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“Do you think she’ll talk to me?”

“Maybe,” he said, shrugging and failing to hide his grin. “Have you rehearsed your apology yet? Because I doubt jumping in and wooing her with your dick will work this time. You really hurt her whether you know it or not.”

“What? Did she say something?”

“We may have discussed it a little,” he coyly muttered, his eyes on the road.

I straightened my spine and squared my shoulders then, screening him over with a scolding smirk. “Phoenix. What did she say?”

But all the asshole did was shake his head at me.

“It’s not my place, Spike. Whatever issues the two of you have need to be settled amongst yourselves. But if you want some brotherly advice, you need to make the first move.”

And I would have earlier if it wasn’t for Kendall fucking Wilson stopping me.

“The sooner you do it though, the better,” he carried on. “Depending on what happens with these cases, and then this shit with Karl—”

“Karl?” I repeated, my brows furrowing.

“Yeah. I meant to tell you about it, and it must have slipped my mind. I’m sorry.”

“What happened?”

“Karl paid Charlotte a visit about four days ago. Had one of his buddies keep watch over his location at the precinct so he could sneak to her house and talk to her.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I growled.

“I’m not exactly sure what went down. Charlotte didn’t want to talk about it, and I didn’t push her, but Chief and her lawyer, Peter, were at her house when I showed up. Long story short, Charlotte still refuses to press charges and refused to have units posted outside her house when Chief offered. And also, Peter quit because of it. She wants to reconcile things with him, but I don’t see it happening. Peter was brutally pissed that night, and I can’t say I blame him.”

“What the hell is Karl’s problem?” I asked, unable to contain the rage bubbling in my gut. “Why won’t he leave Charlotte alone?”

“I wish I knew.” Phoenix lifted his shoulders again as he prepared to take the next exit toward Downtown Seaview Pines. “It’s obvious there’s a reason behind it, but unless Charlotte wants us to get involved, we have to stay out of it. There’s nothing either of us can do anyway, not unless the fucker is bold enough to approach her out in the open when there are witnesses around.”

Or I could just pay that motherfucker a not so friendly visit and put this bullshit to bed once and for all.

But I didn’t bother saying that out loud because, hell, what good would it have done?

Phoenix was right. Charlotte’s squabble with her ex-husband wasn’t any of our business.

However, what Phoenix failed to grasp was that it would be all the more difficult to initiate and secure a healthy relationship with Charlotte when we had Karl lurking through the shadows like a covetous creep, eagerly waiting to rain on our parade.

No.

The more I thought about it, the more that shit just didn’t settle with me.

One way or another, Karl had to be dealt with.

“What if he randomly decided to go on a hike one day, and then, eureka, he magically trips and plummets off a cliff?”

“Spike.” Phoenix took his eyes off the road and pinned me with a malicious glare. “We’re not pushing his ass off a cliff.”

“It was just a suggestion,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. “It’s not like anyone would miss him. I know I wouldn’t.”

Phoenix drew in a deep breath, his grip loosening around the wheel as he released it. “Look, I know what you’re thinking, but it is not our place, nor is it our business to get involved, not unless Charlotte says so. We’re here now, so we’ll just have to pick this up later. But please, Spike, I’m begging you. Just stay out of it and let Karl’s karma run its course.”

Phoenix was smart enough to know that, staying out of it, just simply wasn’t in my nature, especially when it came to shit preventing me from having what was rightfully mine.

But, just to make him happy, I told him I wouldn’t intervene.