Only Once ch13

A/n: Sorry this is a day late...but better late than never, right?

Alice POV

I don't think I'd ever been this nervous and anxious all at the same time. But, I was ready for whatever I had to do. Jasper was my best friend and I had to help him get Edward out of there.

Jasper was on edge all day today while Jacob and I tried to play it cool for his sake. Rosalie had reassured us that she had started the investigation process into Emmett's business affairs. So far, she'd found a direct line between him a local band of drug runners. One of them currently sat in jail so she was able to have a conversation with him today.

She was being pretty tight lipped about what she had uncovered so far, for ethical purposes. I honestly didn't know that it would be prudent for Jasper to know all the details. He was already in enough turmoil as it was.

I've known Jasper a long time and what he felt for Edward was simply more than a 'crush'. He'd wanted Edward for the longest time. He was absolutely crushed the night a few months back that he'd danced with Edward only to be ditched a short time after. It took weeks for him to recover from that devastation.

"You ready half pint?" Jacob asked from across the room.

Jasper tensed beside me as I nodded to Jake and then turned to my best friend, "Jazz, this is a necessary part of the plan. I'll be completely safe with the brute over there, okay?" I said as my eyes searched his for assurance that he was alright.

"I don't like it, Alice. It would kill me if something happened to you." He whispered and squeezed my hands into his.

I smiled, "Sweet cheeks, I'm not going to let anything happen to me, understand?" It took him a minute, but he finally nodded his acceptance.

I kissed his cheek and hugged him tight. "I'll call you when we get back to Jake's place tonight, okay?"

We had been sneaking around all week as we had now confirmed that Emmett was tailing Jasper. I only hoped I could keep my promise to him about my safety.

Jake and I made it down to the parking garage and climbed into his truck. "You will stay with me at all times, right?" I asked nervously.

"Alice, I promise I won't take my eyes off you unless absolutely necessary. I'm not sure exactly what to expect so we're both going into this a little blind." He said as he pulled the truck out of the parking spot and started to leave the parking garage.

A short time later we pulled up in front of a mansion in a very affluent section of town. "This is his house?" I questioned as Jake nodded his head.

"Ready?" He asked as he let out a long breath.

"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be." I said and straightened my corset top one more time. I felt like a ten dollar hooker in this outfit, but we all agreed that it was necessary to help me fit into the lifestyle we were portraying.

Jake slipped an arm around my waist as we walked to the front door. He knocked and almost instantly a huge man in leather pants and a collar swung the door open.

"Can I help you?" He said as his eyes roamed over each of us.

"Yes, Head Master E is expecting us." Jake's said as the guy stepped aside and led us into the foyer.

"Wait here." He demanded once the door was closed behind us.

I looked around the house but it looked like a normal home, soft muted colors, comfortable furniture, nothing would lead someone to believe that it was anything other than a regular home. There was a massive staircase off to the side, to the left was a dining room and to the right was a large living area.

I wondered where all the people were for this party we were supposed to be attending when suddenly a loud booming voice came from the top of the stairs. I looked up to see another man that was huge, almost as big as Jake was but something about him seemed a little 'off'. His eyes roamed over Jake then stopped at me.

"You made it!" He exclaimed as he came down the stairs.

"Yep, here we are." Jake exclaimed and hugged me tighter to his side.

"First rule to teach your submissive is that her eyes are to always be down when in the presence of other Doms. It's a sign of disrespect for her to be eyeballing me right now." Emmett said angrily.

I wasn't sure what to do so I looked to Jake who nodded his head toward me, so I lowered my eyes.

"You are definitely going to have your hands full training that one," Emmett said, but still didn't offer to introduce himself to me.

"Come on, I'll show you to the party. Your sub can meet a few of the other subs who will explain a few things to her." He said as he led us through the living room and down a hallway on the other side. He opened a door and we went down a flight of stairs into a basement where there were people milling about, in various states of undress.

I suddenly got very nervous about being separated from Jacob. There were a lot of people here and I could blow this whole plan by not knowing more of what was acceptable behavior.

"Stay here." Emmett said as he stopped and held his hand out to halt our movements.

"You okay?" Jacob whispered into my ear.

"I don't know. I'm worried about being separated." I whispered back. He pulled my chin up to meet my eyes. "I'll keep track of you. I promise." His eyes held fear but also reassurance that he would do whatever was necessary to ensure my safety.

"Come this way," Emmett's voice suddenly interrupted my moment with Jacob.

I lowered my head and followed behind him as he pushed through the crowd of people. "This is Tanya, she will introduce you to a few of the others. Your Master will get you when he's ready for you." And with that he turned and left me to stand there in front of this partially nude blonde woman.

"What's your name?" She said sarcastically.

"Alice." I replied as I looked at her so I could identify her later, if I needed to. Her black leather collar had a silver star dangling off of it but I couldn't read what it said.

"Let's go in here; I'll introduce you to a few of the others." She said and motioned for me to follow her through a door. I hesitated for a second but knew I had to go to keep up with the facade.

As soon as we entered the small room I immediately began to search for Edward. And, it didn't take me long to find him. He was emaciated, dirty and looked completely strung out.

"Keep your eyes off of him...that's Head Master's pet and he's particular about what company he keeps. If you get my drift." Tanya said and walked us over to some table and chairs a few feet away from Edward. He sat or rather lounged at a table all by himself.

"I'm gonna get us a drink, what do you want?" She asked me flippantly. This chic really had no desire to be my 'mentor' but apparently was going to do as she had been told to do.

I waited until she walked away and was able to turn toward Edward. I looked around to make sure that no one was watching before I walked over to him.

He looked half dead as he stared up at me, "What do you want?" His voice was hoarse as he spoke.

I sat down and leaned toward him, "Jasper sent me."

His eyes grew wide and he tried to sit up, "He knows where I am? Is he safe? Master will kill him." He became agitated and animated as he sat all the way up, clumsily and looked around.

"We've got a plan to get you out of here. Are you okay?" I asked quietly as I noticed the ribs that stuck out of his chest and the dark circles under his eyes.

"No, he's doping me up." He said with tears in his eyes and I immediately wished that I could hug him and run out of here with him now.

"Don't give up, Edward. Jasper is working so hard to get you away from all of this." I said as I noticed that we had drawn the attention of several other people in the room.

"Tell him I'll try. But, you have to hurry; he's going to kill me." Edward said as his eyes filled with tears, again.

Tanya made her way over to the table, "Come on, Alice. I'm not going to be blamed for your mistake. Get your ass back to our table, now." She was angry at me for talking to Edward.

Just as I nodded and stood up I felt Edward grab my wrist so I turned back to look at him, "Hurry." He said in a whisper then released his grasp on me and fell back against the chair.

I had to get out of this room and back to Jacob as soon as possible.

I had no idea how I was going to tell Jasper about the state that I'd found Edward in. It would take all of us to stop him from charging in here and taking Edward.

All I knew was that we were in deep shit, and I was honestly scared for all of our safety at this point.

EPOV

Jasper was going to save me.

I hope he wasn't too late.

A/n: Hurry, Jasper, Hurry!

See ya next week.

Kyla