I woke the next morning with a hell of a headache snuggled up next to Alice in my bed. My fingers flew up to my hair and began pulling bobby pins out, obviously the source of my discomfort.

"Alice…" I poked at her. "Alice wake up."

"No," she whispered and turned away.

"Well fine. I'm getting up." I crawled out of bed and pulled the remaining bobby pins from my hair.

The living room was silent, a much different atmosphere than last night's fun and revelry. I shuffled to the kitchen and made myself a bagel. I was just about to go back to my room when I heard whispering down the hall towards Jasper's room.

"Jazz? Emmett? Are you here?" I started down the hallway.

"…this is serious. Aro wants to see everyone…" Jasper whispered.

I walked into the doorway. All three of them were there, whispering frantically between themselves.

"What's going on?" I took a cautious bite out of my bagel.

They all jumped at my presence.

"Good morning sweetheart." Edward kissed my forehead.

"Good morning…" I glanced at all of their faces. They were trying to cover. "What does Aro want?"

"Oh it's nothing Bells. Just a little meeting. You probably don't even need to go."

"No I'll go." I didn't want to be left out of anything. They could reveal some important information. It's been a long time since Aro has contacted us for business matters since the whole blacklisting incident.

"Bella you really don't need-" Edward started.

"Edward," I said sternly. "I'm going. End of discussion." Whispers, avoidance, and distraction. They were definitely hiding something about this meeting with Aro and there was no way in hell I was giving in to that. "When are we going?"

"Half hour. Meet in the lobby." Jasper ran out of the room.

I shrugged it off, trying to downplay my suspicions, and walked back to my room to get dressed.

"Alice we'll be back in a few…" I said as I pulled my shirt on. The only answer I got was her light snoring. For all I know, she'll probably still be asleep when we get back.

"Let's go I'm ready," I said as I exited the elevator. Jasper was already waiting out front with the car.

Not a word was spoken on the drive to the warehouse. There was too much tension in the atmosphere. What the hell was going on?

Jasper pulled in behind the warehouse and we all got out of the car. I pulled on Edward's arm, holding him behind.

"Edward is everything okay?"

He faked a smile. "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I. Don't know. You guys are acting weird."

"We'll we're kinda weird," he joked. He kissed my neck before we walked inside.

"Aro's in his office guys." Demetri smiled at us and gestured up the stairs. He still looked at me funny and I didn't like it. And Edward definitely didn't like it. I swear I heard him actually growl at Demetri as we walked past. I was half surprised he didn't put his hand on the small of my back and lead me up the stairs just to show off. But that would be too much, especially considering Aro didn't know about us. My breath caught in my throat. Was that it? Was that why we were here? Demetri obviously knew there was something going on between Edward and I. Was he so set on being an asshole that he told Aro? I was suddenly a lot less eager to be at this meeting.

Jasper knocked on Aro's door.

"Come in please." His voice was a lot less welcoming than usual. I gulped hard. It took my best efforts to push all the fear and questioning out of my expression before that door opened, but somehow I did it. I didn't want Aro to have any reason to doubt me.

"Sit down everyone. I'm afraid this meeting isn't going to end on a happy note."

I stole a quick glance at Edward as I sat. Relax Bella, his eyes told me. We're fine.

"Bad news boys." He looked towards me. "And girl." The side of his mouth perked up in a slight smirk. "It looks like those Denali bitches got to every last one of our business partners, including ones that were under the table and only known about by the family. Which means we've got a rat or a traitor in our group. Someone's feeding information to the Denalis directly or via the feds." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now I've brought you in here because I trust you guys. I've got my P.I.'s doing some investigating on some of the periphery members to see who needs to be…taken care of."

My breath caught in my throat and I saw Edward look my way, confused by my reaction. The rat to the Denalis definitely wasn't me, but I really didn't need them to start looking into my background. It could blow everything with the operation. I forced myself to breathe slowly. Relax. In and out. In and out. They aren't after you yet. I just need to be more careful. More careful in everything I do. How I conduct myself, how I act in private, everything. I stole a glance at Edward from the corner of my eye. Maybe I need to change how I act with Edward. I'm too at ease with him and that's dangerous. Way too dangerous.

"But," Aro continued. "That doesn't really concern you guys. I just wanted to keep you in the know and ask you to keep an eye out for anything suspicious." He smiled slightly. "The reason I called you is to talk to you about the…problem with the Denalis. We are in a bind guys. We're going to have to deal with them again. I've talked with Tanya, who is still denying any involvement with the incident regarding Bella and Edward. She wants to send us a peace offering. They're hosting some elaborate gala down in Miami this weekend and they've invited us to come, all expenses paid on them. I'm sending you four. I'm not willing to risk sending just a couple of our team. I want all my best people down there in case the deal goes bad. On Saturday evening you'll be having a dinner meeting with Tanya and her sisters to discuss our future business relationship."

He made eye contact with each of us briefly.

"Any questions?" He raised an eyebrow. "Good. You leave tomorrow morning. That's all."

We all got up from our seats and left his office. None of us spoke until we got in the car.

"This is risky…" Jasper said as he started the engine.

"This is awesome!" Emmett yelled. "Miami baby!"

Edward smiled and put his arm around my shoulder as we snuggled into the backseat.

"So Edward, we'll be visiting Tanya…" I said. I didn't forget Emmett's comment the other morning and I definitely wasn't happy about us visiting her.

Emmett laughed in the front seat. Edward kicked the seat, cutting off Emmett's howls. Jasper smirked as he pulled into the penthouse driveway.

"Is she pretty Emmett?" I asked as I made him a sandwich. Edward and Jasper were going over details for the weekend in Jasper's room.

"Who?"

"Tanya."

"Bella don't be ridiculous. You're a ten doll."

"And what's she…a twenty?"

"I won't lie, she's a babe, but you have nothing to worry about. I know I was a dick when you two first got together, and trust me I had my reasons, but I see what you've done to him. He's my best bud Bells, you make him the happiest I've ever seen him. And to me that's all that matters, even if it does pose some…problems. You're like the crème brule to Tanya's Jello pudding pack."

"Thanks Dimples."

"No problem." He got up and gave me a kiss on the cheek before he started down the hallway.

"Hey Emmett. Can you let them know I'm going for a run, I'll be back soon…"

"Do you want company? I could use a run."

"Ummm…sure." I'd need to find a way to break away from him at some point, I needed to let Carlisle know that I was going to be out of town for the weekend. They'd probably have a bitch fit if I suddenly disappeared from the state with no explanation.

"Great. Let me just grab my kicks." He disappeared down the hallway.

I seized the opportunity and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I searched through my contacts until I found the one I was looking for, Uncle Elmer, and sent him a text.

Weather's a bit cloudy today. Might need to pick up an umbrella at the store.

That was code for meet me at the store.

"Ready to go?" Emmett jumped into the kitchen.

"Yep. Let's go." I smiled and started out the door.

"So how long have you been with the family?" I asked once we'd gotten warmed up.

"A little less than a year. Jazz had already been here for six months when I started."

"How'd you get into it?"

"Well I was a bouncer at a local bar for a while and it just wasn't paying the bills. A buddy of mine knew a guy who was the cousin of one of the associates in the family. Said they were looking for some muscles, so he hooked me up. And I love it." He smirked. "How about you?"

"Um. Following in my dad's footsteps." It wasn't a lie…technically.

"Nice. Is he still around?"

"No. He died a few years ago."

"Sorry Bells. What about your mom?"

"Never knew her. She left me and my dad when I was little." The lies were getting easier and easier.

"Damn. Your life kind of sucks."

I laughed. "It kinda did till I came here."

"I know. We're awesome. You can say it. Are you ready to head back, it looks like it's going to rain?"

"Um. You go ahead. I think I'm going to go a little bit longer and maybe stop by the store to pick some things for this weekend."

"Make sure to get the ones that heat on contact. He likes those." He winked at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"Condoms."

"Ew. Emmett."

"Just looking out for my boy. See ya in a few."

I laughed and rounded the corner, leaving Emmett continuing down the main road back to the penthouse.

Once in the grocery store I scanned the toiletries aisle, picking up travel sized everything, then headed to the umbrella section. Carlisle stood, perusing through the selection.

"They're sending us to Miami. To the Denalis," I whispered as I picked up an umbrella, not making eye contact with him.

"I talked to your father," Carlisle said in a condescending tone. Newflash: he knows about me and Edward. "Do you realize how this jeopardizes the case, not mention your integrity as an agent?" He picked up a newspaper.

"I'm still doing my job Carlilse."

"And what are you going to say in court when the defense asks about your relationship with Edward? You were messing around with him while you supposed to be collecting evidence against him. Not very credible or becoming." I suddenly began to realize all the implications of being involved with Edward. I was endangering the investigation, my job, and my life if Aro ever found out. Jake deserved more than that, but I didn't know if I was strong enough to end it. In fact I knew I wasn't. I was in way too deep over my head.

"It's too late Carlisle. I'm falling in love with him. And as far as work goes, after this job, I quit." I picked up an umbrella and walked to the checkout.

I was just about to walk into the penthouse when someone grabbed my arm.

"Who is he?" Edward said.

"Who's who?"

"That guy you were talking to at the grocery store. And don't say it was innocent, I could smell the tension from outside."

"What were you doing…spying on me?" I pulled my arm out of his grasp.

"No. Emmett said you were picking some things up at the store, so I went to help you and get some things for me."

"He was an old acquantaince. We didn't part on great terms. That's it."

"Is it?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Don't you trust me?"

"I thought I did." He walked inside and waited in the elevator for me. Most uncomfortable elevator ride ever didn't even begin to describe it. For once I was thankful for the terrible elevator music.

"Hey guys!" Emmett smiled when we came in the apartment. His face fell when he took in our expression. "What's wrong?"

Edward and I both stomped to our rooms and slammed the doors. There was a soft knock on my door a half hour later.

"Bella? It's Jasper."

I walked over to the door and let him in. I didn't have anything against him, he was welcome.

"Are you okay?" He said as I lay back down on my bed.

"No. Edward's an ass."

"Yeah I know, I talked to him. But you know he was just jealous don't you? Jealousy can turn even the most enjoyable person into an ass." He rubbed my shoulder. "You know he's head over heels for you right?"

"Sure," I said sarcastically.

"Don't be too hard on him, this whole relationship thing is new for him. He just needs time to adjust."

I cringed. I wonder if five to ten in a state prison would be enough time to adjust.

"Well I'll let you get to bed. Our plane leaves at eleven tomorrow morning so we need to leave here about 8:30."

"Okay." I turned to face him as he left. "Hey Jazz, thanks."

"No problem. Keep your chin up buttercup." He smirked and left the room.

I was just starting to drift to sleep when there was another tap on the door.

"Go away Edward!" I needed some time away from him. He pissed me off beyond belief tonight.

"It's Alice!" She squealed. She was too amped up for how late it was.

"Oh. Come in." I propped myself up on my elbows. Alice ran in and jumped on my bed. She started talking faster than the Energizer Bunny on caffeine.

"Okay so I know that we haven't known each other that long, but I feel like I have and I know that I've known Rosalie longer but she's been a little distant lately and I just don't feel like me and her have the same kind of friendship that you and I have and well I was wondering…would you be my maid of honor?" She held up her left hand which was now adorned with a huge diamond.

"Oh. My. God!" I grabbed her hand and we jumped up and down, shrieking with excitement. "When did this happen? I just talked to Jasper a few hours ago."

"About a half hour ago. When I walked into his room there was a teddy bear on the bed holding the ring box and rose petals spread all over the comforter. He said that he didn't want to go another day without being my husband."

"Aw. Alice that's great. Congratulations!"

"So what do you say? Will you be my maid of honor?"

I had to do everything in my power to keep the smile on my face, because inside I wanted to break down in tears. I knew that there was no way this wedding would happen, not with Jasper in jail. And it broke my heart that it would break Alice's heart.

"Of course!" I said, my voice breaking a little bit.

"Bella are you okay?"

"Yeah," I smiled. "I'm just really happy for you." She wiped a tear away from my cheek.

"Thanks!" She wrapped me up in a huge hug. "Love you Bells!"

"I love you too Alice." I clung to her like I was the happiest person in the world, but inside I was a disaster. I was tearing her world apart just by being here, and there was no way I could stop it.

"Alright I'll let you get to sleep, I know you have to get up early tomorrow. Look after my hubby for me!" She winked and hopped off the bed.

"Goodnight Alice."

"Goodnight."

I lay back in bed and put my hand over my forehead. This just got a lot harder than it already was. We were all on this crash course, destined for a collision. And it was going to be fatal when it finally did. Who knows who will survive and what will be left of them?