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“We have to get him to the hospital,” I hollered at Phoenix over my shoulder, cursing again as I struggled to help Daniel sit up as he groaned, his eyes pressed shut. “Help me with his—”

I bristled, gritting my teeth as I slightly turned to the side, finding Charlotte Greene stepping through the threshold and staring incredulously between me, Daniel, and Phoenix, who was helping haul up Daniel’s legs.

Charlotte dashed out of the way as we lifted Daniel up, eased him out the door, and toward the car.

“What the hell? What happened to him?”

“We think he’s been—”

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Malice flashed through her eyes as she narrowed them at me. “I was talking to Detective Rhodes.”

I internally snorted. So much for that promise to keep her personal problems emotionally muted outside of work.

“Spike things he’s been drugged,” my partner responded, grunting as he swapped positions with me, holding up Daniel’s upper half long enough for me to get the back door open.

It took us a minute, but eventually we were able to get Daniel’s heavy ass draped across the back seat.

Maybe not comfortably, but still, we got his ass in there.

“We’re taking him to the hospital to get checked out. Amber should already be there.”

“Dr. Giles won’t let us talk to her right now. I already tried.”

“You what?” I growled, cocking my head at her. “Since when did that little DA badge clipped to your slacks get upgraded to a detective’s badge? Last I checked, you aren’t one.”

“What the fuck is your problem, Spike?” she hissed right back at me. “No, I may not be a detective, but as the CDA working alongside you on these cases, I have every right to speak and interview the victims as you do.”

“Spike.” Phoenix looked torn as he stared between us. “Charlotte. Please, guys, we don’t have time for this—”

“But you know what,” Charlotte sternly bellowed, approaching me nose to nose, eye-to-eye. “Fuck it. Have it your goddamn way. I QUIT. Figure all of this shit out for yourselves.”

“What?” Phoenix muttered, his face falling in utter devastation at the same time my heart sank to my stomach when she threw up her hands and stormed away for her car.

“Charlotte,” I shouted, swallowing painfully hard when she refused to stop and proceeded to get into her car, slamming the door behind her.

Phoenix tried running after her, but it was already too late. The wheels on her Altima spun, and just like that, she was over halfway down the road, leaving me standing there feeling so fucking guilty as Phoenix glared at me across the road with tears snaking down his cheeks.

eighteen

Phoenix

Ifucking lost it.

One minute I was standing in the middle of the road watching Charlotte drive away, and then the next thing I knew, I was standing over Spike with my chest heaving as he lay in the grass, groaning, tribute from the triple decker I’d just impulsively graced him with.

“Fuck, Phoenix,” he whined, rolling to his side and groaning louder as he clutched his mouth.

“Fuck you,” I spat, so fucking furious it was all I could do not to stomp his ass to dust. “You can walk to the hospital.”

“Phoenix,” he screamed. “Don’t you fucking dare leave me—”

I got in the car, fired up the engine, and as promised, left his ass on the side of the street to fend for his-fucking-self. I may have temporarily set my personal feelings aside after the previous incident thanks to this new case, but now, fair was fucking fair. Spike had already fucked me over once today and I refused to let him do this shit to me again. One way or another I was going to fix this shit with Charlotte.

I just had to.

But first, I really needed to get Daniel to the hospital.

“You alive back there?”