CHAPTER ELEVEN

EPOV

It was hard leaving her alone in the apartment after that news, but it had to be done. I toyed with her phone as the lift took me down to the car park. She wasn't going to like what I had planned but after the news about Jessica, there were very few options left. Climbing into my car, I switched on the hands-free kit and waited for him to pick up the phone.

"Jasper Whitlock."

"Jazz, it's Edward."

"Edward! How are you, man? It's been too long!"

"I'm good, thanks. I need your help. Urgently."

"Sounds serious."

"It is." I filled him in on what had happened with Bella and when I was done, there was a brief silence. I could almost hear his mind working. Jasper was ex military and had been involved in a lot of covert operations. Even I wasn't sure of his exact job description now, but I knew a lot of it was very specialised and related to the police, maybe even FBI.

"Right, Edward, this is how we're going to play this. Hang up. I'm going to phone you back." I hung up and my phone rang seconds later. "Take the phone to your nearest police station. Tell them what you have told me and give them my name and number as a contact. Use the number you have just called me on, because that phone is traceable, which will be important. This number is not traceable, no one can hack this phone. Get disguises for yourself and for Bella. Leave your car on the car park of the apartment block. Leave the apartment with Bella in your disguises and pick up the XC90 which will be parked down a side street. The key will be under the front passenger wheel, out of sight."

"That's a big vehicle, Jasper," I objected.

"It's perfect for that very reason. The person who is stalking Bella will be expecting to see her with you. He will not expect a couple to come out, not resembling the two of you and get into a highly visible vehicle. It will be fitted with a tracker so that I will know where you are at all times. I can have it there in half an hour. I'll have the SAT NAV set up to take you to a safe house which I have used before. It is the most secure building you could ever enter and until the bastard that has been doing this has been caught, you can stay there with her. She will need a strong shoulder to cry on because being put in a safe house is a pretty traumatic experience at the best of times."

"Sounds good," I said. Staying alone with Bella was not going to be a problem for me. "She could use some clothes though, Jazz."

"I'll get Alice onto that. They'll be there when you arrive. What size is Bella?"

"Eight," I said, automatically.

"You've done your homework," he chuckled.

"She works at the restaurant. I have to know everyone's size for uniform purposes. Thanks for this, Jasper."

"No problem, man. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes," I said, quietly. "Emmett and Rosalie. Can you get them out? Put them somewhere safe?"

"I'll get them to my place. Alice and Rosalie get on well and it's a while since Alice saw her big brother. But I won't tell them where you are."

"What about work?" I asked. Jasper sighed.

"Leave it with me, Edward. You just concentrate on getting yourself and Bella to safety."

"Thanks, Jasper," I said and hung up. I pulled up outside of the police station and asked to see the officer in charge of the stabbing case. Two officers came through and led me into an interview room, where I handed over Bella's phone. I briefly explained what had happened.

"We can provide a safe house for you," began one of the officers.

"I have that covered," I replied. "Jasper Whitlock is my brother-in-law."

The officers exchanged glances and then nodded.

"In that case, we have something for you," said the other officer, heading out of the room and returning moments later with a carrier bag. "Disguises," he said, by way of explanation. I grinned.

"Thanks. I wasn't sure where I would pick up the stuff for this without being seen. Can I ask; how is the girl that was stabbed? Jessica?"

"She's through the worst," replied one of the officers. "She had an operation this morning. We think she'll pull through."

They each shook me by the hand and allowed me to go on my way without further questions.

I headed for the nearest store and picked up some provisions for us, including a hefty amount of cigarettes; I had a feeling I might need them. When I got back to the apartment block, I sat in the car for a moment, running a hand across my face as I tried to work out how I was going to explain all of this to Bella. She was not going to be happy that I had broken my promise to keep her secret, but hopefully she might understand why I had done it.

When I reached the apartment, she was pacing up and down and she started violently as I came through the door. I looked across at her and tried to smile, to reassure her, but her face was drawn; she looked exhausted.

"Put these on," I said, handing her the carrier bag with her wig and clothing in it. She looked through the things a little doubtfully. "If anyone sees you I don't want them to recognise you."

She nodded and as she went to change, I figured I should do the same. I put on the cut off jeans and scruffy t-shirt that I usually wouldn't be seen dead in and then pulled on the faded baseball cap, completely covering my tell-tale hair and added the shades. I barely recognised myself so it was unlikely anyone else would. Bella was waiting in the hallway, her bag on the floor in front of her. I did a double take when I looked at her. The blonde shoulder length wig was very effective, tied into a ponytail which stuck out the back of her baseball cap. The tracksuit didn't suit her, but that was perfect in terms of her looking completely different. She stared at me and I smiled.

"The idea is to look different, Bella," I said, quietly. "We'd better save any conversation until we get in the car."

"Ok," she said, softly. I picked her bag up, led her into the hallway and locked the door. There was no one about and we headed down the stairs. I didn't want anyone to think we had come from my apartment. Bella just followed, mutely, her head bowed, all of her features completely hidden by the costume she was wearing. The only time she looked a little confused was when I led her out of the main doors instead of the side door to the car park, but she made no fuss.

I looked across the road and saw the vehicle parked up that we would be taking. Walking across to it nonchalantly, I leaned down, as if to tie my shoelace and found the key under the wheel where Jasper had said it would be. I unlocked the car and threw our bags on the back seat, before climbing in beside Bella.

"Wow," she said, as soon as I closed the door. "You thought of everything."

I glanced across at her and my hands tightened on the wheel as I thought about why we were here. And about what I would need to tell her.

"You should know that I would do anything to keep you safe, Bella. Anything at all." I paused. "Jessica is through the worst. They were operating this morning. She's going to pull through."

"Thank God," she breathed. I nodded and gave her a tight smile; my mind was already working on how I was going to justify what I had done that morning so that she would understand it.

"I don't want you to get upset now," I said.

"Why, what have you done?" she asked, immediately stiffening.

"Bella, I needed to make sure that you would be safe. And in order to do that, I had to break a couple of promises. I'm sorry for that, but you just can't handle this on your own... well, if I'm honest you weren't handling it at all. You were carrying on as if nothing had happened and it just wasn't working. Would you have let him control you for the rest of your life?"

"I... I guess I didn't think about it; I just thought he would probably get bored..."

I gave an exasperated sigh and she glanced away from me, nervously. She had kept a psycho's secret for months, yet I had only to sigh and she looked afraid. What kind of a monster was I? We were silent for a moment and then I cleared my throat.

"Bella, I want you to know, everything I have done is for you..."

"What have you done?" she asked, apprehensively.

There was another brief silence and I raked a hand through my hair and then I spoke, quietly.

"Promise me you won't hate me, Bella. I couldn't stand it if you hated me."

"Edward, just tell me," she said.

"Ok," I sighed and I told her everything I had done that morning while she waited in the apartment. When I was finished, I glanced across at her, trying to judge her reaction. Bella sat completely still. Her eyes were hidden by the shades she wore and I couldn't read her eyes, which were generally the most expressive part of her, revealing things her body and her face might not.

"Bella?"

Finally she turned to face me, her bottom lip trembling a little. I forced myself to keep my eyes on the road, not looking at her and eventually she spoke.

"Why would you do all this for me, Edward?" she said, at last. "I mean, I'm just your colleague. We're hardly even friends..."

For some reason, her words hurt; making my heart ache with misery, but I masked it carefully with coldness, as I always did.

"Obviously I think more of you than you do of me," was what came out of my mouth. And when I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, I saw that she was chewing her lip and her cheeks were flushed.

"That's doubtful," she said, so quietly that without my exceptional hearing, I wouldn't have heard her. Confused, I turned to her as we were stopped at the traffic lights.

"What do you mean?" I asked. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and for a moment I thought she would ignore my question, but then she spoke, quietly.

"Everyone I've ever met, well every man I've ever met, has wanted to be my best friend, but with you it's different. You've never treated me like I was your friend, or the sister you never had. To be honest, I've felt like you were completely indifferent to me."

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief, thinking of all the times I had sought her out at the end of a shift, taking a cigarette break just in time to see her heading home, hoping for a conversation, some time alone.

"And recently I've felt like you hate me. I figured you were mad at me because of what I said to Rosalie about Emmett."

I was mad, but not for the reasons she might think. Jealousy that she preferred Emmett to me had fuelled my ager. A small smile curved my lips and I sighed.

"Bella, I have never hated you. As for friendship, I didn't really want to be friends with you."

"Oh." She sounded a little shocked and more than a little miserable at my statement. At that moment we pulled down a narrow country lane and I needed to concentrate, so I didn't speak, listening to the instructions from the SAT NAV carefully, as they led me down into a secluded glade, where a house stood alone behind a high fence. I could see cameras in strategic places and sighed with relief. We were here. As if on cue, my phone rang.

"Edward, it's Jasper. Drive up to the front gate. It will open for you; its programmed to recognise the vehicle. Once you're inside, the gate will automatically close and lock behind you. It won't admit anyone else without me knowing about it. The key for the front door is in the glove box and once you're inside, just lock the door with that key. It's got a multi-lock system, as well as a voice recognition programme on it which I have already activated to recognise only your voice. Inside the house there should be everything you'll need for at least a month, though I think now that we have Bella's phone we should be able to track the stalker fairly quickly. As soon as I have any news I will call you. Don't make any phone calls at all from the house. In fact, leave your mobile phone inside the car. It has a system that distorts your phone's signal, making it difficult to track. There is a phone in the house, but don't try and ring anyone from it, as it doesn't dial out, other than for the emergency services, which you shouldn't need. Only I have the number for it, so you will be safe to answer any calls."

"Thanks, Jasper," I said, astounded by the technology he had in place here. If Bella wasn't safe here, she wouldn't be safe anywhere. I pulled up outside the house and leaned across her to open the glove box, taking out the keys and putting my phone inside it. We got out of the car and I retrieved our bags from the backseat. Bella followed me silently into the house and then looked around herself nervously as I locked the door behind us. The house was on two storeys, with a kitchen and living area downstairs and three bedrooms, each with an en-suite upstairs. I let Bella have the room that have a bath with an overhead shower in its en-suite and put myself in the room next door.

"I'll leave you to get settled," I said, quietly. She just nodded. She looked completely miserable, but I guess I couldn't blame her. It had been an awful few months and the stabbing last night had shaken us both up. And now she was trapped, alone with me; a scenario which might well suit me better than it suited her.