I just wanted to apologize for not warning you all beforehand about the last chapter. I know it was really intense and incredibly gruesome, but it was necessary for the story. I hope you all continue to read and thank you so much for sticking with me.

I hope you enjoy Edwards POV. I apologize if it's not very good. I tried my best.

I don't own Twilight. all Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter Twenty

Killing me Slowly

I was trying to catch my breath. Emmett and Jasper had forced me out of my apartment after four days. Bella, Rosalie, and Alice were in Forks with our parents and I was more than a little depressed. I finally called her that morning and assured her that it would all be over soon.

No sooner had I hung up with her than my apartment was being raided by my bear of a brother and our new brother-in-law. They told me they weren't leaving until I agreed to go running with them.

So I changed my clothes, grabbed my iPhone, and met them downstairs.

We went to a park near my apartment building and followed the trail. I was always faster than them and decided to let off a little steam, so I ran full out, passing them by in no time. When we finally called it quits we stepped off into the trees a little to catch our breath and to rehydrate.

I was draining my water bottle when my cell phone rang. "Hello?" Alice's high pitched voice assaulted my ear, but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. "Ali, you need to slow down. I have a hard enough time understanding you when you're not agitated." I glanced at my brother's.

They both stood up at the mention of Alice's name.

"Bella's missing." She finally managed to get out. "I went to wake her for breakfast and she was gone. Edward, I'm so sorry. He must have gotten in here while we were all sleeping."

Her words hadn't hit me, I still couldn't believe it. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"Edward… I'm so sorry." Her voice cracked.

I didn't even notice when Jasper took the phone from me. My mind was reeling, trying to comprehend the words that had been spoken.

After what seemed like hours, I felt Emmett's hand on my shoulder. "Edward…"

That's what finally broke me. Hearing him say my actual name, the sorrow in his voice, I couldn't take it. The overwhelming pain coursed through me and I screamed in agony, falling to my knees. I found myself gasping for air after the screams subsided; tears ran unabashedly down my face.

I could muster the feelings to be embarrassed at my display. I had already been in pain with her so far away from me and now… now. I shouldn't have sent her to Forks, she should have stayed with me where I could have protected her.

Jasper and Emmett tried to calm me down, but nothing could.

All that I seemed to be able to register was that Bella, my Bella, had been taken by that monster. The man who had broken her in so many ways, the man I swore to protect her from. She was in pain and I couldn't stop it, I couldn't hold her in my arms and tell her everything would be okay.

I didn't care that people were walking passed us along the trail, or that there was a very large rock digging into my shin, the overwhelming pain I felt without Bella blocked everything else out.

"Come on, man. Let's get out of here." I was pretty sure it was Emmett's voice, and his grip that held on to me as we walked.

I was dying slowly on the inside.

By the time we got back to my apartment building it was dark, we must have been out there for hours.

When we got to my apartment I stumbled in, trying to regain my bearings. I had to do something, anything. Sitting idly by waiting for news would just drive me further over the edge. "I have to find her." I managed to get out.

"Edward, I don't think that's such a good idea." That was Jasper.

"My fiancée is kidnapped by the same sick bastard that tortured her for weeks and you don't think it's a good idea that I look for her?" I asked incredulously. My fists were clenched at my side and I could feel myself about to lose control.

Jasper let out a sigh. "That's not what I meant. Man, you have to be smart about this. Somehow James figured out what we were up to and he got to her." The fact that he was so calm was unnerving, but he managed to keep me calm as well. "If you are going to do this, you can't go in there half assed. You need a plan."

I knew he was right and that got to me. I didn't want to be rational. I wanted to track James down and watch him suffer.

Emmett came out of the kitchen and handed me a beer, sitting in the chair next to the couch. "Jazz is right. This guy is smart, but we're smarter." He had a cocky grin on his face as he took the top off of his drink and took a long drag of it.

I took a swig of my beer, sitting back on the couch and let everything sink in. I ran a hand through my hair.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally Emmett cleared his throat. "Why don't you and Jasper go to Mom and Dad's in the morning? I need to stay here and talk with my team. Once we get permission to set up base in Forks we'll be there in no time."

I took another swig of my beer and looked at Jasper

He nodded. "I'll be here bright and early." He left not too long after.

I leaned my head back on the back of the sofa and finished the beer. I got up to go take a shower and was stopped by Emmett.

"Eddie, we'll get her back. She'll be fine." He patted me on the shoulder, jostling me slightly with his grip.

"Thanks, Em." I sighed. "You know once she's back here I'm going to kill you for calling me 'Eddie' right?"

His booming laugh filled the apartment and he made his way back to the couch, flipping the television on. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that Eddie. We both know who the stronger one in this relationship is."

I shook my head at him, trudging up the stairs to the bedroom. There was absolutely no possibility of me getting any rest. I laid down on top of the covers and just stared at the ceiling. The gaping hole in my chest ached and made it difficult for me to breathe.

When the alarm clock finally went off I shut it off right away and made my way to the bathroom.

I turned the shower on, making sure it was hot, and took off my clothes before climbing in. I stood under the showerhead, letting the water to run over my body. I turned on the rest of the jets and didn't move.

Once the water turned cold I climbed out and grabbed a towel to dry myself off. I looked up and caught my reflection in the mirror, I could hardly recognize myself. Dark circles had taken up permanent residence under my eyes and my cheeks were sunken in.

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts I wrapped the towel around me, letting it settle on my hips, and went out to the bed room. I was part of the way to the closet when I saw someone standing in the door way.

Glancing up I saw that it was Tanya.

"What the hell… how did you get in here, Tanya?" I growled at her. Part of me felt ashamed for being rude, but I brushed it aside. I wasn't in the mood for her today. I continued to the closet and got dressed.

A small sob came from her. "I'm so sorry, Edward."

I came back out, pulling a tee shirt over my head. "What are you talking about?"

She handed a small CD case over to me, trying to control the sobs wracking through her body. "I never meant for this to happen, Edward. Please, you have to believe me."

"Tanya," I firmly took hold of her forearms, "what are talking about? I need you to take a deep breath and then start from the beginning." It was taking all of my strength to not fall apart, and seeing Tanya hurting was not helping me.

It took her a minute to calm down, but she finally took a deep breath and began speaking. "Kate, Irina and I had every intention of going to Alice's wedding. We flew to Port Angeles a day early and were planning on driving to Forks the following morning."

She looked into my eyes. "I went to the hotel bar that night and a guy approached me. We drank and I don't really remember too much after that except that I woke up in his room the next day with a terrible hangover. There was no way I was going to make it to Forks in time.

"He asked me some questions about you, but I didn't really think anything of it." Tears started running down her cheeks again. "Until I came to visit you."

My temper was starting to get the better of me as I waited for her to continue. I didn't like the sound of where this was going.

"He managed to find me again and when I refused to answer his questions he came after me. He threatened my sisters, Edward. I had to protect them, but I had no idea that he was going to hurt her." She was becoming more difficult to understand. "Please believe me. I am so sorry."

Reigning myself in, I closed my eyes and took a few steadying breaths. I knew I couldn't blame Tanya, it wasn't her fault. "I believe you." My jaw was clenched.

Tanya sniffled "I'm so sorry." She finally stood up and let herself out.

I sat there for a moment, staring after her. It seemed that everyone, my family excluded, was out to get us. Then I noticed the disc on my bed. I picked it up. 'Watch me.' It said.

Nervously I stood and up and managed to drag myself downstairs. Emmett had thankfully gone home after I went up to bed, so I didn't have to worry about hearing anything from him. I took the disc carefully out of the case and put it in the DVD player. I turned the television on and pressed play.

Nothing happened and then this guy's face appeared on the screen. "Hello, Edward. I hope you enjoy this little treat I have for you." He turned from the camera and made his way into the room. The hotel room looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.

There tied on a bed, bleeding and bruised was my Bella. I didn't hear a word that had been said, but I saw him crawl on top of her and then he jabbed something into her side.

Pure, unadulterated rage took over. I saw red. I didn't care what it took, or how I did it, I was going to find this guy and finish him. Unable to look anymore I turned the television off.

Jasper showed up not too long after and we drove down to Forks. Carlisle and Esme were outside as soon as I pulled up and Alice jumped into Jasper's arms before he could even get the door to the Volvo closed.

Esme pulled me into a hug, whispering silent words of encouragement to me and kissed me on the cheek before letting go.

Carlisle patted me on the back, looking me in the eye. "We'll get her back son."

I nodded, talking about it hurt too much.

Alice let go of Jasper for a moment and came over to me. She tried to apologize again and I stopped her. It wasn't her fault and I wasn't going to let her take the blame.

It was my fault for allowing her to come back here. Even though I knew my parents had done everything they could, I should have been more careful and just let stay with me.

We finally went inside and had nothing left to do but wait.

No one tried to fill the silence or make things more bearable and I was grateful for that.

Finally Emmett called a couple of days later and told us that Laurent was in custody.

That was one problem taken care of.

He was on the way in and got mauled by Rosalie when he pulled up to the house.

Everyone had their lovely reunions and Esme, bless her heart, offered to make lunch for us. I think she could sense my depression and wanted to do something to change the atmosphere a little.

She made us some sandwiches and we ate in silence.

After everyone was finished eating I offered to do the dishes. Anything to keep my mind occupied. I quickly cleaned up and was wiping down the counter when my cell phone rang.

I froze in place for a split second before answering it. "Yes? Bella is that you?" The only other people that would call me were all here.

There was silence and then a small voice spoke, but I knew it was her. "He has me in Forks, in a hotel." She paused for a second, her voice laced with fear. "Please. I love you." And the line went dead.

Bella. She was alive.

My body wouldn't move, I could still hardly believe that she had called. I worked through what she had said and the video that James had sent. There were a limited number of hotels in Forks, but I couldn't afford to go to the wrong one.

"Edward, son, are you alright?" Carlisle's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"She called, Dad." I finally said. "He has her here."

Carlisle led me to the living room where the rest of the family was. He filled them in as I tried to figure out which hotel he had her in.

Then it hit me. I recognized the comforter on the bed and knew exactly where to go. "I know where he has her, Dad are you coming?" I stood up, quickly explaining about the video and the conclusion I had come to.

"Eddie, you can't go down there by yourself. Let me notify my team, we are trained for these kinds of things." Emmett meant well, and the SWAT team he was on was probably better equipped to handle this type of situation, but I didn't care.

"I have to get to her. Look, just try to get there as quickly as you can." I kissed Esme's cheek and tried to smile reassuringly at Alice and Rose.

Carlisle was right behind me, his medical bag in his hand.

Bella, hang on.

Just so you all know. I've decided to do a sequal for this story. There's a lot more to come so don't worry.