“I was.” He kept his face serious as he moved the clipboard he was holding away from his chest and blinked down at it, taking his time as he began flipping through pages. “I asked him if he remembered what happened to him. He managed to rasp out three words before the sedative knocked him out.” He handed me a sheet of notebook paper with the words: Man, Gold, and Antlers scribbled down on it.

Man.

Gold.

Antlers.

Man.

Gold.

Antlers.

I gasped once it all clicked, and Phoenix must have figured it out too because when I turned to him, he was gone, gunning it down the hallway like his ass was on fire. There was a man on the security footage wearing a deer mask. It had antlers and was smothered in golden flecks. I remember because I’d spent most of last night refreshing my memory, before I’d gotten the call about Carter. This guy had made it past Carter that night and was stopped by…

Son of a fucking bitch!

FELIX.

I started to move, but then Dr. Giles’s hand wrapped around my forearm, tugging me back.

“Why does Phoenix smell like he ingested an entire saloon?”

I sighed, frankly a bit surprised he hadn’t commented on it sooner. “He was face down on the floor when I found him last night.”

The doctor’s mouth puckered; brows spread high toward his thinning hairline. “Is there anything I can do? Anything at all?”

“As much as I appreciate the offer, Doc, this isn’t my first rodeo. Coping through his grief has always been one of Phoenix’s worst nightmares. If there’s anyone who can help him through it, it’s me. Just take care of Carter. Tell him we’ll be back to see him as soon as we can.”

Dr. Giles nodded, then reached up to grasp my shoulder, his eyes stirring with empathy. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me. I’ll call you anything changes with Carter.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

“Good luck, Spike.”

I sadly glanced at Carter’s door, then back at Dr. Giles. I didn’t want to leave him like this, not without letting him know Phoenix and I had gotten his message. Something in me trusted Dr. Giles would relay the missive though, so I offered the doctor a nod and then hurriedly jogged down the hall after Phoenix, pausing long enough to wait for the outer doors leading to the lobby to open.

With my phone tightfisted in my right hand, I had Felix’s number pulled up by the time I made it to the parking lot. Just as I was about to tap the CALL button, something equivalent to metal crunching penetrated the air in a furious BANG . I froze, completely rattled, and carefully scanned through the parking lot, zeroing near where I’d parked my car.

Phoenix had some random guy by the throat, pinned down against the hood.

“PHOENIX!”

I took off, cursing when I tripped over my feet and caught myself, running faster when I saw Phoenix’s right elbow swing back, his roar filling the air as his knuckles made wincing impact with the guy’s jaw.

“PHOENIX! STOP!”

I didn’t know what the fuck was happening, but what I did know was that whatever it was must have been bad because Phoenix wasn’t backing down. It took me having to tackle his ass to the ground to get him to listen to me.

“It’s Karl,” he growled through bared teeth, the sound of it sending a chill spider-walking down my spine. “It’s fucking Karl!”

I shoved Phoenix away then and was instantly on my feet, stalking over to the man sprawled out against the hood, groaning as he cupped his jaw. Rage burst through me like an electrical charge, and as I snatched the bastard up by his black T-shirt, tugging him close so we were eye level, I looked him dead in the eyes and said, “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Karl tried to speak, but my fist impulsively smashed against his face and knocked his head back, silencing whatever bullshit he was about to spill.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” I snarled. “You’re supposed to be in witness protection!”

I’d almost hit him again. The bastard deserved it, he really fucking did, but the last fucking thing I needed was to lose my job. So, I unhanded him, watching with my chest heaving as he swiped his hand across his nose and jaw, checking for traces of blood. Phoenix remained behind me, but he didn’t dare move a muscle .

“I know I am,” Karl furiously chided. He spat on the pavement, wincing as he exercised his jaw in a circle. “But I couldn’t just sit around and do nothing. Not while Charlotte is still missing. Ben’s been keeping up with Carter’s condition. He called me this morning and told me Carter woke up last night. I came here to talk to him. To see if he remembered.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“I don’t care,” Karl snapped back at me, spit flying from his mouth. “I don’t care what happens to me. Charlotte and I may not be together anymore, but that doesn’t mean I stopped caring about her. She’s in trouble and needs help and—”

His voice cracked and for a moment there, he broke.

But then he drew in a deep breath, schooled his emotions, and then raised his head high despite the tears shimmering in his eyes.

“I want to help, Detectives.”

“You can go to Hell,” my partner sneered. “We don’t want or need your help and most importantly, we don’t have time for your bullshit.”

Phoenix was right. We didn’t have time for this, and we couldn’t waste what precious time we did have by standing around stuck in a ridiculous dick measuring contest.

“We’ve got it under control, Karl.”

“Do you?” he asked boldly, his head cocked as he glared outrageously between us. “Then where’s Charlotte? Why is the monster who took her still out there roaming the streets?”

I ground my teeth, straining not to fatally shatter his nasal bone or worse, catch a heinous charge by tying him to the car and dragging his ass across every inch of the hospital parking lot.

“Do you not get it?” Karl scoffed. “Standing by and doing nothing is precisely what cost Kate her life. I cannot allow that same thing to happen to Charlotte. I just can’t . Let me help. Use me as fucking bait if you have to, just please, please , let me help.”

“And if we refuse?” challenged Phoenix .

Karl flashed him a cocky grin and then casually crossed his arms against his chest, perching back against my hood. “Then I guess we’ll be standing here all fucking day, because the only way to stop me from getting the answers I need is to kill me.”

“Just stay here,” I growled in blistering annoyance. “Don’t move.”

I turned and ambled over to Phoenix who was sizing Karl up with a malicious glint in his eyes, his jaw ticking.

“I say we shoot him,” he grumbled. “Or stick to your original plan and yeet his ass off a cliff.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Karl tiffed.

Phoenix’s mouth lifted enough to form a devilish smirk. “Too bad we can’t do either.”

“How do you want to play this?” We couldn’t let Karl near Carter, and since Karl had foolishly checked out of WITSEC, God only knew how fucking long he’d have until our perp caught wind of it and came after him. Charlotte was counting on us to find her and as much as it disgusted me to admit it, I knew she’d be heartbroken if something happened to Karl on our watch.

“It’s too big a risk,” I said while Phoenix continued contemplating. “He’s too unpredictable and—”

“So what are you suggesting?” he asked, albeit the answer was written visibly in his dark eyes. “Are you saying we bring him with us?”

“I…” I paused, cursing angrily under my breath as I shook my head. “I don’t really think we have a choice. Not unless one of us agrees to fall back and play babysitter.”

Phoenix raised his brows, chewing it over for a moment. “We could cover more ground if we split up. But…” His voice lowered as he sighed, meeting my gaze. “I don’t know, man. It sounds like a good idea but the thought of splitting up puts a nasty feeling in my gut.”

“I agree.” The words tasted like vomit, but just in case this guy could be out here right now, watching us, it would be better if we all stuck together. Our perp had been lying extremely low since Charlotte’s disappearance but that didn’t necessarily mean his final act was complete. “And hey, even if shit does fall south, we can use Karl’s body as a shield.”

“I CAN STILL HEAR YOU!”

Phoenix rolled his eyes and as he shouldered past me, I had to bite back a chuckle when Karl’s nose wriggled as Phoenix got right up in his face.

“You can help. But you cannot, under any circumstances, leave our side. Any funny business, any at all, and—”

“There’s no need to threaten me, Detective. We’re on the same side.”

Phoenix made a hmph sound and stepped back, smirking. “Just get in the fucking car before I change my mind.”