Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, duh.

Leash Laws

Chapter 3

BPOV

I was still feeling a little shell-shocked from my morning encounter with the beefy but dim-witted brute as I walked back to my apartment building. Duke was worried about me, I could tell by the way he kept nervously glancing back at me every few feet. I was usually in a much better mood after my morning runs so I'm sure that my less-than cheerful demeanor had him a bit on edge. As we stood in the elevator, I rubbed the scruff of his neck in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. Apparently, it wasn't. Duke whined.

"I'm fine you big baby." I rolled my eyes, laughing timidly as he looked up at me with his ears perked up and his head cocked to the side. He whined again.

"Oh, stop it. I was just scared for you," I reached down and stroked the side of his muzzle lovingly, "that's all." This time, he rolled his eyes at me—pulling it off almost as well as I did. Sometimes, he acted so human it was scary. I laughed at his antics, causing his tail to wag happily. "You're all fluff and no tough, Duke." He growled playfully as I gave him a light shove, his tail still wagging merrily behind him. I kissed the top of his head and pulled out my keys to my apartment to open the door.

"You're late!" Alice screeched, pointing towards the designer watch on his pale wrist.

I glanced at the clock on the wall and rolled my eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.

"By three minutes," I looked back at the clock and mentally calculated, "and forty six, now forty seven seconds… Get a grip, Alice." I chuckled as I unclipped Duke's leash and he padded happily over to Alice, expecting some sort of greeting and maybe a snack.

"Get a grip?! Get a grip, she says?" Alice's arms thrashed wildly over her head as her rant continued. "Are you listening to this, Jasper?!" Jasper merely laughed in response to his girlfriend's antics—earning him a glare. He shrugged and turned his attention back to ESPN. Duke, sensing no happy good-morning from his doggie-crush, huffed lightly and joined Jasper on the couch.

"Easy Killer, the clothes can wait," I mumbled as I walked towards the living room. Duke's head snapped up at the sound of my voice but he stayed put—staying out of the way of Alice's shopping-induced rage. His tail thumped happily against Jasper, much to Jasper's chagrin. I laughed at the sight before walking away from the living room and towards the bathroom.

"Are you insane?!" was the last thing I heard before shutting the bathroom door. The screeching was still there, accompanied by an occasionally excited bark, but the words were drowned out. I'd never been more thankful for thick walls.

I turned on the shower and stripped out of my sweaty running clothes; this morning's events playing over and over in my mind. I cringed at the memory of seeing Duke getting hit, I'd rather it was me than him. It had happened to me before, so I knew that I could take it. I knew that he was just trying to protect me, but I didn't like that Duke had jumped in between the danger and myself, it made me nervous. I don't know what I would do without him.

The bathroom was steamy by the time I stepped under the showerhead. The stress of my week washed away with my favorite body wash. The tension in my shoulders and back was miraculously released under the flow of the hot water. I lathered my hair with my favorite strawberry-scented shampoo, rinsing away my fears from this morning away along with the fragrant suds. I was halfway through shaving my legs when there was pounding at the door, making me jump and nick my leg with my razor.

"Mother-fu—"

"Get out now, Swan!" Alice barked authoritatively, "I don't have all day! We have places to go!"

"God-damnit, Alice!" I shrieked. An angry red stream flowed down my leg from where I'd cut myself. I swore under my breath as I held my injured appendage under the streaming water to rise the wound clean. I heard Duke growl lightly on the other side of the door in response to my anger. Apparently, he had followed his doggie-crush in her tirade against my sanity. I knew that because of his affections for Alice he'd never actually attack her. But at this particular moment, I wished he would.

Stupid, love-sick dog.

"Oh pipe down, Duke," I heard Alice admonish him, "This is in her best interest!"

"Is not! Sick her, Duke!" I shouted in response. I heard Duke chomp on something. "That's it, I'm hiding the doggie treats way better next time." I growled. Apparently, my underwear drawer isn't security enough. So much for a reasonable expectation of privacy in my own damn apartment…

The bathroom door opened.

"You've got thirty seconds before I flush the toilet, Swan! You're getting pruny."

Knowing that Alice was more than likely to do what she'd threatened, I quickly finished shaving my legs and stepped out of the shower and into a warm, fluffly towel. I padded into my bedroom in search of clothing. Alice had set out my clothing for the day, as usual, along with some lacy lingerie. I stared at the barely-there undergarments in disbelief.

"They aren't going to put themselves on, you know." Alice had appeared in my doorway and was leaning casually against the door frame looking rather smug. I shot her as nasty a glare as I could muster and headed to my underwear drawer to find something more acceptable. I was an attorney, not a stripper. I needed practical panties, not those.

Right as I reached my dresser, Alice said, "Stop right there, Swan." I froze, anticipating a showdown. I looked at her, smirking, daring her to take me on. She knew she'd never beat me. This time, it was my turn to look smug.

"What are you going to do about it, Pixie?" I was gloating. This battle was already won.

"Nothing I haven't done already," She replied. Her smile grew more pronounced.

Ok, I wasn't expecting that.

I turned to face my dresser, accepting her challenge.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Alice called, smiling even wider than before.

"And why the hell not?" I quipped, somewhat annoyed. I was still in my towel and I was starting to get cold. I turned to open my dresser again. Her voice cut me off.

"Because it's empty. I cleaned it out while you were running." She giggled.

I whipped around the face her. "You what?!"

"Now you have to go shopping!" She clapped her hands together happily and bounced up and down. She was incredibly pleased with herself.

"Are you insane?!" I shrieked. I wanted to smack her, but I knew that in the end she'd get her way, so fighting with her would prove to be useless. She shrugged and skipped away.

"MARY ALICE BRANDON YOU GET YOUR PIXIE ASS BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" I howled. Duke, who was laying lazily in the corner on his enormous doggie-bed opened one eye. He was used to this kind of interaction between Alice and I. Alice, who was now down the hall laughed at my hollering.

"You've got ten minutes to change, Bella!" Her silvery voice floated down the hall. I turned to face the clothing again and grimaced. Lingerie. I hadn't worn it in years. Not since… Damnit, Bella, not now. I drove the thought mercilessly from my mind. I had no need to invest in pricey lingerie. The only man in my life was Duke, and he was a handful as it was, nor did he care about what kind of underwear I was wearing. I slipped the light silk fabric on and was surprised at how comfortable it felt. From how it looked, I was anticipating chafing galore, but the deep blue fabric was soft against my pale ivory skin.

I tentatively held up my outfit for the day. A dress.

Oh for the love of God…

I grumbled as I threw on the cream and brown patterned dress. It was a softer silky material, meaning it was most likely expensive, but I chose not to complain. Arguing with Alice over the price of a garment was beyond useless—she'd buy it anyway. The new bra I was wearing caused my cleavage to make a bit of an appearance, so I decided to throw on a bright yellow cardigan to make the dress a bit more demure. I grabbed a cream silk scarf in case it was cold and made my way to the kitchen to grab some coffee.

Alice intercepted me by the island in my kitchen, smiling and holding up a pair of dark brown heels—a perfect match to the brown in my dress, no doubt.

"Oh, hell no, Alice!" I walked directly past her to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup. Duke, smelling the coffee, came bounding into the kitchen looking for his breakfast. I scooped some kibble from the jar on the counter and placed it in his elevated doggie dish.

"But Bella, you've got great legs! These will only make them look better!"

"There is no way in hell that I'm wearing those shoes, Alice. I'll die." I shuddered at the thought of having to wear four-inch heels to walk around all day in. That was like asking for a trip to the emergency room.

"Oh please, don't be such a drama queen." Alice rolled her eyes and held the shoes out towards me. I moved away from her. "You can kick anyone's ass and you're afraid of a stupid pair of shoes." She gestured towards the shoes in her hands as she spoke. I gasped.

"Oh my god, Alice!" Her eyes widened in shock.

"What? What happened?!" She dropped the shoes and whipped her head from side to side in search of whatever it was that had caused the commotion.

"You just called shoes stupid!" I burst out laughing and a fork went flying past my head. Alice glared at me and mumbled something along the lines of 'back-stabbing attorney' or 'piece of shit' but I was far too amused to care. She turned on her heel and stalked towards my bedroom in what I assumed was a search for another pair of shoes. I quickly downed my coffee and toast and joined Jasper and Duke in the living room. Alice emerged from my bedroom a few moments later with an acceptable pair of dark brown flats and my purse. She growled, signifying it was time to go.

Jasper was the first out of his seat, kissing Alice on the nose before nodding goodbye to me and heading out the door. Duke followed suit, pressing a kiss on Alice's arm then tromping over to me.

"Try not to eat the mailman when he drops off the mail, Duke. I have important documents coming today and I'd hate for you to get any blood on them." He huffed lightly and looked at me, begging me with his eyes to stay.

"I know, I'll miss you, too." I placed a kiss on his nose, "But don't worry, Alice and I will be back in a few hours," I emphasized the hours, imploring her to shorten her shopping spree not for my sake, but for Duke's. She rolled her eyes at me and pointed at her watch while glaring at me. She hadn't forgiven me for my shoe remark. He whined lightly. I whispered in his ear: "I'm scared, too." Then laughed. I placed another kiss on the top of his head and walked past Alice and out the door.

Four hours, two malls, and more boutiques than I care to know later, I was exhausted and my closet was fully re-stocked. I didn't even want to know the amount of money that Alice spent on me, I was afraid it would make me nauseous. I was halfway to the elevator when my phone rang.

"Bella, get down to the station now. We've got a major lead on the Gino case." Emmett said through the phone. My heart skipped a few beats—James Gino was a mobster in every sense of the word. He had his hand in almost every pocket in downtown Chicago, and he was good at being a monster. The only problem was there were never any loose ends. No one was willing to speak out against him, he ruined lives and murdered at the drop of a hat—thus ensuring that there were never any witnesses. I'd been gathering trivial evidence against him for the entire year that I'd been Prosecutor, and I was jumping the bit at an opportunity to bring him in for questioning.

"Don't say a word to anyone, Emmett. I don't want anyone finding out about this. I'll be at the station in ten minutes."

"You got it, Swan."

"Emmett," I responded tersely, "I mean it. I don't care what kinds of things are thrown at you. Do not take your eyes off of this for a second."

"Oh, I don't think that's going to be an issue." I could hear him smiling through the phone.

"Thanks so much for the call, Em, I'm in my car now."

"No problem, Bella. I knew you'd want to be clued in."

Emmett was my informant at the police station. He was the youngest detective on the force, and one of my best friends. He made sure that I was involved in every single one of the police proceedings in the greater Chicago area. He always called me the moment anything came across his desk that could potentially involve the prosecutor's office. I spent a majority of my free time at the station, mulling over files and cold-cases hoping for some kind, any kind of break. I pushed myself hard, and I worked all the time. The better I was at my job, the more men I put behind bars. I made a lot of enemies with my work ethic and efficiency, but I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I did any less. I had an obligation to fulfill to myself, and to those like me. I wasn't about to be the one to drop the ball.

I bit my lip as I pulled into the lot at the police station in between Emmett's massive jeep and a silver car I'd never seen before. This could be it, I thought to myself, This could be what I was waiting for. I'd kill to get Gino put behind bars. The string of assault, murder, and blackmail associated with him was more than enough motivation for anyone to see that he was a dirty bastard, but it was his lesser-known affiliations that made my blood boil. His history of domestic violence made me sick to my stomach. I had the hospital files of every single one of his "women," as he liked to call them, that I could get my hands on, but none of them would talk. They were beaten and threatened and therefore blatantly refused to press charges against him. I owed it to them, and to myself, to get Gino off the streets and in a federal penitentiary.

I crossed the parking lot at a jog and burst through the doors of the main floor. I took a quick right out of the foyer and into the detective's unit. I scanned the room for Emmett but he wasn't there. I asked the secretary, Jessica, if she had seen him and she informed me to wait until Emmett came to retrieve me.

I was pacing in front of Emmett's office when I got the feeling that someone was watching me, again. It was the same feeling from this morning, only intensified. I looked around me again, but everything looked like 'business as usual.' That was, until I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist.

"You look hot, Swan" said a breathy voice from behind me. I felt a man's hot breath on my neck, sending shivers down my spine—but not in a good way. I stiffened immediately.

Mike.

Mike Newton was a detective in Emmett's unit, and was an incorrigible idiot. He'd asked me out an indecent amount of times and I'd turned him down as kindly as possible every time. He'd grown increasingly forward with each attempt, but this was crossing the line. He'd attempted to touch me before, and I'd managed to weasel my way out of it. He clearly didn't get the hint. I decided to take things into my own hands, literally. But not before I toyed with him. I smirked slightly.

"Oh, Mike," I purred in an attempt to be sexy. I could tell I was failing miserably but I hoped he would take the bait. Mike stiffened and loosened his grip slightly. Perfect.

"I, uh, Bella… I mean I knew you liked me but, uh…" He was stammering in an attempt to handle my new-found self-assuredness. My smirk became a full blown smile.

Faster than he could formulate a coherent thought I spun in his arms, latching my hand on his right wrist as I twirled. I side-stepped out of his embrace and wrenched his right arm behind his back, yanking his elbow backwards and shooting his shoulder forwards—making him howl in pain. I gave his lower back a shove and pushed him into the wall in front of him, mixing his facial features with the graying stucco and causing him to give another yelp in pain. I kicked his feet apart and shot my hand between them, grabbing ahold of his manhood and squeezing slightly. Mike took a gasp of air and whimpered.

"Mike, I've told you before, and I'll tell you again, Do. Not. Touch. Me." I squeezed what I was holding with a bit more pressure and Mike squeaked slightly. I turned to look behind me—the entire office was now watching the scene unfold in fascination. I'd never unleashed my self-defense skills in front of them before now. I blushed furiously at having all of the attention on me, causing my grip to slacken momentarily. Mike vainly attempted to wriggle himself out of my grasp, but I was too fast. I released my hold on his boys and moved my arm to the back of his neck, causing his head to hit the wall with a bit more force than before.

"I was forced out of bed at six o'clock this morning, was hit on by yet another greasy member of your species not more than forty minutes later, had my underwear stolen from me, and have been forcibly dragged through every mall, shop, and boutique in the greater Chicago area in the span of less than four hours. Trust me, Newton. Don't mess with me." I leaned forward and placed my mouth next to his ear, "If you ever lay a finger on me again, I will gladly remove from your body what it is that makes you a man. Do you understand me?" Mike blanched and nodded feebly. I smiled. "Good, then we've reached an understanding." I released Mike and he stumbled as he scurried away.

"I'm pretty sure Jasper told you not to make anyone cry today." A deep voice called across the office.

Emmett. My smile grew more pronounced.

"I would think that sexual assault serves as some sort of an exception to that particular instruction, don't you?" Emmett's laughter boomed out of his chest.

"The only one who was assaulted was Mike." Emmett winked at me. I laughed.

"Oh, please. I hardly touched the guy. It's not my fault he wasn't adequately trained in hand-to-hand combat." I teased.

"Bella, you and I both know that no amount of training could have prepared him for that. He didn't stand a chance!"

I shrugged and Emmett shook his head, laughing.

"Now about that major lead…" I inquired.

"What? Oh, right." Emmett blushed. I raised an eyebrow. I'd never seen Emmett blush before. "Follow me." Emmett turned and lead me back towards the holding cells and interrogation rooms. He took me to the interrogation room at the back of the station. Quil Ateara, another one of my friends on the force, was standing guard at the door. He stepped aside when he saw me approach.

"Bella," he nodded in my direction.

"Quil," I replied. Quil took the keys to the room from his belt and unlocked the door for me, opening in and gesturing for Emmett and I to step inside. I followed Emmett through the doorframe and gasped when I saw the state of the individual sitting in the chair.

"Bella, this," Emmett gestured towards the woman sitting stoically at the table in front of me, "Is Rosalie Hale."

I know, I know... it's a bit of a cliff-hanger, and we still have EPOV before you can find out what happens! Don't worry, though. Edward and Bella will be meeting soon...

Please, please, let me know what you think.

Oh, and I'm looking for a beta... anyone interested?

As always, read and review!

xo auteurinconnu