A/N: A day late and a dollar short, but here it is.
Thank you to my beta for editing this quickly.
Enjoy.
Bella's phone was vibrating relentlessly in her pocket, but she didn't dare move. Edward had her pinned to the door with his gaze.
What did I get myself into? She thought as she tried to control the adrenaline pumping through her veins.
"Detective," Edward sighed. "Why couldn't you just stop?" He stood tall, pulling at the bottom of his dress shirt, straightening the invisible wrinkles.
Bella's mind was racing; it was so obvious the whole time. Why hadn't she put two and two together before now? This mayoral candidate that came out of nowhere, seemingly overnight, his perfect résumé of accomplishments and that sickening sweet smile that made you believe everything he said. The slip-up about lying to his mother, how alarmed he had become when she'd drunkenly admitted that she knew Anthony Cullen was alive, and the false information he had provided. The evidence against him was overbearing, but she was just now putting it together. And now he was going to kill her. She would die at the hand of Edward Masen or Anthony Cullen, the long-believed dead son of mob boss Carlisle Cullen.
"Let's just get it over with." Bella muttered, leaning against the door as she stood.
"Get what over with?" He looked curiously at her.
"Just kill me, I know the big secret and now I have to die, right?" Edward let out a loud laugh.
"Oh, Isabella, you've been watching too much TV. You're much too valuable to just dispose of."
"You're not even going to deny it?" She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders in defeat.
"I wouldn't waste my time nor would I insult your intelligence in such a way." Edward turned and picked up the handgun that had sat on his desk. He watched her carefully; her eyes trained on the gun as he pushed it into the waistband of his slacks.
"We do, however, need to alert the family to this little realization. So, if you would be so kind as to accompany me." Edward motioned to the door.
"I'm sorry, what? Accompany you where?" Bella felt the hair on the back of her neck stand.
"To my parents' house." Edward smiled.
Fear shot through Bella, licking at every nerve inside of her. She may be a lot of things, reckless, unforgiving, even downright irresponsible at times when it came to her safety, but she wasn't stupid, and there was no way in hell she would go to the Cullen Manor without backup. She reached behind her and turned the doorknob before bolting down the stairs, her feet tripping and sliding across the marble as she ran for the front door.
"Ms. Swan?" The butler called after her, trying to get the door. Bella ripped his front door open and hurried down the brownstone's steps, then as fast as her legs could carry her, she ran towards safety.
O…O
Bella ripped photos from the wall, shoving them into the boxes that littered her guest room. She packed the papers of miscellaneous information inside as well, jumping when someone knocked heavily on her front door. Bella sighed stacking the boxes together and running to the loft that she never used. The banging on her door persisted; whoever was on the other side was growing agitated.
She lifted the rug and pulled up a hatch where she hid her large floor safe; Bella quickly typed in her combination and opened the heavy door. She dropped the boxes inside before locking it back up, and pulling the hatch and rug back down to conceal it. Even though Edward had looked into the room, there was no way he had time to go through all the information, or he would have said something about her latest discovery.
Bella jogged back down the steps and closed the door that hid them; a huge reason as to why she bought the place. She walked past her broken French doors that she had yet to replace after Edward kicked them in and grabbed her gun from the nightstand. Not a fan of hiding her weapon, she hooked the holster to her hip and made her way to the front of her apartment where her visitor was still knocking loudly on the door.
She ripped the door open expecting to find Edward standing there, but instead it was Seth, and he was pissed.
"Bella?!" He yelled, storming by her. "What the hell? Where have you been and why have you not answered your fucking phone?"
"Seth, calm down," Bella tried to keep her voice even and closed the door behind him. "I turned my phone off and I was trying to take care of something when you showed up."
"You've been here all night? You never went to Masen's apartment?"
"No, why?"
"Because when you called me earlier you asked for Edward Cullen's address, not Edward Masen, and it didn't occur to me to me until long after you had hung up."
Bella's blood ran white-hot. Had she really said Cullen?
"I did?" She tried to play it off, walking to her kitchen.
"Yes. Bella, this … theory that you have with the Cullens; you haven't found a link to Edward, have you?"
"Why would you ask that?" She asked, filling a glass with water.
"I'm just looking out for you, Bells. The Cullens are bad news and Cap told you to steer clear of them. You also don't need to be getting on Masen's bad side because he's probably going to become Mayor." Seth looked over at his partner; she seemed on edge.
Bella took a drink from her glass. "Well I'm dropping all of it; the doctor cleared me, and I go back to work on Monday. I need to focus on the new cases we have, and I'm thinking about passing the investigation into the dead girls from his campaign over to the Feds."
"That's probably for the best." Seth nodded.
Another knock fell upon Bella's door, and she couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes when Seth stated he had mentioned she wasn't answering her phone to their captain. The last thing she needed was Jacob Black in her apartment asking all sorts of questions that she didn't want to answer. She wrenched the door open and was surprised, yet again, when she found Edward there. Bella's eyes went wide, gripping the doorknob tightly before trying to close the door, but his hand stopped her.
"Isabella, I need to talk to you about-," Bella lifted her hand, covering his mouth.
"Bells?" Seth called out. Edward looked away from her to the door, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Um … yeah, I'm fine Seth, you can go home." Seth pulled the door open just as she removed her hand.
"Oh, Mr. Masen, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk about the investigation." Edward lied easily, that damn smile gracing his face.
"Well I think that's highly inappropriate; anything you would like to discuss should be done down at the precinct. Bella is on medical leave, and she's turning the investigation over to the FBI."
Fire erupted behind Edward's eyes, but his smile never faulted.
"Of course, I apologize Detectives. I'll walk you out." He offered towards Seth. A bad feeling sank into Bella's stomach as she thought about Edward showing Seth out alone.
"Seth you go ahead, I'm going to show Mr. Masen out."
"Why don't we all walk out together?" Seth suggested, obviously not wanting to leave Edward alone with Bella.
"That's probably for the best, Detective?" Edward nodded towards Bella, and she stepped into the hall with Seth following behind.
"What happened to your jaw?" Seth asked as they rode the elevator in an awkward silence.
"A woman I was with enjoyed herself a little too much." Edward chuckled, running his finger over the bruise that Bella had left. She felt her face start to heat, and focused on the metal door.
"You really should move, Bells, I hate this apartment." Bella rolled her eyes at Seth's comment.
"I agree Detective, this place seems unsafe. You were abducted from the front, and it seems just about anyone can get to your door."
No one had been in my apartment until you, Edward. Bella thought, biting at the edge of her nail.
"Mmm … I'll consider it." She replied casually before pulling the door open and escorting them to the front of her building. "Have a good night everybody." Bella waved as they got outside.
"Call me if you need anything." Seth motioned towards her before sizing up Edward. He turned and walked to his car parked across the street.
"Well Isabella, shall we wait until he leaves?"
"For what?" Bella chewed on her bottom lip trying to avoid his gaze.
"We need to finish our discussion about earlier."
"Well, Seth isn't going to leave until you do." She nodded towards her partner's idle car.
"Then I'll have my driver take me around the block once, then I'll be back."
Bella sighed. "Will you leave me alone afterwards?"
"No, but I'll return." He stepped out from beneath the awning and disappeared into the backseat of his town car.
O…O
One Week Later
Bella sat at her desk reading over the file for the latest murder that they had caught. She stifled a yawn, leaned back in her chair and watched the sun set behind the city landscape. For the past week, she had avoided Edward at all costs. He had come to her apartment every night, knocked for thirty minutes, then left. He had called countless times each day and even showed up at the precinct once while she was out for lunch. He was becoming more persistent, and she knew it would only be a short matter of time before she had to face him.
Bella's eyes drifted over the box sitting on Seth's desk that held the dead girls' files. She wanted nothing more than to open it, but after Seth informed their captain that Edward had showed up at her apartment, the rumors started to fly, and she had been removed from the case. Everyone wanted to know if they were 'involved.'
She sighed; sometimes her workplace was worse than high school.
"Isabella?" She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Isabella, I know you don't want to speak with me but we need to have a discussion."
She glanced around the bullpen. "About what Edward?" Bella whispered harshly.
"You know what." Edward's eyes darkened.
"Fine," She stood from her desk and locked away the files before pulling on her coat. "But not here."
"Well obviously not," He smirked before leading her to the elevator. "You've been hiding from me Detective." Edward leaned against the steel wall as the numbers dinged above them. Bella stared at her reflection in the doors, willing the elevator to move faster.
"Clearly not well enough." She quipped.
"Why did you run away? Are you that scared of meeting my parents?" Edward laughed. The doors opened and she quickly exited, hurrying through the metal detectors and out into the cold air.
"I'm not scared of meeting your …" Bella glanced around the crowded street. "parents." She whispered the last part.
"My car," He motioned toward the ever-present town car. "I promise not to take you anywhere until we talk."
"They say never trust a politician."
"But you can always trust me." Edward flashed his perfect smile.
"I bet."
She slid into the back seat, letting the heat encompass her body. Edward followed, unbuttoning his suit coat and lifting the partition between them and the driver.
"So," Bella ran her palms over the rough material of her jeans. "What exactly do you want to talk about?"
"I'm not trying to introduce you to my parents as a lover, so I'm confused as to why this is such a big deal."
"Edward, your father is the leader of an extremely dangerous family." She whispered, not trusting the partition.
"Isabella, he can't hear us and even if he could," Edward laughed. "He wouldn't dare say anything; not with his salary."
"I'm a cop, what's to stop your father from shooting me the second I walk into that house."
"He would never do that." Edward leaned back against the seat. "Everyone gets it so wrong; we're not cold-blooded killers Isabella. Anyone we kill, it has to be done, we don't kill innocent civilians unless it's warranted and it rarely ever is." Edward raked a hand through his hair. "We have families, mortgages, and car payments; we worry about what school to send our children to and whether everyone is safe. We're normal people, not animals or thugs."
Bella sat quietly, watching the city pass them by. This was her opportunity, the chance she was waiting for, to get inside the Cullen family, and she was going to ruin it by second-guessing herself. She didn't want to go in unprotected, but there was no one she could tell without exposing who Edward Masen really was; even Seth. If the information on Edward was discovered, everything would end; the Cullens would disappear, and she would've blown her shot.
"Why do I need to be introduced to them?"
"Because we need to decide if you're an asset or a liability, if you are found to be a liability we'll leave you alone. Of course if you ever tried to expose our secret we would know before anyone else and kill you." He replied nonchalantly with a wave of his hand. "So I highly suggest you don't do anything crazy. Also, with as much as I love fighting with you, don't think about hitting my father because he will …"
"Kill me, got it." Bella bit the corner of her lip. "Do I have a choice?"
"Two choices: go to them or they'll come to you." She thought over the evidence hidden away in her loft.
"Okay, I'll go." She acquiesced. Edward sent a text message to someone and the car turned around, heading towards her apartment."We're not going tonight?"
"No, there is something being handled tonight, and no one will be there. I also am going to take you myself, not my driver, and it will be tomorrow night. Saturday's are normally very slow, and we have plenty of time for discussions."
"Will it just be your father?"
"And my brothers."
"Emmett and Jasper." Bella nodded.
"I see you've done your research. The four of us will be with you mostly; my mother has a tendency to pop in so you'll see her as well."
Images of a dark-haired woman with green eyes flashed through Bella's memory.
"What do I have to wear?"
"It's my family, not the Queen of England; wear whatever the hell you want." Edward laughed, but it did little to quell the uneasiness inside her.
O…O
Bella stood in her closet searching through the ridiculous amount of clothing that she never wore. She felt that jeans would be too casual, but a dress was too formal. She groaned and pulled her hair into a ponytail. She decided to dress in a pair of gray slacks and a long-sleeved, dark blue shirt, trying to remain professional. She was buttoning the last button when Edward knocked on her front door. Bella quickly pulled on a pair of matching heels and walked to the door, pulling it open. Edward's eyes raked over her body before stepping inside.
"Why are you in my home? I'm ready to go." Bella asked irritably.
"Just looking around," He muttered moving to the front of her living room and glancing out the windows. "Why didn't you replace the doors?" He asked, his eyes still searching her apartment.
"You're making me nervous, Edward, you're acting very odd. What are you looking for?"
"Nothing in particular; you didn't answer my question." His eyes moved from the open doorway of her bedroom to the kitchen.
Bella ran her tongue over her teeth in irritation. She needed to learn to keep her mouth shut until the night was over.
"I haven't had time. Can we go now?"
"Do you have a gun strapped on?"
"Of course not," Bella shrugged. "Should I?"
"No, that would be a very bad idea."
"Let's go." She waved a hand towards her door, and Edward stepped into the hallway after one more glance around the apartment.
O…O
Her nervousness grew as they drove along the Magnificent Mile, the million dollar homes growing in size the further the traveled.
"Your family conducts … business … in their own home?"
"Legalities, yes; that kind of business, no. We have another home that is well hidden."
This was ridiculous, but it was needed. All in the name of justice, right? Edward turned towards her, pulling his left leg up into the seat so he could fully face her.
"You're not stupid, right?"
"I don't believe so."
"And you wouldn't do anything to risk your life, besides fight with me?" Edward smirked.
"Usually, no."
"Then why, Isabella, do you have a gun on you?"
Bella's skin prickled. "What do you mean?"
Edward sighed and reached forward, wrapping his hand around the side of her neck to pull her forward. His other hand slid down her back, setting her skin ablaze, and he lifted her shirt enough to expose the gun hidden in her waistband. Edward gripped the handle, his fingers slipping over her bare skin, and pulled it free before releasing her.
"This," He held it up. "Is what I mean." Edward sighed disarming and unloading the gun quickly. He dropped the gun to the floor and placed the clip in his pocket. "You're not wearing a wire, are you?"
"No." Bella rolled her eyes.
"Will you unbutton your shirt so I can be certain?"
"Go fuck yourself, Edward." Bella replied in disgust. "I'm not exposing myself to you."
"I've already seen what's under your shirt, or did you forget, Detective?" He smiled, much to Bella's revulsion.
"I'm not wearing a wire, Edward." Bella lifted her shirt enough to reveal her flat stomach. "See."
"What if it's hooked to your bra?"
"Knock it off." She rolled her eyes and bit her lip to keep from smiling. Bella wondered what had happened to the cold, angry Edward she usually dealt with. "I thought you said you were going to drive me to your parents?"
"Well my car had an unfortunate incident, it's being repaired."
"So where's your driver?"
"His services are not needed; I hired a car for tonight. Do you have any other questions?"
"You'll be the first to know if I do."
The car slowed down, stopping at a cast iron gate with a crest emblazoned in the stone pillars holding it up. The gates opened the minute they neared, and the car traveled slowly up a cobblestone driveway. It wasn't long before a very large brick house came into view. It had multiple windows, a warm yellow light shining through and illuminating the dark green grass and trees that surrounded them.
"Your grass is green in November?"
"Why of course, Isabella. What else would we spend money on?"
Edward exited and walked around, opening Bella's door. She stepped from inside the car and looked up at the three-story house. As much as she hated to admit it, the house was simply beautiful. Bella walked up the oversized stone steps towards a dark wooden door with a pair of brass knockers, the same crest appearing on them.
"Should I knock?"
"You can," Edward shrugged before opening the door. "But I'm going inside."
Bella rolled her eyes and followed him into the foyer. The same marble that Edward had at his home adorned the floor here. Her eyes scanned the room, trying to commit the layout of their house to memory. In front of her were two grand staircases heading up to the second floor. To her right, a living room that looked like it continued on to a glass patio, and on the left was, what she assumed, the sitting room. It looked formal and barely touched, much like where she had waited for Edward at his house.
"They're in the office, let's go." Bella followed Edward between the stairs where the floor split to head towards a massive kitchen on the left, and a hallway on the right. She ran her fingers over the wall, looking at the pictures as they walked past. A few had Edward in them, but none of them were recent, the oldest he appeared to be was six.
"Oh right, you're dead."
Edward glanced back at her. "I'm sorry?"
"Nothing, I just forgot you were supposed to be dead."
"Ah, yes. Well these pictures only progress until the age of my "death," the others are on the second and third floor where no one can see them."
"No one's allowed on the second floor?"
"Of course not, only the first floor, and only the formal living room, kitchen, dining room and downstairs bathroom."
"Why?"
"To protect our privacy," Edward stopped at the last door. "Ready?"
Bella took a deep breath, ignored the nausea flowing through her and nodded. Edward turned the knob and opened the heavy oak door. Bella stepped in right behind him and glanced around the office quickly. Her eyes landed on Carlisle Cullen, sitting behind an extremely large wooden desk, papers in one hand and a phone in the other. He was speaking in Italian and throwing papers everywhere, writing on a few and tossing others into a shredder.
The picture didn't do him justice; in the flesh Carlisle was much more handsome. He was one of those people who you hated because he just looked better the older he became. His thick dark hair was styled perfectly; his eyes were the color of the sea right before a storm, and the clothes he wore were obviously expensive and custom made.
"Edward!"
Bella jumped, her fingers sliding over her hip where her gun was usually kept, before turning around. The large man she had met the night at the club was standing behind her; Emmett Cullen.
"Hey Em," Edward shook his hand and Bella's brow furrowed. What a weird way to greet your brother, she thought. Of course what did she know? She had no siblings and the countless foster children she met growing up were a far cry from loving.
"Nice to meet you again, Detective Swan." Emmett bowed then gave her a huge smile.
"Likewise." Bella replied, trying to keep her nerves in check. Maybe it was a good thing Edward had taken her gun.
"Where's Jasper?" Carlisle asked from behind them. Bella turned and was surprised that he was smiling at her.
"He's talking to Mom; you know how she gets when we don't come by every, single, fucking day."
Carlisle nodded. "Why don't you have a seat, Isabella?"
Bella moved to the wing backed leather chair across from his desk and crossed her legs.
"So is it as bad as you thought it would be?" Edward joked, sitting down next to her.
The three men started to have a discussion about a shipment that needed to be picked up at the docks and how it needed to be completed by three a.m. Bella hated that she hadn't worn a wire at that moment. She ran her hands over her pants deciding to try to remember as much as possible. They were throwing out names much too quickly for her to catch while deciding who would pick it up.
Bella sat back realizing they were baiting her, there wasn't a shipment, no one would be at the docks at three a.m. except her and a sniper ready to kill her. She sighed growing agitated.
"Can someone please tell me why the hell I'm here?" She asked, raising her voice to be heard over their discussion. All speaking stopped, and the three men turned towards her.
"Well, she certainly gets down to business." Emmett laughed sitting on the edge of Carlisle's desk.
"Isabella, you're here because we were recently informed that you discovered our secret." He pointed towards Edward.
"Yeah, he's not dead; he's going to be Mayor and blah blah blah, probably fucking president one day. What does this have to do with me?" Bella's adrenaline was pumping through her body, ready to bolt out of that office.
"We need to make sure this remains a secret."
"Edward's already gone over all of this with me. I'll keep my mouth shut."
"I know." Carlisle smiled leaning back in his chair. "We jus-"
"Bella?"
Bella stood up, turning at the sound of her nickname. Esme stood in the doorway wearing a khaki dress and a pink apron, her hair twisted up on top of her head, and her eyes were shining with unshed tears.
"Esme." Carlisle spoke in a cold voice that shook Bella to the core, but Esme ignored it.
"Oh Bella!" Esme rushed to her before Bella could react, pulling her into a tight hug. Smells of cotton, lavender and cookies filled the air around her, Esme's arms held Bella tightly to her body as if she thought she would vanish. Something so familiar about the smell put her at ease. Bella, confused, wrapped her arms around Esme and hugged her politely.
"Nice to meet you," she laughed nervously.
"Bella, it's been so long," Esme pulled back to look at her, her hands gripping Bella's shoulders. "The last time I saw you, you were nine years old."
A/N: If I didn't reply to your review … well Yahoo updated and I'm pretty sure they're out to fuck my life over. I hate that all my emails get gathered to one group when they have the same subject and it's ridiculous. I can't even see them all.
I'm going to try to respond to all this time though.
