Page 109 of Fatal Attraction

It took me a moment to process Phoenix’s words, and after a moment I said, “He didwhat?”

“He’s gone, Charlotte,” Spike repeated with a chipper grin. “One of the guards went to get Perry first thing when his lawyer arrived and found him with a noose around his neck. He hung himself.”

I bristled then, and from the corner of my eye, I could see my father sitting beside me, beaming. I’d completely forgotten he was still in the room.

But then again, if what they were saying was true and Perry really did kill himself, then the case was considered closed, and we wouldn’t be penalized by speaking about it in front of an open civilian.

“He… He really killed himself?” I asked.

Phoenix nodded, which truly shocked the hell out of me. “We should’ve called you, but Spike and I both felt like this was something you needed to hear in person instead of over the phone. As soon as we were dismissed, we went straight back to your place and got the diaper bags, car seats, diapers, wipes, baby clothes—hell, everything we could think to grab is packed in both of the suitcases and diaper bags. With Perry gone, we have nothing to worry about now, Charlotte. None of us have to testify and—”

“It’s bullshit.”

I wanted to be happy. In a way, I was, but knowing Perry had taken the pussy way out and offed himself sent anger flooding through my veins and had my breaths coming in harder, sharper.

“Pumpkin,” Dad nervously rasped as the monitor beside the bed started freaking out, showing a spike in my blood pressure and heartrate. “You have to calm down. This-this a good thing, is it not?”

“No.” I shook my head, tears filling my eyes. “It’s not. Delilah, Amber and Daniel, Karl, Felix, Blaire, and Peter—none of them will get the justice they deserve! Not even ME!”

“Charlotte.” Carter came forward, eyeing the monitor before he looked at me, eyes flashing. “It’s okay. Really, it is. But your dad’s right, you have to calm down. You’re about to give birth to two beautiful babies, so just think about that andonly that, yeah?”

It took some time—far too fucking long, but after sucking in deep, healthy breaths, expelling them as I fought casting that crude bastard from my mind, my heartrate eventually returned to normal, same with my blood pressure.

He was gone.

Perry was gone and he was never coming back.

I was free.

We were free.

“I-I’m tired,” I whispered. “I want to take a nap, but the babies could be here at any moment.”

“Rest while you still can,” said Carter, who earned a hum of agreement between my guys and father. “Even if it’s for a few minutes. We’ll make sure you’re up when the doctor comes back in.”

“Are-are you staying?”

“For the night, I am. I have to be back first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me. To us.”

He smiled. “Rest now, Charlotte. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

I nodded and closed my eyes… But when I opened them again, I was confused to find Dr. Scanlon and her team hovering over me. Carter and my parents were gone, but Spike was on my left and Phoenix was on my right, both squeezing my hands with anticipation when the doctor told me it was time to start pushing.

“Now?” I said disbelievingly. “I-I just fell asleep.”

“You’ve been out for over an hour,” Spike whispered to me. “You’re fully dilated and it’s time to push.”

What? How in the hell was that possible?

I’d literally just closed my eyes!

Dr. Scanlon gave me fast orders I promptly followed and with the support of her team, they helped keep my legs open.

“Okay, Charlotte. The first baby is ready. Start pushing.”

“Oh God,” I cried softly to myself, squeezing my eyes closed as I shook my head. My heart was pounding through my chest and it was a struggle keeping my breathing level. “I-I can’t do this.”

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