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Chapter 1: Yellow Brick Road

Months earlier…

"Bella, finally you're here! What took you so long?" Emmett asks, exasperation punctuating each word as he rushes towards me.

Emmett McCarty and his partner have been my primary associates at the FBI for the past three years. Watching him surge forward, I still find myself amazed at his ability to move so quickly. He is easily six-foot seven and about two hundred fifty pounds of pure muscle. Emmett's size tends to intimidate most people, which often works to our advantage in this field. However, underneath the muscle is a guy with a huge heart and an infectious love of life. His warm and humorous manner naturally draws you in and is almost impossible to avoid. I am lucky to work so closely with him because those qualities help to offset the dark side of humanity we experience during our cases.

Today, the humor in Emmett is gone, his face is worn and pale while his body is stiff and on edge. It makes me wonder just what I am getting myself into by coming in today.

"Well, hello to you too." I smirk sarcastically. "This is the welcome I get after being called in on my day off?" Although he's clearly not in a joking mood, I'm hoping our typical banter will bring back some of his zeal as this Emmett leaves me feeling ill at ease.

"No time for small talk. We have about two hours to get more evidence before I have to release the suspect. The director really wants this guy to stay locked up, so he's riding my ass on this one." Emmett barely takes a breath as he explains the situation quickly, another sign of his anxiousness. "Look, Bella, I need you to go do that thing you do and save me here."

"Thanks, Emmett, no pressure. I'm not a wind-up toy you know. I don't perform on command." I huff in annoyance, my own anxiety building. Something feels wrong about this whole situation; I just can't put my finger on what.

"Come on, you know that's not how I think about you," Emmett responds with remorseful eyes, the tension continuing to roll off him. "But this is an important case and whether you like it or not, Swan, you are my only hope at finding something to hold him over longer."

"Yeah, yeah, say it with chocolate later," I grumble as we continue to walk down the hallway. When we turn the corner and move toward the steel door, I shift into game mode preparing to meet my next target waiting on the other side.

"Hey, Eric, Dr. Swan's here to visit with Felix Grey. Can you buzz us through?" Emmett asks the uniformed cop monitoring the entryway.

The door swings open, and as we walk down another long corridor, I'm once again struck by the depressing nature of jails. I have visited hundreds and all of them the same; dark, cold, depressing, and pungent with a musty smell that disinfectants can never remove. Not that detention centers should be all butterflies and rainbows, but a little color or fresh air has never hurt anyone. Stopping in front of interview room one, I turn to Emmett so that he can finish giving me the necessary information before I talk to the suspect.

"What do I need to know here?"

"I thought you like to go in and make up your own mind? You changing the rules on me?"

"I don't want all the details, Em, but I usually have a little more to go on then a phone call from you ordering me down here ASAP."

"The order was all from love." He grins, softly punching me in the shoulder. Finally, a glimpse of the Emmett I know and adore. With that small gesture, I feel some of the pressure ease off my chest. Maybe things aren't as bad as I first thought. "Listen, we're pretty sure this guy committed some major crimes, but we have nothing concrete to go on. He's a suspect in an attempted break-in on a woman's apartment, Heidi Roberts. Her friends reported her missing two weeks ago. I won't get into the specifics, but we don't think this is his first rodeo. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, got it. Okay, let me see what I can do. Is Cullen around today?"

"Smooth, Bella," Emmett smirks. "No he's off. Don't worry though, once lover boy hears we were in need of your services, I'm sure he'll find an excuse to make an appearance soon enough."

"Emmett," I growl. "You know it's not like that. I was just curious. He doesn't care one way or the other whether I'm here, believe me."

"Ha," Emmett laughs. "You just keep on telling yourself that, Swan!"

Edward Cullen is Emmett's partner and the bane of my existence. He is easily the best-looking man I have ever met, and the trouble is he knows it too. The word "player" is not a strong enough descriptor to portray the way Edward deals with his so-called love life. For years, I've watched his flavors of the week go in and out of his life.

From my perspective, Edward appears to love the attention and freedom of having no romantic ties, and has little regard for those harmed in his wake. More times than I can count, I have overheard his frustrated voice telling a poor lovesick girl why she needs to "get over it" because they were through. The man doesn't comprehend how easily he charms those around him into falling hard.

If he was simply a jerk, I could easily chalk him up in the hot but total asshole category and move on. However, I've seen on more than one occasion the other side of Edward, which is fiercely loyal, protective, loving, and at times breathtakingly vulnerable. This is the crux of my issue with Edward.

That side of Edward calls to parts of me I have tried to bury, parts that only he seems to have the key to, which both thrill and scare me at the same time. Nevertheless, no matter how much I long to connect with whom I hope is the real Edward, I make sure to keep my distance. I've learned nothing good comes from opening up to others, and even if I was willing to try, the last person on earth I should trust myself with is Edward Cullen.

"Ready?" Emmett asks bringing me back to the job at hand.

"Ready. See you on the flip side," I say as he opens the door and lets me into the interrogation room.

Like others, it is small with concrete walls and no windows. In the middle of the room is a square table with two chairs on opposite sides. On the chair furthest from the door sits Felix Grey, the reason for my impromptu to outing. He is a big man with dark hair and even darker eyes staring at me with looks that vary from anger to lust. He is sitting still, patiently waiting for my next move. I can tell this will be a long emotional day. He will not break easily.

Game on Felix, I think to myself. Let's see what secrets you carry…

Until next time. :)