Chapter One

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!"

The other people in the room winced at my loud tone, although it wasn't anything that they hadn't experienced before. The person tied to the chair flinched but looked relieved at the news I had just received. It's the only thing saving his sorry ass right now.

"Don't you get too excited, James. Something may have come up but I will be back for more information," I murmured threateningly.

His hopeful look vanished as quickly as it came. I looked at Alice, my right-hand gal, and back at him longingly. She shook her head and motioned toward to the door.

"But I've been waiting for this for so long-"

"No, Bella. He'll still be here when we're done."

I sighed sadly and dropped the shears on the floor, some of the blood splattering.

"Jasper, Jane, I want the two of you to keep an eye on this mongrel. He's gotten away from me before and that will not be happening again, or you'll be on the receiving end of what I plan to do," I stated before heading up the stairs.

Alice took the lead and opened the front door for me, handing me my sunglasses. After getting in her car I lit a cigarette and turned up the radio while blowing out the smoke. She gave me a pointed look but I just grinned in return.

"Catch me up on what the dumb shit did this time," I said once I had finished my cigarette.

"He somehow found out about one of our shipments that was supposed to come in today and intercepted it. Rosalie is already on the scene waiting to hear what you want to do next. It's the third time this month he's interfered with our work."

I wasn't nearly as upset at the fact that he had stolen some of my goods, I was mad that he interrupted my session with James. It had taken my crew six months to track him down after losing him the first time when I needed some important information. He was good at escaping but we were expecting it this time.

After ten more minutes we got to the loading dock and Rosalie walked up to the car and knocked on the window.

"So, whose fault is it that this asshole got our shit?" I questioned the blonde.

She sighed and nodded her head towards the new guy. He was tall and muscular but he looked to be in his early twenties, if he was even there yet.

"Hey, you. Get your ass over here and tell me your name."

The guy at least had the decency to look ashamed of himself but did as I commanded. With as busy as things had gotten around here, I left Rosalie to hire the muscle when it was needed.

"Seth," was his simple reply.

"And how old are you, Seth?"

"Nineteen, ma'am."

"How long have you been working for me?"

"This is my first week, ma'am. Listen, I'm sorry about-."

Grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back got him to hush quickly. It was rare I was ever in the mood to listen to excuses.

"No, you listen to me. I paid a pretty price for that shipment of ammo, stuff that you can't get around here much anymore. What I want to know is who is going to reimburse me for my lost money since you allowed it to be taken from right under your nose?"

He swallowed thickly and paled.

"I-I don't know, ma'am."

Alice sucked in a breath and Rosalie shifted around uncomfortably. They knew that he screwed up.

"Rule number one…'I don't know' is not an acceptable answer, Seth. I asked question and now I expect a proper response," I explained slowly and twisted his arm further, causing him to suck in his breath.

"I'm sorry! It should be whoever you see fit, ma'am."

Slowly, I released his arm and he started rubbing the sore spot. I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped but once it started I was laughing loudly. Tears were streaming down my face and I had to hold my sides from the pain of so much laughter.

"Rosalie, you did well. I like this kid even though he cost me a shit ton of money. Since you're so new I'll let you off the hook but shit like this better not happen again. You will stay under Rosalie's care. But if you ever do something as dumb as this again, you will pay with more than just a sore arm. Got it?"

He nodded and looked at Rosalie with relief. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair behind her shoulder and stepped closer to me.

"Is there anything you want to see here, Boss? There's really not much for evidence."

"Then no. I trust that you and Irina did your jobs right. Now, there are more concerning matters. Please tell me that you dumped that piece of shit Royce."

Rosalie laughed and put her arm around my shoulders, guiding Alice and I back towards the car.

"No, I haven't dumped him and I don't plan on it anytime soon. I really think he's the one, Bella. He's so good to me and…"

I felt bad but I had to drone out the rest of it. Rosalie had met Royce only a month ago and they'd been together for three weeks. I immediately felt uneasy when I met him, which is something that's hard to do. I even warned her of how I felt but she got mad at me and didn't start talking to me again until two weeks ago unless it was absolutely necessary. Alice agreed with me but didn't want to risk telling Rose, lest she pissed her off as well.

"Is there any new information on who it might be?" Alice asked.

Rosalie's eyes got wide and she nodded.

"I'll meet you guys at the office. There's some stuff I need to get together and double check, but I have a pretty good guess."

We nodded in agreement and got back in the car. Alice started it while I looked out the window, deep in thought. Whoever this person was, they had done a pretty good job of pissing me off. First, it had been something simple. Stealing a very small shipment of drugs that I had actually forgotten about. But it escalated quickly to larger shipments and they even moved on to my ammo and weapons. The past year had been hell but even I had to admit I enjoyed the occasional game of cat and mouse.

"Bella? Bella!" Alice screamed.

I jumped and glared at her.

"What the fuck are you yelling about now?"

She laughed as we pulled up the building we had left just an hour ago.

"I know Rose is waiting for us at the office but…I figured you'd like to say hello to James again before we left."

My eyes lit up as I got out of the car and raced to the basement door.

"You know me so well, Mary Alice."

She glared and pushed me gently, following back down the stairs.

"I see you guys made sure he didn't escape. Maybe I'll even take you go out for ice cream later," I said in a sugar-sweet voice.

Jasper chuckled and snuck a peek at Alice. I knew the two had a crush on each other but they never pursued anything. I made a mental note to get them to work together more often.

"Now, James, do you remember the last thing I asked you? I'd be more than happy to remind you."

I picked the shears back up from the floor and walked towards him with a menacing grin on my face. I was in my element, and wouldn't be disrupted for a second time.

He eyed the shears and looked back at me, the last bit of hope leaving his eyes. That's when things could go either way. Either they'd be fiercely loyal and choose death or they'd start blabbing every detail I wanted to know. I had a feeling that James would be the latter.

"Really, I'm just a small man in the scheme of things. They've been paying for my school as long as I do the little things they want."

I nodded towards Jasper who brought another chair for me. I sat on it backwards with my arms crossed on the top of it, allowing the shears to stay in his line of sight.

"Everything they wanted me to do involved you or one of your members. Six months ago they wanted me to steal that shipment of coke but that's when you guys caught me," he nodded towards Jasper and Jane.

I rolled my eyes and stood back up, knocking the chair over.

"I'm really not interested in a monologue here, James. Give me the important details and maybe I won't rip out your tongue."

I saw the hope return to his eyes and he continued to talk faster. He had been hired by a blondish woman by the name of Tanya, which rang a bell. She was the only one he was ever in contact with but he had overheard a little bit about the main boss. It was pretty clear that he wasn't lying about being a small part in their game.

Once he finished, I handed the shears to Jane and looked at Jasper.

"You know what to do."

He nodded and stalked slowly towards James while I grabbed Alice's arm and walked back up the stairs, hearing James' screams as we walked out the front.

"Why does the name Tanya sound so familiar?" I asked.

Alice shook her head and got in the car.

"I'm not sure but it is really familiar. Let's go see Rose, maybe she'll know."

We drove the few minutes to my house and walked into my office I had on the second floor. We did most of our important business here, but research and such took place at my restaurant in one of the back rooms.

"Alright, pretty lady. Tell me what you know," I said while sitting down in my chair and propping my feet on the desk.

She dropped a file by my feet and sat back in her favorite chair with a glass full of scotch. I eyed it questioningly but looked back towards the file.

"I confirmed what I believed to be true. The dude's name is Edward Masen and he's the head of one of the other infamous mobs around here. However, it's also our newest and biggest competitor," she explained while swirling the glass.

I lit another cigarette while Alice looked through the file. It was quiet until Alice found what she wanted.

"Here," she said while handing me a picture.

It was a picture of a woman with blondish red hair and blue eyes. She was very beautiful and I recognized the name scrawled beneath it.

"Tanya Denali. She's the one who hired James," Alice told Rose.

Rose hummed and downed the rest of her drink.

"That's enough excitement for one day, ladies. I've got a hot date with my man that I need to get to. My cell will be on, of course."

I rolled my eyes and shooed her away. Even though we had our personal lives, everyone knew that business came first. Alice giggled at Rosalie's retreating figure and took her seat.

"I fucking hate that Royce guy. He's a piece of shit but I can't prove it yet. I do have someone keeping an eye out though," Alice admitted.

I put the picture of Tanya down and pinched the bridge of my nose. Anytime spent talking about Royce King was a waste.

"I'm worried about her, Alice. It isn't like her to get hooked on a guy like this. You know how independent she is. But if he just snaps his fingers she's here like a trained puppy. I don't like it."

Alice looked at my sadly and nodded in agreement.

"I know, but she's a big girl that can make her own decisions. You know what happened the last time you tried to ban her from seeing someone," she chuckled.

It's true, I tried to ban Rosalie from dating her last boyfriend but he was also a piece of shit that was stealing from her in order to pay his gambling debt. I had to take care of my crew if I wanted my crew to take care of me.

"Go home, Alice. Jacob should be here by now, so see him before you leave."

She nodded and left my office. I got up and poured a glass of my favorite wine, thinking about the pain in my ass by the name of Edward Masen.