So, how impressed are you? I must thank Katie sincerely for her speediness; I think she may have a soft spot for Stolen HeART's version of James.

I must thank loads of readers. New readers and reviewers such as: I like men with no men boobs, Kelseycjim, SmokeyMelina, bluemaybits, and Bella baby24. The loyal readers that found me from day one and who've stuck by me. The readers that just blow me away with such thought provoking comments. Stolen HeART has been on an adventure this week it reached many readers in different countries, some neighbouring to mine. Thank you France, The Philippines, Ireland and wonderful Germany for reading my story.

This chapter has been my craving for ages. It's a different point of view chapter that hopefully will answer some of your questions regarding the heist.

Feral Harrell and Navygirl14 this is for you two ladies. I know you go all Ahhh when this chap's in play.

Hero's come in different ways!! I give you the one and only hero in my eyes... James!!

Stolen HeART

James

The hottest love has the coldest end.

***

Her hair style hadn't changed which I was secretly pleased about. The long strands of poker straight hair rested down the centre of her back just reaching the edge of the clasp of her black bra. Katie always wore black underwear but I was never sure if that was for my benefit or for all her clients. I knew for a fact that I wasn't the only one that had given her more than her hourly rate. By all accounts that's how she snagged her lawyer husband.

"Are you looking at my ass?"

"Huh?" I wasn't flustered or nervous at being caught doing just that. That ass of hers was difficult to ignore. Tight, firm, small and plump, I had been there many times and if I played my cards right I'd get another chance.

"Jesus, James, you're looking at my ass." Her voice level increased in pitch and I laughed at her attempt to sound offended.

"Babe, cut the crap, you love it." I moved closer to where she was standing. The tight red pencil skirt would be difficult to hitch up her thighs, but hell, she earned a lot from me so she could afford to replace it.

"I'm married now, that's not my scene anymore." She deliberately swayed her hips as she walked over to the sun lounger picking up her long island iced tea as she went. I followed closely behind her the gentle warm breeze that approached encouraged her neat hair to move. The cold glass she had put back down dripped with the condensation of the ice and the warmth of the sun. The sound of the sea moving in and covering the sand reminded me of where I was. It was yet another glorious day. I placed each hand on either side of her body, and gripped the wood. She pushed back slightly and her firm ass was now nestled against my cock. I closed my eyes and leaned in. The sudden urge for human contact overwhelmed me and apparently shocked her. Her body stiffened with surprise and I hesitated at first, she was my lawyer and a married lawyer at that. She would see this as a moment of weakness.

"Just rip it," she hissed. I slowly opened my eyes to see a local and his dog jogging casually by, his feet pounding on the firm sand that had only been briefly touched by the warm sea. His dog franticly darted all over the beach barking with acknowledgement.

"But you're married," I replied innocently. The sudden jerk of her hips told me she was in no mood to role play.

"Don't fuck about James." She sounded driven, almost angry at the wait.

"Do you miss a good old fuck, with no strings attached?" I asked as I whispered against her ear. I reached for the small slit in the back of her skirt and yanked at the material. The sound of it ripping made her moan and as I touched the back of her naked thighs she rubbed them together.

She held her breath as I surged forward. My hands covered hers to keep us steady as I pushed in deeper as she leaned against the wood of the railings. She wore no underwear which made me smile; we always knew our meetings would end with this. My cock throbbed around her tightness and I pushed her legs apart with my knee. My hands grasped her ass cheeks as I squeezed her soft skin hard. She whimpered at my roughness as I groaned. My dick felt snug against her. I pushed forward feeling the tip of my dick skim her clit before I pulled back slightly and slipped into her soaking wet pussy. I wasn't sure if I could hold back until she came. "Fuck...James, touch me...please." Her voice was frantic and as I moved my hand roughly under the front of her skirt, she yelped from my forceful action and as the breeze picked up and moved through her hair, her moans became more frequent.

"Like that...oh yes...James." She shuddered from her orgasm as I released the pent up tension I had tried to hold back only a few moments ago.

"How the fuck, are you still single?" she asked as I stepped back to give us both room to adjust our clothing. My heart was still beating fast from the raw sex we had just had as I gave her one of my cocky smiles and raised an eyebrow in response to her question. "Oh yeah, that's why," she mumbled sarcastically. She pushed past me and headed for the bathroom while I returned to our previous position of sitting on the couch signing documents. She returned and plonked herself down on the sofa opposite me and sighed loudly. She was still flushed but her hair was back to its poker straight style.

"So, I find it hard to believe you got me here just for a fuck and to transfer some cash," she said smoothing down the new skirt she had just put on. Her blasé comment was how she always acted after we fucked. She acted like she didn't care or behaved like she was disinterested. I left my seat to join her. I shifted my body and turned to look at her, her radiant flush was now replaced with insecurity and doubt. I was too close for her liking and she found that difficult to deal with.

"Why did you marry that tight ass doofus, Katie?" I asked with interest. I moved her hair from the side of her face so I could see her reaction. She watched me intently as I waited for her answer. I caught her fumbling with her hands that had previously sat comfortably in her lap.

She had met this famous lawyer that she married when she looked into some forgery work for me. At the time, who she was marrying, was of no importance. We had kept our fling casual. Katie knew where I stood on relationships. I was dedicated to the people around me and she was clear on that at the time. Though over the years our relationship had shifted, I knew when she was proposed to that he wasn't her first choice, we both knew. But I respected Katie enough to tell her the truth, to tell her I could never be the one. To tell her my love waited for someone else. It was this conversation that fuelled her decision and on the day her father walked her down the aisle I stood hidden in the back ground, an uninvited guest as I watched her marry her lawyer husband.

"Because the heart I wanted was already taken," she whispered. Her eyes never left mine. It was her turn now to wait patiently for an answer. Her widened eyes watched me foolishly with that small ray of hope she always got when our conversations shifted in this direction.

"Well, more fool him. I'm sure he regrets it every day," I said with a twang in my voice.

"I doubt that," she mumbled just loud enough for me to hear. I smirked at her comeback silently relieved that today this conversation was just an exchange of words and not a slinging match of broken promises and forgotten pasts.

I picked up the file that contained all the information I had on him. "So, he's in a bad way then?" I asked. I skimmed over the variety of snapshots and press cuttings that Katie had gathered for me. It was only after Charlie had picked the target that I realised our connection. My first thought was to own up to the fact, but my instincts kicked in and I used it to my advantage. Katie never knew of my interest in her husband's client. Never knew of my involvement with the criminal side of this subtle investigation I was probing. It was rare for me to end up at her matrimonial mansion, but when Frank, her husband was out of town, I would conveniently make an appearance in her life. I used those times to delve into his affairs. I would leave her spent in her marital bed while I roamed her husband's office for any detail on his now only client. It would hurt her deeply if she ever found out but I admit I would extract bits of information that I felt was necessary. My first priority would always be to Bella and I would use all resources I could find to make her safe.

"Well I wouldn't say he was boyfriend material. He's staying with friends at the moment, quit his job, and he seems to spend his days moping around. Frank's having trouble getting him to care about his future. He seems to be stuck in this haze though he has started to make a few inquires as to the whereabouts of one Maria Swan." She looked to me for answers and I shut my eyes tightly as I released a large gulp of air.

"He's like a fucking dog with a bone," I mumbled. I left the sofa and made my way to the kitchen island to refill my glass.

The days after the heist were the hardest days for me. I was anxious about protecting the team and made sure we kept a low profile. The locals would protect us, that would never be a problem, but we were vulnerable and unsure of how it had gone back home.

Carlisle and Esme stayed in Seattle with Charlie. The painting had stayed hidden behind the picture on Charlie's hospital room wall. We were at our weakest when the time came to move it after Charlie's death. From the outside it looked as if we were shipping a body to be buried on Esme Island, but to those of us that knew, Charlie also held the trump card. A sixty million dollar Picasso was lying next to him.

The communication between Carlisle and me was limited at the time so I knew little of the outcome. I knew that Charlie was deteriorating fast and I took the risk and phoned the hospital to get an update on his wellbeing. It physically broke me when I spoke to Rose and she told me he was near the end. I wasn't worried about her integrity; it was plainly obvious that she would head out to meet Emmett on the island so I could trust her when I asked. I wasn't brave enough to tell Bella, I couldn't watch her crumble in front of me. I left that to Carlisle in the end. The call came in the early hours of Friday morning a month after we had left him. We all held our breaths as we watched her take the phone from my hand. She knew instantly and we watched her fall unable to take the news that Carlisle had just relayed to her.

I looked over at Katie who was watching me with narrowed eyes, she was wondering what the game was, why I had invited her here. I could see her mind as it worked furiously to figure it all out.

The information on the aftermath of the heist itself was very vague. I was relying on sources that weren't part of the big picture. There hadn't been much information coming my way. I remembered the words I had offered the day we got to Charlie's. I would've taken the rap for this. Bella could've stayed with her father and also been in Masen's life. I wasn't fighting her stubbornness or her fear, I was fighting her honesty. I knew that if she had stayed the moment it came to light that the painting was swapped she would've been routinely questioned by the feds and by Edward. She wouldn't have lied, she would've come clean. I knew before she had given her answer that she wouldn't stay and let me take the fall. We both knew that it wouldn't happen like that. Yet all this time I regretted that I took her answer and that I didn't man up. I would've hung around and planted incriminating evidence that was aimed at me, anything to have kept her connection a cold lead. I would've have done it all to keep her safe. I would've confessed.

"So the robbery that he's allegedly involved in, do you know anything about that James?" she asked. She asked like I was a witness on the stand which pissed me off slightly. I watched her walk towards me her large breasts bounced as she walked and I instantly felt hard again. I could draw this out and keep her here for the night and make it a longer session than a quick fuck on the patio. I laughed inwardly at her making the call to her lawyer husband and listening to the lawyer spiel that would fall so easily from her mouth. The speech I had heard before even after they were married when I would drag her back to bed with promises of heated passion and satisfaction, something her husband had long forgotten.

"It has nothing to do with me, Katie." I lifted the cold strong drink to my lips and waited for her abnormal senses to kick in she had this knack of seeing through the lies.

"So it's just a hobby for you, wanting to know about every police report on Mr. Edward Masen or conversation that he has had with Frank. Cut the shit, James. You've asked me twice since I've landed here if the feds have any other suspects." Her questions were getting too intense now and I wasn't prepared to discuss them unless I was in a cell waiting to be put on the stand. I wouldn't put her in that kind of risk. If she knew an ounce of what had happened she could never represent me, she would be unknowingly involved and that was something I would never do.

"I pay you to do a job Kate; don't step out of fucking line." She flinched from my harsh words that I regretted the moment they left my lips. It was the only way I could keep her at arm's length, the only way to keep her away from the harm my past might cause her.

"Fuck you, James." I watched her tear away from my side as she gathered up her paperwork that was sprawled all over the coffee table. I watched as she failed miserably to contain her emotions. Hurt by my actions, her small lips trembled as she haphazardly pulled on her suit jacket. This was the woman that grabbed the balls of many a court room and yet here she stood upset by me, a useless piece of shit that could never love her.

"You know what James? We're two of the same people cut from the same cloth. We both want what we can never have, someone else's heart. She'll never love you James. You'll die alone clinging onto a fucked up dream that was just that... a dream." Her words hit me hard as she slammed the front door.

Fucking lawyers...

With the island half covered in thick dense forest, our homes were all scattered over the island. My villa was a modest four bedroom open decked place which was yards from the beach. With little shelter or windows to keep the beauty out it was always full of light and the cool air was allowed to roam through the house. Compared to Alice and Jasper's home mine was sparse with very few home comforts and trinkets. I had the view of the ocean, I didn't need anything else. Though I knew that madam Alice was itching to get her hands on my condo ever since we had given up this line of work. She was carrying far too much time around; even in her condition it didn't seem to slow her down. Her irritability was at an all time high and she was like a mini tornado that had no intention of slowing down. There was days when I felt sorry for Jasper, poor bastard.

I made my way to the main town, the only town. It was comprised of local stalls that sold the freshest produce and fish that had been caught that morning by the family run bar which doubled up as a coffee house on Sunday and only on Sunday.

The small hotel that was run by the same family was more like a large house with a front reception desk than hotel. The one cab on the island worked when it was filled with gas or the cab driver wasn't asleep in the back. We all knew each other except when asked by strangers then the locals became mute and hard of hearing. The only excitement to make an appearance in the last ten years was the small furniture shop that Alice and Jasper had brought a couple of months ago. It was now transformed into a quaint little shop that sold handcrafted pieces of furniture that Jasper lovingly made. They were happy, contented and preparing for parenthood. Not long after arriving on the island Alice started to feel queasy most mornings and it didn't take a trip to Carlisle's home to guess what the diagnosis was.

With this good piece of news coming from the worst few months of all our lives, we were glad of the distraction. With the exception of Bella, we all welcomed the small step towards change. Bella was happy to stay in the dark and showed no emotion and remained noncommittal. There was no life left in her eyes, she waded through the hours that struggled into days and welcomed the times she was on her own. We all knew this. We all tried to coax her from this deep hole she happily continued to dig, though harshly confronting her was not an option anyone of us was willing to take.

The days shortly after Charlie's death were bleak times for us all. The month before his death and the inevitable void it created tipped her over the edge. Combined with the loss of Edward, it made us all realise that the troubled times were only going to get worse. She had suffered tremendous pain and heartache and the safety of my warm arms never protected her. I tried in vain to walk her through the grief. She grieved for a man who had passed on and though Charlie never suffered physical pain in the end, I knew from Carlisle that his heart and soul had died the night she had to leave him. Bella also grieved for a man that was very much alive. Every day she grieved for Edward.

My own low moments were unseen by the others. My days were taken up with Bella, as I watched her slowly fade away. I spent little time at my own place. My attention was focused on her and I was adamant that no one else would intervene. Carlisle and I had many heated debates about her well being and state of mind and I won every battle to be the one to care for her. I would rock her into an unsettled sleep which would take days to come. My kisses weren't the kisses of passion and want, the kind I had dreamed of for so long. Kisses of comfort and calm were all she could take and I buried my own feelings towards her to make sure she would weather the rough road ahead.

I knew what needed to be done. I wasn't going to sit silently in the crowd and watch all this shit that we worked so hard for disappear. I had promised Charlie that I would protect her, I just didn't realise I had to protect her from herself. It had taken me a long time to accept my role in all this. And though I would gladly stall and think of excuses, I also knew that the day would come when I could no longer live with myself for standing back.

After Katie had left, the last two days had been filled with plans and questions. I never envisaged that I would leave the island instead of spending my time here with Bella. If I was honest with myself I had seen our relationship changing in the future. When Esme and Carlisle returned along with a bewildered Rose we settled into a routine of sorts. Emmett and Rose spent all their time together, only coming over when they wanted to see Bella or on a Sunday when it was family dinner. Carlisle and I spent many a whispered evening deciding our futures. We skirted around the subject of Bella, but deep down we both knew that what she was dealing with was too much of a cross to bear. For all that she had done to Masen, it would never compare to losing her father and her way of life all so quickly. It may have been her choice to follow her father's wishes, but she was paying the price for it now.

"Hey! James!" I turned at the sound of my name being called and watched as Rose scooted across the road. Her fine ass figure was enough to make any man come in his pants and I wondered every time I saw her what the fuck was she doing with that ass-wipe Emmett. She wore very little today just like most days and her large tits strained under the confinement of her skimpy bikini as I watched them bounce from the vibration of her quick steps.

"Rose, what can I do you for?" She slowed her pace to keep even with my steps. I would've been quite happy to speed up my pace if it meant looking at her bouncing rack.

"Bella's birthday, I just wanted to know if or what were the plans." I looked over at her, her innocent face seemed to cast a shadow over my thoughts.

"Rose she's not up for a celebration. Christ, she only leaves her villa to swim in the lake, mingling with friends and drinking margaritas is not gonna change that."

"I know I just thought that maybe we could..."

"Could what Rose? Ask her to forget her troubles, snap out of her depression and soldier on? Jesus, Rose." I was fed up with this lets do what we can shit. It was plainly obvious that Bella was happy in her darkness and jiving to happy tunes while sipping a cocktail wasn't bringing her back into the land of the living.

"I was only trying to make a suggestion, James. You don't need to bite my head off."

"Look all I'm saying is let's keep it low key, you don't know the full story so trust me she won't appreciate the kind gesture." It was difficult to relay what I meant with Rose not knowing the full story of Bella's history. She just saw Bella as mourning the loss of her father. Bella had made it quite clear that no one was to discuss her past, it was too soon to reminisce about Charlie and Masen was a no-go area. We had all learned that lesson very quickly.

With the sun now at its hottest, the welcome shade from the trees was a relief. Though the path to the lake had yet to be made I knew exactly where she was. Bella was either at her condo or down here at the lake that she had been coming to since she stepped off the plane. Her need to be by herself was at an all time high. Carlisle had initially taken her grief as just that, grief, but with time passing quickly there had been no improvement. She was a shell of her former self, no sentiment passed through those deep brown eyes of hers. The only time you would see any form of emotion was pain and loss and it was hidden well. She shrouded herself amongst her dark thoughts and it was only late at night when the nights were clear of people that I heard her only emotion seep through her skin. She would sob until the sound of her broken heart slowed in pace and she drifted into an unsettled sleep.

Her small frame pushed off the side of the bank. Her thin body barely made a ripple when she sliced through the water and I held my breath as she glided under the surface of the crystal clear water. I turned and walked over to Charlie's plot and placed the usual shot glass filled with cheap whisky on the dirt. The small placard still shone from Bella's love and I clinked my own glass with the edge of the shiny silver sign. This is where we spent our days, Bella, Charlie and me. She would swim for hours while I sat with Charlie. Her pale skin seemed to shimmer when a random ray of light sneaked through the trees, she had no tan and even though she ate the meals we placed in front of her she was still painfully thin. She was wasting away in front of our eyes, her soul long gone. It had left with Charlie with her heart close behind. There was no will anymore, no Bella.

The ache felt different today, it was mixed with fear and uncertainty. My thoughts for the first time since we arrived here would be in the spotlight and I was nervous like hell of the outcome. It was difficult to put into words how my feelings for her were still my only focus. Even now that she was broken her petite body would send me into a frenzied state. Her hair that seemed longer was always tucked behind her ears out of the way of her constant tears. Her beautiful wide saucer-like eyes were full of sadness and fright. Her body would press against me for support and comfort, yet I would hope for was that one day it would be for different reasons. My life was hers and yet now... now I was going to change it.

"Scale of one to ten?" I asked her as she climbed out of the lake and picked up her towel that was by my knee. It was the same question I asked her every day, the only question she would allow me to ask. She wouldn't talk about her feelings or how she felt at that moment, so we agreed on a system after a heated debate about her well being. I would ask the same question and she would give me the same answer.

"Two," she breathlessly replied, one not being allowed. Her small breasts heaved as she took deep gulps of air in. As she tried to calm her breathing, she plopped herself next to me and learnt against my shoulder like she did every day.

"I need to talk to you," I whispered as I closed my eyes. I didn't want her to see how upsetting this would be for me, how I knew what the answer was before she would reach her conclusion. She didn't lift her head but I could see her nervously fiddle with the corner of her towel.

"I can't...I can't do any more for you here." I choked on my own words and the pain in my chest was nothing like I had experienced before. Her body stiffened from the inevitable, she sniffed almost instantly and I knew she was already crying.

"I was told recently that I was hanging on for all the wrong reasons." She moved against my shoulder exposing the damp spot on my shirt that her wet hair had caused. As the side of my face touched her dark hair I nuzzled against her neck and I felt the hitch of her tears win the battle. "I'm weak Bella. I'm tired of the love I have for you, it's a wasted journey...for both of us." My head fell back against the trunk of the tree and once again my body reacted to her touch as she wound her small frame around my chest. She set my skin on fire and the ache of her touch was no longer a pain I could bare.

"You can't...you can't leave me, you can't go, too." I wanted to move, to stand up and run. That was what my brain was telling me, my heart was saying something completely different.

"Bella." She reacted to the call of her name and for the first time in my life I was scared. I was scared at what I was about to do. Her long lashes blinked rapidly at the sound of my voice and she looked bewildered by my sudden change. "Oh, Bella, I love you so." I hadn't wanted to say those words, to show her the weakness I carried. I held my breath and prepared for rejection. Her once full lips tentatively moved closer to mine as she cautiously moved in to touch the area of my chest that covered my fast beating heart with her trembling hand. I wanted so badly to feel her genuine heart against my chest and as her lips touched my own, she tried. She tried so hard to live up to the dream I had created.

"No more lies," I mumbled as I let the kiss go.

I wonder what his going to do? Where is he going?...

I must warn you that the next chapter is BIG 14'576 words to be exact. So you may not see it as quickly as this chapter.

Thank you for reading, your support is what drives me to do my best.