I absolutely loved the reviews from last chapter! You guys always make me smile! Huge thanks to SusanQ who rec'd this on The Lemonade Stand and to Nauticalmass and Sarge's Girls for their kind words. Please let me know if there is anyone I missed. Real life is crazy right now, and I want to express my gratitude properly.

TwilightMomofTwo makes me a better writer. I'm so happy to have found her.

PTB is a great organization. Special thanks to JulieToo and bigblueboat. I can never leave well-enough alone and tweaked a bit after they sent it back. Please forgive any errors I may have added.

Deep breath. Here we go. As always, SM owns this all.


"I promise. I'll answer all your questions, but right now you need to move."

Bella tucked the gun into the waistband at the back of her jeans. The motion was far too smooth, and I couldn't help but wonder how many times she'd done that before.

She motioned toward the door I was blocking, making it clear I was in her way. I wanted to lock her up, to shake her, to drag her somewhere safe. It would be easy for me to take care of the degenerates alone, but I knew from the obstinate expression that she wasn't backing down.

Meanwhile, Jimmy and his friend Dave roamed freely below. While we negotiated, our opportunity to take control of this situation was closing. I weighed potential options that included calling my family for help, tying Bella up to keep her in this room, calling the police … None of those ideas would eliminate the threat quickly and allow me to keep my fragile relationship with Bella intact.

"Fine," I said, frustrated that I couldn't come up with an alternative, but I wasn't giving in without concessions. "Here are the terms. We're going downstairs together. You will not put yourself in danger, and I will accompany you at all times! If at any point I tell you to leave, you return to this room. Is that understood?" I hoped I was sufficiently stern. "When we get back, you will answer all the questions you've been evading." I made a point of leaning back against the door and crossing my arms. There was no way I was moving while I still had the upper hand.

"Not asking for much, are you?" She looked me up and down, seeming to weigh my resolve.

I didn't respond. She'd already called me a statue once tonight. I knew I could stand here unmoving for days, and she knew it too. From below, I heard Jimmy planning to kick in the store room door. I could use that to my advantage; I wasn't proud. "You should make a decision, Bella. The longer you wait, the worse this is going to get. They're going from room to room looking for your office."

My prediction was followed by an echoing crash, and I saw her jaw tighten. We just stared at each other, neither backing down. During the silence, I started counting. Her heart beat six times before she whispered furiously.

"Okay! Dammit! I agree! You can come with me. Will you just move already?"

I wanted to smirk at winning this battle of wills, but there was too much at stake. I could gloat later, preferably after she'd finished her story.

There was one more thing we needed to hash out before she got past me. As I stepped away from the door, I took hold of her arm. "Don't you think you should call the police?"

She glanced down at my grip as though surprised, but she didn't pull away. "If everything goes well, I won't need to call."

"And if it doesn't?" Another crash rang out. I couldn't have timed that better if I'd tried.

Bella winced. "I have people I can call."

People. I was surprised to hear the plural. "You mean you're bribing more than one cop?" It hadn't occurred to me she might have multiple business associates. My displeasure must have been obvious.

"Come on, Edward, this isn't the time to give me a lecture on being a responsible corporate citizen. I've had bad experiences with cops in the past. Especially when Jake's gone. You don't always get taken seriously as a young woman working alone. That's why I've built a network of contacts. As long as someone comes when I call, that's what's important. Let's go!"

I would have preferred she call now, but I could also see the benefits of waiting. We might be able to work this out quickly. "Fine," I said, sounding no happier than when I'd said it before. "Come on." I let go of her arm and took her hand. "We can scare them off, and when we return, you're finally going to start talking."

She huffed out a breath before nodding her agreement. Only then did I open the door. Bella scowled as I gently pulled her behind me. I led, with both of us crouching while we moved down the hall. Taking a position behind the VIP drink station, we'd have a high-level view of the bar below.

From their thoughts, I knew Jimmy and Dave hadn't gotten much farther than the store room. They believed the bar was empty, so they had all night to party and trash the place while they found the money. The second crash we'd heard was a case of bottles being thrown. Perhaps I should have felt guilty for misleading Bella into believing they were close to us, but it had been necessary to reinforce my point.

She looked through the empty main bar and dance floor, unable to pinpoint their location. I nudged her elbow, pointing at the light coming from the storeroom.

When she started to stand, I pulled her back down. They were coming out, and we were in the best position to observe and determine a potential weakness.

Filthy curses and mutterings about finally "sticking it to the bitch" preceded our first look at the unwanted visitors. Jimmy immediately sauntered behind the bar, filled with the rush of going somewhere normally forbidden to him. He bent down and rummaged through the shelves behind the bar. With a cry of triumph, he spotted a small electrical box and flipped one of the switches. A few colored lights came to life above him. Once he could easily see what he was doing, Jimmy began scanning the shelves, shoving bottles aside, laughing when some fell to the floor. When he finally saw what he wanted, he grabbed the first glasses he could find and filled them, over-pouring, spilling it across the bar.

With a high-pitched giggle worthy of a teenage girl, Dave grabbed a glass. They made a mockery of a toast, slamming the glasses together and sloshing tequila onto themselves.

After downing his glass and refilling it, Jimmy cocked his arm back and heaved the bottle toward the dance floor. It arched high and came down through the hanging lights. Dozens of tiny glass spheres shattered on impact. Without their globes, the bare electrical cords swayed like angry snakes. In the light from the bar, the dance floor shimmered as though covered in ice.

Bella fought my hold, struggling to stand. I gripped her harder, afraid I was leaving bruises, but needing her to be silent for a few more seconds.

Jimmy's thoughts were changing, and I wouldn't be able to control the situation until I figured out what was going on. As the concentration of alcohol in his blood rose, it combined with the illicit drugs. What had begun as a simple robbery was morphing to some sort of crusade. His anger at Denise, at Bella, and at all the imagined slights throughout his life were combining in his twisted perceptions. He wanted someone to blame.

This was no longer a simple robbery. Again, I weighed my options, but short of dragging Bella back to her office and tying her down, I didn't see how to stop it. The best option seemed to be getting it over quickly, before the situation got worse.

I let go of Bella's hand, pointing at the stairs. She nodded, and we moved out from behind our shelter, keeping low until we reached the stairs. As soon as we started to descend, Bella stood tall, shoulders thrown back, and eyes narrowed. She looked very much like someone who'd come to squash the cockroaches invading her home.

I knew the minute Jimmy noticed us; I felt him attempting to concentrate. His brain reminded me of a child on a merry go round. It felt very much like being on a spinning ride. I wondered how he managed to stay upright. The anger and chemicals running through his bloodstream were overriding higher brain function.

Dave sat off to the side with his eyes half-closed, cradling his empty glass. Jimmy had promised him money, and he was having trouble figuring out why they weren't searching for the cash. He wasn't forceful enough to start asking questions, so he waited. At this point, he seemed like the lesser threat.

"It's good to see you again, Jimmy, but you and your friend need to go." Bella stopped at the base of the stairs, moving over just enough to allow me to stand next to her. "I already called the cops," she lied. "You've only got a few minutes to get out of here before they haul you away. You'll hear the sirens any minute now."

I barely registered the waves of anger and fear that came from the men; I was concentrating on controlling the white-hot rush that roared through me. By lying about calling the police, Bella had just started a countdown. People make stupid, reckless choices when they think they're out of time. When drugs and alcohol are added into the mix, anything could happen.

Arrogantly, I'd come downstairs believing that with my gift, I'd be able to control the situation; I hadn't considered the fact that Bella was an unknown variable. If I could have read her, I'd have known about the bluff she was trying to play. Realizing how badly I'd misjudged the situation, I felt blind and on the edge of fear. In spite of listening to Jasper's military lessons all these years, I still hadn't learned enough. Evidently, monitoring the state of the enemy was useless if I had no idea what was going on within my own army.

When neither man responded immediately, Bella started again. "I'm warning you in time to get away. I don't want Denise to have to bail you out of jail again."

When she mentioned jail, panic ran through Dave. Images of unwanted attention from cellmates went through his head, and I was repulsed by the way he'd been treated. Memories of sweaty bodies and fetid breath rolled over him, and he made a small moaning sound. He stumbled to his feet. "I won't go back to jail, Jimmy. We gotta go."

Jimmy ignored him completely, focusing only on Bella. "Annnddd there she is. The bitch who dislocated my shoulder and tossed me in jail. I told 'em about the whores you got turning tricks upstairs, but they told me to shut up. I guess all the cops get their blow jobs here." Jimmy flashed back to his arrest. He'd been spilling his guts about everything that happened at Skin and Bones until one burly detective slammed his face into the tabletop and told him to shut up. His nose had bled for the better part of an hour.

With a flourish, he pulled a revolver out of the front of his pants and set it on the bar, making sure it pointed directly at Bella. I tried to ignore the phallic symbolism while Jimmy unconsciously thrust his hips in her direction.

I growled at him. The low noise startled everyone, including me.

Bella inhaled quickly, giving me a sideways glance. "Relax," she said through gritted teeth.

Once I was under control, she started talking again.

"I clean this mess up, and I won't press charges, but you need leave right now." Bella used a firm, calm tone, taking a few steps forward.

She wasn't going any farther alone. I strode ahead, placing myself partially in front of her.

Dave edged slowly back toward the storeroom, intending to go out the way he'd come in. He froze and whined like a frightened dog when Jimmy started screaming.

"Don't order me around! You bitches are all alike. Somebody needs to show you who's boss." He started walking around the bar, intending to show Bella that he was in control, but he moved too quickly. Dizziness overwhelmed him, and he stumbled. When he regained his footing, he started for her again.

Bella shoved at my shoulder, trying to move me. I briefly imagined covering her mouth when she started talking again, but I knew that would be the end of our relationship.

"How's that shoulder, Jimmy? I don't want to dislocate it again. You better get going. You're running out of time." Bella obviously wasn't threatened by the stoner who could barely walk.

"You gonna rough me up like before?" Jimmy slurred his words and spittle shot onto the bar. "That how you get off? Can't get a man between your legs, so fucking me over rocks your world?"

I growled again and took several steps forward. So much for letting her handle this. "You will watch your language. She may be willing to let you go home unscathed, but I might not be so generous."

Jimmy looked me up and down. He saw a young man who probably had to use a fake I.D. to get into the bar. With my pale skin and lack of bodybuilder physique, he instantly discounted me. Although rationally I knew violence wasn't the answer, I hoped he would attack, so I could finish this farce.

Somewhere in the back of my head, Carlisle's voice reminded me that it was my responsibility take the higher road—I instantly dismissed it. There were times for the higher road; this wasn't one of them.

I understood now what Jasper meant when he said he'd kill for Alice. I'd happily rip apart these dregs of society to keep Bella safe.

Dismissing me, Jimmy looked back at Bella. "What do you say, Butch? How about we spend some quality time together before we get the cash?" Jimmy swayed a bit before starting to taunt her again. "Yeah, I like the idea of that. It'll be like you paying me to work you over. Whatcha say?"

"You're not getting any cash. We've been more than fair to you, and I doubt Denise has any more money to bail you out. You'll stay inside this time. Maybe you'll make a new boyfriend?"

At Bella's taunt, Dave made a shrieking sound and covered his ears. Another set of flashbacks rippled through his head.

I had been getting ready to launch myself at Jimmy when I realized both Bella and I had misjudged the dangerous one in this situation.

"Jimmy, you said the bitch had money, but you didn't say nothing about going back to jail. I don't want trouble." Dave had risen, holding a small caliber handgun in a shaky grip. He looked from Jimmy to Bella and back again. "Jimmy, make her give you the money. I wanna go home."

A jolt of fear shot through the synthetic high controlling Jimmy's brain. With a sinking feeling, I realized he didn't know Dave very well. We now had a loose cannon buzzed out of his mind, scared of going back to prison and waving a gun. I needed to back up in a way that wouldn't startle Dave. To place myself between Bella's fragile body and that gun.

"Hey. I don't think we've met. I'm Bella," she said, holding her arms up.

I ached to see her raise her hands as though she were being robbed.

"I haven't seen you here before. What's your name?" Her voice was back to soothing calm, sounding as though she were speaking to a child.

"I'm Dave," he said, his voice high-pitched and squeaky. "Jimmy said you have money. Where is it? Judy'll meet me if I have cash."

"Hi, Dave. I can take you to the money," Bella said, nodding slowly. "Who's Judy?" She continued to talk, but was stepping slowly to the side. I'm not sure what she was planning, but I wasn't about to let her get any closer to the gun.

"Judy's my friend. I pay her, and she makes me feel good." Through Jimmy's fuzzy memories, I could see Judy dealing him drugs. When he brought her cash, she treated him like a son. When he came up short, she had someone smack him around.

"Geez, dude. Put that thing away," Jimmy said, trying to sound annoyed. He wanted to be back in control.

"No. Judy said people would listen to me when I got out this gun," Dave said, looking from Jimmy to Bella, holding it up again like he was showing off a new toy.

"I like your friend, Jimmy," Bella said quietly, lowering her hands to her sides. "Where'd you meet?"

He snorted. "He's a friend of a friend." That translated to this guy owes my dealer money. I was supposed to bring him along for an extra pair of hands. With every revelation, this situation was worse. There was no loyalty between these two. Fear and adrenaline were sobering Jimmy up quickly, and I hoped that would make the situation better. He knew that if they both owed the dealer money, they would be seen as disposable—sacrificed to teach other clients a lesson.

Everyone was quiet for several seconds, and the tension was too much for Jimmy. He snatched his gun up from the bar top and held it firmly in a hand that barely shook, aiming directly for Dave's head.

"Dammit, Dave, just put that gun away," he yelled. "I can handle this. And you're not going back to jail. I promise. I want this bitch to pay for the shit she put me though, but I'm not going down for murder. You got me? Just sit your ass down and wait. You'll have your money soon."

Seeing Jimmy like this explained some things. When he was motivated, he was very persuasive. It was no wonder Denise had been in over her head with him. With that order, Dave sat like a dog, perching himself on a table at the edge of the dance floor. He kept his grip on the gun, setting his hands in his lap.

With a motion worthy of an action movie, Jimmy turned back to Bella, aiming the gun directly at her head.

In his imagination, I could see the vision of her face shattering with the impact of the bullet. All her honesty, bravery, kindness, and sarcasm disappearing in milliseconds

I started forward. He would not get an opportunity to hurt her.

Jimmy motioned for me to stop, giving me a feral smile. "Denise said the safe would be in the upstairs office. Take me there."

Bella seemed to weight her options and finally nodded. "Okay. Let's go. I'll take you."

"No!" I said, looking back at her over my shoulder. "We had a bargain, Bella. Where you go, I go."

"Okay. We'll all go, then."

She didn't exactly look defeated, and I thought she might have something up her sleeve. That was the last thing we needed. I hoped she'd finally come to her senses and was going to pay them off.

Everything went to hell when Jimmy started walking out from behind the bar. The bottles he'd tossed made the floor a sea of jagged glass. A shard went through one of his cheap, worn sneakers, cutting his foot. He cried out, lowering the gun down and limping to the electrical box. "Need more fucking light. I'm bleeding like a stuck pig here." Within seconds every light above the dance floor started to pulse. The remaining multicolored bulbs flashed to an unseen beat.

Dave's already dilated pupils rebelled at the sudden brightness. He screamed in fear and surprise.

The distraction was just what Bella needed. Drawing the semi-automatic from the back of her jeans, she yelled for me to get out of the way—I was blocking her shot to Jimmy.

Realizing his mistake, Jimmy scrambled to bring the gun back up, aiming in our direction.

From the dance floor, I heard Dave yell. "It's too bright! Make it stop!" With the gun still in his grip, he covered his eyes with the back of his hands.

I couldn't focus on that now. If Jimmy wanted to get to Bella, he'd have to go through me. I launched myself across the space, diving over the bar, pulling the gun from his hand as I dropped him to the floor. His eyes rolled back up into his head.

When the shot rang out, I instantly knew my mistake.

I heard Dave's gun fire just before I heard two horrible noises. The first was Dave's shriek as the powder seared his eyes and burned his face. The second was the wet, tearing sound of a bullet going through flesh.

Practically flying back to Bella, I cursed myself. If I hadn't gone after Jimmy, I'd have been close enough to be in front of her. I could have prevented it. This was my fault.

I gasped as I reached Bella. She'd been moved back several feet by the force of the blast. The shirt above her left breast was beginning to bloom red. It showed as a spreading wet darkness across her shirt. Her eyes were open, and she looked at me as I knelt.

"I wanted you to stay upstairs, remember?" she chided before giving a short wet-sounding cough.

Without thinking, I began to evaluate the wound. My medical training had me channeling Carlisle as I took in the full extent of her injury. With every detail I noted, my heart fell a little more.

"Oh, God, Bella. There's so much blood. Even if I call an ambulance—" I gathered her against my chest, rocking back and forth. Somehow, it was happening again. She was dying in front of me again.

This time, I wouldn't have to worry about witnesses.

She didn't have to die.

"You know what I am," I murmured softly into her ear, brushing the hair away from her face. "Let me change you." I could hear every rattling intake of breath. "A few days of misery and we can be together. We can start over."

"No. I don't want you to—" but her answer was broken by more coughing. A blood bubble emerged on her exhale, and I wiped it away gently. Any hunger I might have felt was long gone in the wake of frustration and sorrow.

"Bella, please. You don't have to die this way. It's wrong. It's too soon. Say yes." I'm not above begging. "Please."

"No," her whisper is almost silent, and I have to lean over her to make out the sound. Warm blood was making a puddle under her, and it soaked into the knees of my jeans. The scent of it filled the room, seeming to cover everything.

I'd just found her—this woman who could be everything I'd never known I wanted. Was fate this horrible, that she would take Bella away from me now?

I didn't have to let her go.

But could I do what I was considering? I'd seen the toll this life has taken on Rosalie. Could I condemn someone else to a life they don't want just because I don't want to let them go?

To perform the most selfish act of my life, I bent over her reverently. Tilting her head to one side, I lowered my mouth to her neck, inhaling deeply. When I'd done this before, it was out of passion. Now it was out of grief.

I'd have to marshal all my self control to not remove what little blood remained in her system.

"Don't." The whisper came from below me, and a weak hand pushed against my chest.

It was much too simple. I moved my head forward far enough to sink my teeth into her soft, paling flesh. I took two long pulls from her neck, closing my eyes at the unexplainable taste. The rapid thumping of her heart brought me out of my ecstatic stupor, and I pulled back, licking my lips. I was ashamed of the satisfied moan I couldn't stop.

Moving quickly, I went to her ankles, ripping the boot laces to get at the pulse points. I expected to finish her wrists quickly, but the pain had already started. She was writhing, moving her hands up to her neck in an attempt to make the burning stop.

I grasped each wrist in turn and pierced the skin, taking almost no blood. At this point, I had no idea how much she'd lost and how much I'd consumed. I couldn't risk drinking any more. I sat back on my heels wondering if there was more I could do to ease the horrible transition I'd forced upon her.

God forgive me, I prayed.

Would Bella forgive me?

She began screaming. I hated to leave her for even a second, but it couldn't be helped. I raced up the stairs and kicked down the door to the office. Knowing she'd been sleeping peacefully under that blanket less than an hour ago was too much to consider. I grabbed it and leaped over the balcony, landing at her side almost instantaneously. Spreading the soft fleece next to her, I placed her in the center as gently as I could while she continued to thrash. Wrapping her tightly, I left her side just long enough to take care of the worst of the details.

Dave had been curled in a fetal position on the dance floor, cradling his burning eyes. Grabbing him by the hair, I dragged him across the floor, tossing him behind the bar with the still unconscious Jimmy. He screamed like a girl the entire way. I pondered killing him but decided against it, simply because I needed to get back to Bella. Dave scrambled back as far as he could in the small space. He folded his legs against his chest, rubbing his sightless eyes on his knees. He made wounded whimpering noises. "Don't you fucking move! And if he wakes up, you make him stay even if you have to shoot him! Do you understand me!" I growled, knowing my voice had descended into something not human. "I'm sending someone for you. You wait until they arrive. If you try to run, I will find you, and I WILL kill you."

Once I'd confirmed the neighborhood was empty, I gathered Bella up as gently as possible and ran to the car. It took more coordination than I'd expected to hold her while I fished out my keys, opened the door and placed her on the back seat. She must have been aware enough to know we were in public because her screams were muffled through a tightly clenched jaw.

Through this all, her eyes never opened. Perhaps she couldn't stand the sight of a creature who would do this to her even after she'd refused.

I put the car in drive and tore away from Skin and Bones, heading for home and help.


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