20. Twenty

twenty

Phoenix

Ifinished gathering my wallet, keys, and then rose to my feet, anxious to get down to the lab as soon as possible. Harley Ford must've struck the fear of God into the forensic squad because it was a little after 7pm and I'd just received the call I'd been waiting for. With any luck, we'd have some answers and would hopefully be one step closer to putting this son of a bitch behind bars.

"Where are you going?" Spike, who was watching me from his desk, asked as I gently grasped Charlotte's flower vase and tucked it firmly around my arm and securely at my side.

He paused the footage he'd been watching on his computer and sat up straighter in his seat, scrutinizing me with his brows pinched painfully tight.

"Lab called. I'm going to get the DNA results, and then I'm going to see Charlotte."

"I'm coming with you then."

"No," I sternly bellowed when he got up and began gathering his belongings, scoffing when he offered me a quizzical look. "The last thing I need is you fucking shit up more than you already have, so just stay here and find what you can on our perp."

"I said I was sorry, Phoenix. I swear I can fix this if you'll just let me explain."

"We had a plan," I spitefully reminded him. "One that would've worked perfectly if you hadn't gone rogue and fucked it all up."

"And what about Kendall?" the bastard just had to ask, quirking an amused brow at me. "Are you sure you're truly ready to commit to Charlotte now that she's back in the picture?"

"Kendall isn't in the picture, Spike. She works at the lab and that's it." I clutched the vase harder to my side, struggling not to let his words rile me up. "Just stay here or go home. I don't really care. Either way, don't fuck this up for me. I'll call you once shit's sorted."

I left him to it and stormed away, praying he'd listen and stay put.

Because if he didn't—then so help me fucking God—I just might have to shoot him.

I was the only shot we had at reconciling everything Spike had possibly destroyed with Charlotte, and like fucking hell if I was about to let one of the best things to ever happen to me in a very long time, crumble all because of that cranky asshole.

I made it to the lab a few minutes later and walked inside to find most of the crew had departed for the evening, all except for Kendall Wilson, my old flame from my teenage years.

But that was a story for another day.

She'd just thrown her long blonde hair up in a ponytail and was fetching some paperwork from out the printer when I knocked twice on the door.

"Oh, hey," she said, smiling when she spun on her heel and faced me. "You're just in time. I just finished printing some extra copies of the DNA results for you and Hutch."

"What's the verdict?"

Kendall pursed her lips, saying nothing as she stepped forward and handed the pages over to me.

"Holy shit."

I surveyed Delilah and Amber's results, thoroughly scanning them over again, and again, my lips parting and eyes blown saucer wide.

"And you're sure this is accurate?"

Kendall scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Phoenix, it's accurate. I know how to do my job."

I blew out a breath then and pulled out my phone and delivered the news to Spike.

"There's more if you'd like to hear it."

"Yeah." I put my phone away and then gave Kendall my undivided attention, careful not to drop Charlotte's vase. "Lay it on me."

Kendall led me over to one of her computers and began typing away on the keyboard. In just moments she had CODIS pulled up, the software most—if not all police departments used to test the DNA of convicted criminals against ongoing cases.

"Unfortunately," she continued, running another search just to sigh when the words, ‘No Match,' popped up on the screen. "CODIS can't find a match to your perp's DNA, so it's clear whoever you're looking for doesn't have a record."

"What about blood and fingerprints?"

"That's where it gets complicated. The blood samples we collected are a precise match to Daniel and Amber Strickland's blood-types only, and it's the same for prints, too. Hair samples will take more time to sort through."

I nodded as I took it all in. It wasn't much of shit to be honest, but it was the best we had to work with for now. Hopefully, Spike would have better luck with the security footage I made him confiscate from Felix. We had to catch this fucker before he decided to get cocky and hurt someone else.

"Alright, Kendall, thanks."

"Oh," she kind of shouted when I made to leave, stopping me. "I called Kendra. She said to give her a few days and she'll call me with a date and time for you to meet."

I cracked a tiny smile and bobbed my head to show my appreciation. "Thanks. I owe you one."

I parked in Charlotte's driveway about thirty minutes later, feeling my smile flatten and my brows crumple with confusion when I spotted Chief's car, and a random one I didn't recognize, parked on either side of Charlotte's vehicle.

Fearing the worst, I immediately got out and damn near busted Charlotte's vase along the way, but thankfully I was able to catch it despite some of the water spilling out and landing on the driveway.

My heart sped like a freight train the faster I hurried toward the door.

And then I looked up, spotting Chief walking out with a displeased expression engraved through every fine wrinkle on his face.

"Chief," I nervously greeted him. "What's going on?"

"Ah, Phoenix." Although he seemed legitimately surprised to see me, it didn't stop him from offering me a polite smile and stepping forward to shake my hand. "What brings you here this evening?"

"Our new case. I told Charlotte I'd be stopping by. Forgive me for asking, but why are you here? Is everything okay with Charlotte?"

Chief bellowed out a gruff sigh and shook his head. "It appears her ex-husband gave her quite a scare earlier today."

"What? He was here?"

"Afraid so," he confirmed, which had me swallowing as a result of my own anger. "Karl pulled a fast one and sent one of his colleagues to keep guard over his location."

"So, what happens now? He violated the restraining order."

"Charlotte doesn't want us to arrest him. According to her, Karl was well over a hundred feet away during their encounter. So—technically speaking—he didn't violate the restraining order."

I took a step back then and shot him an incredulous sneer.

He couldn't have been serious.

But all Chief could do was throw up his hands and heave out a regretful sigh, stunning me further.

"I don't agree with it either, but it's out of my hands. There's nothing I can physically do at the moment."

"But what about Karl?"

"I'll be keeping watch over his tracker and phone records throughout the remainder of his suspension. Captain Burgess has agreed to help out, too. Unless Karl gains any more stupid ideas, that's the best we can do at this point."

"And Charlotte?" I wondered.

Chief sighed and tiredly scrubbed his hands down his face. "I offered to post two units outside for her protection, but of course, Charlotte refused. Peter is in there trying to talk some sense in her now. It might not be a bad idea to get in there and offer the man some support."

"I understand, Boss. I'll see what I can do."

Chief patted me twice on the shoulder and as he turned, taking his leave, I approached the front door and knocked twice, just to veer back a few steps when the door vehemently swung open, and Peter came storming out with Charlotte hot on his heels.

Clearly, neither of them noticed I was there.

Or maybe they did and had chosen not to acknowledge me.

"What's it going to take for you to fucking listen to me?"

Peter was enraged, glaring ruthlessly at Charlotte, who was daggering him in the doorway with her arms folded tightly to her chest.

"Does someone have to die or get hurt in order for you to see how dangerous he is?"

"Peter—"

"No, Charlotte," Peter growled, his chest heaving the harder he balled his gloved fists at his sides. "I'm tired of hearing it. You're always defending him, and I have literally grown sick and fucking tired of constantly being made to put up with this shit."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean," Peter said thickly, releasing a slight scoff when he finally noticed me standing off to the side, minding my own business while I was still holding on to this damn flower vase.

Well, this was awkward.

"What I mean…is that as your friend, I love you, and I am genuinely concerned for you, Charlotte. But as your lawyer, I'm sorry. I just can't do this anymore. I'm done."

"So that's it? You're quitting on me?"

"What other choice do I have?" he challenged with a furious cock of his head. "For years—fucking years—I have been by your side offering you advice, guidance, and support. I helped push you through law school and was always there whenever you needed a shoulder to cry on, especially when it first came out Karl was cheating on you."

"I know that, Peter—"

"I told you not to drop the charges, Charlotte." His voice shook with his body. "I warned you this would happen, and like fucking always, you outright refused to listen to me. If learning the hard way is what it takes for you to finally open your eyes, then so be it. Either way, I'm done."

He spun on his heels, leaving Charlotte to stand there blinking wide-eyed and utterly baffled.

"Peter," she hollered, trying to call him back.

But it didn't do any good.

Peter hopped right on in his car and drove away without a second thought.

"Damnit," she whispered, bellowing out a hasty breath before she turned and offered me an unfriendly smirk. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"I wasn't trying to intrude," I said calmly, hoping not to agitate her further as I grasped the vase and extended my arms, nudging my head for her to take it. "These are for you. I wasn't sure what you liked, so I just kind of winged it."

Charlotte gaped between me and the flowers, appearing unsure of herself and perhaps a little uncomfortable when she reached out and accepted them.

"They're lovely, Phoenix. It's…um. It is okay if I call you Phoenix, right?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't see why not. After all, that is my name."

"Right."

Charlotte stood there for another minute, mute, and just as I began questioning whether or not I'd made a mistake with the flowers, Charlotte gave me a warm smile and then jerked her head for me to follow her in.

She had a beautiful home. Hardwood floors paved the living and dining room, and wedged in the middle of the layout was a gorgeous black-oak staircase ascending to the upper level of the residence. The kitchen was huge—practically every Homemaker's dream kitchen—and ahead was a glass of wine resting on the island with a personal laptop and an open case file next to it.

Huh.

Charlottemust'vebeenworkingonAmber'scasebeforethe cavalry arrived.

"I'm sorry about that," Charlotte said, twisting around to face me when she was finished setting the alarm. "Peter can be a little…hormonal, at times."

"It's none of my business," I told her, honestly meaning it despite how much I wanted to tell her that she should've taken Chief up on his offer.

It wasn't my place, and I was here to fix shit, not ruin it more.

"But is it fine that I ask if you're okay?"

Charlotte gripped the vase tightly in her hands and led me toward the kitchen, where she placed the vase up on the windowsill.

I took that moment to pull a barstool closer to the island and sat down, glancing briefly at Amber Strickland's crime scene photos stacked atop the open file.

Charlotte kept her back to me and continued studying the flowers. When she turned, she'd given me a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"It's been a long day and I'd rather not talk about it. How about we get down to business, yeah?"

She didn't give me time to respond before she'd moved to stand beside me, gathering up the crime scene photos and setting them aside.

"What's the news on the DNA?" she asked, blinking expectantly at me. "Did you get the results?"

"I did." I lifted up in my seat and slipped a hand inside my back pocket, pulling out the copies Kendall made at the lab. "And I'm sorry to tell you there wasn't any DNA present in Amber's rape kit."

Charlotte let out a gasp, her blue eyes bugging wider the longer she read through the unresourceful verdict. "You're shitting me. We got nothing?"

Her pretty face fell impossibly lower when I shook my head.

"Blood came back to Daniel and Amber. Same with the fingerprint samples. We still have the hair follicles, but it'll take a few days for the lab techs to get everything sorted and tested for additional DNA."

Charlotte was stressed now, biting fretfully on her bottom lip as she plundered through some pages in the file, grabbing Amber and Daniel's statements.

"They're both saying someone approached them at the bar and offered to buy them a drink."

"That's right," I agreed, nodding along the further Charlotte's fingers trailed down the papers, her face pinched in concentration. "Spike and I went back to the sanctum and obtained the security footage. Which reminds me…"

I paused, lifting up again to grab the USB drive I'd nearly forgotten about, and deposited it on the island.

"That's it right there. I wasn't sure if you were really going to quit or not, so I held off forwarding them to your email address."

Charlotte let out a sigh then, saying nothing as she moved away from me and closer to the sink. Her palms fastened tightly around the counter, and then she tipped her head up to the ceiling, shoulders coiled, expelling what obviously had to be one painfully long breath.

"I suppose we need to talk about this. I mean, me being Eve is part of the reason you're here, right?"

"It is," I muttered, swallowing as the nerves immediately took flight in my stomach when she whipped around, her arms folded and pressed tightly to her chest. "But you're also Charlotte Greene, our new CDA. That is also why I'm here. To fix the damage my partner caused."

"I know I should've come clean about my involvement with the sanctum. But to be completely honest with you, Phoenix, that part of my life was supposed to be nothing but me living out a fantasy. Just some harmless fun and nothing more. None of this—you really being Phoenix and Spike being Spike—none of this was supposed to happen. That's why I gave a fake name. I purposely kept that part of my life a secret so that it wouldn't clash with my real life."

"Why give us your number then?" I had to ask, cocking a curious brow at her. "If you never intended for this to turn into something more, then what changed your mind?"

Charlotte sighed, frowning as her shoulders slumped. "I don't really know."

"Bullshit." I rose to my feet, starting to get angry. "Why did you give us your number if you didn't want to be with us?"

Charlotte's jaw trembled, and I internally sucked in a breath, feeling like shit because the last thing I wanted was to upset her or make her cry.

"I-I'm lonely, Phoenix. I gave over ten years of my life to a man I'd planned to grow old and one day start a family with, and instead of honoring me and our marriage, he chose to run off and bury his cock inside of a fucking nineteen-year-old. Some of the best memories I've had recently have been at the sanctum, and, well… It's been a very long time since I've genuinely felt wanted. Needed. I thought maybe it was worth the risk, and so, I caved and decided to give you my number. I just never in a million fucking years thought doing so would've landed me here."

"And now?" I asked, gaining the courage to step closer to her. "Now that you know the truth, have your feelings changed?"

I moved closer, noting her lower back squeezing harder against the counter and her breath shuddering as she swallowed, her pupils dilating.

She was nervous. Maybe even a bit aroused.

Good.

Because little did she know, I was just as terrified even with my cock pressing painfully hard against my zipper.

"Because mine haven't," I whispered, closing the distance and pausing directly in front of her, my lips a few breaths from hers. "I want you, Charlotte. I don't care that you lied about your name, that you're our CDA… Hell, I don't really give a fuck about none of it. All I've ever cared about has been you from the start."

"But-but Spike—"

"—is an asshole," I fiercely cut in as I grasped her cheek and pulled her closer to me, brushing my lips across the shell of her ear. "I can't speak or fully atone for his actions. That's something the two of you will have to sort out amongst yourselves. But this, you and me, what I feel for you isn't just sexual, Charlotte. You're a mystery I've been dying to solve since the moment I laid eyes on you."

"I'm scared," she mumbled barely above a whisper, her throat bobbing. "I don't want to lose my job. And Phoenix… there's so much about me you don't know or understand. I have so much baggage and—"

I silenced her words with a deep kiss, earning a throaty moan that had me pressing her body harder against the counter and shamelessly grinding my erection against her pelvis.

"I don't care," I mumbled against her mouth, nipping her bottom lip and making her hand fly up and cover said spot in frank surprise. "I've made my decision and there's nothing you can say or do that'll change my mind."

"You don't want this," she pressed, shaking her head. "You don't want me."

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, being bold by grabbing her hand and forcing her to feel how fucking hard I was. "Because I have nine inches of heaven ready to prove you otherwise."

"But-but we work together," she stuttered, and I knew her restraint was cracking from the way she'd nervously licked her lips and from how hard she was squeezing her thighs together.

She wanted this just as badly as I did. If not, then she would've shoved me away, and her hand sure as fuck still wouldn't be grasping my cock through my slacks right now.

"So what?" I questioned, making her breath shake harder as I began popping gentle kisses behind her ear and down her neck. "Nobody has to know. If you want to keep it a secret, then that's fine. The three of us can be each other's dirty little secret."

My words had her squirming against me, panting hard.

"I'm serious, Charlotte. Nobody has to know. And if you're scared about getting hurt again, don't be. If there's one thing Spike and I are good at, it's keeping a woman satisfied inside and outside of the bedroom."

"That's two things," she breathlessly murmured. "And I'm not just some random woman."

I chuckled softly. "You're right. You're not just some random woman. You're our woman. My woman. At work we'll remain professional, but behind closed doors, you're mine. I will lick you until you're weeping. I'll have Spike tie your sexy little body to a chair, and then stand back and watch as he does nasty, filthy things to you. And for fun, you can even tie me up and have your way with me. I love it when a woman takes control and forces me to be their good little boy."

Her breath hitched, and for a moment I thought I broke her because all she could do was ogle up at me with her plump lips parted, frozen in an O.

"I know it's complicated," I whispered, pecking the corner of her open mouth softly, cracking a tiny smile when she slightly kissed me back and then caught herself, trying to play it off. "But there's no avoiding what's already happened between us."

"I'm scared, Phoenix." She blew out a trembling breath and then reached up to knuckle under her eyes. "I-I like you. I do. But I don't know if I can do this again. I was lucky to make it out of my divorce in one piece. But this—me, you, and Spike? It's crazy."

"I know you're scared, Charlotte. You have every right to be given everything you're going through. And yes, it's crazy. I know it is. But I wouldn't be standing here right now confessing my feelings if I didn't think this was worth it. That you are worth it."

I stepped away from her and grasped her hands, bringing them to my mouth and kissing them gently.

"Don't quit. Stay, work these cases, and help us put this son of a bitch behind bars. The three of us can figure out the rest later. Let us show you just how good we can be to you. Just give us a chance. Please, Charlotte."

She opened and closed her beautiful mouth, grappling for a response.

Then she sighed, heavily, and before I had time to react, she was in my face with her mouth molded against mine and a hand wrapped around my cock, pushing me toward the living room.