I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
April and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and Fran, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
Ch. 21
EPOV
"I checked the footage at the club. There was never a fight. Frankly, I'm surprised they didn't expect us to check in with our informant at the station," Jasper scoffed.
"And Seth?" Da asked.
"Felix says he will recover just fine. The bullet missed anything major,'" Peter answered.
"Make sure he and his family are well compensated," Da told him.
"I'll take care of Mike, he crossed the family last night," I stated from my spot by the window. Still angered that we were sent on a wild goose chase.
"Emmett will handle him. Make sure he pays slowly, and you can be as creative as you like," Da said.
"Yes, sir." Emmett sounded enthusiastic.
"Pete, get me a meeting with Aro in neutral territory. Everyone else leave us," Da ordered.
I turned away from the window. If I couldn't deal with Mike, then I would take my frustrations out on a punching bag in the basement.
"Edward, sit." Da pointed to the chair in front of his desk.
Emmett cast me a quick, pity-filled glance before hurrying out of the room with Jasper on his heels. Peter looked between us before leaving, closing the door behind him. A flare of irritation ripped through me as I took my seat.
Da got up from his desk and crossed the room to his bar. He poured himself a generous tumbler of whiskey. He retook his seat and took a long, slow sip while staring at me. I was starting to feel like a kid again, about to get my ass handed to me.
"I have tried to be patient with you. But I'm sick and tired of the way you have been handling things lately," he started.
"I've done everything you've asked. More than what you've asked—there have been weeks where I'm out every night," I defended myself.
"That's just it. You're supposed to be my second and delegate to other men lower on the totem pole. There have only been a handful of times it had to be you." He looked disappointed.
"Hey, I did that with Emmett so I could have a day off, and you called and reamed me out." I threw my arms out to the side.
He steepled his fingers and narrowed his eyes at me. "I thought we were clear on this. You want a day off, you can take a day off. But you don't spring one last minute when you know we are meeting with Vladimir Rosu, Aro Volturi or any other Don."
"You're treating me like a child," I scoffed.
"Then stop acting like one. We were in a meeting; everyone else's focus was in this room while you're off staring out the fucking window." He slammed his hand on the table.
"I was paying attention," I said.
"Get your head in the game before you get yourself killed," he said.
"It is."
"It's not. Your mind is on Miss Swan," he said.
I fell back against my seat. "Well, you got what you wanted—she should be back in Washington by now."
"Oh no, you don't. You don't get to blame me for her leaving. I'm done with you using your mother and me as your scapegoat. You don't think I know what you were doing by trying to bury yourself in work, saying it was my orders or saying you were being pushed together by your mother? I've tried talking to you about it, and you only give me excuse after excuse. Half the time I wasn't sure who the excuse was for, me or yourself."
"You told me not to pursue her," I reminded him.
"No, I told you, you need to be sure. A relationship with an outsider can be tricky enough without adding the fact that her father was a police officer. Forks, Washington is barely a spot on the map—I hardly doubt anyone there has ever heard of the Cullens. If it ended badly and she knew too much, it would only lead to trouble." He jabbed his finger at me.
"She doesn't belong in our world," I said in a calmer voice.
Da sighed. "Neither did your mother, but it didn't stop me. Once I saw her on your grandparents' dairy farm I had to have her. I was there to foreclose, and she threw a shovel full of manure on me. It was love at first sight. Do you love her?"
"I…don't know. I can't get her out of my mind. When I'm with her I forget everything else, but then I feel guilty, because I know she's better than this," I admitted.
"Well, no one said love was easy, boy." Da smirked, taking another sip of his whiskey. "So why are you still sitting here and not running off to an airstrip."
"I thought we had a meeting with Aro?" The urge to get on the plane was too great, but right now Aro was a big problem.
"I have a meeting with…" He stopped when there was a sharp knock on the door. "Enter."
Peter came in with a worried expression. "Boss, Edward, I just heard from our man inside Aro's guard. He sent two men on a plane to Washington about two hours after Isabella's departure."
My heart froze, and I met Da's eye. "Have Ben get the plane ready to go immediately," he ordered.
I got up from my seat so quickly it crashed to the ground and headed for the door.
"Edward," he called after me.
I turned, feeling impatient.
"Be careful, son."
LS
I had my seatbelt unbuckled before we came to a full stop as we landed in Port Angles. I pulled out my phone and switched it on. I had several missed calls from Corin. I had sent him out with Miss Swan. He was only going in to be Forks for a few days until I was sure Aro would leave her be. For once, my suspicion paid off, and he was there in case anything happened.
"Report," I snapped.
"It's not good, boss," he warned.
I stopped so quickly on the stairs that Felix bumped into me. "Has she been hurt?"
"Some minor cuts and bruising. She's fairing better than her father," he stated.
I continued down the steps and headed for the waiting car. "What the hell happened?"
"Chief got a call to check out a suspicious car, and Isabella was with him when he went to check it out. Aro's men caught them off-guard and started shooting. Chief Swan took several bullets, trying to protect his daughter. He's in critical condition in the hospital—Isabella hasn't left his side."
"And Aro's men?" I demanded.
"Got away. I assumed you'd prefer me to stick close to the girl rather than chase them down," he said hesitantly.
"I'll be there shortly." I hung up and got behind the wheel.
I stepped out onto the I.C.U. floor, and immediately wondered if I should have brought flowers. An older woman blocked my path and gave me a death stare.
"Now hold on, young man, you can turn yourself right around and leave," she ordered.
"I'm here to see a patient." I started to get annoyed. Who was this woman?
"I know who you are, and who you are here to see. I will not have you upset her any more than she already is," the old woman said crossly.
"Bella is upset? I'm not leaving. Who are you?" I demanded.
"Do you have wax in your ears, boy? I know you have something to do with Bella's sudden return—now leave before I call security." She placed her hands on her hips.
"It's okay, Claire. I'll speak to him," Bella spoke from behind her.
I glanced up to see that in the short hours since I had last seen her, she looked like she had been through hell and back. She had a few cuts on her face and huge bags under her eyes. She kissed Claire on the cheek.
"You come and get me if he gives you any trouble." Claire gave me one more glare before walking over to a chair.
I followed Bella to seats in a small room where her father laid motionless in the bed. He was hooked up to several machines. Bella took a seat in one of the chairs by the window. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed them.
"Are you cold?" I asked, ready to offer my coat.
She shook her head. "What are you doing here, Edward?"
"I heard about the accident and came right away," I told her.
She gave me an incredulous look. "It at least a six-hour direct flight. We've only been here three."
"I was on the plane as soon as I heard Aro sent two men to follow you," I explained in a whisper.
Her eyes narrowed. "If you knew, why didn't you call and warn me."
"I…" I had no good defense, I should have, she had proven she could handle herself. "I didn't think, I just acted. My first reaction was to get to you before anything could happen. I'm sorry, I know I should've warned you, but I had one of my own men watching out for you until I could have gotten here."
"Well, he did a horrible job." She looked over at her father then closed her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Acushla. I will find whoever did this and they will pay," I promised.
"What did you call me?" she asked.
"It's Gaelic…" Realizing the term for endearment slipped out.
"You know…of course, you do! I feel as if I have been really stupid this entire time. Everything I once thought I knew has been turned upside down." She glanced at the bed again and lowered her voice to scarcely a whisper. "I don't think he's my real dad."
"What?" I said in shock.
"Our blood types don't match. I didn't match with my mother, either. And it is genetically impossible for me to be O positive with their blood combinations." She looked confused.
"There has to be a reasonable explanation," I told her.
"Who are you?"
My eyes shot to the bed where Charles Swan was awake and staring at me. "Edward Masen, sir. We met before."
He shook his head. "Who are you really?"
I sighed. "Edward Cullen, sir."
"Cullen…" He hesitated.
"Dad, you need to rest." Bella stood and went to him. "Edward can leave, I'm sorry we disturbed you."
He brushed her off. "This can't wait. Do you work for Aro?"
"Hell, no," I scoffed.
"Rosu?"
"Rosu? No, sir." I was thrown by his question.
"Cullen is Irish, right?" He didn't wait for my answer. "You know Whitlock?"
I paused. "Yes, they are close family friends."
"Are you lying to me boy?" He seemed to get agitated.
"Dad, this enough, please. You shouldn't get upset," Bella pleaded and shot me a look.
"I'm not lying to you. Peter Whitlock is my father's best friend. They are like family to us," I told him.
"Then you need to take care of Bella. Get her out of here and keep her safe," Charles begged.
"I'm not going anywhere." Bella refused. "You need me here to take care of you."
"Bella, it's time ...you need to know the truth. You already know some of it. I heard you moments ago." He looked at her sadly.
"What are you talking about?" Bella questioned. "You're my dad."
"You will always be my daughter in my heart. But biologically it isn't me. When I met your mother, she was already pregnant with you. She was running away and desperate to hide from Aro and Rosu."
"Why were they looking for her? Who was she, because Renée Swan doesn't seem to have existed before your marriage," I asked.
"She didn't—I had help changing her identity. Her real name was Soreena Rosu," Chief Swan admitted.
"Holy sh…" I caught myself as the name registered.
"What? Why did you react that way? Why did Mom have to lie about who she was? Who is this Rosu guy?" Bella was getting upset.
"Vladimir Rosu is a boss similar to my father only he's Romanian and is located in Providence, Rhode Island. He has or had two children, Stephan, who is being groomed to take over for him, and a daughter, Soreena. She disappeared over 20 years ago. I'm too young to remember everything first hand, but I only know what I've been told. Soreena was arranged to marry Aro to join the two families. However, Soreena met and fell in love with someone else, Liam Whitlock, Peter's twin brother. They tried to run away together, but he was found dead. However, Soreena was never found," I explained the best I could.
"I think I need to sit down." Bella looked overwhelmed.
I grabbed the chair she was sitting in earlier and brought it to her. She sank in it and took a few deep breaths. Chief Swan took a few raspy ones, and looked in pain.
"Bella, you need to leave Forks immediately if they're looking for you," he told her.
"My family will protect her as our own," I promised.
"I don't need anyone to protect me. I know…" She paused as a look of realization came over her face. "This is why you wanted me to learn everything…why Mom wanted to move around so much."
"Listen to me. Leave, don't worry about me. If you stay here, not only are you in danger, but they could go after Leah, Emily, or Claire to get to you," Charles told her.
"What?" Her eyes widened in alarm.
I hated he had phrased it that way, but he was right. If Aro wanted her, then he would go after anyone close to her, too. I was her best option.
"Bella, listen to him—he's right." I grabbed her hand and tried to get her to her feet.
"But…" She looked back and forth between us.
"Go…" he stated firmly.
She looked crestfallen as she got to her feet. She leaned over to hug him, and few tears slipped down her cheek.
"Now, now, none of that. I'll be fine. It will take more than a few bullets to stop me. Claire knows everything and will take good care of me." He patted her back.
"I love you, Dad," she said and kissed his forehead.
"I love you too, Bells." He let her go and turned to me. "Don't make me regret trusting you."
"Yes, sir," I said respectfully than led Bella out of the room. I paused outside of the door and looked towards the lobby. Claire was speaking to someone who had their back to us. I made the decision to take the other direction.
"What are you doing? I want to say goodbye to Claire." Bella stopped in her tracks and resisted me leading her away.
"We need to leave now," I told her firmly. "It's best for us to disappear and have them have nothing to tell."
She blinked furiously then followed me down the stairs. I pulled out my phone and dialed quickly.
"Boss?"
"Get the car started and meet us by the east side exit. Call Ben and tell him to be ready, I want to take off as soon as we get to the strip," I ordered, then disconnected the call.
We made it to the car and took off without any issues. Bella sat beside me in the back, staring out the window, not saying anything. I didn't bother her, assuming her mind was processing everything. She had been dealt with a blow that shook her entire world.
This changed everything. For starters, she was from my world after all. However, she had no clue about it and was thrown into the deep end within minutes. Bella may be strong, but she was going to need someone to teach her how to survive our world.
There was only one way I could think of to be able to protect her from both Aro and Vladimir. And as the independent woman I knew she was, she wasn't going to like it. I only hoped she was reasonable enough to see that it was for the best.
Bella followed me wordlessly onto the plane and took a seat by the window. When we started to take off, she closed the shade and stared blankly. She looked exhausted and distraught. I was surprised she wasn't crying or demanding to know what was going to happen next. Maybe she was in a state of shock, and I had no idea what to do for her. Dealing with girls and their emotions wasn't something I knew very much about. Technically, I never really had a girlfriend long enough, and with Alice, I usually avoided her when she became emotional and left her to my mother.
When the seatbelt light went off, I got up and planned to contact my father about the new information. I glanced back at Bella, who had pulled her knees to her chest, and I saw a tear glisten in her eye.
I had to do something.
I glanced at the kitchen and remembered she liked hot chocolate. I had made sure after that first time it would be something we would always have on board. I filled a cup and placed in a microwave. When it was ready, I started to carry the mug across the cabin. The plane rocked, and the hot liquid sloshed over the side and on to my hand.
"Shit," I cursed.
The mug fell from my hand and shattered at my feet. I held my hand to my chest as it throbbed in pain.
"Let me see? Are you hurt?" Bella appeared at my side.
"I'm fine." I didn't mean to snap at her.
She flinched and backed away. "I just wanted to help," she said stoically. "I'll go sit back down."
I felt like a bigger ass and was half shocked she didn't have a snappy comeback for me.
I reached out to grab her hand, stopping her. "Sorry. I was just trying to do something nice for you, and I was mad at myself, not you."
She glanced at the floor. "You made me hot chocolate?"
"I attempted to. Apparently, I'm fairly inept when it comes to trying to comfort anyone." I sighed.
She looked back up at me, and suddenly her arms were around my neck, and she buried her face in my chest. "Thank you."
I held her tightly to me. "You're welcome."
She turned her head to the side but didn't let go. "When I was first brought to the hospital, my first thought was to call you. I'm glad you came."
Knowing that made me feel a bit lighter. "I have a confession too. Even before Peter came into Da's office to say you had been followed, I had already decided to come to you."
She glanced up at me curiously. "You did, why?"
"Because I regret letting you go even before your flight took off. I decided to come to see if I could convince you to give us a chance." I stared into her eyes.
"But you were the one to say I didn't belong. However, now..." She looked unsure.
"It still won't change how I feel. Things are a mess right now, but the one thing I know for sure is that I want to be with you." I brushed the hair off her face before kissing her.
After a moment, she started to kiss me back, relaxing into me. Then she pulled back slightly and began to yawn.
"I am so sorry." Her cheeks started to turn pink.
I chuckled. "When's the last time you got some sleep?" I asked.
"Thursday night?" She yawned again.
"Acushla, it's now Sunday. You need sleep." I started to bring her toward the bedroom.
She didn't resist as I led her to bed and helped her off with her boots. I handed her a bag that Felix had quickly gotten from her house.
"You may want to change first." I glanced at her clothes that had blood splatters.
She looked down at herself then at her bag. "How did…you know what, never mind. I'm too tired to care."
I stepped out of the room and cleaned up my mess. I was about to contact my father when I heard her call my name. I quickly made my way back to the room. She was sitting up in bed, but her face looked distraught.
"I don't think I can sleep," she confessed.
"That's probably because your mind is on overload—just relax." I sat on the edge of the bed.
"Lie with me at least until I fall asleep?" she asked, and her eyes were already drooping.
I had a million things I should have been doing, but I kicked off my shoes and crawled under the covers. Her head rested on my chest, and she sighed in contentment.
"Edward, I'm really glad you came for me. The further and further I got from you the more I wanted to turn back. I still don't know how it will all work out," she mumbled.
"We'll figure it out," I promised, kissing the top of her head.
She started to breathe deeply, and I felt myself fighting sleep. Just a few minutes wouldn't hurt. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to savor the moment of peace.
A/N: Some big reveals in this chapter. Carlisle never forbid Edward about having a relationship with Bella, only to be sure before he perused anything. There were so many guesses after last chapter about Bella and Renée or should I say Soreena.
Thank you for sharing all your thoughts and love with me.
Acushla comes from the Irish Gaelic cuisle, which can mean "darling" but more literally means "pulse" or "vein." It's an adaptation of the Irish Gaelic a cuisle ("Oh darling"). Cuisle was sometimes also paired with ma to give us macushla ("my darling"), as well as our next term of endearment.