Page 26 of Fatal Attraction

Okay, now I was fucking pissed.

“They’re blackmailing you.”

“Call it whatever you want,” she hoarsely whispered. “But I can’t, Charlotte. If my parents find out I talked to you, or if something happens and I’m forced to testify on Karl’s behalf, I’ll be homeless. I care about Karl, and the last thing I want is for him to go to prison, but—”

“Thenhelp him,” I desperately pleaded. “Hand the evidence over to Ben. He can keep you anonymous.”

Angel shook her head, rushing to snatch up the picture and pages and shove them inside the shoebox. “Anonymity won’t matter. My parents willknowit was me.”

“Then what the hell was the point in all of this?” I asked when Angel jumped to her feet, stumbling a little due to her disability.

She clutched the box tightly against her chest, and I couldn’t help but scoff in outrageous disbelief when she limped a few large steps back to put some distance between us, her eyes tight and locked on me like a hawk.

“I understand the position you’re in,” I said gently, rising to my feet. “I do. But you have to do the right thing, Angel. Kate’s death wasn’t Karl’sfault, and it’s likely the same person who sabotaged his truck and murdered your sister, is the same person responsible for the rapes. Think about what Kate would’ve wanted.”

“I think it’s time for you to leave.”

“Angel—”

“GET OUT,” she screamed, her chest heaving, tears clinging to her dark lashes. “Getthe fuckout of my apartment, Charlotte.Now.”

I tried to reason with her, but when she threatened to call the cops on me, I sighed with defeat, left with no other choice but to comply.

Dread nestled deep in my bones when I walked out the door, covering my mouth to hide my sob when it vehemently slammed behind me.

Thirteen

Phoenix

“Do we really have to do this?” Spike asked first thing when I parked and shut off the car.

“Get out of the fucking car, Spike.”

“Please don’t make me,” he begged, his green eyes wide and pleading. “You know I can’t stand him.”

“Felix is harmless.”

“Harmless?” Cold-blooded murder flashed through his narrow eyes. “He’s been trying to peg me formonths, Phoenix. You know that.”

“And I bet he jizzes his pants by looking at that handsome face every time you visit,” I couldn’t help but tease, which earned me another death glare. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. He likes you, Spike. Get the fuck over it already. He knows you aren’t interested, so just at least let the man fantasize a little.”

“If he touches me,” Spike warned in a venomous whisper, his eyes flashing. “I’m breaking his wrists. Both of them.”

“And then we’ll have another lawsuit on our hands. Tell me, is that what you really want to happen at a time like this?”

Spike leaned back in his seat, angry pouting like a child with his arms crossed tightly against his chest. “No,” he grumbled. “It’s not.”

“What the hell is your deal, anyway? Why are you so homophobic?”

“I’m not homophobic,” he said a bit thickly, sounding pissed like I’d utterly insulted him. “It’s just…”

“What?” I asked, quirking a brow at him. “What is it?”

“I kind of…” he started, sinking lower in his seat and bringing his hands up to hide his face. “I got plastered one night and accidentally made out with Felix.”

My mouth dropped wider than a tunnel. “You…you WHAT?”

“IT WAS AN ACCIDENT,” he screeched, launching up to deck the fuck out of my shoulder when I’d burst out laughing so hard, there were tears streaming down my cheeks.

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