Page 11 of Fatal Attraction

“Thank you for coming in, Peter,” Captain said from behind him. “You and Charlotte need to go down to the lab now and submit your DNA.”

“Will do,” he replied, holding me tighter with his chin resting against my head. “Whatever you need, Cap.”

As we turned to head for the elevator, Harley rounded the corner, and I would’ve walked straight into her if it weren’t for Peter grabbing ahold ofmy arm and lightly tugging me back in time. My eyes lit up when they lifted and fastened over her shoulder at Spike and Phoenix, who’d just departed from the elevator and were heading our way.

“Sorry, Charlotte,” came Harley’s soft, but gruff voice. “We have a lot of ground to cover and it’s best we get started. Whatever you need to talk to them about will have to wait.”

“Charlotte,” Phoenix desperately called out, and I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but I just couldn’t help myself. I maneuvered around Harley and ran right over to them despite her and Peter indignantly scoffing behind me.

“Don’t trustanyone,” he whispered in my ear, his arms wrapped around me and squeezing gently. “Not even Peter. Don’t tell himanything, okay?”

My head rose and my eyes met his, my brows crinkled in confusion.

“Just trust us,” Spike muttered quietly. “We’ll explain everything as soon as we can.”

I parted from Phoenix, wondering what the hell was going on and why he and Spike were shooting Peter looks that had an uneasy chill snaking down my spine. Peter returned the gesture, and for a moment there I thought he’d say something. Instead, Peter let out a frustrated sigh and stalked towards me. He grabbed my hand, and then yanked me along behind him, refusing to speak until we were safely inside the elevator.

“Is there something going on between you and Detective Rhodes?” he asked, pushing the button to take us down to the lab.

“No,” I lied. “Why?”

“Don’t lie to me, Char. I’m not blind. I mean, first the guy shows up at your house with flowers, and now he’s holding you and whispering God knows what in your ear. Clearlysomething’sgoing on.”

“It’s none of your business even if there is,” I grumbled uneasily. “Does it really matter?”

Peter opened his mouth and then closed it, his jaw irately set. He chewed his inner cheek for a moment before the words, “No, I guess not,” hung in the air around us.

But then the elevator opened, and when I stepped out first, ambling closer towards the entrance to the lab, Peter’s next words had me freezing mid-step and my body twisting around to face him, my pupils blown wide.

“What did you just say?”

“I said,I love you, Charlotte.” His voice trembled, his face paling, tears in his hazel eyes. “I’ve been in love with you for so long… Since college.”

My heart sank. “Wh-what?”

“Do I have to fucking spell it out for you?” he scoffed, his arms raising slightly just to fall desperately back against his sides. “For so long I’ve been waiting… Just waiting for you to open your eyes and see how much I care about you. That I’d do absolutelyanythingfor you.”

“Pe-Peter—”

“Am I not good enough?” he asked, his tears slipping out and gliding down his cheeks. “Will Ieverbe good enough?”

I opened my mouth, silenced by his raised hand. “Don’t bother, because I already know the answer. I’ll never be good enough, no matter how hard I try.”

“Peter—”

“I shouldn’t have even said anything.” He wiped his face and then drew in a powerful breath, releasing it. “I’m just wasting my time.”

And then he walked away, right past me, entering the lab and leaving me standing there, frozen and utterly stunned.

Peter wouldn’t speak to me, much less look at me while the lab techs were busy swabbing the inside of our mouths with a giant Q-Tip. Whenwe were finished, I’d called out for him and begged him to wait so we could talk things through, but it was no use. All he did was shake his head before fleeing the room, rejecting to spare me a glance.

What the hell was happening right now?

It was bad enough Blaire was dead, but this, Peter confessing his love for me, was not only extremely unexpected but couldn’t have happened at a more inconvenient time.

I couldn’t deal with this shit.

Not now.

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