$GREED$
"But, is it true? What they're saying about you?"
Isabella flopped on the hotel's couch, her mother talking her ear off. At least it wasn't another heavy breather prank calling her again. She'd had several of those calls over the last few days, and they were getting tiresome.
Renee, ever the flake, who had no internet connection and apparently no contact with a television until a few days ago, had only recently started blowing up Isabella's cell phone once she learned of her daughter's legal troubles.
"Have you really been sleeping with public officials and b—bribing them?"
"Mom. I can't talk about any of this on the phone."
"Well, that doesn't exactly give me warm and fuzzy feelings, Bella."
Isabella's responding chortle was sarcastic at best. "Trust me, there's nothing warm and fuzzy about any of this." She took a slow drag from her cigarette before tipping her head back. "How are you doing? Nobody's come after you at all, have they? No press or rag mags?"
"Oh no, not a word. You know me . . . I'm never in one place long enough for people to figure me out. Jeremy and I just got back from camping in Sedona for a month. That's why I didn't hear about anything until now."
"Who's Jeremy? What happened to Phil?"
Renee's tittering made Isabella's eyes roll. "Oh, who knows? I haven't seen him since March. I came home from the beach one day to find his closet cleared out and a peace sign drawn in baby powder on the bathroom counter. I'm sure one of the little beach bunnies from spring break caught his eye and he followed her."
"He left with a college girl?" Isabella shook her head. "Mom, that's disgusting."
"Meh . . . live and let live, I always say. Well, anyway, can I come out to see you? Take care of my little girl?"
Thankfully, Isabella didn't have to lie to her on this topic. "My accounts were frozen. I have no real money to fly you out here after posting my own bail. I'm living off what little cash I had stashed. I'm sorry."
"Oh, I have money, sweetie. Jeremy said he could take care of the airfare."
"I don't know. Let me find out some more about what's going to happen here, and I'll let you know, okay?"
Renee hummed in disappointment. "Well, please don't think on it for too long. I want to be there for you. You've always taken care of me during the lean times."
"Is that what this is? A lean time?"
"You know what I mean. You haven't needed me for anything all these years. I want you to know that I'd like to be needed in this situation . . . if you want me, of course."
"I have a meeting later this afternoon. I'll call you soon."
"Sounds good. I love you, Bella."
"You too."
As soon as Isabella ended the call, her cell immediately rang again. She assumed her mother must've accidentally redialed.
"Yeah?" Silence greeted her. She took the phone away from her ear and saw that it was a private number. "Hellooooo? Anyone there?"
Three consecutive beeps sounded before the line was disconnected. It was a little unnerving, but she shrugged it off as just another fluke. As long as the gossip hounds didn't track her down, she was fine.
$GREED$
"Miss Tiani?" Isabella cringed at the ludicrous pseudonym she'd given herself when she checked into the hotel. The horribly botched way of saying Swan in Chinese made sense at the time, given her undying love of Chinese food. Plus, her world had blown up around her, and she needed to escape the media shitstorm quickly but legally. She'd chosen to be away from Dallas, but not so far that she couldn't get back when her presence was required. The state agreed that Abilene was a fair locale for her to stay until further notice.
"This is Liam Fogarty, front desk manager here at the Marriott. We have a gentleman who's been in and out of our lobby approximately fifteen hours a day for the last two days. He says he's here to see you. Do you need us to do something? Call the authorities, perhaps?
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, remembering the email she'd received from Edward several days ago.
I've sent Felix to keep you company if you ever need him. Please don't punish him because you're angry with me. I want to make this right. Please, can I make it right?
"No, no authorities necessary. Just . . ." she groused, "just send him to my room."
A few minutes later, her former driver stood at her door with an unsure smile. His arms were overflowing with groceries. "Hi." His greeting was tentative at best.
"Hello." She was just as timid, given their explosive last moments alone the month prior.
"What's all this?"
Felix shuffled past her toward the corner table near the window and set down the half dozen plastic bags he'd been hauling. "Care package."
She quirked her brow, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, right." Isabella felt small and unsure in his company. They both knew her presence used to saturate an entire room, her vibrancy unable to be contained. It came with the territory. Her life had been about making the deal; she did whatever she had to do, whether it required her sitting at a conference table or lying flat on her back, it didn't matter . . . it was only ever about the bottom line, the money, and the power. That feisty young woman was nowhere in sight, though.
"This is just the non-perishables. Chock full of preservatives, just how you always liked them," he joked. A genuine smile appeared on her face. "I made a phone call a few minutes ago, and the perishables will be here within the hour."
"Felix . . . you really didn't have to do this."
"Well, it was either wait you out and sneak in while you were sleeping, or bring it all back to Edward." He removed his jacket and sighed. "And I really didn't want to have to do that."
"I'm surprised he hasn't jumped out of one of your bags." She gestured toward the table before opening the mini-freezer and pulling out a box of stuffed potato skins. "Lunch?"
He held up his hand. "No, thanks. And no . . . no surprise guests today. Edward figured you'd never open the door if he was around."
She went about arranging her frozen snacks on the plate before punching the numbers into the microwave. She didn't bother pursuing the topic of Edward; it was too painful. "Dare I ask how you knew I was here?"
Felix looked down at his clasped hands. His non-response was all the answer she needed.
"Should I assume it was the same investigator Edward hired all those years ago? The one who informed him of exactly how I spent every seedy moment of my life since Edward and I became friends?"
"That's a fair assumption."
She gave an unsurprised nod and tested her skins, annoyed at the boiling hot drips of cheese on the edge versus the center of the potato, which remained ice cold.
"So, what's the deal?" She fell into the couch with a huff. "Aside from the food delivery service, what brings you out here to Abilene?"
"Well, first off, thank you for letting me come up. I didn't think you would ever break, given the way we left things . . ." He smiled sadly, knowing she must've swallowed a good chunk of pride to agree to see him. "Anyway, I was hoping I could get you to listen, I suppose. I know I've always kept our relationship professional, kept you at arm's length . . . I mean, with the exception of that final evening . . ." he trailed off, furrowing his brow.
She sighed, unable to emotionally revisit the last time Felix drove for her. Again, the pain was just too raw.
"I just felt like I needed to reach out. I want you safe. I'm worried about you. And I hate that you cut me out. I mean, I know I'm sort of a package deal, but . . ."
"I'll be fine, Felix. This is my fucked up mess. I don't need to drag you down, too." She shrugged, seemingly resigned to her fate. "You should go back to Edward. He doesn't have anybody."
"No, you don't have anybody, Isabella!" Felix's raised voice shocked them both. With the exception of the night he last drove her, it was the first time he'd ever called her by her first name. "Edward has me. He'll always have me. But you . . ." He shook his head. "Everyone you ever considered a friend has high-tailed it out of your life or sold you out to TMZ."
"Shows you what you know. Rodrigo from housekeeping and I have great talks when he comes to change the linens and empty my trash."
Felix pierced her with his stare, clearly not in the mood to joke.
"Edward just wants to talk to you. He wants to help however he can."
She shook her head as her phone buzzed with a text. "He looked after his own needs and future. Nothing wrong with that."
"Yeah, well, when you do it out of spite and hurt feelings but then regret it every second afterwards . . . there's definitely something wrong. He's . . . despondent."
Isabella flinched, recalling the last few memories she had of Edward. Barely acknowledging him on the day he took over Cullen Oil to their confrontation after Carlisle's death when she discovered he bought out the company. Then, of course, the most gut-wrenching flashback from when he handed her three thousand dollars in cash, paying her like the whore she was.
The microwave beeped again, snapping her out of her wretched thoughts. "It is what it is. I was on such a self-destructive path. He's better off without me." She wiped an unexpected tear from under her eye. "He just doesn't realize it."
The phone buzzed again, and she reached to grab it as Felix crossed the room to take a seat next to her on the couch. Isabella didn't recognize the number but she opened it anyway.
Make no mistake, Mrs. Cullen. We're quite aware of where you are and what you know. Be sure to choose wisely when you speak to the detectives tonight. We'll be watching.
Isabella studied the text long enough that Felix witnessed her expression turn from curiosity to concern.
"Everything all right?"
She blinked, shaking off her stunned silence. "I . . . I don't know. Got a couple of prank calls over the last few days and now this." Her stomach sank when she surmised who might've authored the message.
She handed the phone to Felix— the only outside person who knew her comings and goings, as well as the people she had interactions with over the years. The only other person who could appreciate the gravity of this message.
His confusion morphed into anger instantly. "This isn't all right, Isabella. This is fucking far from all right."
She swallowed tightly, the change in Felix's demeanor so out of character that it made her anxiety skyrocket.
Cool as a cucumber, though his tone sounded anything but, Felix slid off the couch and took out his phone. He walked in silence to the window before peering through the drawn curtains and putting the phone to his ear. "Edward . . . we have a problem."
$GREED$
"You're out of options, Mrs. Cullen. The state's attorney is ready to put you away until you're old and gray unless you give up a name."
Detective Denali tossed the evidence file on the conference room table. "Are you really going to let all these men just ride a simple wave of bad press and nothing more while you take the fall? Was the sex that good?"
Isabella ran her fingers through her hair, hunching further over the table. "I never wanted to be this person." Her voice was barely a whisper. She cupped her palms over her mouth, her vision blurring as she stared at the painting of the Dallas skyline. I was so fucking close to having it all, she berated herself silently. But there was no going back now . . . not if she wanted to continue to breathe fresh air, or see her next birthday.
Her gaze locked with the detective's ice blue stare. "I can give you more than enough to put all of them away for a very long time. But . . ."
"But what?" Denali interrupted and took a sip from her coffee cup, her plum lipstick leaving a perfect stamp of her bottom lip.
"But what about her safety?" Jared Cameron, Isabella's lawyer, finally piped up. He'd gone over every detail with Isabella prior to this meeting. They already knew that the state was growing impatient. This rabbit-up-the-sleeve Isabella had as a last resort could prove to be her get-out-of-jail-free card or she could end up dead in a ditch. Literally. To describe the situation as delicate was putting it mildly.
The detective cocked her head. "Her safety shouldn't really be an issue. Whitlock is the biggest fish out of the bunch. He isn't JFK and you're hardly Marilyn Monroe. Once they're jailed, it is what it is." Her flippant tone accompanied a shrug. "They can't hurt you any further."
Isabella took a deep breath and nodded at her lawyer.
"Mrs. Cullen is willing to work with the prosecutor, but only if she can disappear almost immediately."
"How about you tell me what you think is so crucial it would warrant WitSec before I guarantee anything." The sarcasm oozed from every one of Denali's words.
"It's not just the politicians I have evidence on. Yeah, you'll be able to get them for their fraud, bribery and blackmail." Isabella cleared her throat, ". . . but I can get you something bigger."
"Such as . . ."
"The D'Emilia crime family," Cameron jumped in again.
Detective Denali shifted in her seat. Isabella could just imagine the dollar signs from promotions and job opportunities that suddenly swirled in the officer's mind for nabbing members of the mafia. "I'm listening."
"Gimble's daughter is engaged to Gianni D'Emilia's son. The family bought the happy couple three storefronts across the state for their recently-founded bakery business."
"That's not against the law. Unless you're about to tell me you have proof that those businesses are a legit front for the family's alleged money laundering and drug trafficking. Now that would be a crime . . . several, in fact."
Isabella simply nodded once.
"And what proof do you have?"
"Recordings," Isabella started again, "many of them. Audio, video, paperwork . . . I always made sure I looked out for number one. I was very thorough and extremely good at my job, so much so that these men never suspected a thing. Because, yeah, the pussy they were getting was definitely that fucking good."
Detective Denali sat back in her chair, her fingernails tapping a staccato beat on the table. "My team and I will take a look at what you have. I can't guarantee you anything just yet, but you're safe enough here until the state makes a decision about how to proceed with your charges."
Isabella tossed her phone at Denali, the latest anonymous text message visible. "Safe enough might not cut it anymore."
A/N: Big love to GREEDy Team Cabana for their help along the way: Lay, Hoodie, Born, Cejsmom and Momo. And a huge thank you to my readers who came back to see what's in store for these characters. Next update is Wednesday!
xo, Jen
