As promised on the Twilighted thread, here is chapter thirteen right on the heels of chapter twelve's validation on Twilight (dot) net. A little Edward angst here and some serious badass Edward and Emmett. Wet, yet? ;)

Emmett POV

"Do you think you could have kept one alive?" I kicked the leg out of my way, the body attached jerking with the force. "Maybe?"

Edward grunted in front of me as he pulled a body from behind the couch, his fingers curled in the dead man's shirt. A groan sounded from the not-so-dead man when Edward shook him. He turned to me with a look that said clearly, 'This one good enough?'

"He'll do." I sighed and moved to sit on the wooden coffee table, noticing the embedded bullets and thinking this was going to be one hell of a clean up job. Edward dropped the half conscious man onto the couch in front of me, standing behind him with his hands on the man's shoulders to make sure he didn't go anywhere.

I reached out lightly slapped the man's face, watching as his eyes slowly focused on me. "What's your name?"

He coughed and shifted, wincing when Edward put enough weight on his shoulders to stop his movement. The man fixed me with a weak glare before I reached out and backhanded him, knocking his head to the side. And I didn't even hit him that hard. "I don't like repeating myself but since you're new to the rules, I'll make an exception, just this once." I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees and caught his gaze, giving him my best intimidating bodyguard look. His eyes widened. "What is your name?"

He swallowed hard and looked back at Edward over his shoulder who, in return, gave him a death glare. That was the reason I was the one doing the interrogation. "Chad."

I tilted my head to the side and felt a small smile tug at my lips. I could feel the smile wasn't pleasant. "Chad what?"

Chad's eyes darted around the room, taking in the half dozen dead bodies riddled with bullet holes. Blood was splattered along two of the four walls and the kitchen table was covered, thanks to the dead man laying on top. When his eyes landed back on me they were a little wide. I looked at him expectantly. "Chad Underhill."

"Chad Underhill." I said the name as if I were testing it, rolling it around my tongue. After a second I clapped my hands together, resisting the urge to smile when Chad jumped at the sudden sound. "Well, Chad, here's what's going to happen. I am going to ask you a few very simple questions." My tone was patronizing. "You are going to answer them with the complete truth. If you leave anything out or lie to me, I'm going to leave you with my friend here." I gestured to Edward, whose fingers curled into Chad's collar bones, pulling up and causing enough pain to get the point across. "He's a little unstable right now and he's none too happy with your boss. You fail to answer me in a way I like and he might just end up taking his displeasure out on you."

I watched as Chad's eyes widened further before slowly closing. When he opened them again, he'd gotten himself somewhat under control. I hadn't really expected to be able to frighten one of Sully's crew so easily but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If we were lucky, we had managed to pick a new guy.

"Alright, Chad. Who's your immediate boss?"

His eyes darted around the room again, taking a few seconds to answer. Not wanting him to get the impression I was a patient person, I nodded at Edward who leaned forward and grabbed one of our captives' arms, twisting it behind his back before the poor guy even had a chance to react, much less stop it. I got to hand it to him, though. He didn't cry out when Edward put enough pressure on his shoulder that a breath more would dislocate it.

"I'm waiting, Chad."

Chad closed his eyes again, his body stiff with extreme discomfort - okay, pain - that Edward was causing to his shoulder. He breathed slow and deep through his nose and earned a few more brownie points from me, despite being a bad guy. He may have been a new guy but he was definitely one that would have stuck around. If we didn't end up killing him, that is.

Finally, Chad's eyes opened and he fixed me with a stare that said he was trying to focus on anything other than his shoulder. Having taught Edward that particular move and volunteered to be a training guinea pig, I knew how much it hurt. "Brian Thomas."

I nodded once in acceptance of his answer before continuing with my questioning. "Where is this Brian?"

Chad gestured towards the dining room with a nod of his head and I turned to look. The guy Edward had shot earlier that was now laying across the table seemed to be the one Chad was indicating. I sighed and turned back to look up at Edward, giving him a slightly annoyed look. "Dude."

Edward just shrugged, looking only mildly sheepish before dropping my gaze to focus on keeping hold of his charge. I shook my head and looked back at Chad. "Okay. Who's above Brian?"

"Croft." Hey, I didn't have to wait for an answer this time. Progress. Of course, getting this particular name was a mixed blessing.

I looked up at Edward again and knew he recognized the name as well. Paul Crofton, Croft to anyone who didn't want to end up with a spike through their head, was one of Sully's three closest lieutenants. If he was Brian Thomas' next in command then we'd hit pay dirt in taking out this little group first. Of course, this also meant we'd have to deal with Croft before we got to Sully, instead of after. Croft did most of Sully's dirty work and was damn good so we were going to have to be extremely careful from here on out.

"Any idea where we can find Croft?"

Chad's eyes widened again but only briefly. Still, it was enough to tell me he was about to lie to me. "No idea, man, I swear."

I sighed but the sound was drowned out by Chad's cry as, with a single twist of the arm in his grasp, Edward dislocated both Chad's shoulder and elbow. He pressed the useless limb against the back of the whimpering man in front of me, adding additional pressure to an already overly painful position.

"Wrong answer, Chad. Care to try again?"

It took dislocating the other shoulder and breaking a few fingers before I was satisfied I'd gotten a truthful answer out of him. When Edward finally let him go, he collapsed into a writhing, crying mass on the couch. I stood and pulled my pistol from its thigh holster, putting the man out of his misery with a single bullet, effectively silencing his cries and any chance he had to spread word that we were on the hunt.

James POV

She really was beautiful, in an average, girl-next-door kind of way. Definitely not the type Edward used to go for but if I was honest with myself, I knew Edward was a different man than the teenager I'd conned into working for me. His tastes had matured along with the rest of him and this girl was a testament to that as sure as his new lifestyle was.

Of course, being the sick fuck I knew I was - and that I thoroughly enjoyed being - I found the fact she was tied up, drugged and completely at my mercy a most appealing thought. Too bad I couldn't have her; I would love nothing more than to bend her sweet ass over the cot against the back wall and show her a true fucking. Sully, however, didn't like to share and I quite liked my head in one piece and still attached to my body.

I was sitting on the very cot I imagined bending her over when I heard a soft moan come from her direction. I stood, slowly making my way over to her. Her head turned in my direction but her movements were sluggish. She may have fought free of the unconsciousness but the drug was still in her system, making it an even more appealing thought to have my way with her.

I knelt down in front of her and hooked my fingers underneath the blindfold covering her eyes, pulling it off without caring if I took some of her hair with it. She wouldn't feel it anyway. She blinked those innocent brown eyes at me, confusion clear as she fought to recognize me. I knew the moment she did because the confusion changed to fear and my name fell from her lips. I felt my dick twitch at the sound and smiled at her.

Her eyes unfocused and she muttered Edward's name, drawing a chuckle from me. I reached out and cupped her cheek, enjoying the feel of her smooth skin beneath my fingers. God, everything about her was perfect in its innocence and beauty. It was a shame Sully was going to destroy her most attractive feature before he disposed of her.

"Edward can't help you now, Bella. You belong to Sully and when your boyfriend tries to save you, he'll belong to me." And he'll die a lot sooner than you will, my love. But I didn't tell her that. No need to scare her too much, just yet. I was so close to putting my final plan into motion I could taste it. Edward would go down for my ratting on Sully and I would take Sully's place when he was gone, either behind bars or six feet under. Sadly, Bella would be dead before then. I'd so love to keep her around.

Bella tried to pull her legs up towards her chest but her body just wasn't ready for any major moving yet and she barely managed to bend her knees. I dropped my hands to her knees, pushing them back to the floor before sliding my hands up to her thighs, letting them rest there.

"Your motor functions will come back in a little while. The drug still hasn't worn off." I let my eyes wander over her slight form, wishing again that I could taste her, just once. "By the time Sully gets here, though, you'll be fine." It would probably be a mercy to drug her again and hand her over unconscious but Sully had asked for her to be lucid when he arrived.

Bella whimpered and I laughed to disguise the moan that wanted to escape from my throat. I could imagine her whimpering while I was inside her, showing her what a real man was. Yeah, I know, I was sick and twisted. And quite proud of that fact.

I stood and walked back to the cot I'd been sitting on earlier, dropping the unnecessary blindfold onto the cheap mattress. "You know, I almost feel sorry for you," I said conversationally. "Sully isn't known for being gentle with his playthings. I seem to remember the last girl he had was found in a park with pieces missing." And the girl before that had been dumped in a trash compactor just as she was coming to from her latest beating. That one made even me shudder. Being crushed while fully conscious was not how I wanted to go out.

I returned to where she was sitting, her back against one of the half dozen support beams in the very large basement, and sit down in front of her, just out of reach of her outstretched legs. Wouldn't want her to kick me when she regained control of her body. I noticed she was trembling and took a sick pleasure in the knowledge, though if I were in her position I'd probably be trembling, too.

"So," I said, continuing as if I didn't feel sorry for her. Or want to fuck her blind. "I figure since this is the last time you'll be able to talk for a while, we might as well get to know each other."

She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the beam behind her, shifting as she tried to relieve the pressure on her shoulders. I'd tied her up pretty tight. When she opened her eyes, they showed no signs of the fear her trembling body was displaying. "I don't want to get to know you."

I chuckled and scooted forward; putting my legs on either side of her body over her own legs so she couldn't kick me. I was inches from her body as I brought my hand up to her cheek, my eyes taking in every detail of her face, lingering over her soft lips, wondering what they felt like. "Bella, my sweet, don't make me beg." My tone held a hint of mockery but mostly it was false pleading.

Bella turned her head away from my hand but she couldn't move fast or go far. She tried to hide behind her hair but I pushed it back over her shoulder, trailing my fingers down the line of her neck. Her jaw clenched and her eyes squeezed shut. "Why are you doing this?"

I smiled and leaned in, running my lips across her cheek then following my fingers down to her throat. I spoke with my lips against her neck, caressing the delicate flesh there with each word. "Orders, my sweet. Sully took a personal interest in you. It's a shame Edward couldn't leave you alone. You could have flown under the radar if he had." Sully's whole interest in Bella had been because he wanted to see what could hold the attention of one such as Edward. Even I kind of wished Edward had left this girl alone. But that was mostly me being selfish rather than me feeling pity for her.

She turned back to look at me, dislodging me from her throat and forcing me to back up an inch so I could focus on her face. "Why do you want Edward so badly?"

I grinned at her, holding her face between both of my hands as I leaned in again, brushing my lips over hers, tightening my hold when she tried to pull away. "That," I said as I bit down lightly on her bottom lip, causing her to jerk even though she couldn't move away, "is none of your business."

She licked her lips before pressing them together in a tight line, effectively stopping my one-sided kisses for the moment. "It is my business if I'm the bait to bring him to you." I chuckled and took full advantage of her having to open her mouth to speak, catching her with an open mouthed kiss. She cried out and I swallowed the sound. When she bit down on my tongue invading her mouth I just pulled away, laughing even as I tasted my own blood and remembering our first kiss, when she bit down so violently on my lip..

"Ah, Bella, how I wish Sully didn't want you so badly."

"Too bad you don't always get what you wish for, James." The voice behind me startled me but I managed to cover my jump as I turned to glance over my shoulder. Sully stood at the bottom of the stairs leading out of the basement; his arms crossed over his chest. I suppressed a sigh and turned back to Bella, giving her a slightly apologetic smile as I stood, stepping away from her and going over to where Sully was standing. "Sully, you're early."

Sully arched a dark brow before walking past me, moving to stand in front of Bella. "Is this Edward's little toy?"

I came up to stand behind and just to the right of him. Bella's eyes darted between us briefly before settling on Sully. Her eyes were wide and she was pushing her feet against the floor as though she could move through the beam at her back and escape the gaze directed at her. She was smart enough to know an evil man when she saw one, at least.

"Yeah. This is Bella." I barely managed to hide the irritation I felt; having it come out in my voice where Sully was sure to notice was the quickest way to end up on the wrong end of a beating.

Sully crouched down in front of Bella and reached out, brushing his fingers across her cheek. She jerked away from his touch and in a rash moment of bravado - which I personally thought was the hottest thing I'd seen from her - she spit right in his face. While I took immense enjoyment from this scene, it was far from the smartest thing she'd ever done.

My boss immediately backhanded her so hard that she fell over; she wasn't tied to the beam behind her, she was just leaning against it. Lying on her side, her hair covering her face, hands tied tight behind her back, she looked like the perfect offering and I found myself wishing I had a weapon on me. Killing Sully now would save me a lot of grief. Too bad the bodyguards upstairs had done a thorough search when I first came in.

Sully wiped his face on his coat sleeve before reaching out and grabbing Bella roughly by one tied wrist, hauling her back up and dragging a cry of pain from her throat. He wrapped his hand in her hair, pulling it back off her face and yanking her head back so he could see her face clearly.

"If you ever do that again," he growled. "I'll cut out your tongue and feed it to you." Bella was trembling again, her survival instincts telling her he meant every word. She nodded as best as she could with the hold he had on her hair and he released her, throwing her head away from his grip hard enough that she fell back against the cement floor.

Sully stood and turned to face me, barely contained rage distorting his features. Bella was going to pay for her little transgression and I was very glad I wasn't in her shoes. "Blindfold her and take her out to the car. Make sure she stays restrained." He pushed past me and went back upstairs.

I sighed and retrieved the blindfold before kneeling down in front of Bella, getting a grip on both her shoulders and pulling her off the ground a lot more gently than Sully had done. She was sporting a nice big red mark that was already starting to bruise on her cheek and tear tracks were drying on her face but she didn't make a sound as I pulled her to her feet, pulling the blindfold down over her eyes. The drug hadn't entirely worn off so the first few steps were a little awkward but she managed well enough.

"You really shouldn't have done that," I said, matter-of-factly. "Pissing him off wasn't the smartest move you've ever made."

She huffed out a breath as we climbed the stairs but otherwise made no sound or acknowledgement that I'd even spoken to her. At least she wasn't begging me to let her go; she was smarter than I'd given her credit for.

At the top of the stairs were two bulky bodyguards with machine guns held at the ready. They escorted us to the far end of what had once been someone's living room but had long since been abandoned and gutted. The garage was still intact and attached to the house, though, and that was where we were headed.

With a little help from Sully's driver, I managed to get Bella into the backseat of the small limo without hurting her much more than was necessary. I figured she was about to experience enough pain, I really didn't need to add to it. I climbed in behind her, taking the seat across from Sully while Bella sat next to him, though with the blindfold in place she didn't know that.

"How long has she been in your possession?" Sully asked once we were on the road and heading towards the highway.

I glanced down at my watch and did a few quick calculations. "Almost six hours."

Sully looked over at his newest prize and reached out, brushing her hair back from her face and causing her to jerk away from him. She scooted away until she was pressed against the opposite side of the car, as far away from him as she could get. The smile that crossed Sully's face made even my blood freeze, she had no idea how much he loved the resistance, the fight.

"I think it's time to eliminate your witness, then. She's has enough time to report back to Edward with what she saw." Sully's expression was as chilling as his voice. Bella's face took on a panicked expression and she turned her head towards Sully.

"Please don't. She didn't do anything, just leave her alone." Her voice was whisper soft and full of the tears that were starting to soak into her blindfold.

Sully laughed and with a swift blow to her temple, knocked Bella out cold. She slumped against the corner she'd wedged herself into, her protest stopping mid-whimper. With an irritated sigh, Sully pulled her back across the seat and laid her across the leather, pillowing her head in his lap, his arm resting on her stomach..

"Now, James. About that witness."

Edward POV

"We're wasting time, damn it!" I lashed out, kicking the unconscious man on the floor in front of me.

"Relax, Edward." Emmett's calm voice came from behind me where he was leaning against the wall with Caleb on the phone, trying to track down Sully's known associates since tracking Croft was getting us nowhere.

I turned around in time to see Emmett closing his phone and returning it to his pocket. "Relax? How the hell am I supposed to relax knowing James has Bella?" I knew it was irrational to yell at Emmett; he didn't know any more than I did. That didn't stop me from venting my frustrations at him.

Emmett sighed and pushed off the wall just as a groan from behind me caught my attention. I turned and walked over to the man on the floor, yanking him up and slamming him back down on the coffee table, breaking the glass center though the wood frame held steady.

"Where's Sully?" I didn't even know if the guy was coherent enough to even hear me, much less answer my question.

He blinked a couple of times to bring me into focus before his eyes narrowed, his hands coming up to grip mine, trying to uncurl my fingers from his shirt. Yeah, good luck with that.

"Fuck you."

I picked him up again and turned, slamming him into the wall hard enough to knock off a nearby picture frame. I didn't even notice the sound of breaking glass when it hit the floor.

"One more time, asshole. Where's Sully?"

He sneered and I slammed him against the wall again, this time leaving a dent the shape of his head. He winced but was still glaring at me when he opened his eyes.

"Fuck. You." He spoke slowly, clipping each word off in his own anger. Guess I might be kind of defensive if I were being slammed against a wall, too.

"Look you little-" I started but was cut off by Emmett's hand on my shoulder. I clenched my jaw and shoved away from the guy, letting Emmett have him even though I wanted nothing more than to beat the guy to a bloody pulp.

Emmett took my place in front of the guy, smoothing down the severely wrinkled shirt, courtesy of my tight grip. "Come on, buddy. Help us out here." The guy tried to get a punch in but my cousin was too fast, knocking his fist aside and landing a hard blow to the center of his face. Instant broken nose.

I stood behind Emmett with my arms crossed over my chest, each hand resting on the guns under my arms, and watched as the guy doubled over, his hands going to his face.

"You broke my fucking nose!"

Emmett rolled his eyes and spoke in a we know that, already - and we don't care tone. "Yeah, yeah." He grabbed the guy by the back of the neck and forced him straight. "Where's Sully?"

He spit a mouthful of blood straight in Emmett's face. I gotta admit, this guy had some serious balls. Emmett sighed in annoyance and false regret before using his grip on the back of the guys' neck to slam his face back down while bringing his knee up to meet the already broken nose. The force of the blow set the guy straight up again, his head back against the wall as he tried to stop the pain in his face.

"I don't know where Sully is, damn it!" Finally, we were getting somewhere. Not anywhere productive but at least we were getting answers.

"Alright, then. Where's Croft?" Even through the blood I saw the guy's eyes widen briefly before he got his expression under control. I took a step forward but Emmett held up a hand, stopping me. He'd seen it, too.

"Now we're getting somewhere." Emmett sounded almost giddy. This was a side of him I hadn't seen in years. "Where's Croft?"

The guy just shook his head frantically. Emmett sighed and shook his head before grabbing the guy by his shirt again and lifting him up, turning until his head was level with and mere centimeters from the ceiling fan. Without having to be told I walked over to the switch on the wall and flipped it on, making sure it was on its highest setting before returning to my previous post. There is something to be said about industrial fans.

"Last chance before I get more creative than a fan." There wasn't a trace of amusement or any other emotion left in Emmett's voice. Now we knew there was information to be gathered, he was deadly serious.

Our newest captive swallowed hard. "He'll kill me, man."

I stepped forward and looked up at him, relaxing my clenched jaw enough so I could speak. The time for threats was over. "You are going to die either way but if you tell us what you know, we'll kill you now, quick and clean. You keep silent and we'll leave you for Croft to find and let him think you told us everything." Croft, like Sully, didn't need proof to eliminate someone he'd thought betrayed him. If we let this guy live and Croft got a hold of him, he'd wish for death long before it came. We were offering him paradise in the face of that.

He was silent for a few long seconds before Emmett spoke to me. "Grab the cuffs, Edward. We need to make sure he won't go anywhere before Croft gets here." We didn't actually have any cuffs but this little ploy was called a bluff. I started to move towards the front door to get the 'cuffs' when the guy started talking.

"Okay, okay. Look, I'll tell you what you want but you have to promise to kill me now. Don't let Croft get me."

Emmett put the guy on the ground before knocking his legs out from under him, sending him to his knees. I stood behind the guy and pulled my pistol, pointing it at the back of his head. This was insurance to make sure he didn't try any last minute attacks before Emmett finished questioning him.

"Alright, start talking." Emmett knelt down in front of the guy, though he stayed out of arms reach.

All the fight seemed to have gone out of the guy. He told us where Croft was hiding and who would know if and where he would move if he got spooked or thought someone was after him. He stopped talking after a while and I figured we'd gotten everything we were going to get out of him but he surprised me with his next comment.

"I take it you guys are looking for the girl Sully took." His voice was tired and slightly hoarse but it still stopped my heart in my chest.

"What girl?" I asked, fighting to keep the panic out of my voice.

"The one he's been obsessed over the last few weeks. Petite, brunette, real pretty." He coughed into his hand and I noticed a bit of blood when he put his hand down. He didn't have much longer, whether we killed him or not. "He sent that two-timing asshole James after her."

I felt my eyes go wide and the blood drain from my face as I looked up and met Emmett's gaze. So it was Sully who wanted Bella, not James. That just made the whole situation ten times worse. We'd been looking for Sully because he was the only lead we were getting - if he was hiding James, odds were good that he was keeping the 'two-timing asshole' close at hand. So find one, you find the other. Now finding James had taken a backseat to finding where Sully would hide someone.

"Where's he keeping her?" I asked, grateful my voice was steady, calm even.

The guy shrugged then hissed in pain, halting the movement abruptly. "I don't know. Croft will, though."

Emmett searched the guy's face to make sure he wasn't hiding anything else before he stood. We both tensed when our captive stood, a little stiffly, my gun arm steadying instantly. He turned around to face me, his jaw clenched and his eyes were hard with determination.

"I won't beg for mercy but I'm sure as hell not going to die on my knees." Gone was the broken man who'd spilled his guts to us and in his place was a man who knew his fate and would meet it with every ounce of dignity he could muster. I admired him for that.

As the barrel of my gun pressed to his forehead, I met his gaze and held it, suddenly transfixed. I was suddenly tossed back half a decade to the worst years of my life. I'd had a gun pressed to my head more times than I could count but I had never faced death with the dignity this boy - now that I took the time to really look, he couldn't have been more than twenty - was.

I tore my gaze from his and took a step back, dropping my gun to point at the floor. "How old are you?" My voice was unsteady, memories and emotions threatening to drown me.

The guy, kid, pulled himself straighter, his face tightening with the pain of what was probably a few broken ribs. "Eighteen."

I let out the air in my lungs in a rush, turning my back on him and walking a few feet away. I couldn't kill this kid, even if it was a mercy killing. Even to find Bella. I wasn't that person anymore and I had never enjoyed when I was. "Em, we need to get him to a hospital. Call Caleb, get him some papers." A hospital and a new identity was the only thing I could in good conscious offer this kid.

I turned back around to find Emmett already on his phone and the terrified green eyes of the kid I used to be staring back at me. "You promised. I told you what you wanted; you promised you'd kill me before Croft could."

I closed the distance between us and put my hand against the kids' ribs, pressing lightly though even that soft touch earned a wince and a forcefully suppressed hiss from him. "You've got broken ribs and I can almost guarantee that you've punctured a lung. At least. You might die before you get to the hospital. But if you survive, my contacts in Chicago will have a new identity - a new life for you." I met his tortured eyes with my own and in that moment, I saw he understood. He knew I had been there and survived and he could too.

Emmett came up and I turned to look at him. He put a hand on my shoulder before turning to look at the kid I was trying to help. "What's your name, kid?" He didn't even blink at the sudden turn around from Emmett and me doing our best to beat a few bits of information out of him to trying to save his life. Once you'd been in the lifestyle long enough, you learned loyalties and friendships could form and be destroyed in a matter of seconds.

"Edward," the kid said before coughing again. I didn't see if his hand came away bloody again; I turned away so my pained, shocked expression wasn't visible. I could feel Emmett's eyes on my back before he turned his attention back to our temporary charge and gave him the details he would need to survive until Caleb could find him.

Staring out the window at the darkened street outside I couldn't help but feel like some higher power was trying to tell me something. I'd never been religious, especially not after my brother died. The way I'd seen it, what kind of God would let someone like Marcus, who was a good man despite his ways of making money, die needlessly and then let someone like James escape even the most basic of punishments for his crimes. But now, standing in a house destroyed by bullets and littered with bodies, I started thinking maybe someone was looking out for me. And I got the feeling I had just been given a second chance to set things right.

I turned back to the kid, Edward, who reminded me so much of myself at his age, and knew that everything would work out. I would get Bella back and those responsible would be brought to justice. I still didn't know if I believed in any kind of god but I was starting to believe in something. And right now, I believed that in saving this kid, I was saving myself, too.