Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. I am in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise, I just use their creations to have my wicked way with them. No copyright infringement is intended.
Love of confusion?
(Bella Swan)
I walked into the diner the next morning to see he had already arrived, his tall and muscular frame almost towering over the edge of the booth he was sitting in.
"Sabrina," he greeted, his eyebrows arched as he emphasized the name. "How nice to meet you again."
"Jacob," I nodded, taking my seat. "Let's get started." I wasn't one for false pleasantries. This was a business meeting, nothing more. He had something I wanted and I could give him something he wanted in return. No need to act like we were going to be best friends forever.
"Not so fast!" he chuckled. "Do you have a train to catch or something?"
"No, I guess not," I sighed, apparently he wanted to do the whole friendship thing. "So what do you wanna do? Discuss the weather or something?"
I couldn't imagine any other subject to discuss with a known criminal. Politics seemed out of the question since it was bound to make for a lively discussion and I didn't want to have to engage in hand to hand combat with this guy in the middle of a crowded diner.
From what I had seen of him he didn't strike me as a very cultured man either so books and serious music were out as well and discussion fluffy little animals with someone who was suspected to have ordered murders sounded preposterous even to me.
"Whatever," he shrugged. "I ordered lunch. Should be here sometime soon."
Right on cue two women, both carrying huge trays filled with all kinds of lunch foods and a large pot of coffee walked up to our table and began placing everything in front of us. There were sandwiches filled with a variety of sweet and savory fillings, pastries and a selection of fresh fruit.
"I didn't know what you liked so I ordered a whole bunch," he shrugged. "Pick what you like. I'll eat the rest."
"You're going to eat all of that?" I yelled, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. I could manage a sandwich and a bit of fruit, perhaps even a small pastry if I was really hungry. To eat the whole table full of food would be madness. Suicide.
Wait a minute? Was that what he was trying to do? Spill his guts before making them explode by pumping insane amounts of food into them?
"What would be in it for me?" he asked, his mouth still filled with food, after we had eaten in silence for a while.
"I'm a private investigator, not a cop," I explained. "I can't promise you anything."
"Then I'm not talking to you."
"Why not?"
"Are you kidding me?" he laughed, a few pieces of chewed on bread flying over the table. "This is valuable information I have here. I'm not about to go spill my guts just so you'll smile at me."
He took another bite of his food. "I mean.....you're pretty and all that, but not that pretty," he added. "No offense."
"None taken," I shrugged. "So why did you call me then?"
"I thought you were a cop."
"I said I wasn't."
"People lie."
"I don't."
"How the fuck was I supposed to know?" he snorted. "I'm sorry for letting you haul your pretty little ass over here for nothing."
"It may not be for nothing," I said, fishing my phone out of my pocket. "As I said last night......a friend of mine works as a detective in this town. I could give her a call."
"And have her arrest me?" he spat. "I think not."
"She'll keep an open mind about this," I tried. "I promise you'll walk out of here free as a bird." I knew there was no way I could promise him that and I knew he was probably well aware of that as well, but somehow I didn't think that would stop him. He seemed on a mission.
"Make the call."
Fortunately Angela was able to come almost immediately and she offered to take someone from the DA's office, someone with actual deal making authority, with her.
Jacob agreed to all of this as long as we met his terms which were rather simple: he wasn't setting foot into any police station until the rest of The Pack was behind bars and he wouldn't sign anything until that had happened either.
I assumed that was because he feared the wrath of his former buddies if they ever found out he had ratted out on them. I hadn't been an angel for long but I had been around long enough to know what The Pack was capable of. If Sam ever found out Jacob was involved in all of this things would get really ugly.
"I'm not doing time," Jacob stated, his arms crossed in front of his chest, as soon as Angela and Zafrina Southerlyn, assistant district attorney, had taken their seats at our table. We had moved a little further to the back after I had made the call, Jacob insisting that he would only talk if no one would be able to see him.
"I don't think I can guarantee that," Zafrina replied.
"Then you won't get to put The Pack behind bars," Jacob spat back. All of his roguish charms appeared to have disappeared as soon as Angela and Zafrina had walked into the diner.
"Then what kind of deal do you suggest?" Zafrina asked, sarcasm lacing her voice. I could tell she wasn't one to joke around just for the hell of it. Her presence in itself was imposing, her tanned skin and thick dark hair making her look more like some scary amazon warrior than a sophisticated lawyer.
"I give you everything you need to know. Names, dates, witnesses, weapons......everything," he banged his fist on the table with every word. "In exchange for that you cut me a deal that doesn't involve serving time."
"And you think a judge would just believe you because of your pretty brown eyes?" Zafrina smirked.
"No," Jacob shrugged. "There are others who are willing to testify under oath."
"How many?"
"Two," Jacob explained. "Same deal goes for them."
"Who says you're not going to walk out of that court room and take over Uley's spot as leader of The Pack?"
"You'll just have to believe me on my pretty brown eyes," Jacob chuckled. "And if you don't.....why would I be willing to give away all of our trade secrets if I wanted to do that? It would be plain stupid."
"I'll have to discuss this with my superiors," Zafrina sighed. I could tell she was eager – very eager – to prosecute these men and put them behind bars but I also understood how she couldn't give him a 'get out of jail free card' just like that.
"One other thing," Jacob barked as Angela and Zafrina were getting ready to leave again. "I don't like talking to cops or lawyers, they use to many big words. If I talk, I talk to her." He pointed at me.
"Out of the question," Zafrina spat.
"Take it or leave it."
"You talk to her and a detective of your choosing and all conversations will be recorded on tape," Zafrina offered.
"I talk to her and a tape recorder," Jacob retorted.
"Deal," Zafrina said, sticking out her hand.
"I want to see it all in writing before I say anything," Jacob warned. "And you better not be shitting with me."
"What do you take me for!" Zafrina spat back repulsed. "I work for the District Attorney's office, not for some back hand shyster lawyer!"
"You're still a lawyer," Jacob shrugged. "I want my copy of the deal before I say anything."
"If you say so," Zafrina sighed. "Meet us here same time tomorrow."
"My pleasure," Jacob grinned, rising from his seat and walking towards the exit. "It was nice doing business with you," he yelled over his shoulder before he walked out of the diner.
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," I said, standing up as well.
"Yeah," Jacob grinned, he seemed a little eager for our next meeting. "See you tomorrow Sabrina."
I had a feeling I was being watched while I walked back to my car but no matter how often I looked I never saw anyone. It must have been my imagination. Perhaps I had been around criminals too long.
When I checked my messages before pulling out of the parking lot I noticed I had one new message from Carlisle.
It's Carlisle, Angel. Time to go to work."
The feeling that I was being followed never went away while I drove to the offices of Cullen Investigations but no mater how hard I tried I could never spy anything or anyone on my tail long enough to support that suspicion.
In the end I came to the conclusion that either my mind was playing tricks on me or whoever was following me was doing a pretty damn good job at it. Neither of them conclusions I really liked entertaining.
When I reached the building I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my jeans and dialed Alice's number.
"The amazing Alice speaking? How can I help you?" I heard her giggle.
"Hey Ally, it's me," I spoke. "Are you there yet?"
"I'm walking into Bosley's office as we speak," Alice replied.
"Can you do me a favor and pull up the surveillance tapes from outside the office real quick?" I asked. "I have a feeling I'm being followed but whoever it is...the motherfucker sure knows what he's doing."
"Sure honey," Alice said and I could hear the sound of her fingers over the keyboard of a computer in the background. "Which side should I focus on?"
"Left. I'm pulling into the parking lot right now."
"I see you," she said, as I parked my car and exited quickly to take a look around. "Are there any vehicles I should focus my attention on?"
"Not that I know of," I said, feeling a little ridiculous as I stood on the sidewalk looking at the cars passing by. Perhaps it had just been in my head?
The I saw it, a flash of silver coming at me with a dazzling speed. I had seen that one before, or at least I thought I had. It was a new model Volvo, one you didn't see that many off, in a shiny silver color that kind of stood out amongst the muted colors people preferred over here.
"Alli, the silver car!" I panted into my phone.
"Got it," she replied immediately. "I've got the number plate. I'm checking it against the records of the DMV right now."
I tried to see who was in the car as it sped past me but between the speed and the tinted windows there was nothing I could make out.
As I saw the car disappear I suddenly remembered wheer I had seen a similar car before.
The hospital parking lot.
Edward.
He had a Silver Volvo just like the one that just flashed by.
No.
That was silly. Really.
Why would a medical examiner be following a girl around town unless he was some scary kind of stalker? Edward didn't strike me as the scary stalker type so he couldn't have been inside that car.
It had to be someone else.
There were bound to be more shiny silver Volvo's cruising the streets of Forks. This was just a coincidence.
Still.....a coincidence worth looking into.
"That's strange...." I heard Alice mutter in the background.
"What is?"
"The number plate isn't registered in the DMV's records."
That was indeed strange. Very strange.
"Wait," I panted, sprinting towards the entrance. "I'll be up in a minute."
I sprinted past Lauren who was hanging over her desk while filing her nails and looking utterly bored.
"Hi Lauren!" I panted as I launched myself up the stairs.
I faintly heard her mumble something resembling the word 'bitch'. She still hadn't forgiven me for taking her place after she had been suspended from active duty for pretty much raping an important client.
It was probably a shame because I could see she would have made a damn good angel in time. She looked like she could pack a punch and her scowls were fierce enough to make even the most hardened criminals back the fuck down when they saw her coming at them.
"So what were you saying about the car?" I wheezed as I barged into Bosley's office.
Luckily this time the room was lacking in sexual activity. I didn't think that in my current condition I would have been able to keep my lunch in if I had found Bosley and Rose going for round two.
They were all gathered around Alice who was still typing away furiously, her brows scrunched up in frustration.
"There's no fucking record of this care even existing!" she growled, slamming the lid of her laptop shut.
"Did you see who was in the car?" Rose asked.
"Tinted windows," I said. "Did you try hacking into traffic police records?"
"Of course I did," Alice snarled.
"Do you think it has something to do with the case?" Emmett intervened.
"Well duh!" Rosalie spat. "The girl just spend the best part of her morning talking a known criminal into spilling his guts on his criminal friends to the police. Who do you think it was? Santa trying to find out what she would like for Christmas?"
"I don't like this at all," Emmett growled, looking at Alice who was still frantically trying to find any information on the mysterious Volvo. "What if they know where you live?"
"Well," Rosalie purred, scooting closer to him. "Then you'd just have to come over tonight to make sure we're safe."
Alice turned around to me, acting like she had to gag.
"That would be a good idea," Emmett mused, looking particularly happy. "Do you want me to bring anything?"
I was glad Rose chose to whisper her suggestions in his ear in stead of saying them out load because I had a sneaking suspicion I would definitely have revisited my lunch if I had overheard what she was saying.
Emmett was so caught up staring at Rose he didn't even seem to hear the ringing of the phone on is desk.
"If the two of you are done with foreplay would someone please pick up the phone?" I growled, rolling my eyes at them.
"Bitch," Rose muttered under her breath as she leaned back on the sofa again.
"Good morning Angels," Carlisle's voice floated through the air.
"Good morning Carlisle!" we answered. The first time I had to do that I thought I would choke on my own spit. I was that close to breaking out in hysterical giggles.
I mean, three grown up women, trained in the art of combat, singing into a receiver.
What. The. Fuck?
After a few months it had started to get more familiar and the urge to snort slowly disappeared. For some kind of fucked up reason I even enjoyed our conversations with Carlisle now. There really must be something illegal in those vitamin pills Carlisle provided us with to have me acting like a fucking Brady.
"So I hear that things at the club last night had a satisfactory outcome," he paused after that and I knew what was coming, "even though some rather high risks were taken."
"I'm sorry Carlisle," I muttered. I didn't know why I was hanging my head in shame to a fucking speaker phone. "But I did get a member of The Pack to defect."
"I am proud of you for managing to do what the police have failed to achieve for years," he praised, "though remember: your safety is always what matters most to this agency. We haven't lost an angel yet and I hope I never will."
Alice glared at me while Carlisle spoke. Apparently she hadn't forgiven me for last night either.
"The reason I called is that there are some new developments in the case," Carlisle continued. "Developments that may shine a new light on the matter entirely."
"What is it Carlisle?" Rosalie asked, dropping the lock of hair she had been playing with.
"Four vials containing samples with the highly contagious Spanish flu went missing from Forks General Hospital recently and according to my sources it is believed that Tyler Crowley was the last person who had access to the lab before they were stolen."
"That sick son of a bitch," Rose growled.
"You may want to wait before you pass judgment," Carlisle warned as a tape containing a hospital surveillance tape started playing on the big screen.
"Who is that?" Alice asked, pointing to a man walking behind the murdered man.
"You think we'd be here if he did?" Rose snorted.
"We don't know who he is," Carlisle spoke, disregarding Rose's snide remark. "Enhanced footage of the tapes reveal the name tag on his scrubs to be belonging to a Kevin Volchok but there are no records confirming such a man exists."
"So do we think this Volchok person - or whatever the hell is name is – is in league with The Pack?" I asked.
"That seems unlikely," Carlisle replied. "The Pack never cooperates with anyone outside their own circle. However, this man may be able to shed some light on how Tyler Crowley passed his last hours on this earth and who the vials were meant for."
"You don't think The Pack has them?" Emmett asked.
"No you dumb fuck," Rosalie growled. "The pack deal drugs. They won't just switch to terrorism."
Alice and I both snickered as we listened to the two of them bickering. Obviously being in love hadn't made Rose go all soft and gooey.
"This case keeps getting more and more complicated," Carlisle summarized, "and I fear more dangerous too. For now we need to focus on two things.......First to help the police to put The Pack behind bards and learn what we can about the Crowley-case in the process. Second to find the mystery man in the hospital as soon as possible and prevent the vials from falling into the wrong hands."
"Will do Carlisle," Alice said in an assuring voice.
Yeah, like it would be so fucking easy.
"I have every faith in you my angels," Carlisle laughed. "But remember to keep safe."
We went home to discuss tactics and get some much needed rest after we had wrapped up our conversation with Carlisle, though my rest was put short by a call from my dad.
"How are you doing sweetheart?" Charlie's gruff voice asked. He sounds like he's had a rough couple of days.
"I'm fine dad," I sigh. "Are you? You don't sound so good."
"It's nothing," He chuckles. "I just got back from chasing some lowlife Casino fraud through the dessert."
"Right."
"I'm starting to get a little too old for that kind of stuff," he ads. "It's a good thing the guy never got very far or I would have lost him."
"So everything else is going okay?" I asked. I wanted my dad to be happy. He had gone through so much shit in his life that he didn't deserve.
"I'm fine Bells," he sighed. "How many times do I have to repeat it before you get the message? Life on the road suits me. I love it. The only thing I worry about is my little girl being all alone in the city."
"I'm fine dad," I laughed. If only he knew I could take a man out in under a minute using just two fingers. "Work's been really busy."
I had told my father I was working as a receptionist for some kind of law firm while taking classes at Forks Community College in the evening. That way I could prevent him from worrying about my future and explain why I was hardly even at home when he called.
Lying to my dad had felt unnatural and I hated having to do it but there was no way Charlie could ever find out about what I did..
"So what were you saying about chasing a guy through the desert?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Yeah," Charlie sighed. "We had a client who thought some guy was ripping off his casino but when we went after him he fled and we had to chase him halfway through the state of Nevada before we caught him."I could almost hear him shrug though the phone as he explained himself though he hadn't been able to hide the excitement in his voice. "He did earn us a nice little sum though."
"That's great," I replied. "And how's things going aside from the job? Are you taking care of yourself?"
"Always being the parent," he chuckled, though I knew how much he liked me mothering over him. "But just to set your mind at rest.....Sue's taking great care of me. Really, sometimes I feel like a Christmas goose with the way she's feeding me."
"That's great dad!" I chuckled. I had a feeling Sue and my dad were more than just friends, though he never spoke to me about her other than the usual references to being clothed and fed properly. He was probably worried about how I was going to react to the news when he told me and he might have even felt a little guilty about falling in love again after loosing my mom.
"Listen honey, I have to go," he sighed. "Bad guys to track down and all that."
"Okay dad, take care of yourself and tell Sue I said hi,"
"Will do pumpkin," he grinned. "Be safe."
The moment he hung up that same bittersweet feeling that always came over me after our conversations reared its ugly head again.
I loved my dad and deep down inside I wanted nothing more than for him to be happy but I also wanted him to be here. He was all that I had in the way of family and history and I missed that. I really did.
However....I knew his new job made him more happy than his old one ever had and he had even seemed to have found love again, something I would never have thought possible. In a way his life was more exciting than mine was right now.
I also knew that if he would be here thing would get impossible. I could never keep working for Carlisle without my father finding out something about it, he was a cop after all. If he ever found out what I got up to nowadays he would either flip, have a heart attack or both and I didn't want to put him through that.
No, it was all for the better.
But still........
The bittersweet feeling had me thinking back about last night and the bittersweet feelings I felt thinking back on it.
Thinking back on him
Morgue guy.
Edward.
I wondered what he was thinking – if indeed he was thinking about me – and if he hated me. For some reason that last thought, the thought that he was somewhere out me thinking ill of me, hit me harder than it should.
He was nothing, just some guy at a club who had managed to catch my eye. Really, come to think of it I should probably hate him for distracting me from the case and almost making me spill every damn secret that I had.
I had a fucking job to do. I was a professional, not some teen aged girl fawning over the first hot decent guy that came along.
Then why the hell was I still thinking about him? Why was I not celebrating my triumph?
I had almost singlehandedly brought down The Pack, one of the most notorious crime organizations in this fucking town. I had done what no fucking police agent or detective had been able to do.
I should be fucking ecstatic! Or drunk. Or both.
Instead I was wallowing in my room, trying to block out the strange noises coming from the room next door.
I had just convinced myself that it was just Rose watching some kind of loud show on the tv in her room when a 'Fuck Rose' shattered all my hopes of not revisiting my dinner somehow.
Apparently Emmett arrived horny and willing and his job of protecting the angels in their time of peril seemed to be restricted to Rosalie's bedroom.
When the noises started to get louder and louder I banged my first on the wall, hoping they would get the message but somehow it only spurred them on.
I tried everything I could to drown out the noise, even cranking the volume on my stereo up to 'are you nuts' levels but for some strange reason nothing could drown out the sound of my best friend and my boss going at it like fucking rabbits next door.
In the end I settled for sleep, the headphones of my I-pod blocking out most of the sounds from next door as I tried to get some rest. I sure needed it after all that happened during last few days.
I don't know if it was the fuckathon going on next door or the thoughts that had been running through my head before I fell asleep but the moment I fell asleep – a miracle on it's own considering the noise level - he was there in my dreams and I knew the moment it started that is was going to be one of those dreams.
We were back at the club, though this time it was empty and dark. The only light that illuminated the vast space around us were the fluorescent blue and purple lights that lines the balcony, bar and dj-booth.
He was standing in the middle of the dance floor, holding out his hand for me.
"Trust me," he spoke, his voice deep and husky.
"You will leave me, they all do."
"I am not like them," he stated, palming my cheek in his hand. "Trust me."
I didn't even have to think about it. The words came fast, almost unwittingly. "I trust you."
"Dance with me."
The music that started was slower than the one we had danced to before, more sensual. He spun me around before his hands rested on my lower back, puling my body flush against his.
"Do you feel it too/' he asked, as he ran his hands over the exposed skin of my arms.
"I do," I answered, looking into his eyes. I could hardly make out their expression in the darkness but I thought I saw the same feeling reflected in them that were currently pulsing through my body with an almost dazzling intensity. "What do you think it means/'
He brought my hand to his lips, kissing it, just like he had done before. "Destiny," he muttered, using my hand to pull me towards a stack of pillows that was neatly arranged in a corner of the dance floor. "This was meant to be."
"I trust you," I said, as my trembling hands began to unbutton his shirt.
When we moved together, unhindered by clothes or any other boundaries between us I knew what he meant by destiny bringing us together. This wasn't just some random fuck, destined to satiate your lust for a little while, this was something else, something that was almost spiritual. This was what it was meant to be.
Our slick bodies miving against each other, inside one another, bringing the other to new and previously unknown heights. We both screamed out the other's name as we followed each other over the edge, the electricity that flowed so freely before igniting into sparks of blinding light in front of my eyes.
I kissed his shoulder, panting for breath as I came down from my high but when I turned to look at him I screamed in terror because the face I saw didn't belong to the man I had just given my everything to.
It belonged to Jacob Black.
"I'll never let you go again," he stated, but his voice didn't convey the softness and love I had heard in Edwards voice. Jacob sounded like a man talking about his possession.
"Let me go," I screamed. "It's not you who I want!"
"You gave yourself to me willingly," he growled, pushing in to me as I fought him with everything I had. "Now that I have you you're mine until I say otherwise."
"NO!" I yelled. I had to keep fighting him or I would loose myself and everything I had loved in this life forever.
"Bella wake up!" I could feel a stinging sensation in my cheek as I awoke.
I was covered in sweat and panting for air as I noticed Alice, Rosalie and Emmett standing around me, all sporting worried looks.
"I'm fine," I panted.
"Who the fuck are you trying to fool?" Rose growled. "You were screaming so loud even we were able to hear you and just look at you!" She looked at me with a disgusted glare. "All covered in sweat and with hair standing out in all directions."
"It was just a bad dream," I snarled, pulling my sheets up in an attempt to cover the evidence of my nightmare.
"Yeah, sure," Rose snorted. "And I'm mother freakin' Theresa!"
"Well you do seem to be all about giving these days," I growled, looking at Emmett who wasn't able to really hide his shit eating grin, even though the rest of his face looked concerned.
"I think it's time for breakfast," Alice intervened before looking sternly at me. "And you're making it."
"Sure Ally," I said, rolling my eyes at her. It was not like any of the other girls could cook anyway. Well, at least not something a human being could actually eat.
Cooking breakfast seemed to ease my nerves and give me a new perspective. Sure, the dream had been scary – though parts of it had been rather nice – but it could all be explained logically once you took a step backwards and thought about it.
The bit about Edward was clearly fueled by the noises coming from Rose's room and the fact that I had been thinking about him shortly before going to sleep. The bit about Jacob must have something to do with my nerves about the impending meeting and my excitement about bringing down The Pack.
There really was nothing to worry about, it was all just down to my weird freaky brain mixing all of that shit together in some kind of fucked up soap opera.
"Are you really sure you feel up to this?" Alice asked as she handed me my bag. I hadn't told her too much about my dream. She would only read far too much into it if she knew and then I would never hear the end of it.
"The next person who's going to ask me if I feel okay id going to loose an appendage," I spat back. I was sick of people asking me how I felt. It made me feel weak and dependent and I had been weak and depended far to much in the last few years.
"A simple yes would have sufficed," Alice chastised. "No need to bite my head off just because I care about you."
"I'm fine mommy," I sang, kissing her on the cheek before grabbing my keys and walking out the room. Rose and Emmett were nowhere to be seen and after last night I knew better than to go looking for them.
I arrived at the diner about an hour before the meeting would take place. Angela had called me yesterday afternoon to go over the plans for today and we had agreed to meet in advance to get me hooked up to a microphone and go over the questions they wanted answers to once again.
Those cops really must think I was stupid or something. I mean, it's not like their questioning were difficult or anything. They just wanted to know what The Pack had been up to all those years and how they did it.
Angela showed up with a sourly looking detective trailing behind her only moments after I had taken a seat.
"First we get the fucking Feds pissing all over our terrain and now we hand our cases over to private cowboys. Why don't we just get rid of the detective squad all together?" she growled.
Either the woman woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning or she just had a thing against me. Considering she probably knew who I was I opted for the last reason.
"Don't mind Kate," Angela grinned, as she fastened their outdated looking microphone in an inconspicuous place. "She's just angry about having to put up with two Federal agents who took over the Crowley case from her. One of them thinks he can woo her."
I flashed the female detective a sympathetic look. I hated when guys thought they could put the moves on you just because you were single and working together.
"Oh, don't feel sorry for her!" Angela continued, laughing as Kate scowled. "She stunned the poor guy in front of the whole detective squad when he had the nerve to grab her ass."
"Nice one!" I complimented Kate.
"Thanks!" She chuckled. "I wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't actually kind of a good looking guy. It's a shame he's such a dick or I probably would have gone out with him. I mean....yesterday I was showing him around a crime scene and he was acting all nice and gentlemanly and I almost started to kind of like him when it turned out he was just trying out a different way of getting into my pants!"
"Is he going to be here?" Angela asked.
"Dear lord I hope not," Kate growled. "If I have to spend an hour in a fucking radio van with the guy someone is going to get hurt and it won't be me."
A voice over the radio alerted us to the fact that it was almost noon and Jacob would be walking into the diner any minute now. Angela wished me luck while Kate reminded me to stick to the questions they had provided me with and 'not attempt to grow a brain' before they left for their van, seconds before Jacob walked in.
"I've come up with one more demand," he grinned as he took his seat across from me again.
"And that is?" I asked, playing with my menu. I tried to act self confident and callous even though my nerves were throbbing in my throat. I didn't have any authority to make deals or even discuss them so I hoped he wouldn't be asking too much.
"I want a date with you, pretty lady," he chuckled.
"What?"
"A date," he repeated. "You know......two people, nice clothes, food and stuff."
"You want a date with me?" I repeated incredulously.
"Yep," he nodded. "Or I'm not saying anything."
I quickly pondered my options. I could walk away and have this deal blow up on all of us or I could take it and sit out one evening with a known criminal, not something I hadn't done before.
I knew that my sense of duty to Carlisle told me to just suck it up and take the offer. Being an angels sometimes meant pushing aside any personal feelings or principles to get the job done. I knew Carlisle himself didn't encourage us to do so - in fact he had always encouraged us to follow our conscience – but sometimes conscience and values simply stood in the way of our ultimate goal, solving crime.
I knew however, that the doubts I felt about Jacobs proposition weren't merely professional. Most of them were caused by personal issues that were raging around in my head, all of them centered around a mysterious man with strange bronze colored hair and the greenest eyes I had ever seen.
Would it be so hard to go on a date with Jacob Black regardless of those feelings?
Yes it would, part of me said.
I remembered last night's dream and the feelings both Jacob and Edward had evoked. I knew it was just a date. Just dinner and maybe a movie. I could do that. It was easy enough.
Then why was my whole body screaming at me to refuse the offer?
Another part of me reasoned that this reformed criminal sitting in front of me was perhaps the best thing I could find out there. Jacob Black wasn't unfortunate looking – as I had seen before – and in spite of his criminal ways – which he was ready to say goodbye to – he struck me as a likable enough person to go out on a date with.
"Okay," I said reluctantly. Would Jacob ever realize the pain his question had caused me?
"Good," he said. "I'll pick you up on Friday night at eight. Wear something sexy."
"Fine," I sighed, unable to even feign enthusiasm.
"I've written some shit down," he said, pushing a file in my direction. "You can give that to your friend."
"What's in it?" I asked, opening the folder to reveal a couple of sheets, filled with almost unintelligible scribblings.
"Names, dates, everything needed to give the whole Forks detective squad a shared orgasm."
I scanned the paper for things that I could place. Once you got the hang of Jacobs handwriting it wasn't so hard to make out. It was a written account of deals The Pack had made with their drug suppliers, weapons they had purchased and what appeared to be a full written account of all the murders that had taken place over the years.
One name, however, was strangely absent from the list.
"What about Tyler Crowley?" I asked, trailing my hand over the names.
"Tyler who?"
"The guy you lot had killed a couple of days ago."
"I don't know what you're talking about sweetheart," Jacob said confused. "We don't know a Tyler Crowley."
"But they found him in the woods with a slashed throat," I sighed frustrated.
"Then someone is copying our MO," Jacob growled. "We didn't have anything to do with him."
"Then who did it?"
"How the fuck am I supposed to know?" Jacob yelled. "I'm a snitch, not a fucking clairvoyant!"
"Sorry," I muttered. What the hell did you say to a defecting gang member after you falsely accused him of killing someone?
"Yeah, well. You couldn't have known," he sighed, waving the whole matter away. "Any other questions?"
I methodically rattled off all the questions Kate and Angela had told me to ask while carefully making sure the microphone was pointing straight at Jacob.
"Meet me in front of DiNozo's on Saturday at eight. Wear some hot black little number and we can consider this deal iron clad," he said as we were wrapping up our meeting.
"Sure," I shrugged, still unable to get all enthusiastic about it.
After he had marched out of the diner I met with Kate and Angela again to go over some things and get debugged before I headed back to the apartment. I was glad no calls from Carlisle had come through in the meantime. I really needed some time to think things over and I preferred to do that alone and without hearing how Rose's sex life had improved drastically over the last couple of days.
Driving back to the apartment I tried to get a grip on my feelings.
It was strange. This wasn't the first time I had used my body or my company as a means of getting what I wanted but somehow since the last couple of days it made me feel so.....dirty. It was almost like I was selling my body like a common whore.
I tried to shake those feelings from my mind. It just came with the job. Every occupation had its downsides and this was one of the uglier sides of my profession.
It wasn't like I didn't know what caused all these feelings.
It had something to do with the fact that I was falling – and falling hard, if I was really being honest – for a guy I didn't even know that well. For all I knew he may even be the sick psycho we're trying to catch!
When I got home there was a Manila envelope waiting for me on the hall table. Rose or Alice must have picked up the mail and left it there for me. It had my name written on it in an elegant, almost calligraphic, script.
Curious to what it was I ripped open the paper and tore out to sheets of paper. One – the one on top – had more of the strange, old fashioned handwriting on it.
You might find this interesting.
I tossed the sheet of paper on the ground. Curious to see what was underneath it.
It was a photograph.
A photograph of Alistair Trevelyan, the current chief of police, shaking hands with Aro Volturi.
A photograph which, according to the date on the back, was taken about fourteen months ago. A week before the failed warehouse raid.
This could mean only one thing.
Alistair Trevelyan was the son of a bitch who destroyed my dad's career.
Alistair Trevelyan was a dead man.
Bella finally found out who framed her dad. What do you think she's going to do with that piece of information? Who send her the envelope? Why did they do it?
This chapter may have answered a few of the questions concerning Jacob. Later on, in the chapter with their date in it, we'll find out why he is willing to defect. I had originally put that bit of information in this chapter but, reading it all back, it just didn't feel right so you have to be patient a little while longer.
I really hope to be able to get back to posting twice a week this week. It's the last of the really crazy weeks for me but since I got a bit more writing done than I anticipated last week (I would have done even more if I hadn't been so completely wrapped up in reading The Red Line by WinndSinger. Go read it of you haven't already. It's amazing) so I should be fine. It all depends on if I can get the next chapter edited before Friday.
By the way........the next chapter is going to be in a new POV. You'll never guess who (clue: it's not a POV that you see all that much)
Please let me know what you thought of this one.
