I don't own Twilight. all Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter Twelve

Birthdays with Betrayal

A few hours after we got back to Seattle, Emmett called with the information. He called in a favor and got the number of one of the best agents in witness protection. His name was Laurent and Emmett got him to agree to come and meet with us.

In the morning I woke up to Edward on the phone. I quickly deduced that he was on with his boss at the hospital and he was discreetly telling him that he needed to take some time off. He spoke softly because he didn't know that I was awake.

Hugging one of the pillows to my body I tried to go back to sleep for a few more minutes. Just as I was about to drift off again my cell phone started ringing. It was the ring tone I had for Alice. "It is too early for you to be calling me. Besides don't you have a husband you should be concerned about?" I grumbled.

"Good morning to you to sunshine." Alice chuckled at me. "I just wanted to check on you guys, I miss you both."

I buried my face in one of the pillows. "He told you didn't he?"

"Yes, after much pleading and persuading on my part. I can be extremely irresistible." The annoying little pixie could never be left out of anything. "So..?"

I sighed in defeat, my voice muffled by the pillow. "I said yes." I had to pull the phone from my ear to protect it from the loud shriek that Alice let out.

"Oh that is so fantastic. You have to let me plan the wedding." I could hear the bounce in her voice.

"Whoa, Ali, slow down for a minute." I blushed as Edward sat on the bed next to me. "First of all, you are on your honeymoon. Enjoy yourself. Second, we haven't even been engaged for that long. Let it sink in first and then we'll talk. I promise."

She sighed. "Fine. Oh, one more thing." She lowered her voice into secret mode. "Edward's birthday is Saturday, which you probably already know, and I wanted to let you know that I got a present for you to give to him. Call me later."

"Thanks, Ali. Have a good time." I told her before hanging up. His birthday was on Saturday? That was June 20. Oh he was in for it now.

Edward kissed my forehead and pulled back with an amused expression on his face. "Good morning."

"Hi." I loved the way he looked at me, always with so much adoration and amazement. It made my stomach fill with butterflies and my body tremble. I hated that he could do that to me even when I was angry with him. "I hope you know that once Alice gets back we will hardly see each other. She's going to want to spend every spare minute planning the wedding."

"Don't worry. I'll protect you from her." He chuckled. "What do you have to do today?"

"Well I am almost finished with my chapters, so once I am I will email them to Angela. I have to call Charlie and tell him about our alternative to protective custody." I thought about the rest of my plans. "And I was hoping if you weren't too busy later maybe you could play my lullaby for me."

He nodded, taking my hand in his and delicately kissing it. "I think I can manage that." He assured me.

I smiled. "Well, the birthday boy should get to do whatever he wants."

Edward froze, but quickly composed his features. He knew he was in trouble. "Bella…" He started to say, but I cut him off.

"Saturday? Edward, why didn't you tell me?" I climbed out of the bed and away from him.

"My birthday has never really been that big of a deal to me. It just didn't cross my mind." He shrugged his shoulders, not looking nearly as worried as I thought he should have.

"You should have told me." I made my way to the bathroom, but was blocked by Edward.

He had a strange look on his face. "Bella, I didn't think it'd be important with everything else we've had going on. After you received the letter the first time, dealing with your maid of honor duties, and the second letter, it just didn't seem like a good time. Not to mention seeing your dad again wasn't exactly making you so happy." He countered.

I crossed my arms in annoyance. Damn him and his quick early morning thinking tactics. "Even if we don't have a party you still should have told me. I don't necessarily enjoy my birthday either, but I still planned on telling you." I bit my lip. "It's September 13 by the way."

"Bella, I thought your safety took a little higher priority." He put his hands on my waist.

"Not good enough. You had plenty of time to tell me before all this happened." I shook my head and wriggled out of his embrace. I started brushing my teeth.

He didn't say anything, just stood there and watched as I brushed.

"This is new to both of us, Edward, and we have to be honest with each other." I said after I rinsed my mouth out. "I mean what sort of relationship do we have if we can't be honest with each other?"

Finally he spoke. "You're right. I should have told you about it sooner and I'm sorry." He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Please don't be mad at me," and then he his soft lips were making a trail on my neck, leading down to my collar bone.

Just once I wanted to win an argument, to be able to hold my own against him. I was melting at his touch and I knew he was aware that he'd won the argument. "Quit distracting me. I have work to do." I grinned.

"Yes ma'am." He pressed a tender kiss into my neck, just below my ear.

I grabbed my lap top from the nightstand and brought it to the bed with me. I spent all morning and part of the afternoon working. When my chapters were finished I emailed them in to Angela. I even attached a little note thanking her for being so patient with me.

She was the most amazing editor. I was so grateful she had been assigned to my book. Not only did she have the same temperament as me, but she really believed in it and wanted it to be an amazing book.

Then I called Charlie and explained to him our plan to have a bodyguard. He still didn't like it, but said it was better than not doing anything. He offered to put Jacob on the line and I quickly told him that I had to go because someone was at the door.

Edward was on the phone when I left the bedroom. He came over to me and kissed me on the forehead. "Laurent is downstairs. I'm going to go meet him and discuss our situation. I'll be back." His voice was low.

I nodded, pulling my hair out of my eyes. "Edward?"

"Yes, Bella." He smiled.

"Thank you for all of this. For taking care of me the way you have. I am so lucky to have you." I stood up on my toes and kissed him, playing my lips slowly over his and knotting my fingers in his hair.

He chuckled. "I'm the lucky one." He whispered in between kisses. After a few minutes he gently disentangled himself from me, groaning as we parted. "I'll be back soon." He kissed me one more time before heading to the elevator.

Once I was sure he was gone I went back to the bedroom and called Rosalie.

She answered after three rings. "Bella, this better be good. I was finally under the hood of a beautiful Lamborghini and then you call me." She restores and sells vintage cars and works on her client's high end vehicles part time.

"Edward's birthday is this weekend and I was wondering if you could help me with something?" Normally I would go to Alice, but since she was out of town I knew that Rosalie would do just as good a job as her.

"What did you have in mind, Bella?" She said, curiosity peaking her voice.

I wasn't exactly sure how to say it so I just dove right in. "Edward has told me some things about his past and one of the things he said that stuck out to me was that he never felt like he was enough, that he was a monster."

Rosalie seemed shocked. "I never knew he felt that way."

"Yeah." I agreed. "Well, for his day I want to show him that he really is enough. I want to do something really special for him, but I'm not sure exactly what to do."

She very nearly squealed. "So what exactly are you thinking? Do you want some pointers...?"

I cut her off quickly. "I don't want to seduce him, Rose. He's just been so wonderful lately I want to do something for him."

"You could always take him to his favorite restaurant. Wait on him a little, and maybe even make dessert for him." She suggested. "You don't have to be seductive to show a man what he means to you. Dress up in something he likes you in, play his favorite music in the car, let him know you listen when he talks."

"How exactly do I surprise him? I am a horrible liar and Edward can read me like a book." Renee used to tell me I was her open book when I was younger. She'd always say that when I wouldn't want to talk about my day at school.

Rosalie giggled. "Let me handle the details. All you have to do is show up. I'll give you the information the night of when we're getting you ready."

"Thank you so much, Rose. You are a life saver." I grinned, sighing with relief internally.

Laurent came up to meet me later that afternoon after he and Edward talked. He was well built with olive toned skinned. He had a look about him as though he was from the streets, that it was his home or something.

He seemed almost primal.

I was a little uncomfortable around him, but Edward promised me that he would never leave me alone with Laurent. I finally agreed to have him as our body guard. He was staying at the penthouse as part of our protection and it was a strange adjustment for all of us.

We couldn't go anywhere or do anything without Laurent being there, but it was nice to know that someone else was watching our backs. He took his job seriously and I was extremely grateful for that.

Saturday morning came and I was going to make breakfast for Edward. I woke up early and smiled at the sleeping form of Edward. He looked so peaceful and innocent, his arms around my waist and holding me close to him.

I pressed my lips to his softly a couple of times before I slid out of his embrace, trying very hard not to wake him up. I slid on a pair of sweat pants incase Laurent was awake when I went down to the kitchen.

"Not tonight man." Laurent's voice came from the kitchen. "Because we have it all worked out already. Don't go changing it." He growled.

The further I got down the stairs I realized he was on his phone.

"Because I will turn you in myself if you try anything now. I'll call you later." He ended the call and turned around to see me as I entered the kitchen. "Hey, Bella. Big day today." He forced a smile on his face; I don't think he knew that I could tell.

"Yes it is. I'm just going to make breakfast." I maneuvered around him and gathered the ingredients I was going to need. I decided to make him my famous pancakes.

As I was working Laurent sat at the counter and drank a cup of coffee. "You're really frightened by this guy aren't you? To hire me to keep an eye on the two of you."

"I nearly died the last time he had me. I won't let that happen again." I continued working on the breakfast not making eye contact with him. "Do you anything about the case?"

"Only what Edward and Emmett have shared with me. I did a little background check when I was first told about it, but I didn't want to stick my nose where it didn't belong." He explained, his long wild hair pulled out of his face in a ponytail.

I was glad he didn't know all the details. Only Alice and Edward know what happened during those horrible days. "Have you ever lost a witness?"

Laurent was focused on his coffee cup, but answered me none the less. "When I first started in Witness Protection I did. I was still new and was still getting use to the job." He looked up at me for a moment. "I've improved since then."

Nodding, I placed the finished pancakes on a couple of plates and started slicing some strawberries to put on top. "Was that an informant you were talking to when I came down?"

He seemed confused for a second and then recognition came on his face. "Yeah, we're trying to catch this guy after one of my witnesses. I think we're actually making some headway." He sipped his coffee quietly.

Once I had everything set up on the tray I carefully brought it up to our room. Only tripping once, I managed to make it there without dropping anything. I tiptoed in and placed the tray on the night stand before climbing in next to Edward pressing my lips to his. I played them slowly over his and until I felt his lips respond to mine.

"What a nice way to be woken up." He smiled sleepily.

I kissed him again. "Happy Birthday. I made you breakfast." I got up and brought the tray over to him.

"Thank you my love. This looks amazing." He kissed my forehead delicately. We ate quietly and then we finished Edward moved the tray to the floor and pulled me to his side, laying us down on the bed. "You smell amazing," he whispered against my throat.

"Be careful birthday boy if you keep saying stuff like that I won't want to leave this apartment at all." I rested my hand on his chest and smiled at his still sleepy demeanor, making him even more attractive. "And I made plans for us today."

"Oh really?" He sounded intrigued. "What sort of plans?"

I moved my hands up to his hair, stroking his scalp with my nails lightly. "Well, I figured that we could to that little coffee shop on Fifth because one of your favorite musicians is playing there in a few hours. Then I thought we'd go for a drive so you could take you special occasion car outside of the city." I kissed the tip of his nose. "And tonight is your birthday dinner."

He hummed in pleasure, tracing my spine with his fingers. "I am a very lucky man." He murmured.

Not wanting to leave his arms, I snuggled closer against him and inhaled his amazing scent. I completely forgot that anyone else was in the apartment and that we actually had things to do, all that mattered that I was with Edward.

Finally I reluctantly climbed out of bed and tried to drag him with me, but since he was stronger than me he just laughed his musical laughter at my feeble attempt.

"Hey it's my day, what if I just want to spend the whole day with you in bed?" Edward pleaded with me, working his beautiful face into an impressive pout.

I shook my head and put my hands on my hip. "We could do that. I mean how often does Joshua Radin come to town anyways?" I shrugged my shoulders as I pretended not to really care.

"You fight dirty, Bella." He growled as he jumped out of the bed.

I giggled as he kissed my neck before jumping into the shower.

Once we were both showered and dressed we went downstairs and found Laurent waiting for us. He was going to follow us so as not to look suspicious. It was so nice to be alone with Edward even if only for a few minutes.

His special occasion car was his Aston Martin Vanquish and his eyes practically lit up when he got behind the wheel. Seeing him so happy was the high light of my day. We drove to the little corner coffee house and order a couple of drinks before the music began.

Edward didn't let go of me the entire time. I saw his eyes narrow a couple of times at some guys sitting across from us. "I don't like how those guys are staring at you," he said into my ear when he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Don't worry about them. I'm here with you." I leaned my head back a little and planted a sweet kiss on his neck.

That crooked grin that I love so much lit up his features. "Thank you."

After the performance we told Laurent our plans for the drive and he said he'd try to stay close by and to call him if there were any problems. So Edward opened my door for me and made sure I was in first before he slid by the wheel.

I closed my eyes as he sped off down the street. No matter how many times I road with him it still made me nervous. When he took my hand in his, I opened my eyes again and smiled at him. He was so care free and was smiling that sexy grin.

During the drive Rosalie sent a text message to me telling me to be at their place in an hour so we could start getting ready. She said that Edward was to come along as well.

When it got close to time I had a fun time convincing him to go to Emmett's apartment, but we eventually got there. He knew I was up to something, but thankfully didn't question me further.

Rosalie did my hair and makeup and then I changed into the outfit I had worn on our first date. I knew that Edward loved that color blue on me, so I figured it was worth squeezing into the corset again. Rosalie told me that we were going to La Bella Italia and that the birthday present Alice had picked out for me was in my bag.

The rest was up to me.

Hearing that didn't help me at all. I was a nervous wreck all through dinner. I just wanted everything to be perfect for Edward and all I could focus on was the annoying waitress that kept trying to flirt with him.

Edward looked especially good in black slacks and a white shirt that clung to his body in all the right places. He seemed oblivious to the girl shamelessly flirting with him, but that didn't stop me from resting my left hand on my chin when she passed by so that she could see the ring. Edward seemed pleased by my jealousy.

Laurent even seemed somewhat amused from his table a few rows from us.

I just rolled my eyes at Edward and smiled.

Thankfully he ordered dessert to go and we went back to the apartment. I left my bag by the door and while Edward ate his dessert I decided to go get his present. On my way back up the stairs I heard Laurent on his phone again.

"Jimmy, I'm not sure that this is such a good idea man. This family has really high up connections." He kept his voice low. "You are really sick. Isn't it enough that you got to her all those years ago? Why risk it again?"

Who was Jimmy? What was he talking about?

"Sorry, I'm out. I can't risk my job over this man." He paused for a second. "I'm willing to risk that." And then there was silence.

I stood there for a second, working through what I'd heard. Laurent was talking to some guy name Jimmy who apparently was a bad guy? He was involved in something that could cost him his job? He had gotten to some girl however many years ago?

And then it me.

James! Laurent knew James.