It was the great escape, the prison break. The light of freedom on my face. But you weren't thinkin', and I was just drinkin'. Well, he was runnin' after us, I was screaming 'Go, go, go!' But with three of us, honey, it's a sideshow. And a circus ain't a love story, and now we're both sorry. ~ Taylor Swift, Getaway Car
..Sick..
"What do we know so far?" I asked Emmett and Jasper as we walked into my office.
"His wife reported him missing exactly forty-eight hours after she says she last saw him. Exactly," Emmett said.
"So, she was told when to call and report it, when the police would take it seriously," I said.
"Yes. But that's all the police have. They don't have any evidence, yet. No ransom note, no crime scene, all they have to go on is his wife's statement."
I sat back in my chair, trying to figure out the options. I only saw two. Either Aro was actually missing, in which the captors' list was endless. The Cullen's weren't the only ones who hated the Volturi family, we were just usually the only ones who had enough power to stand up to them.
The second option was that it was all planned. Aro wasn't actually missing, he was hiding. Waiting for the time to strike. Waiting for the police to arrest whoever he framed for his kidnapping.
Most likely myself.
I took extensive precautions to make sure no aspects of my DNA were available for people to steal. After we ate at restaurants I had people personally make sure all plates and glasses were cleaned. Hair was the only real issue I had. But it could usually be explained if it ended up near someone like Aro. We were business acquaintances, after all. It was a flimsy excuse, but it had worked for me in the past.
It had been three days since the police said he had been missing. I was expecting to be taken in for questioning at any time. For once, I would actually be innocent as they questioned me.
"Make sure you have your affairs in order," I reminded them. It was only a matter of time before all of us were taken in. I had transferred a majority of my assets into Bella's name, just in case.
I hadn't told her any of this. I didn't want her to worry. Things had just calmed down for us, I didn't want her worrying about me getting arrested. Nothing would stick, anyway. It was odd, being innocent. A new concept for us.
Meet me for lunch at noon?
I sent Bella a quick text, needing her to break up what I knew was going to be a shitty day.
"Sir, there's a Seth Clearwater here to see you," Jessica's voice came over the intercom.
"Send him in."
Seth came in, looking like he hadn't slept in days. "You all have three hours before each of you are arrested for Aro Volturi's disappearance."
"On what grounds?" I asked. It was odd that all three of us would be arrested at once. Usually they tried to pin everything on me.
"A shit ton of DNA at Volturi's place. Forensics came back with everything. A splatter of Aro's blood in his office, and prints, hair, and blood from all three of you."
"How the fuck did that happen? None of us had anything to do with it!" I shouted. It was suspicious as hell to have that much physical evidence come back. It was too perfect.
"That's all I know for now. The arrest warrants should be issued in about three hours," Seth shrugged and left the office.
"The second mole," Jasper said. "Carlisle said there was another one."
"Who could have gotten all of that without us realizing it?" I asked. We had doctors that would have access to blood samples, but they wouldn't have done this on their own. Someone would have had to either steal, coerce, or join forces with them. Fuck, it could be anyone.
Liam was always pissed that he never became more than a hit man. He just didn't have the business mind to move up in the ranks. It could be any of the guards, displeased with something they heard us say or how they were treated. The only ones I trusted completely were Eric and Ben. They had been my own guards since I was fourteen. They were solid, that's why I had them with Bella. It could be a lower level associate, a drug runner or distributor that just wanted to cause trouble. Fuck, the list was endless.
I hated finding rats. Dirty fucking business.
"We only have three hours. That's not long enough to find the mole and solve this thing," Emmett said.
"Who takes over if we're all locked up? Liam, right?" Jasper asked.
It was supposed to be Liam. He wasn't really qualified for it, but he was fourth in line. I didn't trust him though. I didn't trust anybody. But then Bella's words from the other night came to my head.
You're the only person in the world I trust completely, she had told me. My list of trustees was a little longer, but a majority of them would be locked up with me.
I trusted Bella with everything. But could she handle what being in charge would mean? She would be responsible for the entire Cullen family workings, and E.C. Inc. That was a hell of a lot of responsibility for a twenty-two-year-old woman with only a high school education.
Flashes of her filled my mind. Her working on her film, being in charge of the multi-million-dollar project and executing it flawlessly. Bella at her tour rehearsal, surrounded by older, more experienced workers but taking charge effortlessly.
She could do it. I had complete faith in her, and unwavering trust.
"Bella."
Emmett and Jasper both scoffed.
"Bella. You want Bella to be in charge?" Jasper asked, understandably shocked at my decision.
"Do you have any better suggestions? We know she's not the mole. She can handle it."
"No offense Edward, but does she even know a thing about running your business? And how do you expect her to run the family business?"
"She won't have to do much, just keep things functioning while we're gone. We'll get the charges dropped within a few days. She just has to keep an eye on things. She's her own CEO, runs her career and brand image seamlessly. She can do it."
They both reluctantly agreed. It wasn't like I needed their permission anyway. I called in a few of our highest-ranking members. I had Daniel on the phone from Ireland, and my office was full of the biggest trusted Cullen associates. Not all were blood related. Mike, for example, had worked his way up since he was sixteen. He wasn't a Cullen, but he had proven himself useful in working with younger kids, getting them to run drugs for us.
"Isabella Cullen will be in charge while we're incarcerated," I said, and the room went quiet.
"You're putting your wife in charge?" Liam asked, obviously angry that this meeting wasn't ending with him being the head of the family.
"Yes. She's more than capable. We have a mole who is trying to pin Aro's disappearance on us. She's the only one I trust not to completely fuck us over while we're gone. There will be no questioning her authority once I'm gone. End of discussion."
Liam could be as mad as he wanted, but it would only hurt him in the long run. He calmed down after a minute, hopefully realizing that anything he said now would be an insult and likely leave him with a broken limb.
I got rid of everyone then, except for Emmett and Jasper. They both wrote touching letters to their wives, telling them not to worry. Unfortunately, my letter to Bella had to be more serious than a simple 'I love you. I'll see you soon.' Liam was waiting outside to deliver the news and letters to our wives.
Bella, I just got word that the police have evidence that ties Emmett, Jasper, and myself to Aro's disappearance. I'm so sorry to do this to you, baby, but I need to put you in charge of everything. With all of us locked up the next in line would normally be Liam, but I don't know who I can trust right now, except you. I've made all of the arrangements, no one will question your authority.
You just have to keep things running until I get out. Trust Ben and Eric, but no one else. No one, Bella.
I love you.
Edward
I sat back in my chair once my work was done, ten minutes to spare before the end of the three hour warning Seth had given us. I wanted to call Bella, tell her what was happening myself, but I knew that would worry her more and I didn't think I could handle her crying over the phone. I would see her soon. The cops could never make anything stick, even if they had fabricated evidence.
I heard the commotion outside the office doors, and all three of us stood. The door swung open and Clearwater, Biers, and a few cops barged in, handcuffs ready.
"I've been waiting for you to fuck up for a long time, Cullen," Biers said as he tightened the cuffs around my wrists. It had been a while since I was arrested. I forgot how uncomfortable the fucking cuffs were.
..Sick..
I sat in the interrogation room, still cuffed because the cops didn't trust themselves enough to let me out. I was a high-security prisoner. Drumming my fingers, I waited. I had been here for about an hour, but no one had talked to me yet.
I looked at the mirror, the one I knew no less than three detectives were standing behind. "I'd like my phone call," I said with a smirk.
A minute later the door swung open and Biers tossed an old, cordless phone at me. "You have two minutes," he grunted, sitting across from me with a glare.
Bella answered after the first ring.
"Hello?"
"Hey, baby," I said with a smile. Nothing got under a cop's skin like using your phone call for a personal matter. They wanted me intimidated, wanted me calling every lawyer in town to try and get me out of here.
I just wanted to talk to my girl for a few minutes.
"Fuck, Edward. What the hell are you thinking? I can't do this – "
"Yes, you can. I won't be here long. A few days tops. I just need you to keep things running smoothly. I trust you, Bella." I swear the fucker across from me growled.
"How are you even calling me?"
"I get one phone call, you know," I laughed.
"Shit, shouldn't you call a lawyer or – "
"My lawyer knows. He'll be here soon. Are you okay?" She hadn't said anything about the letter I wrote her. If Liam didn't give it to her because he wanted to be in charge, he was a dead man.
"No. I have a stack of papers about shit I don't know anything about in front of me. I'm sitting in your office with no fucking clue what I'm doing."
Good. She knew. I also had to be careful not to let her talk about anything other than my legal business. The precinct recorded all of the calls.
"If you have any questions, ask Ben. He's more than just a bodyguard. He's been with us forever, he'll help you with anything you need." Don't worry. Stay calm. You can do it.
I heard a shuddering sigh from over the line, and I hated how much stress I was putting her under. I had no choice though. "You'll be okay, right?" she asked, her voice small and scared.
"I'll be fine. I promise." I looked up at Biers motioning for me to wrap up the call. "I've got to go, but I'll be home soon. I love you, Bella."
Biers snatched the phone from me before I could hear her response. "I wouldn't he so confident if I were you, Cullen. We've got quite a bit of evidence that puts you at the scene of a crime."
"Evidence can be deceiving."
"You're not getting off on this one, Cullen."
..Sick..
The fuckers had us locked up for a week. A week of constant questioning by nearly every detective in the city. Talking with the young ones was my favorite. Some of them actually left shaking. Playing with cops was a favorite pastime of mine.
I was impressed that they managed to keep the charges for this long. Jenks assured me that it was only a matter of time, and I trusted him. He had gotten us out of sticky situations in the past.
My conversations with him were the best part of my day, because he always brought a paper with him. Without a doubt, there was always an article about Bella on the front. She was doing fantastic running the company, just as I knew she would.
I didn't know about the family side of the business, but I was sure she was keeping everything running smoothly. I hadn't been allowed to talk to her, but I would see her soon. Hopefully.
I was lying on the cot in my cell, nearly asleep when I heard someone coming.
"Leave us the fuck alone," Emmett grumbled from a cell nearby.
"Cullen, Cullen, and Hale, you're free to go," Biers grumbled. I saw two other cops go to let out Emmett and Jasper, then Biers approached me.
"Ah, finally got your head out of your ass, Biers?" I asked, smiling as I watched him unlocking the cell.
"Volturi turned up. Broke into a woman's house. I heard he beat the shit out of her, but she had a gun and shot him." he said, an odd smirk on his face. Aro was a bastard and we all knew it, but cops usually at least pretended to be upset when talking about someone's death, no matter how revolting they were.
It was also a completely out of character move on Aro's part. Breaking into a random home, attacking a woman for no reason? Why come out of hiding now, after he had gone through so much work to lock us up?
"Well, I'll have to send the woman some flowers as a thank you," I replied, itching for the moment the door opened and I could get out of here and go home to Bella.
"You can just get them on your way home," Biers said, stopping me in my tracks as the door opened. Get them on your way home.
The woman Aro attacked… Fuck. No.
"Your wife was taken to the 19th precinct station. You can find here there."
Broke into a woman's house. Beat the shit out of her. Riley's words repeated in my mind over and over. The discharging process never seemed to take this long before. They had us each sign what seemed like a hundred papers. I quickly changed into a black t-shirt and jeans, thankful to be out of the uniform we had to wear but desperate to get the fuck out of here.
As soon as we walked out the door I grabbed the keys from the guard there to pick us up. Emmett and Jasper jumped in the car but had more sense than to try and calm me down. So many different questions were running though my head, but the only constant thought was Bella. Why was she at the precinct in the first place? What exactly happened?
Jesus, Aro broke into our home. He attacked her.
"Someone call Doctor Banner. Have him at the penthouse in half an hour," I grunted out as we pulled up to the precinct. I skidded to a stop right out front, not caring that it wasn't an actual parking spot and storming inside.
"Isabella Cullen," I told the receptionist. She looked at me with wide, scared eyes. I'm sure I looked like a wild man. I had just spent a week in jail, and I spent the car ride pulling my hair out. I didn't have time for her fear. "Isabella Cullen, is she here?"
"Y-yes, but she still needs to be questioned. We're waiting for detective Biers to get here."
That fucker. He had her sent here on purpose, just so I would have to wait to see her. "She's not answering any of your questions. She's the fucking victim! I'm taking her home, you can't hold her here. I'll bring her back later for her statement." I shouted, looking around behind her to see if I could find Bella.
I heard the quick patter of feet and saw her as she ran toward me. I didn't have time to study her appearance before she jumped in my arms. The second I had her she started sobbing, the sound practically tearing me apart.
"It's okay, I've got you. You're safe now," I told her over and over. I didn't know where I could touch, didn't know the extent of her injuries, but I took a chance and gently pulled her head from my neck.
"Jesus Christ," I mumbled, looking at her face. She already had a black eye forming on her right side. She had a busted lip, dried blood on her chin. There was a nasty gash in her forehead, fresh blood still spilling out of it. I looked down at the rest of her and noticed she was in one of my old college shirts and a pair of boxers. She didn't even have shoes on. God, the level of incompetence in the Chicago Police Department is staggering.
I set Bella on her feet behind me and turned back to the receptionist, and the small gathering of officers that had formed around us. "It isn't protocol to take the goddamn victim straight in for questioning when she's got a fucking gash in her head! She doesn't even have shoes on! You'll be lucky if I don't sue this entire fucking department."
I wrapped an arm around Bella's waist and pulled her out the door. I tossed Emmett the car keys and helped Bella into the back seat. She sat across my lap, her arms wrapped around my neck and cried into my shoulder the entire drive.
Her eyes started to droop as I carried her up to the penthouse. "You can't sleep yet, baby, I'm sorry. There's a doctor here to look over you."
When we got inside I set her on the couch. We didn't live here anymore, but it was still completely furnished in case we ever needed to stay in the city. I pulled a blanket from behind her and wrapped it around her shoulders, but I froze when I got a better look at her shirt and the blood splatters that covered it.
Christ, she could be dead right now.
"It's not mine," she choked out. I could tell she was close to breaking down completely. She just didn't want to do it in front of everyone. I took a small amount of comfort in the knowledge that most of the blood covering her wasn't actually hers.
I pulled the blanket tight around her shoulder and moved to stand next to her. Banner knelt in front of her.
"Mrs. Cullen, can you tell me how you got this?" he asked, pointing to the cut on her forehead. He worked on cleaning her up as she talked. I winced every time I saw her flinch in pain. Fuck, how did this happen?
"Um, the desk I think," Bella said, her voice small and broken.
"Ah. You'll likely have a black eye. I don't think we need to worry about a concussion, though." As Banner's hands gently pressed into Bella's skin, looking for any other wounds, he halted when a touch to her neck resulted in a hiss from her.
"He, um, had his hands around my neck."
"Fuck." The image of Aro's hands around her neck made me nearly vomit.
"Well, we can expect some bruising here as well. Is there anything else on you that hurts?"
Bella stretched out, thankfully without much pain evident on her face. "No, I don't think so."
"I'll be back in a few days to look at your head again. Mr. Cullen has my number in case you need anything. Don't hesitate to call."
I walked with him to the elevator. "She's likely to have a rough few days, physically and mentally. She'll have a nasty bruise around her neck, and you'll need to keep the cut on her forehead clean. She might have some PTSD to deal with as well," Banner whispered to me.
I nodded and thanked him for coming. I let Emmett and Jasper see him out and went back to Bella. She was still sitting on the couch, not moving at all. I approached her loudly, wanting her to know I was coming so I didn't startle her.
"Let's get you cleaned up, okay?" I asked, and she nodded. With her in my arms again I carried her upstairs, directly to our shower. I carefully removed her clothing, tossing it in a pile to be burned later. Bella was trembling slightly as she stepped in. I followed, not caring that I was still dressed.
"Careful," I told her, covering the patch on her forehead so I could tilt her head back and wet her hair. I washed her as gently as I could, but there were spots on her arms that were caked with blood. I had to scrub a little harder there to get her free of the reminder of what she had done.
As I massaged her fragrant shampoo into her hair, Bella leaned her head on my chest, evidently too exhausted to keep it up herself anymore. "I want to go to sleep," she mumbled.
"I know, Bella. Just a few more minutes," I told her, quickly rinsing her hair. I helped her out of the shower, always keeping an arm around her in case she slipped. I got her dried off and dressed before I was able to tuck her in bed.
"Don't go," she whimpered as I turned to get out of my wet clothes.
"I just need to go change. I'll be back in two minutes, okay?"
I did my best to stay in her sight as I changed. When I got into bed beside her, Bella made it so nearly every inch of us was connected. Her legs wrapped around mine, her arms circled my chest, and her head was nestled into my neck.
"You'll be here when I wake up?"
"Yes, I promise." I tried not to think about how I broke the last promise I made to her. The one where I told her I wouldn't let Aro near her, wouldn't let him hurt her ever again.
As exhausted as I was, I didn't sleep. I watched over Bella, making sure she was okay. She slept soundly for a few hours but then she started whimpering. I pulled her closer, hoping to soothe away the nightmare, but my hands only scared her more. She started thrashing in my arms, screaming as I held her.
"It's okay! You're safe, Bella. I'm here, you're safe," I told her, calming her down a little. She looked at me for a minute, seeming so lost and confused. I felt the exact same, not sure how to help her through this.
Then the story just started stumbling out of her mouth, like she had to get it out in order to move on from it. "I was in bed and I just – I didn't hear him come in at all. He was just suddenly there and his hands were around my neck. I got away though, somehow, and got to your office. You had a gun there and I remembered everything you told me. Safety off. Finger off of the trigger until you're ready to shoot. If you're in danger, shoot to kill." I always hoped she would never need to use the information I taught her while we were on the island. I was damn proud of her for remembering it all, though. "But he got to me again and threw me on the ground and tossed the gun away. I hit my head on the desk when I fell. I was backing up toward the gun while he was saying… horrible things. He pointed his gun at me but somehow, I got to him first. I – I killed him."
Jesus, she was guilty. She felt bad for killing the man who undoubtedly would have killed her if she didn't stop him. Her sobs wracked through her entire body, and all I could do was hug her to me, hoping to calm her down just a little bit.
"Do not feel guilt over killing him. It was you or him in that moment. He is at fault here, Bella, not you." Don't let this break you, baby.
"I killed someone," she breathed out.
"Don't think of it that way. You saved yourself." God, what would I be doing right now if she hadn't killed him? Planning her funeral?
I knew the feelings Bella was sorting through. It was a lot to deal with, knowing you had taken someone from this planet, knowing they were gone because you pulled the trigger.
The first time I killed someone I was fifteen. I had nightmares for two months, hardly slept because they were so bad. Bella's situation was different, though. Hers was in self-defense. I knew she would feel guilty for a long time, because she was a good person who would never take something like this lightly, but she was also logical. It was her or him in that situation, and I refused to feel guilty that my wife survived.
..Sick..
The next day, late in the afternoon, we were back at the police station. I wanted her to put off giving her statement, but Bella was determined to get it over with. I watched from the two-way mirror as Bella sat next to Jenks, across from Clearwater. I was damn thankful that it wasn't Biers taking her statement.
"Okay, Mrs. Cullen, let's start with what you did right when you got home that night."
"My bodyguard dropped me off at home. I told him I didn't want him around that night, I just wanted to be alone."
Bella liked her alone time, I knew that. But, fuck, I hated that she felt the need to send Ben away. It was a reckless decision, but she probably thought nothing of it.
"Why did you want to be alone?"
"Because I was stressed and tired and scared. Not scared for my safety. I was scared because my husband was locked up somewhere and I hadn't seen him in weeks." I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
"Okay. And what had you so stressed?"
"I had become interim CEO of my husband's company. It's a stressful job."
"Okay, and what did you do when you got home?"
"I took a bath. I just sat in there for a while, the water was icy by the time I got out. Then I got dressed and got into bed. The next thing I know Aro Volturi is staring at me and his hands are wrapped around my neck."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I mumbled to myself. I had never been good at keeping my temper in check, and right now all I wanted to do was wrap my hands around someone's neck. Preferably someone with the last name Volturi.
"You didn't hear him come in?" Clearwater asked. Obviously not, asshole.
"No. I was crying in bed."
Every word out of her mouth was like a punch to the gut. Every-fucking-one.
Seth asked her more about the security system before he got her back on specifics of the actual attack. It was the part I was simultaneously most interested in and dreading all at once.
"I scratched his face, I think I hurt his eye and then I got out and ran to Edward's office. I knew he had a gun in there, for protection. He shot through the lock and found me behind the desk. He pulled me up and threw me on the ground. I hit the desk, that's how I got these," Bella pointed to her darkening eye and the bandage on her forehead.
"Did he say anything to you while this was happening?"
"In the office he said something… something along the line of how he was going to bring colleagues with him that night. He said he was going to let them, um, have me before he killed me."
Fuck. I knocked over the first thing my hands touched, which happened to be a wooden table.
If he had brought anyone with him, Bella couldn't have gotten away. It was amazing someone her size got away from just Aro. He was older, but still in shape and he had a good hundred pounds on her. If he brought people with him… if he let other men have her… Christ I would destroy anyone who laid a hand on her.
..Sick..
The first night after the attack, I crunched up a sleeping pill and put it in Bella's food. She took them sometimes, so I knew they would knock her out for a solid eight hours. She needed a full night's rest. She only got a few hours last night, and those were restless hours.
I also needed to know she was peacefully asleep in bed while I went back to the house and looked at the crime scene. The police called earlier and said they were done collecting the evidence they needed. Now it was my turn. I left Bella a note just in case she woke up and I wasn't there.
Emmett and Jasper were already there when I pulled up. Both looked upset at what we were about to do.
"How is she?" Jasper asked as I unlocked the door.
"I gave her a sleeping pill. She's exhausted, but I knew she wouldn't be able to sleep if I wasn't there."
"She gave her statement today, right? Did you find out anything new?"
"Yeah, Aro was an even sicker bastard than I realized," I grumbled. "She said he told her he thought about bringing men with him, men he would let have their way with her before he killed her."
"Shit."
The main level of the house was relatively clean. The mess down here was simply from the emergency crew coming in. Some chairs where toppled over, and there was some clutter around, but that was it. The real mess would be upstairs.
I bypassed my office door. I wanted to start where it began, so I headed to the bedroom first. Standing at the foot of the bed, I let my mind fill in the blanks with what I knew from Bella's statement. She would have been lying in bed, crying, when he came in. Then he wrapped his hands around her throat.
I stood over the bed, looking down at the crumpled sheets. There were a few drops of blood on them, maybe from the scratch Bella said got her out of his arms. I saw her phone on the ground, cracked and forgotten. She usually kept it on the table by the bedroom door. Maybe she bumped into it as she ran out.
Emmett and Jasper were thankfully quiet as I thought all of this through. They didn't ask any questions as I left the bedroom and went to my office.
I went to the desk first, feeling under it to where I had the weapon stashed. There was also one under the chair. What would Bella have done if the gun wasn't there? Walking around the desk, I stopped at the corner where I saw dark red blood caked to the wood.
It was Bella's. From when she hit her head as he threw her on the ground.
Then my eyes caught the deep red stain on the carpet. I knelt in front of it, where Aro's body was last alive, wishing he was still there. Wishing I could get my hands on him. Four bullets to the chest was far too civil a death for him.
"What do we do now?" Emmett asked.
We had all been standing in the office, staring at the crime scene around us. It was a valid question. For months, we had been planning a way to get rid of Aro. We didn't need to do that anymore. Felix would take over the family, and we all knew he would run them into the ground.
I was too tired to think about work right now.
"Now, I'm going to go home and thank whatever God is out there that this isn't a puddle of my wife's blood."
The sound of the shower surprised me when I got home. I had only been gone about two hours, and when Bella took a sleeping pill she was usually out cold for eight. The bathroom door was open when I got to it, and I could hear Bella over the spray of the water.
"What did I do, what did I do?" she repeated over and over. I pulled open the shower door and saw her furiously scrubbing at her arms, her skin red with the force of her strokes.
"Bella, it's okay. You're clean, it's fine," I told her, pulling her out of the shower. I wrapped her in a towel, but she kept trying to scrub at her arms, kept repeating her mantra.
Her franticly trying to clean the blood she still saw covering her skin broke me. "Bella, baby, please stop," I begged. I grabbed her hands in mine, squeezing them just as tight as she squeezed mine. Then her legs gave out from under her, my arms barely catching her in time before she hit the ground.
All I could do was wrap my arms around her waist and lift her up. Her legs immediately wrapped around my waist, her arms my neck. The towel fell from around her, but neither of us cared. I took her to the bed, intending to get her situated under the covers, but her arms tightened around me.
So, I laid down in the middle of the bed with Bella on top of me. I felt every sob as it wracked through her body, heard every whispered What did I do? against my neck. It was when her cries turned into I'm sorry that I couldn't let it go on anymore.
"Don't apologize. Don't apologize for how you feel, and don't apologize for killing that vile man."
Her apologies stopped, but the cries lasted all night. I kept my hands slowly moving along her bare back, hoping she would at least feel comforted as she cried. It was around two in the morning when I realized that maybe I wouldn't be enough to keep Bella from falling apart over this. I had never seen her this inconsolable.
I started to wonder what the exact circumstances were around the time when she put herself in the mental rehabilitation center. Would someplace like that be able to help her now?
The moment the thought entered my mind I knew I could never do it. I could never leave her someplace like that, alone to put herself back together. No. The trauma was just too fresh. She would get better.
She just needed time.
..Sick..
As the days went on, Bella did start to get better. She was still not herself, but I wouldn't expect her to be after what she went through. But she was getting there.
It would be better when all of her bruises went away. Her black eye was slowly fading, but she still had harsh marks around her neck. Aro had to have had an incredible grip on her to leave that kind of mark.
While Bella was getting better, I just got angrier as the days went on. The Volturi's were playing the mourning family. The funeral was this afternoon, and it was quite an affair from the looks of it. People from all over the city came to mourn the death of that monster. Usually, we all would have gone as well, for appearances sake. But, obviously, given the circumstances that wasn't happening.
I slowly started going back to work as Bella got better. She didn't leave the house much, but she was getting back to normal. I was confident that in time things could go back to normal. As normal as our lives ever got.
It was getting late, but I still had to meet with Emmett and Jasper before I went home. So, I made a quick call to Bella, just to make sure she was okay.
"Hello?"
"Hey, are you doing okay?" I asked her. She sounded tired.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just reading," she replied patiently. I had been constantly asking her how she was doing, but she never complained. "Will you be home soon?"
I sighed, wishing I had a better answer for her. "I still have to meet with Emmett and Jasper. I'll be home in a few hours. You should get some sleep."
"All I do is sleep," she grumbled.
"You're recuperating. You need sleep."
"I'll go to sleep soon, I promise."
"Good. I'll see you in the morning."
Ten minutes later Emmett and Jasper walked in my office, but they were also joined with Seth Clearwater. Fuck, what now?
"We've got a problem."
"I have a lot of problems," I replied.
"In two hours the court is going to issue a warrant for Isabella Cullen's arrest. She's being charged with conspiracy to commit manslaughter and first-degree murder."
God damnit.
"Who the fuck do they think her conspirator is?" It was an inconsequential question, but it was the only thing I could think of right now.
"Benjamin Cheney."
"Jesus, what fucking evidence do they have?"
"I don't have all of the details. The prosecutor is keeping everything very quiet, considering who she is. I barely found out about the warrant."
"Get out," I snapped at him.
I gave him a thirty second head start before I grabbed my cell phone and went for the door myself.
"Where are you going?" Jasper asked.
"Home," I told him simply. He didn't need to know what I would be doing once I got there.
"Edward, don't do something stupid," he said, but it was too late. My mind was made up.
I wouldn't let Bella go to jail. Wouldn't let her go through a criminal trial. Christ, everything came out when you were on trial. Every dirty little secret you ever had was suddenly evidence. No, Bella wouldn't go through that.
I ran four red lights, but I got to the penthouse in record time. As quietly as I could, I packed up a few pairs of clothing for the both of us, but not much else. We didn't have time for that. I sent a quick, simple text to Ben.
Get out of town. Fast.
I didn't let myself think about the consequences as I went to wake up Bella.
"Bella, I need you to wake up, baby. We need to go," I said quietly as I gently shook her shoulder.
"Go where?" she asked groggily.
"I'll explain in the car. I packed some things for you, come on."
I pulled her with me, getting frustrated at her slow pace. She didn't realize, though. Didn't realize what was about to happen if we didn't get out of here.
Once I had her in the car she started asking questions.
"Want to tell me what this is about?" No, not at all.
As soon as I turned the car on, I heard the Jeep coming. Fucking Emmett. I pulled out of my spot quickly, causing him to veer right and hit a few parked cars. Emmett was quick to jump out of his car, arms swung up in frustration.
I didn't care. He slammed his hands on the car as I sped off.
"What the hell is going on?" Bella asked, staring behind us at Emmett disappearing in the distance.
I didn't want to say it. Saying it made it real. "They think you planned it," I grunted out, speeding down the highway.
"What?"
"The police. They've been building a case against you. They're about to charge you with conspiracy to commit manslaughter and first-degree murder."
"About to charge me?" Bella asked, her voice sounding out of breath.
"They're issuing a warrant for your arrest. They'll have it within the hour." Well, I guess that was about forty-five minutes ago. They'll have it much sooner.
"H-how do you know this?"
"Do you remember Detective Clearwater?"
"Yes."
"He works for us."
"He works for you? Edward, this makes no sense!" I could feel the annoyance coming off of her in waves. Fuck, I'm sorry, baby.
I slammed my hands on the steering wheel in frustration. "They will do anything to take down a Cullen, including you. They're pissed they didn't get any charges to stick on us and now they're going after you."
We were silent for a few minutes. I didn't have the heart to look over at Bella.
"So, where are we going then?"
"Anywhere. I'm not letting them take you away from me," I told her. We had gone through too much. Fought too hard to have our happy ending. I wasn't going to let the incompetent justice system tear us apart.
I drove through the night, still not really thinking my plan through. We could go back to the island. I used one of my off-shore accounts to purchase it, so there would be no link to either of us if the authorities tried to find us.
Yes. The island was a good plan. We would get out of the state and then we could find a plane. Money talked, and I had a lot of it. We wouldn't have a problem getting to the island.
We would be fine. We could do this.
I sighed in relief at finally having a plan.
When we were about five hours outside of the city I pulled off at a motel right on the side of the highway. We could talk, strategize, and get a few hours of sleep before we started our trek to the island.
I checked us in, ignoring the slimy smirk from the clerk behind the desk. I took Bella to the room before I went and got our things from the car. When I got back, she was just sitting on the bed staring at the wall.
"We'll rest here for a few hours," I told her, taking a seat next to her. I grabbed her hands, stopping the nervous fidgeting. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."
Then her hands were on me and nothing else mattered. Her scent saturated the room, flowers and strawberries and Bella. She tore at our clothes and didn't stop until we were connected in every way possible. But it was never enough. Every movement felt incomplete, every kiss too short. I had spent so long worried about her. Worried she was breaking in front of my eyes and there was nothing I could do to help her. But this, this was my Bella. This was the fierceness that she had been missing the last few weeks.
The way her nails dug into my back told me she needed me closer, needed us completely flush no matter the cost. Her hips met my every thrust, no matter the angle she was at. She would push me farther into her, pull me inside and latch on with everything she had, like she never wanted to let go.
I didn't look at the clock before I fell asleep. I pulled Bella against me, reveling in the feel of her skin against mine despite the hours I just spent worshiping it.
As long as I had her, everything would be fine.
A/N: The next few chapters are going to be fun… Let me know what you're thinking?