Chapter 2
Hi guys! I hope you're liking the story so far, I know I've been having so much fun writing it. It's been a while since I've written anything, so please stick with me while I get back into it. My updates will be once a week on Thursdays, except for this one since I wanted to give you more of a preview. Thanks!
Jasper was sitting on one of the overstuffed chairs in my office with his head in his hands while I paced and Alice stared at the wall blankly.
"Jasper, I really hope that this is just a prank and you're not being serious," she said sadly.
I looked at the both of them with pity. Unfortunately, things like this happen in our line of work more often than anyone would like.
"They're…gone. Just like that, they're gone."
My favorite pixie went over to the sobbing man and hugged him. My jaw clenched and I crossed my arms thinking about what our next move should be. Jasper had called me earlier in the evening, crying. Once I was able to get him to calm down enough to tell me what had happened, he told me his and Rose's parents had been gone missing.
Rosalie had gotten home that night after her date with Royce to find a note left behind with details about how her parents had been murdered. She immediately called Jasper who followed the instructions written and discovered it all to be true. An emergency meeting was called and now it was the three of us deliberating.
I handed him a glass of whiskey which he swallowed in one big gulp. Alice just snuggled him closer while I put the glass back down on the bar and pulled out my phone.
"Jacob, I want you to get Paul. Yeah, Jasper is staying here tonight and I want someone watching over him. Let me know if you guys find Rose."
I hung up before he could reply and took my seat, sighing. There was nothing more to be said so we all sat in silence for what seemed like hours until Jacob finally knocked on the door. He walked in right in front of Rosalie who took the seat next to her brother. She grabbed his hand and they cried together, Alice and I leaving to give them some privacy.
"I don't get it. Why would they go after the Hales instead of me? Rosalie and Jasper sure as hell didn't deserve something like this," I murmured into the dark room.
Alice shrugged and struggled to not grab her gun. She was known to get trigger happy anytime she was upset.
"When Rosalie comes out of that room, go to him. I'll take care of Rose. I think you're exactly what he needs right now."
She nodded and walked towards the office, waiting for our best friend to walk out.
One Month Later
"Rose!" I gasped out between bits of laughter, "You have got to stop before you kill me!"
The leggy blonde laughed and continued what she was doing. Poor Jasper had accidentally walked in on Rose and Royce doing certain things on his kitchen counter and kicked Royce out while he was buck naked. Rose had chased her brother around, waving her gun and yelling at him for embarrassing her while Royce just stood on the porch like a lost puppy. I couldn't stop the feeling of satisfaction knowing that there was some justice in the world.
There still hadn't been many new leads on the murder of Jasper and Rosalie's parents but they both were committed to finding who had done it and killing them in cold blood. I sure couldn't blame them and hoped I could help.
"Bella! You need to come quickly," Alice panted after running into the room.
I immediately sobered up and looked at Rose who nodded and we followed Alice out to one of the SUVs.
"We received this note. Jane looked into it and we're pretty sure it's from Masen."
She handed me a piece of paper which I read through quickly and handed to Rose. Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion as she looked out the window.
"Why would they send us this? To prove that they're smarter than us?"
I slammed my hand on the dashboard and the girls jumped.
"Dammit! They're not smarter than us! They may have had the upper hand for a while but it's our time to shine."
Alice looked at me like I was crazy and Rosalie huffed, scrunching the note up into a ball and throwing it out of the window.
"So the question is, should we continue with the shipment or cancel it since they already proved that they know all of the details? How the fuck do they do this stuff, anyway?" I muttered more to myself.
There was silence on the rest of the way to the restaurant. Alice turned the car off but none of us made a move to get out.
"I think there's a mole," Rose finally stated.
I nodded, afraid that was the truth. There was no way that anyone could have gotten this kind of information from an outside source. I was very picky about who was allowed in the crew, but I left those kinds of tasks to Rosalie now.
"I say we don't trust anyone besides the three of us and Jasper. From now on, everything is on a need-to-know basis and we need to crack down on these assholes. I can't keep being made to look the fool."
The two girls agreed with me and we got out of the car, headed towards the building. It was lunch time so the place was packed.
"Bella, I should probably warn you…your dad's here," Alice told me.
I stopped walking and turned towards her slowly. I knew I had to have looked like I saw a ghost. Things were very bad if my father felt like he had to get involved. Resolved, I took the lead into the restaurant and went straight to the back room, ignoring everyone's words of greeting.
"Bella," he stated simply with his arms crossed.
I glared back and him and mimicked his expression.
"I don't see why you think you need to be involved, father. I'm handling everything just fine on my own."
He scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"It sure as hell doesn't look like it. I've had my eyes on Masen ever since he came to town and so far he's made you look like an incompetent fool, which wouldn't be inaccurate. He's been besting you for over a year now, Isabella. I'm not going to sit behind and watch you ruin what I worked so hard to create."
"That is a load of bullshit and you know it. Sometimes these things take time to work out and when they do, everyone will know not to mess with me. This sure isn't the first time someone has attacked us," I retorted.
"You're not wrong but it never took this long to take care of a threat. At least not while I was in charge. I heard that the new kid let Masen's men slip right out of his hands about a month ago. And how did you punish him, Isabella? Spanking him then sending him to his room with a plate of cookies and warm milk?"
He was just trying to rile me up, I knew it. But I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction.
"It's not your business how I punish my crew or even how I run things anymore. You retired, remember? And you left me in charge so you need to accept my decisions and butt out. Go back to fishing and leave us all alone."
His eyes turned dark and he stepped closer so we were almost toe to toe.
"I knew that you weren't ready for this. I should have never left you in charge but I never got the son I wanted to continue on my legacy so I had to settle for your pathetic ass. You can't discipline anyone let alone get anything done around here! You're a disgrace to this family, Isabella. As of now I am out of retirement. Get out of my face."
I slapped him across the face which was loud enough to cause Rosalie to flinch. When he started to fall backwards I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back close.
"I know we've never been the closest of families, father dear. But you signed the contract making me the new boss. You gave up your right to having a say the second the ink dried. I'd be more than happy to get a hold of my lawyer and have him bring over a copy, if you desire. As of now you're not welcome around me or around my men and women. Get out of here before I make you."
He stood up straight and glared down at me.
"You're making a huge mistake here, Isabella. You'll regret this if you let me walk away."
I walked him go and let out of a sigh of relief. Ever since my father had retired and left me in charge he still would check up on me and tell me how much of a disappointment I am. The only good thing that came from my father was him giving me life.
Rosalie gave me a high five and laughed.
"Damn, Bella! I didn't know you had it in you."
I grinned and shook my head.
"C'mon. I'm sure the others are waiting for us."
We went to where all of the computers were set up and Rose took a seat while I remained standing.
"As I'm sure you guys know, we received a note today giving accurate details about that shipment we were supposed to send out tonight. I've decided for us to continue with the shipment and call their bluff. Stay on your guard tonight, just in case anything happens. Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Seth stay behind. The rest of you get your asses out of here."
Everyone scurried out and I turned back to look at my most loyal members. Seth hadn't been working for us long but he had certainly proved himself after the initial mishap. Once I was sure everyone had gone, I locked the door and turned on the jammer just in case there were bugs around that someone had missed.
"Okay, the five of us are going to stay hidden while everything is sent out. Hopefully they'll still come and try to attack us but we'll be ready. The men we're sending the coke to won't be too happy if their shipment doesn't arrive on time. However, they know about our current situation and have our backs if we need them. Rose, I want you closest to the docks keeping your eyes on the newest guys. I want to know when any one of them wipes their own ass without my permission.
Alice, you're going to stay behind and keep an eye on the cameras. We already have the surveillance van set up and ready for you. Let us know the second you see something suspicious. Jasper, you're going to keep watch of the perimeter with me. I'll get in the fight if necessary but I want to stay hidden as long as possible so they don't know I'm there. I'm not sure what they'd try to pull if they saw me before I'm ready.
Seth, you're going to act natural. Stick with the guys and make small talk, figure out anything and everything about these men. I know Rosalie is a pretty good judge of character, but even I've misplaced my trust before. The biggest thing is to remember to trust no one. For whatever reason I still like you dumbasses. Everyone clear on what I want you to do?"
They all nodded after my explanation and I looked at my phone.
"We have approximately seven hours before they come. That's more than enough time for us to set everything up. Oh, and be on the lookout for my father. I have a feeling that he's going to make an appearance when we least expect it."
I went back to my house with Rosalie while Alice and Jasper took off in the surveillance van to double check the docks. Lighting a cigarette, I gave my best friend a pointed look.
"Bella, you can give me that look all you want. Nothing is going to change."
I shrugged and blew out the smoke slowly.
"I still don't trust him, Rosalie. But I'll respect your wishes and kick his fucking ass when the time comes."
She glared at me and sat down in the overstuffed chair.
"Have you found anything new about your parents?" I asked.
She shook her head sadly.
"The only new thing of interest is that we're pretty sure it wasn't Masen's crew. I'm glad it wasn't but it still sets us back of trying to find who."
I gave her a hug and put my cigarette out.
"I don't know about you but I'm going to take a nap before tonight. I have a feeling it's going to be a long one," I said.
She nodded and made her way to the guest room across the hall. I went in my bedroom and closed the door, my hand slowly traveling to the gun that was always at my hip.
"How'd you get in my room?" I asked as I slowly turned around.
My security system was one of the best, I made sure of it. How the hell Edward Masen was sitting on my bed in broad daylight was astounding. My guards were always supposed to keep an eye out.
"And who do I have to kill for letting you in?" I added.
He grinned and stood up, walking towards me. It reminded me of a lioness stalking her prey.
"Oh, Isabella. Don't you realize that I can do what I want when I want? And what I want right now is this pathetic crew you call a 'mob'," he replied sardonically.
I laughed and shoved him away, pointing my gun.
"Why would you want something that you think is 'oh so' pathetic? You may think you have the upper hand, Masen, but it won't stay that way much longer."
"Oh, really? And why is that?"
I didn't answer and nodded towards the door.
"You'll be leaving now. I have more important things to worry about than your dumbass."
He stepped closer yet again and lowered my gun. He bent down and whispered in my ear, "We both know what's going to happen, Isabella. As predictable as you are, I quite enjoy the game of cat and mouse."
He walked out the bedroom door and I screamed in frustration. The prick was going down.
