This Hard Land

"Hey there mister can you tell me
What happened to the seeds I've sown
Can you give me a reason, sir, as to why they've never grown
They've just blown around from town to town
Back out on these fields
Where they fall from my hand
Back into the dirt of this hard land

Well me and my sister
From Germantown we did ride
We made our bed, sir
From the rock on the mountainside
We been blowin' around from town to town
Lookin' for a place to stand
Where the sun burst through the clouds and fall like a circle
A circle of fire down on this hard land…

Hey, Frank, won't you pack your bags
And meet me tonight down at Liberty Hall
Just one kiss from you, my brother
And we'll ride until we fall
Well sleep in the fields
We'll sleep by the rivers
And in the morning we'll make a plan"

Well if you can't make it stay hard, stay hungry, stay alive if you can
And meet me in a dream of this hard land"

From This Hard Land, by Bruce Springsteen; off Greatest Hits, 1995

Rolling around in an empty bed was just another reminder for Bella that Jasper was gone. With the hole in her chest still wide and aching, she couldn't manage to fall back to sleep after Edward left. She tried desperately to keep the tears at bay now. She was tired of crying. It made her feel weak and helpless, yet all she seemed to be doing was crying lately.

She was still exhausted from the emotional turmoil of the last couple of days, but sleep wouldn't come. Eventually, frustrated with herself, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up.

She made the bed back up carefully, smoothing the sheets and erasing the evidence of her ever having slept there. Edward was kind enough to let her into his home for the night, and she wanted to leave things exactly as they were.

She debated leaving before he got back, but she had nowhere to go. Lost as to what to do, she pattered aimlessly around the suite.

It was a nicer room than she'd ever seen in her life. Even the sheets she'd just vacated were the softest she had ever felt. All the wood in the room was a rich, warm oak. Soft, lush fabric adorned the plush sofa in the corner, and a matching armchair was nestled near the bed. A few books were stacked haphazardly on the table next to the chair, and Bella yearned to pick up the thick volumes and just inhale the musky scent of the bindings and run her fingers over the pages.

She resisted though. She was afraid to touch anything.

She remembered Edward telling her to help herself to any food that was around, but she couldn't find it in her to even be hungry. Instead, she just felt a sick, nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't take her mind off Jasper.

She was distraught, confused, and angry, all at the same time. She reasoned with herself that if she at least knew the cause, the reason for his death then maybe she could find a way to make peace with it. She didn't really know the why or the how, though she had her suspicions. It didn't stop the irrational thought running through her mind that if she ran back to the motel right now, she'd find him there waiting, wondering where she'd been.

The overpowering emotion was anger, which made her angry with herself for feeling that way. Feeling guilty over the rage building inside didn't erase the traitorous thoughts though. She was furious with him because he left her, all alone, and for what? A few thousand dollars? If he had only listened to her…

That thought alone made her literally cry out with frustration, and she once again became a shaking mess. She felt the feeling of the walls closing in on her again, as if her emotions were suffocating her. She needed air. She needed to get out of the room.

Darting for the balcony door, she slid it open quickly and gasped when she hit the railing, sucking in as much of the fresh, salty air as she could in her breaths. Only then did her head start to clear.

She knew there was no time for mourning, not yet. She needed to be rational, and she needed a plan. Out of the corner of her eye she spied a pack of cigarettes and matches sitting on the railing, and she unconsciously lit one as she contemplated what to do next.

When Edward arrived home, he found the bed neatly made and everything as it was when he'd left it the morning before. It was almost as if Bella was a mirage. He feared that she was gone. She probably left him as soon as he went to work that morning.

Ready to shout out in anger, frustration, and remorse, he spotted a shadow on the patio and breathed a sigh of relief. Opening the door gently, as to not startle her, he stepped out onto the balcony. She hadn't even heard him approach.

She was a glorious sight to behold, even in her jeans, t-shirt, and bare feet. The sunlight hit off the balcony just right to make her long, mahogany locks shine and her ivory skin seemed to shimmer in the bright light.

"Bella," he said gently. "I'm back."

She turned to him, and his heart broke at the underlying darkness and sadness in her eyes. She didn't appear to be crying, but she was a tortured soul nonetheless.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking down at her feet while motioning to the cigarette in her hand. "I saw the pack laying there and I just kind of lit up without thinking. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Edward said, reaching for the pack himself. "Help yourself to whatever you want while you're here."

As they smoked together in silence, Bella caught Edward staring at her out of the corner of her eye more than once, which caused her to flush. She would give almost anything to read his mind at that moment. He was still an enigma to her, and part of her was waiting for the other shoe to drop. In her experience, nobody had ever shown her so much kindness without ultimately wanting something in return, and that sadly included Jasper.

When Bella stubbed her cigarette out, Edward put his out as well, though he wasn't finished. "I wanted to ask you about last night," he said. "Will you tell me what happened?" he asked gently, as he brushed a strand of hair out of Bella's eyes and tucked it behind her ear.

He looked so sincere that Bella didn't have the strength to deny him the answers he sought. She knew she just needed to be careful about how much she divulged. She followed him back into the hotel room, and he pulled out a chair for her at the small dining table in silent invitation. Edward took the seat across from her.

She took a deep breath. "Jasper and I…" she started.

"Your brother?" Edward interrupted.

"Yeah. Well, he's not really my brother, by blood anyway. We've been best friends since we were babies." Edward nodded for her to continue. "Anyway, Jasper didn't have the easiest life growing up. His dad was a drunk and abused him constantly. To make a long story short, he left home right after he turned 18, and I went with him. We didn't have much- no money, no jobs, no diplomas, nothing. We ended up in Las Vegas for a while, as far away from our home as we could get.

"We lived pretty much off the street, or out of my old truck. Jasper sometimes had to steal food for us. Eventually, we figured out we could make money by playing blackjack. It wasn't much, but it kept us fed and happy. We just kind of drifted from place to place, and when we got bored, we moved on," Bella paused, her lower lip trembling briefly. She tried to cover the fact that she was moments from breaking down, but Edward saw right through her.

"What? What is it?" he asked softly, reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"It was my fault," she whispered. "Jasper… I told him I wasn't happy. He… he wanted more from me than I was willing to give. He said he was in love with me. Then I got fed up with how our lives turned out one night and I told him I wasn't happy. The next day he came up with this crazy ass plan that landed us here. He got involved with some people… really bad people. The night I met you, that was the first night he met up with them.

"The night before last, he didn't come home, and I got scared, so I went looking for him. Two assholes grabbed me right outside Volterra, but they only drove me to the garage. They told me that I had to meet with James that evening, and he'd tell me where Jasper was. You see, Jasper owed him some money, and I assumed he wanted me to pay it back. That's why I was at the table yesterday, trying to earn at least some of it back."

"I wish you wouldn't have run from me last night," Edward said. "Money, I have. I could have helped."

Bella scoffed. "You'd just give five thousand dollars to a complete stranger?"

"For the right reason," Edward assured her.

Bella frowned, not really believing him. She couldn't imagine anyone ever being so generous, even if he had offered her his home for the night.

"Well, after I met with him, I got into his car. You know that, because you apparently followed me?"

Edward smiled sadly. "I did. I was worried about you. Rightly so, I might add."

Bella shuddered noticeably. "Well, he wasn't after my money. He wanted me to be one of his whores," Bella choked on the last word in disgust at the thought of working for James, especially in that capacity.

Edward clenched his fist in anger, so tightly his knuckles began to turn white. "Back there… in the alley…?" he asked with a strained voice.

Bella looked down at her lap, biting her bottom lip, disgusted by what she was about to say. "He put me on my knees… because he wanted to 'test my skills,'" she answered, making air quotes with her fingers.

A noise sounded in the back of Edward's throat that sounded like a growl. He jumped to his feet, knocking his chair over in the process. Bella flinched at the loud noise it made when it crashed to the floor.

"That motherfucker!" Edward hissed. "I knew I should have gone back there and killed that guy."

Bella couldn't help the tears that sprung in the corners of her eyes now as she relived the memory in her head. Edward mentally ordered himself to calm down when he saw how distressed she was. After a few minutes of tense silence, Edward finally asked, "So what happened to Jasper?"

"James- the guy- told me that he was in a car accident and killed on impact. He said suicide couldn't be ruled out."

"Do you believe that?"

Bella shook her head sadly. "I feel in my heart that he's gone, but I don't believe the reasons I was given. I think James killed him, or had him killed, but I really don't know how to be sure."

"You should go to the police."

"They won't help me," Bella said, shaking her head. "They wouldn't believe me anyway. I'm just a runaway. I can't have my name on a police report. Please trust me when I say I have my reasons."

Edward frowned as he realized that in their entire conversation, she'd stated only hard facts, divulging little or no information about herself. This frustrated him immensely. Edward always had a raw talent for reading people, so clearly it was as if he could see into their minds sometimes. It was one of the reasons he was so good at his job, and probably why Aro sought him out for his position. However, Bella's mind was practically silent to him, and while he yearned to know more about her, he knew he would have to be patient.

"I trust you," he said. "I hope that in time you'll learn to trust me too."

"In time?" Bella asked, confused. "I don't plan on staying around long. I need to get away from here. I don't think that James will stop."

"I can protect you," Edward insisted. "This room is secure. You can stay here with me. If you leave here and run, what's to stop him from going after you? Stay with me, where I can know that you're safe, and we can figure something out. Please?"

"I couldn't ask you to do that for me. You've done so much already."

"Please?" he asked again. "I want to do this for you. Trust me when I say I have my own reasons. Please."

Though Bella was still unsure of his intentions, she nodded hesitantly, because she truly was afraid of what James was capable of, and had no idea what awaited her outside the suite doors.

"I should get my things from my motel then," she suggested. "I don't have much, but there are a few things I need, clothes and such."

"I don't want you going back there," Edward said firmly. "Please let me. I'll go over and pack all of your stuff and bring it back to you, I promise. Is there anything you need in particular?"

"My backpack," Bella answered immediately. "It's an old orange Jansport, and its full of notebooks. I have it hidden behind the toilet in the bathroom. That's the only thing I really need. Everything else can be replaced."

"I'll get it for you, and gather up your clothes too."

"Hey, Edward?" Bella asked tentatively as he opened a drawer and retrieved his car keys. "Are you sure? About everything? About me staying here? Are you really sure?"

"Trust me," Edward said. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life." He pulled out his cell phone to make a quick call. When it connected, he said, "Hey, Emmett. You still want to go for a ride in the Vanquish?"

"So uh… did you have a destination in mind?" Emmett asked as he noticed Edward was currently speeding through a shadier, and notoriously rougher part of Atlantic City. "I mean, if you were trying to get your car stolen, you could just leave it on the strip with the keys in it."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Bella was staying here. I need to get her things."

"Bella again?" Emmett asked, tensing. "What is this girl doing to you?"

"She's not doing anything," Edward responded, his voice full of annoyance. "I started to drop her off here last night and noticed someone lurking around her door. Someone is after her, and I didn't feel safe leaving her here. She's going to stay in my room for a while."

Emmett frowned. "Edward, man? I know you're my boss and all, but I'd also like to think we're becoming friends, too?"

"I'd like to think so," Edward responded as he turned onto the road where he remembered Bella's motel was.

"Then friends are honest with each other. And I'm worried about you. You don't know this girl at all. You said that there's someone after her, that she's not safe. Are you sure you want to get involved in all of that?"

"Absolutely," Edward responded with certainty. "I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I turned her away."

"Okay… and you said you think something fucked up is going on at the casino right? You just don't know what yet. What you do know, is that Bella is involved somehow."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, how do you know she's not in on it too?"

"She's not," Edward responded, shaking his head. "She couldn't be." He pulled into a vacant spot in front of the motel and cut the ignition.

"I just don't get it," Emmett said, after pondering for a minute. "You're going out on a limb for a complete stranger. Someone you met – once - at a bar, and ran into a month later? Now you're swearing she can do no wrong. What gives?"

"I don't know. I have feelings for her. Intense feelings. I can't explain it."

"But you just met her. You don't know a thing about her."

"I know enough. I guess it just chooses you sometimes."

"I hope you're right about her then. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Edward nodded and opened the door to get out. "I'm going to grab her stuff. Can you keep an eye on the car?"

"Sure. I can take it for a spin around the block if you want?" Emmett asked with a wry smile.

"Don't you fucking dare," Edward muttered, fishing in his pocket for the key card Bella gave him earlier.

When he entered the room, his eyes widened. The place was absolutely filthy, in complete disarray. Clothes, trash, and other odds and ends were scattered haphazardly around the room. It looked as if it was ransacked. He couldn't imagine Bella living in such squalor, so he suspected foul play.

"Emmett?" he called out the still open door. "You better get in here."

Emmett approached and stuck his head in the open doorway. "Shit, man," he muttered. "You should probably call her, see if anything's missing."

Edward pulled out his cell phone and dialed his own room, praying that she would pick up. Nothing.

"She's not answering. She's probably afraid to answer my phone."

Emmett pulled out his own phone and started snapping pictures.

"Let's just get what we can salvage and go," Edward suggested, not wanting to be there longer than necessary. "She said there was nothing valuable in here, except a backpack she wanted me to grab. Can you help me look for it?"

"Where'd she say it was?" Emmett asked, surveying the room.

"Bathroom, shoved behind the toilet," Edward said, as he entered the room he assumed to be the bathroom. He heard a crunching sound underneath his shoes and looked down to find the porcelain lid to the toilet shattered across the bathroom floor. He carefully maneuvered to crouch next to the toilet, and found nothing. "It's not here. She said it was orange."

They searched in vain as they gathered up both Bella's and Jasper's meager belongings and clothes. Though Bella hadn't specifically asked Edward to pick up any of Jasper's things, from what she told him before, he assumed she'd want to look through them, and maybe find some odds and ends to keep him in her memory.

They found Bella's empty duffle bag in the closet and filled it with what they could find. They searched the room again, looking for the orange backpack, and came up empty-handed.

"Wonder what the hell she had in there?" Emmett pondered aloud, as they made their way back to Edward's car.

"Whatever it was, it was important to her," Edward said with a sigh.

"You know, my cousin, Kate, is a cop. Maybe I'll give her a call about this and see what she thinks. Come to think of it, she'll probably kick my ass for tampering with the crime scene."

Edward thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you think she might be able to check something else out, too?"

Emmett shrugged. "Within reason, I guess."

"The man that attacked Bella in the alley… he told her that her friend died in a car accident, but Bella's not so sure. Do you think you can check out if there were any single car accidents in the area within the last couple of days?"

Emmett shrugged. "I can ask."

Back at Volterra, Edward went over to Human Resources to meet with Chelsea before returning to Bella. The meeting didn't go well.

Chelsea was adamant that the actions of Laurent and Santiago weren't grounds for termination, though she didn't really have any facts to back up her argument. Edward quickly became flustered by their meeting and ended up putting his foot down. Since New Jersey was an "at will" state, an employee could be fired for any reason, period. He wanted them out, and he demanded that she draft the papers immediately.

As he turned to exit her office, he saw her reach for her phone. Edward was suspicious of her desire to protect the two lowlifes from termination. After he closed the door behind him, and he looked to make sure no one else was around, he pressed his ear to the door.

"Aro Volturi please," Edward heard her say into the phone. He tensed and waited. Before Aro presumably got to the phone though, he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He righted himself and strode purposefully down the hall, still fuming, and wondering what the hell Chelsea needed to talk to Aro about.

Just when he thought the situation with his employees- particularly the ones that Aro hired- couldn't get any more suspicious, he received a call from Emmett.

Edward stepped into an open office he knew to be vacant and shut the door behind him before answering. "Hey," he answered quietly. "What's up?"

When Emmett hesitated on the other end of the line, Edward immediately feared the worst.

"I got a hit on the database," he said after a few moments. "On the blonde man."

"That's great," Edward said, though his voice lacked enthusiasm. "What do we know?"

"Nothing, that's the problem. The database indicated that he had a file, as in past tense. It was deleted. Today."

"What the fuck?" Edward hissed.

"It gets worse," Emmett said. "The person who deleted it didn't bother to cover their tracks, or maybe didn't have time to. I know who it was, and they work here."

"Who was it?" Edward asked, pinching the bridge of his nose, afraid to hear the answer.

After another long pause filled with Emmett's angry breathing, he finally responded, "It was Felix."

A/N- Okay, next chapter, Edward confronts Aro. Any theories on what he's up to? I've gotten some great ones so far! Thank you everyone who is reading and reviewing! I always love to hear from you, so please let me know what you're thinking!