Hey guys! So, here is Bella's story. To those that have been reading Edward's story, this might end up answering some questions. To those that haven't, this is a companion story to Protector: Something at First Sight, but you don't need to read the other story for this one to make sense, though there are some parts that are left out for the reason of needless repetition. I will give you the same warning I gave the guys on the other side though; I'm going to need you to give me a bit of creative lee-way here. This is fiction, and I'm not nearly as smart as I think I am. ;) And also...

Content warning: This story is rated Mature for adults, and is a lot darker than Edward's side of the story. It contains death, violence, drinking, drugs, lots of foul language, lemons and deals with sexual assault. This story will not be appropriate for all readers, so please continue at your own discretion.

SM owns Twilight.

Protector
Bella

"Heads up boss, Edward and Alice Cullen just walked in the building," Jake called through my ear piece.

Rose had told me that her cousins, plural, were coming by tonight, so I had been expecting to see him come walking in after Alice. I had seen her many times before, she was Rose's cousin and they hung out quite often, so I'd obviously heard a lot about her. Of course I'd checked her out myself, she was close to Rose after all. Alice Cullen owned a somewhat new, yet very well-off clothing company. She was one of the most sought-after names for all the large award shows, the Emmy's, the Golden Globes, all of that other useless trash. She was born here in New York, twenty-three years old, graduated top of her class at Parsons, and the only things on her criminal record were a few speeding tickets. I couldn't really blame her with that beautiful canary-yellow Porsche she had.

And she had a bit of a stalker. James Trake was here tonight, which was why I was watching out for her.

She didn't know I existed, despite the fact that she was friends with my brother and Rose, my sister for all intents-and-purposes. But no one did. Until I meant for them to.

Oh, and her brother just happened to be Edward Fucking Cullen. The sweet boy who I'd chosen to play my Emmett. That was one of my only two requests to Marcus, that he let me choose who played my brother, and that they say that Victor wasn't actually caught, and show a picture of him at the end of the film.

He thought it would be an excellently moving end, and had agreed.

I still had the thank you letter Edward had written me hidden away safely. I was actually going to get to see him in person for the first time though, not that I would actually talk to him. Still, it was pretty cool.

That was eight years ago though, and as soon as he walked through the door I knew that sweet, polite boy was long gone. He had that cocky, arrogant air to him, and I let out a disappointed sigh.

James had noticed Alice immediately, and I fought the urge to knock him out just for the way he was looking at her. If I was going to actually help her though, I needed to be strategic about this. A slap on the wrist would do more harm than good, I knew his type. If he actually touched her against her will in my territory, I could eliminate him as a threat for her. I already had some dirt on him that could get him taken in, but the whole point was Alice. He couldn't be allowed near her anymore.

It would work, but I hated that I'd have to let him touch her for it to do so. I'd much rather to just knock him out right now and threaten him, but they always come back.

James had the opportunity to be an easy fix though. He was an easy person to see, not a good hunter. He could be controlled. My eyes flickered back to him every few seconds as I went back to scanning the faces of the other occupants of the room, looking for any signs of aggression or hostility on their inebriated faces.

I wasn't the only person scanning the room. Mr. Movie Star was inspecting the large crowd carefully, no doubt looking for his next victim. Apparently he broke up with that actress he'd been with; Rose told me that it was pretty bad and that he had actually moved back here. Rose hadn't been close to him for years though. I'd unfortunately seen too many photos on the trashy magazines lined up by the check-out in my grocery store of how he 'coped' with being single, leaving a trail of scattered panties in his wake where ever he went.

He seemed like a douche, but I had to admit that he was fucking gorgeous. Messy, dark bronze hair, strong jaw, tall, muscular, broad-shouldered… I didn't usually pay any attention to that short of thing, but seriously, he had to be the most gorgeous looking man I had ever seen, even with that cocky smile that controlled his lips.

God, I really needed to get some sleep.

He stopped at the bar and ordered a drink, then went back to checking out the room, his eyes eventually moving over my inconspicuous perch.

Then his face snapped back to me, and he just stared at me for a long minute. Even looking away from him completely, I could still feel his gaze on me, filling my body with a tingling buzz of awareness. Why the hell was he staring at me? It was rare anyone even noticed me in my corner. He was being fucking weird, staring at me like that, and after a minute he started to fidget almost like he was excited or restless.

The he started walking towards me.

I panicked, and as soon as Henry called him back for his drink, I ducked into the crowd and shifted to a spot behind a large square pillar.

I watched as he looked back for me, and then scanned the room when he realized I wasn't there. He didn't see me, and seemed to huff angrily like a pouting child before walking over to the others and dropping down into the spot next to Rose.

Well, that was different.

I didn't like working from this spot, I felt too in the crowd to watch it properly. The people were too close to me, and I was continuously swaying away from their stumbling proximity. I waited until he finished his drink, hoping that was sufficient enough time for him to forget about me before I moved back to my spot. My watched beeped.

"Twenty-three hundred, give me a check," I said into my wrist gear.

"Front's good, there's a crazy line but we're at full capacity," Jacob's voice said back into my ear through the hidden piece.

"Bar one and floor good."

"Two and bathrooms good."

"Three and lounge good."

"Lookout is calm."

I waited for a moment, then sighed in annoyance. "Where's Felix?" I asked shortly. You didn't fuck with my roll call, not when the night was peaking like this and I was fucking short staff.

"Uh… he just ran to the bathroom boss, but I got this, I swear."

I didn't have the time to pull him out of whatever woman he had charmed tonight. Not with James here.

"Keep me posted Seth."

"Sure thing boss."

Unfortunately, it didn't take very long for Hollywood to find me again. He grinned when he noticed me, and took a deep swing of his drink. I never turned my head in his direction, but still found myself watching him out of my peripherals.

…And he's staring at me again.

What the hell is wrong with him? Does he not know that it's not socially acceptable to just openly stare at someone like that? And Rose says my social skills are lacking.

I didn't have to ask why he was doing it though, it was clear as day in the way he was watching me, with a hunger in his eyes that made me feel almost sick. He looked like he was plotting a kill, and that fucking pissed me off. I hated men like that, looking at women like fucking trophies to be won, conquered. Well, I disliked most men in general, but men like him especially. He probably thought he was top shit. Yeah, he was hot, but not enough to distract from his arrogance.

That crooked grin got bigger, and I clenched my fists and I turned my face to look him right the fuck back.

Yes asshole, I see you, now fuck off.

He just fucking smiled at me, showing off his perfect white teeth and adorable dimples before he winked at me. It was a nice smile, but I wasn't stupid enough to even acknowledge his shit. I went back to searching the room. I caught James' back as he stormed into the washroom, then watched these two girls that were getting a little too rowdy on the dance floor.

Jaw Bones was still watching me, but he was attempting to be more inconspicuous about it now and I resigned to just trying to ignore him. It wasn't easy, that face was very distracting. I hated being distracted; I wasn't being efficient enough in distributing my attention.

Henry was arguing with someone at the bar. He looked like he had it under control, but I watched carefully, ready to spring at any moment if the man reached over the counter. He gave the man a bowl of pretzels, and the drunk just fucking beamed at him, all traces of his anger gone, and I looked back at the dance floor, then Rose's table in my peripherals again.

Alice was gone. She had her drinks brought to the table, so I looked over the logical path to the bathroom. Sure enough, she was halfway there, having cut through the dance floor. James was blocking her path, and she looked terrified, looking up at the tall man.

Don't worry, you're going to be fine.

I didn't have to wait long; she tried to back-track to her table, and he reached out and took her arm. She pulled against him, obviously telling him to let her go, and he started pulling her. Right in the middle of the dance floor, a perfect shot on my security camera.

Got it.

I wove through the crowd easily, swiftly, and I was with them in seconds. I didn't hesitate, I grabbed onto the wrist of the hand that was holding onto the tiny woman's arm, and then brought my other elbow down on his forearm sharply. He shouted like a little girl, catching the attention of the others around us. I didn't fucking care. I twisted his injured arm behind his back as I hit him in the back of the knee hard enough to make him go down, pinning him to the floor.

I fucking did it. If she wanted him gone, I could do this for her. I finally let myself smile, leaning in to the fucker's ear. I could see a little bit of white powder on the inside of his nostril, which explained his sloppiness tonight.

"Wrong fucking move, asshole." I looked back up to Alice, who was watching me with a stunned expression, still in shock no doubt from him grabbing her like that. I tried not to let myself feel too bad, this was for her own good. She could grow stronger from this. I tried to keep my voice gentle, soothing as I addressed her, and her brother was there next to her now with an equally stunned expression on his pretty face. "You okay sweetheart?"

I almost called her by her actual name.

I wasn't supposed to know her name.

Besides, names were too personal for me. And I didn't do that. And most girls liked those sorts of pet names, right? I had no fucking clue, and as awkward as the name felt coming off of my lips, if was the safest choice.

She nodded at me quietly.

"Bitch, you better get off of me or I'll-" I dug my knee into his back to shut him up, fucking loving to have an excuse. He cringed, and I quickly zip-tied his hands to free mine.

"Shut it," I warned him, then turned back to Alice quickly. We were drawing attention and I didn't think she'd like that. I gave her a reassuring smile. "Would you like to press charges?"

She stuttered, looking scared now. I got that, I didn't trust the fucking police either, but I knew what I was doing. "I would very much recommend it sweetheart. It seems like this prick knows you, and with my video surveillance and testimony you can easily have a restraining order put on him."

Her brother put his arm around her shoulders protectively, and although it was a sweet gesture it pissed me off. She was doing well, it was better for her to deal with this herself; it would make her feel stronger, standing up for herself and giving the order. She obviously needed that with this man.

"Yes, she'll-"

"I'm talking to her, it's her choice," I said, cutting him off and forcing myself not to snap at him. I needed to keep this discussion calm for her. Rose was hurrying over to us, catching my words, and was laughing at the expression on his face. I concentrated on Alice, trying to keep eye contact. "Sweetie? Yay or nay?" I said in a light voice.

It made her laugh, and she nodded her head. I was so proud of her, I knew she could do it, and she did it herself. I acknowledged her agreement, then hopped back up to my feet before yanking the heavy man up to his. I called to Jake to get him to send up someone to watch James once I was finished with him, while I pushed him over to my office. Rose trotted after me, and I stopped when she put a gentle hand on my arm to stop me.

She looked at James meaningfully, then at me. "Will you be back soon?" She asked simply. I gave her a small nod of silent confirmation, and she smiled slightly. She never asked what I did in my office, but I knew she had a very active imagination. Nothing else needing to be said, I pushed him forward towards the door by the bar again, leading him to my office.

Jake came up himself, saying he wanted a break from outside, and grinned at me as I shoved James inside my office and pushed him down into a chair. The door closed automatically behind Jacob as he walked in and leaned against the wall casually, locking it with a slow, audible click. I guess his presence could be seen as intimidating, he was as big as Emmett, but just like my brother I knew he was just a big, muscular teddy bear. I walked over to the chair behind my desk, sitting down and opening up the video feed for the dance floor.

"Look, you can't-"

"Shut your mouth James."

"How do-"

He went quiet as I opened up my desk drawer, pulled out a roll of duct tape, and slammed it shut before walking over to him, ripping off a large piece and placing it over his mouth. He stared at me with wide eyes as I watched him coolly.

"I do not like to fucking repeat myself," I informed him, and then walked back around to my desk. I sat back down quietly, copying the segments I needed, burning them, then going into the file I had compiled of other nights of him watching her and burning them onto a second disk. I then typed up his confession of what he did tonight, and got all the forms ready for Alice that she'd need to fill out before printing all the documents off. I took out the cherry for the sundae, which was in the form of a large manila envelope, and set it down on my desk before walking around, and leaning against it while I looked at him evenly. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"James, you are never going to see or look for Alice Cullen again. You are going to sign this confession that I have so kindly taken the time to write up for you, and Alice is going to have a restraining order put on you. You will not be allowed within three-hundred feet of her at any time. You cannot be in the same building as her, write her e-mails, text, or call her ever again. You will also never step foot in my club again." I leaned forward, and ripped the tape off of his mouth, not going out of my way to be gentle.

"What makes you think I'm going to sign anything? You can't fucking force me," he sneered. He was nervous though, I could see it.

"Because, James, if you don't, when I call the police to bring you in, I'm going to give them this," I picked up the manila envelope, taking out the large stack of e-mails. "Selling insider's stock tips, prostitution, drugs… you really shouldn't write about stuff like this in e-mails James, it leaves a trail. Though you have made this fairly easy for me." He gaped at them as I dropped them onto his lap, then pulled my knife out of my boot and cut his ties. I walked back over to my desk, handing him the form and a blue pen. He signed quickly, and then Jacob signed as a witness without needing to be asked. James was glaring at me as I slid everything into an envelope for Alice.

"How do I know you won't give those e-mails to them anyways?"

Because I obtained them illegally, idiot. "Because I don't need to. The cocaine in your pocket will have you locked up long enough for the forms to go through. Feel free to play some Tetris if you want Jake. There are a few cans of Pringles in my top drawer too."

"Thanks boss!" He said happily, dropping down into my chair. I bit back my grin, and stopped at my fridge before leaving, taking out the container of fruit that I had been planning to eat for my two a.m. snack. I grabbed a plate from behind the bar, and dumped the fruit onto it, grabbing a fork before I walked over to their table. I set the fruit down in front of Alice, and she just stared at me.

"You should eat something, that sort of stress while drinking isn't healthy." I think she was still in shock, I had watched her enough to know this behaviour was drastically out of character. "Eat," I insisted, putting a bit more command into my voice while trying not to sound frustrated. She followed my instruction, and as she took the fork and ate a strawberry and I gave her a satisfied nod of approval.

"T-thank you, for what you did," she whispered shyly. Was she afraid of me? Damn it, I should have been more discreet with taking him down. But it had been so satisfying.

"Don't worry about it sweetheart," I told her quickly. God, smiling like this was exhausting. I set the manila envelope with the evidence that she needed, along with the proper forms so there would be no fuck-ups at the station, and she just looked at me questioningly. What else would I be giving her? What did Rose tell them?

And why wouldn't he stop fucking staring at me?

I sighed, trying to reign in my frustration for what felt like the millionth time today and my hand automatically went to try and rub out the knot in my neck.

I dropped my hand back down though. Taking liberties even as small as that, it was a sign of weakness. I could not show that in these clothes.

I spoke quickly so I could get this over with and go back to work. "I know you probably won't want to deal with this right now, but it's important to do while the details of the incident are still fresh. These are the appropriate police forms, along with James' signed confession and the video surveillance footage."

"Oh," she said, staring at the envelope uncomfortably. Fuck, did she change her mind? Please don't change your mind, it would not be fun just letting him go. But I wasn't going to pressure her, it had to be her choice. She needed to choose to show him that he couldn't do this to her.

"Of course, it's still your choice. If you want to deal with this now and get it over with, I can call an officer to help when they come take him." As soon as I said the word 'officer' she flinched, and I improvised quickly. I wasn't going to lose this opportunity to help her because of a lack of trust in the justice system. "Or I can help you myself, if you'd prefer."

"Really?" She asked me hopefully.

"Sure," I said with a shrug, though I was really not looking forward to the socially awkward celebrity sitting across from me. I tried not to flinch away when Alice leaned in to whisper to me.

"But… he only grabbed me, what if the thing isn't like, approved? He could just get angrier and come back. What if he finds a way to weasel his way out of being guilty?"

She was a smart girl. "Not with a signed confession, which I've already acquired. It's already a done deal, I have experience handling this sort of thing," I assured her. The smile that lit of her face was brilliant.

"How'd you get a signed confession from him? You've only been gone like twenty minutes," he said, cutting in. God, his voice was so deep and smooth, reminding me of caramel, but I hated it when people butted into my conversations. Couldn't he see that we were in the middle of something right now? Maybe I could just scare him off.

I looked him evenly in the eyes, ignoring the fluttering feeling that those dark emeralds burned into my stomach, and pierced him with a menacing smile. "Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to," I told him coldly, feeling triumphant when he shuddered. I looked back to Alice. "What's your verdict sweetheart?"

"I'd like to get it over with now, you sure you don't mind?"

"Nope. You want something more private, or right here?" I still wasn't sure if she was afraid of me or not, if she was more comfortable with Rose and her brother here, that was fine by me.

Though it would have been nice to get away from his calculating stare.

"Would it be okay to do it here?"

"Sure sure. I'll be right back." I got up, dashing over to my office, and stealing a handful of Pringles from Jake as I grabbed my laptop. James was sitting quietly in the chair, glaring at me as I moved around. I called Paul to arrange for him to be picked up, telling him to give me one hour and was back next to Alice in no time, opening up my laptop as I sat down next to her.

"Jake, we got a guy that keeps trying to dance on bar two," Embry called through my ear piece.

"I'll come handle him, come swap with me and take over in boss' office, I'm babysitting right now."

Jake was almost as bad as I was when it came to our tempers, which was why I liked him. He was my best employee, my second-in-command at the club, never asked questions, and never had to be told something more than once. I also knew that he tended to get carried away when he tried to 'handle' people. Nope, not tonight. I didn't have the patience to deal with a lawsuit. I brought my wrist gear up to my mouth.

"Just toss his ass Jake." He heard the warning.

"No, I'll behave-"

"I don't give a shit-"

"Boss, he's bad drunk. Drugs too, probably," Embry said.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I wasn't heartless, I wouldn't throw him on the streets if there was a chance of him hurting himself. "Fine, get Felix to pull him through and set him up with Carlos."

"He's uh, still in the washroom," Seth said. I fought the urge to walk down there and kick him in the nuts, throw him off his game for a while so he'd get some fucking work done. My patience was at its limit for the night.

"He's on my time right now, if I come down there and he has his dick in some girl's mouth, I'll cut it off, and then I'll fire his ass. Get it done."

"Sure thing boss," Seth said quickly, voice slightly panicked, and I pulled out my blackberry. I hit dial after quickly finding Carlos' number.

"Hey Carlos, its B."

"Hey honey, you sending someone over?"

"Yeah, Felix is going to bring one by, just give him a fucking sandwich or something and put it on my tab, then put him in a cab. I'll stop by on my way out."

"That was a beautiful rhyme honey, you getting into poetry?" He asked teasingly.

"Bite me." I put the phone back in my pocket quickly and opened up the appropriate templates. Typing would go much faster. "Sorry about that," I told her quickly, hoping I hadn't scared her off more with my language.

"What was that?" Rose asked curiously, leaning in with an excited smile. She loved this shit.

"Just a drunk causing a scene. Too plastered to send off in the streets, wouldn't be safe. He'll be better after he eats," I told her, filling out the sections that it would be acceptable for me to know. If I started filling out her birthday and middle name she might get suspicious. Alice leaned in closer to me, and I forced myself not to shift away as she watched my screen and started whispering all the information for the other sections. I was happy that she seemed comfortable around me, but the proximity was unsettling. I was good with Emmett, and getting better every day with Rose and Jasper, but… I just didn't like people touching me. Even being close enough to me to touch me. It was just uncomfortable.

It was the same feeling I had before Victor grabbed me. I hated it. I hated him.

I forced myself to breathe while I typed Alice's words. I could do multitasking. Just keep moving your fingers and lungs.

James had been her boyfriend in high school, and she had broken up with him during her first year of university. He still called her often, and showed up at a lot of places she frequented. The man just wouldn't take no for an answer.

Her brother reached over slowly, picking up a strawberry from the plate I had given Alice. He popped it into his mouth with a grin, leaning back against the seat and chewing slowly, never once taking his eyes off of me.

I finally let myself look up at him, about to yell at him, but this adorable, goofy, crooked smile spread across his face. I then realized he was absolutely shitfaced. Did he always drink like this? Was it a movie star thing, or was he drinking because he was upset? Either way, something about it was sad, and that adorable, slightly vulnerable smile stopped me from shouting.

"Hey Movie Star. Does it ever piss you off when all your fan girls follow you around and watch you?" See, I could be nice, or polite. Ish. He nodded, and looked like he was waiting for me to continue. I tried to give him a minute to put two and two together, but he just kept smiling at me. He was smashed. "Take the fucking hint and stop staring at me."

The others laughed, and I went back to typing quickly to distract myself from the chastised look I had put on his face. I was not going to feel guilty about this, he was being ridiculous. Luckily I finished quickly, and printed off the forms to bring back for her to sign. Once I had the signatures, I said goodnight and practically sprinted back to my office before I could get sucked into any more questions. Paul was already there, sitting on my couch. He nodded to me when I came in, but waited silently while I emptied out the envelope and repacked it with everything that was needed.

"He was harassing one of my guests, physically assaulted her. She's having a restraining order put on him. Here is the video surveillance of the incident that took place tonight, along with other footage of him watching her in my club. All of the necessary forms have been filled out, along with his own signed confession." Paul just nodded, that perpetual guilty, weak look in his eyes irritating me. "I want this processed quickly, Paul."

"I can have it officiated Monday morning as soon as the judge gets in," he said.

I took a steadying breath. "Thank you." His eyes went wide, and I tried not to let it annoy me more. "I'm pretty sure he has drugs on him, you should be able to hold him until then so there aren't any problems." I handed the envelope to him.

"That would be an affirmative boss, he tried to dispose of them while you were gone," Jake said teasingly, waving as he walked towards my door.

"Can you do a roll call for me?"

"Sure thing boss," he said easily. Paul pulled James to his feet, slapping some cuffs on him.

"I'm going to make you regret this," he hissed at me. He flinched when I stood up quickly and smiled at him.

"I'd like to see you fucking try."

He glared, but Paul pulled him along quickly, closing my door behind him. I walked over and dropped into my chair, bringing up the monitors and staring blankly at the feed.

I just felt so tired. It had been a long day, but I knew better than to try and close my eyes right now. I was too on edge, still filled with that uncomfortable feeling of sitting too close to Rose's cousin and being stared at like a piece of cake for the past few hours. I knew what I would see if I closed them.

So I watched the monitors from my office. I wasn't going back there while he was still there, because I knew I'd lose my temper and knock him out. That's all I needed right now, a law suit from Mr. Hollywood for breaking his pretty nose. It was quiet though, and getting quieter, so I just stayed in there watching even though it made me feel like I was slacking off.

The bars called for last call, and by three my boys had herded the rest of the stragglers out. They each came up to my office to turn in their gear and say goodnight, and I waited until the bar tenders had finished counting their tills and left before going and checking on Rose's office.

She was sitting at her desk, typing away which I found curious, but when I walked around behind her I smiled when I realized she was just on Facebook.

It kind of looked like fun. It was so weird how Facebook and twitter had just seemed to take over the world over the past couple years. It made me feel even more different, not being a part of something that was almost like an obligation in today's society. They were great for getting information on other people though.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked, making her jump.

"Jeeze B! You scared the shit out of me," she said with a laugh, smiling over at me.

"Hey, I've taught you better than that. It's your own fault for letting your guard down," I teased, making her roll her eyes. "Where's Emmett?"

"He was crashing at Garrett's tonight," she told me, looking at the clock uncomfortably. I don't know why she was still so shy about asking, she knew I'd drive her home without question. There was no way I'd let Rose go out in this town at night by herself, even to wait for a cab.

I would never let anything happen to her again. The memory of finding her in that alley with those three men… it haunted me more than the night with Victor.

"Cool, I'll give you a lift. Let's go," I said. I loved how easy it was for me to make her smile, and I knew for a fact that there were few people who could accomplish such a feat. It always made me feel accomplished. And relieved. She could still smile, even after what happened. She was strong, and I always admired strength.

"Thanks Bella," she said, giving me a relieved smile. We walked over to my office again, and I lent her a pair of pants to throw on under her dress before tossing her my extra helmet. After making our way down the stairwell, we slipped into the alley between our building and Carlos' shop, and walked in so I could pay him before we went back out and hopped onto my bike. She slid on behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist as I started it up, then I pulled out of the alley to make my way through town to her building.

"How was Alice holding up?" I asked while we were stopped at a red light.

"She seems really good actually, relieved even. What happened with him? It seemed pretty well organized."

"I'm always well-organized Rose," I said with a laugh, talking louder over the wind.

"You know what I mean Bella, what did you do?"

I let out a little huff of air before speaking; there was no harm in telling Rose. If she hadn't left me yet, I doubt there was anything I could tell her that would scare her off. "Well, I had been compiling footage of him watching her for a while, I knew right off the bat that he was bad news. When it became apparent that he had a bit of an obsession, I looked into him, found some dirt. I threatened to report said dirt to the police if he didn't sign the confession I'd written up for him on the assault in the club. He pretty much yanked the pen out of my hand to sign on the dotted line."

"Why didn't you just report the things you found to the police and have him put away for that?"

"Because I didn't trust that he'd be convicted, I obtained the evidence illegally, and because that wouldn't have done anything to help Alice. He would have just gotten back out and gone back to stalking her. I wasn't going to let that happen. I hate that I had to let him grab her, but now he'll never be able to get close to her again without breaking the law and being jailed. This was better for her in the long run."

She was quiet for a long moment. "Thank you, for doing all of that. For helping her."

"Of course. She's important to you, so she's important to me," I said obviously. Her hold around my waist tightened momentarily in a bit of a hug.

"She really likes you, you know. I think you two would get along well. You should hang out with her."

"You know why I can't do that Rose," I said, pulling up in front of her building. I turned off my bike, helping her down and walking her inside.

"You know you can't keep living like this sweetie. I know why you do but… You need people in your life. You need friends."

"I have friends," I spat back defensively. I didn't want to have this conversation again.

"No, contacts and employees are not the same as friends. You have Zeus, Jasper and us."

"That's a lot of people Rose."

"But aren't you lonely? Don't you get bored?"

"No," I told her honestly. I had more than a few hobbies. I was busy.

She sighed, looking at me sadly. "I'm sorry, you know I just worry about you."

"I know, and you should know by now that you don't have to. I like my life, it doesn't need to change." It isn't safe for people to get close to me, I can only protect so many, and I can't give Victor any more opportunities for leverage over me.

Enough people were already dead because of me.

"I know, but I love you, and I'm going to worry about you anyways," she said lightly, leaning in and giving me a hug. "Can you just try and think about it a little? Alice is a really great person, we can even all hang out together if you'd like that better."

"I'll think about it," I told her, just so she'd drop it. Her happy smile made me feel guilty, and once she had her door opened I gave her a wave and went back out to my bike, and was home in fifteen minutes.

"Mommy's home!" I called out, walking through my door. Some of the tension just seemed to melt off of my shoulders as my giant baby boy barreled into me, jumping up and licking my face. "Sorry baby, I had to give Auntie Rose a lift home," I cooed, ruffling his fur and dropping down on my knees to give him a hug. I loved that he was big enough to really hug. "Wanna go outside?"

He barked happily, his giant tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth, and I opened up the door for him to run out ahead of me. I jogged up the stairs after him, and after opening the door we walked out onto my beautiful roof.

This was why I had bought this building. Yes, it was also a good investment, buying out the foreclosure I'd gotten it at was a damn steal, and owning the building offered me a much better level of security, but this roof was the main selling point. It had been built to support a rooftop garden but the previous owner hadn't made it that far, and it was the first thing I had done once I'd gotten settled and done all my research on my new tenants. It had taken days just to get all the dirt in through the service elevator, after all the preparation work, and when I'd gotten my job at the library I had just hired a company to come in and finish it for me. I just didn't have the time. They had done exactly what I'd asked them too, doing a large patio area, a couple small sitting areas, and covering the rest in grass, trees, bushes and flowers. I'd also had a fence put around, just as a safety precaution for Zeus, and I rented it out for parties. The other half of the top floor I had renovated into a large kitchen and dining room for caterers, but I had tenants that liked to rent that too just for larger family gatherings. Another perk; my half of the top floor could only be accessed by the service elevator and one of the stairwells. I had found a legal way to build walls to separate the east and west side of my building on the top floor. I've kept the second half of my apartment, which seemed like a completely separate apartment to anyone who didn't know, pretty empty since Rose moved in with Emmett. You even needed a key to use the service elevator, and Emmett and I were the only people who had one.

I loved this roof though, and so did Zeus. I usually felt myself calm down as soon as I sat down on my comfy swinging bench, but not tonight. I felt restless, agitated, irritated. The white noise was numbing, but not in a good way. I felt like I couldn't finish a single thread of thought in my mind, and like someone was pushing down on my chest. I leaned forward, resting my forehead on my knees, and forcing my breathing to remain even. I was being ridiculous; there was nothing wrong with me. Calm the fuck down.

Zeus had come to my rescue once again, whining softly as he stuck his wet nose in my ear and made me laugh. He started licking my face, standing up on his hind legs with his front paws on my lap. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! You're going to crush me," I laughed, trying to wrestle him off of me. He was such a good boy. My baby. He made my life complete. It was nice having someone to take care of, he was the only person in the world that really needed me.

We went back inside, and after checking my news scanner and e-mail accounts, I went and took a nice long shower. It felt so good taking out that stupid bun, the thing was heavy but I was not going to cut it. Victor loved my hair short, he made that obvious when we realized he cut off the hair of each of his victims to my old shoulder-length. That may have had something to do with the fact that I hadn't cut it in eight years. It was a disguise in itself also, but it was too much of a liability in my line of work. I loved wearing it down when I was in the safety of my home; I had some pretty awesome hair. It was crazy long now, thick and healthy, and a dark brown that had a red tint to it.

I just slipped on a large t-shirt once I dried off and brushed my teeth, and grabbed the book off my nightstand before sliding into my bed. When just reading the words didn't work to clear my mind, I started reading them aloud. Zeus was looking at me like I was crazy, but I'd have to admit that I probably was. I didn't care, he would always love me. I read and read until my throat hurt and my eyes were burning and my mind finally drifted into the land of my subconscious around five thirty in the morning.

. . . ... . . .

"You look so pretty today, Isabella," Victor cooed, reaching out and tugging on my short hair playfully. At least I think he meant for it to be playful, it always kind of hurt.

Wait, my hair isn't short, this isn't real…

No no no, wake up.

"T-thank you," I stuttered. It wasn't me though, I had no control over my body. I was trapped there, looking through my own eyes at his dark red hair, and those ice colored eyes. They were almost completely black though, his pupils extremely dilated.

"And I love this dress, did you wear it for me?"

"N-no, Emmett's taking me to Angela's birthday party, he'll be home any minute," I said, backing against the wall as he kept coming forward, towering over me.

Wake up.

"I think you're lying, you invited me over here to see you in that dress."

"I didn't invite you Victor. I'm going to tell Emmett about this if you don't leave." I tried to put confidence into my words, but they came out like a squeak. "He'll be here any minute!"

His eyes looked panicked, and he reached out and took my face tightly in his hands. "He can't take you away from me. I won't let him, don't worry."

"Let go of me Victor! Please!" I tried to pull his hands off my face, but he was too strong.

Wake up, please please please wake up. It's only a dream, this isn't real, my hair isn't short….

He leaned in quickly, pushing his lips against mine. I started crying, pushing against his face, and when I slapped him he grabbed both of my wrists in one of his hands, the other wrapping around my neck as he shoved his tongue into my mouth. I couldn't breathe, sharp pain was radiating through my lungs from the lack of oxygen…

WAKE UP!

. . . ... . . .

I shot upright in my bed, gasping painfully for air. I clutched at the pain in my chest, rolling onto my side with a loud sob and trembling. I needed to move though, I couldn't lie here. I didn't care if it was only a dream, that it happened eight years ago and that I should have fucking moved on by now. I could still feel his hands on me, his tongue in my mouth. I just couldn't see why people seemed to enjoy kissing so much when it felt so painful and suffocating.

I tried to get out of my bed, but I was too shaky and collapsed as soon as I stood. My boy was by my side in a second though, wiggling under my arm. I let him help me kneel up, leaning against him for support until I could lean back against the bed. I swear, my boy was more human than canine. He was so in tuned to my feelings, and when he did things like this, it made my love for him swell my heart to a painful size. It helped that he had a good forty pounds on me. He was a rescue, so we weren't sure of his lineage, but he was the size of a King Shepard, just with shorter fur, and was solid black. I sat there holding him until it didn't feel like I was drowning anymore, and gave him a big kiss on the side of his head.

"Mommy loves you so much," I whispered, then scratched his ears before carefully standing up. I looked at the clock, and sighed. It was five to seven, and there was no way I was going back to sleep.

I made myself a smoothie, I wasn't hungry but I needed the sugar, and then packed my gym bag. I didn't go to the park Saturdays, I didn't enjoy it when it was so busy, and I needed to run. I took Zeus up to do his business, gave him some breakfast, then flipped on the radio for him before heading out.

Traffic was horrible, and by the time I got to the gym I was just all sorts of pissed off. I stormed into the private bathroom in Emmett's office, got changed into my pants and a baggy t-shirt, put my hair into a ponytail and made my way down to the cardio section on the first floor.

Someone was on my treadmill, and I had to stop myself from walking over and knocking him out. He was the only person there, why did he have to take that machine?

Asshole.

I stayed as far away from him as possible. I flipped through my android and opened up a Tool album, blaring it through my skull candy headphones before warming up. Within ten minutes I was practically sprinting, and I ran until I thought I was going to throw up. It didn't calm me though, so after I cleaned up my machine I taped up my hands and took out my frustration on the punching bags. When I finally stopped, panting as I leaned against the heavy sandbag, I heard the familiar sound of Emmett clearing his throat and I looked up at him.

"Hey Em," I said, forcing a smile as I straightened up.

"Bad night?" He asked gently.

I couldn't tell him the truth, even if he already knew I couldn't say it out loud, so I didn't say anything. He reached out and squeezed my shoulder.

It was okay when my brother touched me, it didn't bother me at all. I was more comfortable with him than any other person in the world. He had been so much more than a brother to me, he was my body guard growing up, my sparring and dance partner, my care taker when dad died, and he was my best friend in the whole world. The only family I had left.

"How's Garrett doing?" I asked politely to break the silence.

"He's been better. Maggie and him broke up, so I helped him sabotage his liver last night," he said with a big grin. Emmett had one of those smiles that when he showed it, you couldn't help but smiling back. It was those damn dimples.

"Do I need to beat her up for you guys?" I asked teasingly.

"We don't want her dead," he said with a smile. I rolled my eyes. "But I'll let him know that you offered. Want to go grab some lunch?"

I looked down at my watch, realizing it was just past noon. Had I really been here that long?

"Hell yes I do, just let me grab a shower first."

"Cool, I'll wait in your office," he said.

"Emmett, it's not my office," I reminded him for the millionth time as we walked up together. The company was his, under his (fake)name. Yeah, I owned a lot of shares; I had bought him the gym because I wanted him to do something he would enjoy, if he refused to leave me. I helped him set everything up, insurance, payrolls, business plans, budgets, his computer systems, but this was his. I just taught a few classes every once in a while.

"Whatever," he said easily. I sighed in annoyance, shifting my towel and water bottle under one arm so I could start peeling off my tape. When we got up to the top floor he dropped into his desk chair as I slipped into the washroom. I scrubbed all of the sweat off of myself, the smell of cranberries and oranges filling my senses and releasing a bit of tension. I put on my favourite strawberry-scented moisturizing lotion, threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and stepped back out into Emmett's office with a growling stomach.

We went out to our favourite steak house, Emmett gagging as I ordered some deep fried pickles. We talked about the new weight cages that he had ordered, and I asked him if we had enough women to start another self-defence class again. That was my favourite job. It was something I wished I could do full time, but it never felt safe having one full-time job. It made me feel too exposed, predictable. Traceable. It's why I had all of these part-time gigs, no one spent enough time around me to get to know me, and the ones that did, it was just more convenient for them to me afraid of me. People didn't ask questions when they thought you'd punch them in the face. If I could, that's what I'd do full time. Teach women how to protect themselves, that they can protect themselves. Or even just doing security. I like being in control, I needed to be in control of my surroundings. It was the only way I felt comfortable.

Because I would never write another story again. That dream was long over.

Maybe once I found him, I would have the option. Or I would be dead. It all depends on who's faster, I guess.

I dropped Emmett back off at the gym afterwards. He was distracted, so I left him alone with his thoughts before going home. After checking my news feed and e-mail accounts, I took Zeus up to the roof, a book in one hand. It was gorgeous, warm and sunny out, so I sprawled out in the grass on my stomach and read while Zeus ran around and eventually came and curled up beside me. Exhausted, mentally and physically, and with a full stomach, I found my eyelids starting to droop. I should have fought them.

. . . ... . . .

My head was so fuzzy, the lack of oxygen and pain slowly pulling me under, but I still used every ounce of energy that I had to try and thrash out of his grip. I could hear the phone ringing as he chocked me with his hand and tongue.

Then he dropped me, and I crumbled to the floor, gasping for painful breaths over my sobs.

"Hey Bells, sorry I'm late. I was supposed to pick up Victor on my way home but he never showed. I'll be home in ten, see you soon!"

Beep.

Yes, thank you Emmett, thank god.

"No, no no no," Victor was muttering, pacing back and forth in front of me with a furious expression. "Fucking Emmett… Don't worry baby, I'll get us out of here, we're going to be okay."

"N-no!" I said kicking and punching at him ineffectively as he reached out to pull me off the floor. He picked me up, and I thrashed like I was having a seizure, grabbing onto the chairs, counter, anything I could find with my feet, until finally my elbow connected with his jaw, and he dropped me on the hard tiles again. "HELP! HELP!" I knew our neighbours were too far away to hear me, but I had to do something.

"Fuck! Isabella, stay still! We're not safe here."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you!" I cried.

Wake up wake up wake up…

My sobs caught in my throat when I saw the rage in his eyes. He reached forward, grabbing my hair, and smashed my head against the tiles, hard, making me scream. I clutched at my head in pain.

"I'm sorry baby, that was supposed to knock you out," he cooed gently, doing it again. I was still crying though, and he pulled me up to my feet, and punched me hard in the side of the face. "God, Emmett was right, you do have a hard head," he said teasingly. I slumped in his arms, still awake but in just too much pain to move, think, or fight back anymore. I couldn't see straight, and my mouth tasted like blood. "There's my good girl. Are you going to behave now?" I couldn't even move my lips, but he didn't wait for an answer before throwing me over his shoulder. I watched the living room disappear as we walked away, noticing Victor had forgotten his letterman jacket, and the drops of blood that fell out of my mouth, staining the white carpet as he took me out the back door.

. . . ... . . .

Zeus licking my face worriedly woke me up, my eyes shooting open as I gasped for breath. I held onto him tightly while I tried to calm myself down, trying to push away the lingering memory of the pain in my head. It wasn't real, it shouldn't hurt. I was being ridiculous. I had lived these memories; they should get better over time, right? Why did they feel more painful each time then?

"Thanks baby boy," I said, kissing him on top of his head. We went back downstairs, and I still had a couple hours before work. After checking my newsfeed, I sat back down with my book on the couch to kill the time. It wasn't easy to concentrate on the words today; I was too preoccupied worrying that they would come to the club again tonight. I felt like shit, I was tired, and above all I was angry. I hated that after all these years he was still able to hurt me, and he wasn't even here. I hated how weak he made me feel. I hated that I was afraid to sleep. I just felt so fucking angry, and there was no way I could behave myself if I had to go through the same thing as last night.

Thank god they didn't. Emmett came in at eleven as usual for Saturday night. He was a brave man, sitting there with Rose and her friends at their big white table. It ended up being a really slow night, dreadfully boring. It was a rare thing that we didn't have to throw out at least a couple people, but New York City seemed tired and on its best behaviour. Rose left early with Emmett, and after the bartenders counted their tills in my office and my guys turned in their gear, I locked up and drove home.

After bringing Zeus up to the roof for a while, I went and took a nice long shower and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Tomorrow was my day off, well, today actually. It was almost five in the morning, and I knew that I needed to sleep. I made myself a strong drink, rolled a tiny joint, and went back up to the roof. I fell asleep on my big hammock wrapped up in a blanket, Zeus sleeping on the grass underneath me as we watched the sun rise.

I didn't have a single dream.

. . . . . . . . . .

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