Fatal Attraction (Love Kills Duet #2)

42. Forty Two

Forty Two

Charlotte

H ours beyond hours flew by. Stars filled the sky, and I was currently in my hospital room, sitting in a chair by the window with my injured arm wrapped tightly in a sling, glancing between the stars and the ultrasound pictures in my lap. Earlier, Dr. Samson and a few nurses paid me a visit, and after a few excruciating minutes of having to move my bad shoulder and arm around, they’d eventually got me in the sling. Carter paid me another visit, and before I could deliver the news about the babies, Harley, and worst of all, Karl, showed up, claiming they both were worried, and desperate to see me. I never told them anything. To be frank, I didn’t want anyone outside of Carter, Phoenix, Spike, and my father to know about the pregnancy, not until I could officially sit down with my guys and endure the aftermath.

Problem was, I hadn’t seen or heard from them since they left for the precinct. My phone was in evidence lock up, but they did have the number for the landline in my room.

It hadn’t rung.

Not once.

My eyes floated away from the window again, and I sighed as I brushed my fingers over the ultrasound photos, cracking a weak smile at the words Baby A and Baby B . “I’m sorry,” I whispered to them. “I know none of this is your fault, but this is the last thing I ever expected to happen.”

It was the truth. Knowing there were now two innocent babies in the picture made shit so much more complicated. I know it didn’t have to be, that I was probably just overreacting out of my own fears and insecurities. But at the same time, it didn’t change the fact that this was all happening way too fast. With as long as Karl and I were together, yes—of fucking course—I’d have reacted differently. I was in a five-month sexual relationship and barely a full month into an official relationship , whereas with Karl, he and I were together for over ten years. It was too soon, so painstakingly sudden, and would’ve never happened if I hadn’t been a fucking idiot and had forgotten my birth control appointment. How could I really believe the guys would be happy and accepting and not furious with me for making such a foolish mistake?

Three soft knocks met the door, and I winced as I tried getting up, yelling at whoever it was to wait a minute. Just in case it was my dreadful mother, I had to hide the ultrasound photos. I swiftly slid them under my hospital pillow and blew out an aching breath as I got myself back in bed.

“Come in,” I said when I was acquainted.

The door opened, and I scowled, rolling my eyes when Mom stepped in, closing the door behind her.

“I owe you an apology, Charlotte.”

“Don’t bother,” I murmured, looking away from her and toward the window. “I’m really not in the mood to hear it.”

“Wh-where’s your father?”

“In the cafeteria, getting us something to eat. I doubt he feels like dealing with your bullshit either, so you might as well go.”

“I know I was out of line, and I’m sorry. Your… Your father was right. I did cost him his relationship with you.”

“Is that all?” I asked, still refusing to look at her.

“I don’t blame him for wanting a divorce. After our…disagreements, I became bitter. It is true that I said a lot of nasty and awful things—I’ll admit that much. But in my defense, I was furious over what Karl did to you. So furious that I wanted him to hurt just as badly as he hurt you and I wanted him to suffer for his mistakes. I understand what it feels like to get cheated on, Charlotte. Your father did it to me plenty of times in the past.”

I scoffed at that. “Yeah, okay Mom.”

“You don’t believe me?” she challenged. “Ask him for yourself and see what he says. There are two sides to every story, Charlotte.”

That was fair. I’d give her that much.

“Tell me what happened.”

“Is it okay if I sit down?”

I rolled my eyes. “If you must.”

I felt her smile from across the room. From the corner my eye, I watched as she ambled closer, grabbing a chair and scooting it closer as she sat, placing her purse on the floor.

“Your father and I have been together since we were kids. As you know, I was 16, nearly 17 when I found out I was pregnant with you. Your father was 18. You were way too young to remember, but when you were barely a year old, your father cheated on me with one of his coworkers. At the time, he’d just turned 19 and was working as a telemarketer. I forgave him. I was young, a new mom, and with you being so little, I couldn’t imagine raising you without him, so I stayed. When you were 3, he did it again. Same job, but with a different woman. Long story short, he cheated at least two more times after that, each time with different women. He would’ve never gotten caught if he hadn’t started acting funny and had given me reason to crack the password on his phone.”

I spared her a glance and found there were tears shimmering in her eyes. “If that’s true, then why did you stay with him?”

“When I caught him all those years ago, I had all of our shit packed and was preparing us to move in with my dysfunctional alcoholic parents. I guess because I’d stayed all the other times he cheated, your father thought he could keep on doing what he wanted and that in the end, I’d always stay because we had you. But… That day when he saw all of our things packed up and when I told him I was leaving, taking you and going back to my parents’ place, he begged me not to. He broke down crying, begging me not to leave and that he didn’t want us living with my parents. So, I gave him a choice. I told him that if he ever cheated on me again, ever , I was taking you away, putting his ass on child support, and would file to have full custody and fight to relinquish all of his parental rights. I had more than enough proof against him to make it happen, and he knew it. So, he agreed.”

She paused then, reaching up to swipe away her tears.

“Again, I know what it’s like to get cheated on. I know how much it hurts, and I only acted the way I did because of my past. I know it was wrong, and I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I know given what I’ve said and done that it’s hard to believe, but I’ve always been on your side, baby. It’s like you told me before; you were married to Karl, not me, and you’re right. I should’ve let you handle your divorce the way you wanted. I was a very bitter and unfair bitch to you, and most importantly, I should’ve been there for you when you needed me the most.”

She froze again, more tears spilling down her cheeks.

“But I’m here now. An-and I want to be, if you’ll let me. I love you, Charlotte. Please don’t kick me out.”

I considered everything she’d said and opened my mouth, my breath falling short when the door abruptly popped open. Dad walked in, holding two sandwiches and a bag of chips in each hand, with both Spike and Phoenix behind him, each of them wearing stunned expressions as they laid eyes on my mother.

Shit.

“June,” Dad said a bit hastily. “I’m surprised you came back.”

I ignored whatever Mom said and gaped solely at Spike and Phoenix, whose eyes were padlocked on me, both wearing smiles which warmed my heart in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

“I’m sorry,” I said, flicking my gaze to Dad, then Mom. “But I need to speak with them in private. It-it’s important. ”

Dad made no objections and left my food on the small table beside the hospital bed, curling his nose at my mother before he spun on his heel, scoffing as he departed.

“Do you want me to stick around?” my mother muttered for only me to hear, a frown on her face.

“You can stay. Just give me the time I need with them.”

Mom beamed, then leveled her spine, grabbing her purse and rising to her feet. Before leaving, she pressed a gentle kiss against my forehead and whispered how sorry she was again in my ear. Spike closed the door while Phoenix came over and pressed a fierce kiss against my lips.

“How are you doing, baby?” he asked as he sat down in Mom’s former chair.

“I-uh… I don’t know really. What… What happened at the precinct with Perry?”

“He’s done for,” Spike said with a grin, casually strolling close and spinning a chair the opposite way, plopping it down beside Phoenix and straddling it with his arms draped over the top. “It’ll take a day or so for the DNA results, but we pretty much have his admission. And then there’s Peter and—”

He stopped himself then, cursing under his breath as I squeezed my eyes closed and turned my head away.

“ Shit,” he whispered, and his voice broke. “I’m so sorry, Charlotte…”

“It’s fine,” my shaky voice lied. “It’s fine.”

“Maybe this is a bad idea,” said Phoenix. “She’s going through a lot right now. We shouldn’t make it worse.”

“Is,” I started, swallowing hard as I struggled containing the water works. “Is his body here?”

They both nodded when I looked at them.

“I want to see him. ”

“Charlotte—”

“He found me,” I said, which had both of their eyes widening in disbelief. “He was there with me, tied to a chair while I was clamped to a fucking bed.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“But how did he—”

“He told me he was at the precinct to file a MP report on Felix. He also told me about you two showing up with Karl. Anyway, when you mentioned the perp wearing a deer mask smothered in gold, Peter figured it out.” I paused, reaching my free hand up to wipe under my eyes. “He told me when their grandparents died, they left Perry a trunk full of old costumes and masks, and that he knew Perry had a mask fitting that same description. He didn’t say anything because he wanted to be my knight in shining armor. He wanted me to love him and thought saving me would make me fall in love with him.”

They both shared a frown, but it did nothing to stop the anger scorching through their green eyes, revealing everything I truly doubted they had the balls to say to me given what I was going through. That Peter was stupid. Fucking foolish. That if Peter hadn’t gone rogue and had just told them the truth the instant he’d figured it out, then he would still be alive.

It hurt like hell admitting it, but I didn’t disagree.

“I know what you’re thinking. Peter was smart, so fucking smart, and he knew better than to take matters into his own hands. Regardless of his stupidity, he was still my best friend. I want to see his body so I can give him a proper goodbye.”

“Babe, I don’t think that’s possible.” The tightness in Phoenix’s eyes softened as his frown deepened.

“Then make it possible.” I stared between them, my wet eyes pleading. “Aside from Perry, I was the last person to see and speak with Peter while he was still alive. His parents are gone and so are his grandparents. He was an only child and with Perry locked up, there’s no other immediate family that can come in and identify his body. ”

“There’s no need for anyone to identify his body,” said Spike. “They found his ID in his pocket, and just about everyone on the force knows who he is and—”

“We can’t make any promises,” Phoenix said with the support of his raised hand, cutting Spike off when he saw I was getting extremely upset. “But we will speak with the coroner and see if he’ll make an exception.”

“Thank you. All I ask is that you try.”

It fell silent for a beat.

“I know how you feel,” Phoenix whispered after a moment. “I lost someone today, too. Someone I was very close with when I was younger.”

“You-you did?” I blinked up at him. “Who?”

“Crow.”

“Crow?” A soft gasp escaped my lips. “You mean the guy who showed up at Blaire’s funeral on a Harley? I… I thought you weren’t friends anymore after what happened with Kendall?”

Phoenix scrubbed two depressingly stressful hands down his face and then blew out a long, miserable sigh.

Finally, he met me eye-to-teary eye and said, “I wasn’t fully honest with you about my past and my history with Crow, nor have I been honest about what I’ve been up to lately. I…I didn’t want to scare you away or make you think differently of me and the person I am now.”

“Phoenix…” So much pain and heartbreak reflected back at me, it sent a frightening chill snaking down my spine. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

“In Amber Strickland’s case,” he nervously uttered, “when we discovered she and her husband, Daniel, were drugged with Rohypnol, Spike and I made an unreported trip downtown to speak with Crow.”

“Don’t you fucking dare sugarcoat it,” Spike viciously snapped, and my heart skipped several beats at the lethal glare searing a hole into the right side of Phoenix’s torn face. “Tell her everything . ”

“It was my idea,” Phoenix corrected himself. “Damn near all of the MCs in Seaview Pines are known to be involved in sexual assault and drug crimes. Rohypnol has been popping up in a lot of unrelated cases pertaining to them, so, instead of reaching out and speaking with Crow directly, I tried arranging a meeting with his daughter, Kendra. I paid Kendall $100 to reach out to her.”

“What happened?” My voice shook.

“Long story short, Kendra said she’d meet with us at Crow’s bar, Daggers. When we got there, Crow was there, too. He refused to let us speak with Kendra, so we had no choice but to talk to him.”

“And then what happened?”

“He told us none of his crew was involved with our cases, but that there have been a lot of drug shipments coming and going from the Pines for at least four, maybe five months now. He didn’t know who was responsible, but he caught word it was another rival MC. He told us to reach out to Gibbs and Hammett in Narcotics, that it was possible they could help us.”

My jaw ticked at the information. “And did you?”

“We did,” said Spike. “They lied to us, purposely withheld important information that would’ve helped us catch Perry a lot sooner.”

“What?” My brows furrowed. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“They were undercover,” said Phoenix. “Both Gibbs and Hammett have been working undercover for a while, trying to narrow down where all these nasty street drugs are coming from. They gave us information that led us to a dead end. Then when Blaire died and her murder was spread all over the news, Crow showed up at Blaire’s funeral claiming he had information on her death. He wouldn’t tell us anything until we agreed to help him.”

“Help with what, exactly?” I asked.

“I wasn’t entirely sure at first, not until I received a text to meet.” Droplet after droplet spilled down Phoenix’s face as he squeezed my hand harder. “Spike and I met him at Daggers, and Crow discovered that a member of his crew had betrayed him and was working with the same rival crew who were bringing the drugs in. I…” He paused, swallowing through a massive gulp as he glanced briefly at Spike, who nodded. “When I was a teenager, I was a member of the Rolling Rebels. I was known as their Bonecrusher . I… I had to do things, Charlotte. Things I hadn’t done since I was a teenager. But I had to do it because Crow was withholding information on Blaire’s murder…”

“ Phoenix. ” It was bad enough they’d both willingly withheld this information from me, and now all this beating around the bush was really starting to piss me off. “What did you do?”

“I… I tortured the guy, Charlotte.” His words shook with his body.

“We both did,” Spike said next, a deep sigh slipping past his lips. “We didn’t have a choice, baby. We needed the intel Crow had. It was the only way for us to get it.”

My head spun. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had questions, so many of them that I frankly had no fucking clue where to start.

“Crow didn’t have much to tell us,” Spike continued. “Just that our perp had strong connections with somebody in law enforcement.”

I scoffed at that. “And he didn’t provide a name?”

“No.” Phoenix sadly shook his head. “He didn’t. Worst part is, Crow wouldn’t have been able to tell us even if he did know it was Perry.”

“And why the hell not?”

“Because Crow was working as a CI for Gibbs and Hammett.”

My tight eyes widened. “He was what? ”

“It’s a long story,” Phoenix hoarsely whispered. “But all you really need to know is that an undercover drug bust went down tonight. Crow and his crew were tasked by Gibbs and Hammett to find out who was smuggling the drugs in and to help them intercept the next shipment. It wasn’t supposed to go down until next week but I’m assuming Leo, the guy we’d tortured, ratted Crow out to the President of the Ravens because the date got moved up to tonight.” Phoenix paused, and his voice cracked as he said, “It was an ambush. There were five men in the back of the drug truck waiting for us.”

“Wait…” My lips incredulously parted. “You were there? That’s what you were doing while I was in surgery and why you’re all beaten to hell and—”

“He had to, Charlotte,” Spike spoke on Phoenix’s behalf. “We were both supposed to be there tonight, but then you got here and had to be rushed into surgery. Perry hadn’t been caught yet, so I told Phoenix to go and that I’d stay here to protect you.”

“I’m sorry we hid this from you, but in our defense, we did it to protect you, Charlotte. Those biker guys are some nasty fuckers, and God only knows what they’d have done to you if you’d have shown up in any of their turfs unaccompanied.”

“And then there’s Phoenix’s history with Crow we had to consider,” Spike added. “We couldn’t take the risk of him possibly trying to use you against us. That, and because Crow had put us in a real fucked up spot when he threw Blaire in our faces. If I’m being honest though, I think that was his plan from the start. Deep down, I feel like Crow knew he couldn’t get the information Gibbs and Hammett needed without Phoenix.”

“He saved my life tonight, Charlotte. Crow shoved me out of the way and took three bullets to the chest. He died in my arms.”

I was flummoxed, fucking enraged by all of this shit. But all things considered, I did have to admit that they both made some sensible points about why they didn’t want me involved. Phoenix shared a look with Spike then, and although it was clearly written in their worried gazes that there was more to be revealed, I didn’t think I could stomach hearing the rest of it, not with the ultrasound photos still hidden away under my hospital pillow.

“We can talk about it more later,” I whispered, desperately trying to blink away all these goddamn tears. “There’s uh… There’s something I need to tell you. ”

I removed my hand from Phoenix’s and slightly turned, wincing a little as I slipped it under the pillow to feel around for the photos. Once I had them, I drew in one painfully powerful breath and expelled it. Their breaths instantly caught, and my hand frantically shook as I did my best laying each one down on the bed.

“I’m pregnant. According to these ultrasound photos, I’m having twins. Fraternal twins.”

Every bit of color drained from Phoenix’s face, but it was Spike who moved and delicately grabbed each photo, his pupils the size of saucers.

“But I…” He fumbled on the words. “I thought you were on birth control?”

“I was on the shot, but between the bullshit with Karl and all of our cases, I forgot my doctor’s appointment. I’m so sorry, guys. This is all my fault.”

“And you’re sure the babies are ours?”

I scoffed, so outraged that my first curled into a tight, trembling ball. How fucking dare he ask such a stupid question?

“I don’t know who fathered which baby,” I said a bit hot-headedly. “But out of the two of you, it’s possible one baby is yours and the other is Phoenix’s.”

“Or the babies could share the same father,” Spike muttered as he turned to Phoenix, who remained mute, unmoving, and was completely bewildered, the sight of it cracking my heart in half. “Only way to know for sure is to submit DNA tests.”

“Phoenix?” I extended my hand to him, hoping he’d take it. “Are you okay?”

Still, he refused to speak. He didn’t do a goddamn thing other than remain seated in the chair whiter than a ghost, with his throat bobbing and his attention fully padlocked on the photos.

And then it hit me—so hard and heart-droppingly fast that no matter how much it hurt to move, I forced myself out of bed. My fingertips wrapped tightly around his perfect jaw, and it wasn’t until I tilted his head up when his haunted eyes finally flicked up and met mine.

“I am not Kendall,” I fiercely promised, and that sacred muscle behind my ribs broke all over again as his jaw began trembling against my touch.

“I know you’re not,” he finally spoke. “You-you’re pregnant with twins, Charlotte. Twins . Tell me… Is this even what you want?”

He jerked out of my grip before I could dare respond and launched to his feet, ignoring Spike as he copied his movement, demanding to know what the fuck his problem was.

“You know what… Nevermind. I don’t want to know.” He trapped his face in his hands and blew out a breath, shaking his head. “I can’t do this right now. I need some air. Besides, it’s not like the decision is up to me anyway.”

He fled the room then, leaving me standing there with my hand over my mouth, straining to silence my devastating cries.

Spike kneeled at my feet as I sat on the edge of the bed, putting the photos down so he could tear my hand away from my mouth. He brought it to his lips, tenderly apologizing before he began popping sweet, tender kisses along each knuckle.

“I’ll handle it, baby. Just stay here and try to calm down. I promise I’ll be back soon.”

I didn’t respond. My heart hurt so much that all I could do was wordlessly watch as Spike gathered up each ultrasound photo and tucked them securely in his back pocket before he walked out the door.