Hi Everyone, Really sorry about the late update RL has been kicking my arse this week. We had a long weekend in the UK and I spent most of it drunk. lol x

As usual I own the plot and SM owns the rest. I would Like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has reviwed and added the story to alerts. My girls LoopyLou and DreamofRob10 who make this fic what it is, dont know were I would be without them.

On with the Chapter...Let me know what you think x

The Twelve Week Hunt

Chapter 10

Last night I had sex with Edward fucking Cullen and I felt on top of the world. I felt great with no regrets. Edward had already left when I woke up in his bed; I was now showered and dressed, ready for the day. I sat in the kitchen waiting for Jake and Bree to show. I had just poured myself a cup coffee when the doorbell rang. Alfie started barking, going nuts as he always did when someone was at the door. "Sssh...Chill out, boy," I said, as I patted him on the head, trying to calm him down. I looked though the peep hole in the door; it was Jake and Bree. I opened the door with a smile on my face, greeting them. "Hey guys, come in." I moved back to let them pass me.

"Thanks for this Bella, I really appreciate this," Jake said, with a hint of relief in his tone.

"It's no problem, Jake. I'm more than happy to help out,'' I responded, glancing up at him.

"Right, well I need to go. Bree, you be good, now," Jake said as he leaned down, kissing Bree on her head.

She was more interested in Alfie than her dad. "Say Bell, how come you aren't working?"

Nice try dickhead. "I always take two weeks off over the holidays. There's just so much to do and the housing market's so quiet around this time,'' I said, giving him my brightest smile. I had been ready for that question from him. It seemed as if I wasn't the only one doing the digging round here.

"Right, well, I'm so late. Bree honey, I'll see you tonight." She just waved him off while still looking at my dog.

Jake left and I turned to Bree. "You doing okay, today?'' I asked, knowing she would've had a rough night.

"My dad managed to get a hold of my mom. He told her that I'd be staying with him from now on. She didn't care Bella; not one little bit." Her voice had started to crack and I couldn't deal with tears

I thought over the best way to sooth her. I decided to tell her a bit about my mom. "My mom left when I was little; never seen her since, Bree. Trust me, one day you'll thank her for walking away 'cause she'll only ever be a disappointment to you. Take from someone who knows.''

"Who's this?" She asked, pointing at Alfie, moving us off the subject of shitty moms.

I smiled; glad that she was showing interest in best-friend. "This is Alfie, my dog. I've had him for about two years, now."

"Can I pet him?'' She asked, still looking down at him.

"Sure, but be confident when you do 'cause he can smell fear and he thrives on it." She stuck her hand out toward his face. I think he was a bit shocked at first, but he sniffed her and decided she wasn't a danger to us. He licked her hand which caused Bree to laugh. I smiled down at them. Alfie could be a nasty little shit when he wanted to be, but he was also super cute.

I walked into the kitchen, and looked at the date on the calendar - December 22nd. Shit, I needed to get some shopping done and we needed a tree. Yeah, that's what we'll do today; shopping for Christmas, Alice and Jasper's wedding, plus, I needed a dress and some shoes.

"Bree,'' I shouted from the kitchen. "C'mon, we're going out.'' I grabbed my car keys. "Will you let Alfie out for a piss before we go? I just need to get my shoes and coat from my room.''

I heard her walk toward the back door to let him out as I moved toward my room. I sat on the bed to put on my boots, but decided to go with flats, seeing as though, we'd be walking around all day. I grabbed my coat and walked back toward the lounge room.

"Where're we going, Bella?"

"We need a tree and some things for Alice's wedding." I managed to slyly put my nine into the back of my jeans and my glock was in my purse. I hadn't needed them since that Sunday a few weeks ago, but I haven't been out in public that much. It was always better to be safe than sorry.

I locked the back door once Alfie was back in and we walked to the garage. I made my way to my Aston, but stopped when I noticed Bree wasn't following me. She had stopped and was looking at my bike.

"Can we take this?" She asked, walking round examining the bike. "This is a Ducati, right?'' This wasn't a question. Wow, this child just kept up the surprises. "Is this yours?'' She finally looked at me.

I couldn't keep the smile off of my face. "Yes, it's mine. I got it as a present for my twenty first birthday, and no, we can't take that. Your father would skin me alive."

"I won't tell, if you don't," she said with a mischievous smile.

I laughed at her. This kid cracked me up. "Tell you what; I'll take you out on it before you go back to school. How's that for a deal?"

"Okay, deal," she said; she practically skipped toward me. I knew I liked this kid for a reason.

**********************************TTWH******************************

We had bought a Christmas tree and all the decorations. I bought Christmas gifts for everyone, apart from Edward. Fucker was hard to buy for. I wanted to get him something that he could keep to remember me by when all this was over and our lives returned to normal. That thought alone made me feel sick. I couldn't fall for him; that wasn't who I was and it's not what I'm about. I chase, I kill; that's what I like, but I also like having family around me. I love knowing when I get home, Edward would be there waiting, hopefully, in this birthday suite. I might just be able to help him out with that. That thought alone made me damp.

"So, who's next on your list?'' Bree asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Um…I need to get Alice and Jasper a wedding present,'' I replied, trying to not to make eye contact with her. I wasn't sure how well she could read people, but I wasn't about to let her see how flustered I got just thinking about Edward.

"Huh! Good luck with that Bella.''

''What do you mean?'' I asked Bree,

"Alice is so difficult to buy for; that's just the start. What do you buy the girl who has everything?'' She asked, rhetorically.

''She can't have everything, Bree.'' She raised her eyebrows at me, "Really, everything is covered?'' She just nodded her head and smiled at me. Fuck, what do I do, now? I suppose, I could put my name on whatever Edward had got them? No, I didn't want to do that. I would feel wrong; I would think of something.

So, all I needed to do now was, get Bree some new stuff 'cause she had be fucking freezing in that shitty thin coat. "Right, then let's get you some new stuff and then we'll go eat, yeah?"

"Okay,'' she said, agreeing with me, nodding her head.

After getting everything we needed, minus Alice's wedding gift and Edward's present; I was all done. We headed back to the car, putting all our shit in the trunk. The tree was being delivered in three hours and I was fucking starving. "Shall we get some food?"

"Sounds good to me," she said. I was about to get in the car when I had a feeling we were being watched. I looked round, but I couldn't see anyone. Something in my gut told me to watch my ass.

I pulled my phone out as I started the car. "Rose, where are you?'' I asked as she picked up.

"At the shop, why?" She replied.

"I'm about five minutes from you, on Main. Can you jump in your car and meet me?" I still had that feeling, but with Bree with me, I needed to make sure I had someone to help cover her if something were to happen.

"I'm on my way out now, what's up?"

"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling and I have Bree with me.''

"I'll meet you at the bottom of Main near the cinema.'' She hung up and I continued looking every which way. I was trying to stay calm for Bree, but something was off; I could feel it.

I pulled away and saw an SUV do the same. I kept checking my mirror, but I couldn't get a clear view of the driver. The car was trying to get alongside me. Why?

"Bree, go in my purse and pull that gun out," I demanded, in a rush.

"WHAT! Bella, are you kidding me?"

"Do I look like I'm fucking joking here? Just get the fucking gun and keep it on your lap.'' She grabbed my purse and pulled out my glock.

"It's pink," she said, surprised as she looked at it and back to me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I like pink."

"What's happening Bella?" She asked, sounding a little nervous.

"Nothing for you to worry about," I said, keeping my eyes on the SUV. He kept pulling in and out of traffic.

I pulled my phone out, again dialling Rose. She picked up on the first ring. "I'm behind the SUV Bella; he's got eyes on you."

"I know; can you see who it is?"

"No; I keep trying to get along side him, but he keeps pulling in and out of traffic, trying to get to you." Fuck, what do I do now?

Fuck it...I dropped the gear down one and put my foot to the floor. I shot in and out of traffic, headed for the highway, away from innocent people. What? I'm an Assassin, not a fucking murderer.

I looked in my mirror to see I had lost the SUV. "You still got eyes, Rose?"

"Yeah, and I need to get a manual stick car; that looked so hot, Bella."

"Ha, I wasn't going for hot, but I'll take it," I said, chuckling at her enthusiasm.

"Fuck! He's catching your tail, Bella. You need to get somewhere safe until you can get Bree to safety. I..."

Rose was cut off suddenly by Bree. "Aunt Rose, is that you? What the fuck is going on here?" She asked, looking at me. I saw the determination in her eyes, but I didn't have time to appease her now. I was busy doing 150 down the highway to get us clear of whoever was on our tail.

"Look, Bree, I promise I'll tell you everything later, but right now, I need to keep us alive. I need for you to shut up while I do that, okay?" I didn't mean to sound so crass, but she needed to understand that something serious was going on that I needed to take care of.

She nodded once at me. "Rose, update me."

"He's headed your way fast, Bella. If you take the next left, it's a dirt road. Hopefully he'll drive passed you and miss the turn off, if not, you can take him out without being seen," she suggested.

"Got it." I pulled my nine out and cocked it, making sure there was a bullet in the chamber. I pulled on to the dirt road. "Bree, take off your seat belt and sit in the floor the best you can." She did what I asked, quickly, and for that I was relieved. If that had been Edward, he would've bitched at me for something. "I need you to listen to me, Bree, and do everything I tell you okay?" She nodded at me still with the gun in her hands. "If anything happens to me, you call your Aunt Rose, okay? You do not move from that floor until she gets here and if you see anyone other than her, you shoot, okay? You shoot until there are no bullets left, understood?" She nodded at me, again, as a tear ran down her cheek. "I'm so sorry about this, Bree; I never wanted you to see this, but I need to save our asses and I don't have another choice."

I spun the car round and waited. Maybe we got lucky and he missed the turning.

A bullet hit the back panel of my car. "MOTHERFUCKER!" I shouted; my beautiful car now had a fucking hole in it. Some fuckers were gonna pay, big time, for this.

I got out of the car and ran around to the back of it, keeping the heat away from Bree. I could see the SUV coming towards us. A guy was shooting from the passenger side.

I took my aim and let off a few bullets so he would know where I was, hopefully shooting toward me and not Bree.

That worked and he switched his direction. He was firing a semi-automatic gun at me, pumping bullet holes in my beautiful car. If I popped my head up now, he would take me out, no questions asked.

I was stuck where I was; needing to wait for him to re-load the magazine before I could get a shot off, but luck was on my side as the SUV hit a rock and swerved, causing the passenger to lose his aim. In order to regain his balance, he stopped shooting. It was only for a second, but that was all I needed.

I popped him right between the eyes, causing the driver to swerve again. He was gonna turn around and leave. What a fucking pussy.

Unfortunately for him, Rose was coming up the road, pulling the car out of the way and shooting at him twice. The SUV flipped and landed on its side. I ran over towards it, trying to get a look at the driver, but I was too late, the car blew up right in front of me. If I had been a few seconds faster, I would have gone up with it.

Rose came to stand by my side. "I got a look at him, but it wasn't anyone I recognized."

"FUCK!'' I screamed as the weight of what had just happened, sunk in. I had Bree with me. What if something happened to her? Or Rose? I shouldn't care about these people, but I did. This assignment was fucking with my head. Everything I know and do, I do on my own. Now people have gotten passed all the walls I built and caused them to slowly crumble down around me. I didn't know how to stop it.

I turned back towards the car where Bree was peeking out of the driver's side window. As soon as she saw we were okay, she climbed out and ran towards us. The fire was still blazing behind us.

As she reached me, she hugged me so hard and began to cry. I hugged her back, kissing the top of her head, holding back the tears that were threatening to spill over. What the fuck! I never cry. The last time I cried was over a man and I've refused to cry since then. However, when I think of what could have been, I put Bree in so much danger today. My brain was telling me that I needed to walk away from this family, but I don't think I could; they were becoming a large part of my life.

We made it back to the house with little conversation. I felt exhausted and wanted a lie down; however, as we pulled up, the tree was being delivered. I had the delivery men put it down in the lounge room and I went to put on some coffee. As I entered the kitchen, Bree stood waiting for me with a cup in her hand...she handed to me.

"Shall we talk?" She gestured to the chairs. I inhaled deeply and sat down, explaining everything to her apart from the suspicions I had about her father.

"That's it," I finished. We sat there for a long time; I had no idea what she was thinking. I refused to lie to her about anything. She may be young, but she is wise.

After about twenty minutes, she got up from her seat and came to stand next to me. She bent down to hug me; this was the last thing I expected. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"For looking out for Uncle Edward and for telling me the truth, and for not treating me like a child. Shall we go do this tree?" I smiled at her, the tears gathering again. I must be getting my period.

"Bree, you can't tell your dad about this," I said, hoping she knew why she couldn't say anything.

"Ha! I want to hang out with you again, tomorrow, so don't worry, my lips are sealed." I laughed at her as we started to decorate the tree, while Alfie was trying to take the balls off. I ended up putting him outside after the joke wore off and it was becoming annoying.

We finished the tree and I was just putting dinner on when Edward and Jake walked in. "Hey, guys how was your day?"

"Good, good you? Was Bree okay?" Jake asked.

"No trouble at all," I said, looking over at Edward. "Are you okay, baby?" I asked Edward. He just smiled and nodded at me. Something was off about him, but that would have to wait for later.

Bree came in the kitchen then. "Daddy, I know what I want for Christmas.'' Please, don't say a gun Bree, please don't say a gun. I pleaded internally. "I want a dog." I looked at Jake, who looked like he wanted to be sick.

"Um...we'll talk about it later, Bree. C'mon, Grandma's expecting us for dinner. Thanks again, Bella. Is she still okay to come tomorrow?"

"I look forward to it, Jake," I said as I walked them to the door.

"See ya later, Bro," Jake said. He didn't get an answer. I looked at Jake questioningly. He shrugged his shoulders at me and shook his head, telling me he didn't have a fucking clue, either.

I walked in to the room where Edward stood, looking at the tree. "Do you like it?"

"It's lovely," he said in the most condescending tone I had ever heard. It was better than mine and I was difficult to beat.

"What's your fucking problem, tonight?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips, waiting for an answer.

He looked at me. "Last night was a mistake. It should have never happened."

I was shocked, I never expected that. "I don't understand."

"What's not to understand, Bella? I should have never had sex with you. It was a mistake and so were you." He walked away from me, ending our conversation.

"Don't you fucking dare walk away from me, Cullen. We're not done talking, yet." I was so pissed right now. How could he call me...us a mistake?

He carried on walking away. I picked up an ashtray and threw it at him, hitting him on the back causing him stumbled forward. "I said, don't walk away from me!"

"What the fuck do you want me to say, Bella? I don't fucking want you.'' I walked over to him and punched him in the face, hating him so much right now.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and pinned me against the wall. Fuck, I didn't realize how strong he was.

"Listen to me because this is the last time I will say this. I. DON'T. WANT. YOU. IN. MY. BED. OR. ANYWERE. NEAR. ME. OKAY!" He let me down and walked away.

He went to his bedroom and slammed to door behind him. The tears that had been threatening all day, finally spilled over. I couldn't do this. I couldn't be what he needed. I couldn't protect him, not when I knew I was falling for him and he didn't feel the same.

I ran to my bedroom and packed my bags. I needed to leave here, needing to be me again. All this emotional bullshit was clouding my judgement. He wasn't what I thought he was and I should've seen right through him. I should've never got involved with him.

I wrote Edward a note and slipped it under his door, grabbing Alfie and left.

I drove around for about two hours, not knowing where to go or what to do. I ended up standing in front of my father's club, not knowing if I should go in or not. He still wasn't speaking to me over the whole, 'going behind his back', thing from last Saturday, but right now, he was all I needed.

I walked up to his office and knocked. He answered the door, looking shocked to see me standing there. "Bella, baby, what's wrong?" Those simple words started a new round of tears.

"Daddy," I said, hugging him and letting it all out.