Twenty minutes was all it took for the Cullen siblings to find them in the trees. Twenty minutes was all it took to gather the troops, reconcile what they'd be perpetrating if they did this for him and twenty minutes to decide that if it were them they'd do the same.
But not Carlisle. And not Esme.
They'd stayed behind, at the house. Neither could be privy to what the likely outcome of the night was to be, but neither could bring themselves to insist it not be done.
They'd taken just a moment to think on what they'd do in Edward's position and both came to the same conclusion as Bella. They too believed that it would be simpler to just have someone go and buy the watch the next morning but they also understood that he deserved the right to have his fathers watch and to also to know who it was that had taken it and had caused the death of his mother. And like Bella they hoped that he'd be able to be dissuaded from doing anything further with the information once he had it.
But the four Cullen's who did rush to his aid were sure of their positions and all seven of the Cullen's – Bella included – knew that the murder of Agnes Masen had led directly to the murder and subsequent change of Eddie. If he could live with what he was about to do then they had to respect that, but if he could be talked down from this particular ledge it should be attempted.
But first thing was first. Getting the watch and the information had to come first and so they collected what they needed and ran to Port Angeles as fast as was possible.
Life wasn't always fair and neither was it just. Fate, Destiny and Karma had shown the old Eddie Masen Junior that time and time again as he'd struggled with the course of events that had changed his life.
As he watched in grateful silence to see which of his new family were going to arrive to offer him assistance he began to think about how life was about to get very unfair indeed for whoever it was that had pawned that watch.
As his two brothers and two sisters appeared he left the embrace Bella had kept him in since making the call and stepped to offer his hand and his thanks to each of his siblings in turn as they approached.
"You're sure about this?" Jasper asked during their handshake. The grim set to Edward's features gave him the answer before the nod did and Jasper bowed his head in acceptance. Jangling his 'tools' he turned to his other brother and nodded.
Emmett took off like a bolt of lightning, running parallel to the backs of the stores that lined the main street. There was just the faintest of whistles and then Jasper too tore off in the same direction Emmett had gone.
Staring after them Edward wondered what the hell their plan was and why he hadn't been made aware of it. He needn't have worried because within seconds of another soft whistle reaching his ears Bella tugged on his sleeve and he too was running along the backs of the stores.
Jasper was already removing tools from the soft pack he'd brought along but Emmett was nowhere to be found. "Where's Em?" Edward asked quietly.
"Gone round the front to scout for cameras," Alice whispered in reply.
"Jaz will pick the lock, Em will disable the alarm if there is one," Bella whispered as they ran.
"There's always an alarm," Rose sniggered as she slid on a pair of latex gloves whilst running. "Humans are notoriously mistrusting," she scoffed.
"Rosie will sort out the security cameras and you retrieve the watch once you've identified it. Alice and I will stand guard," Bella told him as they reached the back of the pawn shop and came to a halt beside the two boys. Alice peeled off after wishing them all luck and went to the front of the store. Bella stayed at Edward's side, eyes shifting up and down the alleyway.
"You've done this before?" Edward asked, not wholly shocked.
"Old hands," Emmett chuckled as he reefed open the electrical panel beside the door, busting its lock with little more than a dull chinking sound. Jasper was hovering over the lock on the main door, lock pick in hand. With needle nosed snips in his giant hand Emmett grinned evilly, "Do I cut the red wire, or the blue?" he sniggered as he snipped both and shut the box with a triumphant grunt. "Good to go ladies and gentleman," he told the group with a flourish of his hand, "You have fifteen minutes, tops."
"Will only need ten," Jasper replied cockily. At the sound of the lock on the door giving way he stood aside. "How many cameras?" he asked Emmett.
"Two. One facing the register the other the front door. You good to go Rosie?" he asked his wife who was nodding.
Taking an aerosol can from the pocket of her jacket Rose went in through the now open door. A soft spraying sound and a slight chemical smell wafted out the door and then Rose announced that they were all clear.
"Come on, bro," Jasper told Edward who was still stunned at their efficiency. Jasper pointed towards the front window of the store and told Edward to go collect the watch and to call out the reference numbers on its tag once he had it.
Edward took a deep breath and snatched the watch off its bed of satin and winced as he waited for the sound of an alarm. Of course it never came. "167901," he read the numbers from its tag and then made his way back to Jasper who was already thumbing through index cards to locate the right item.
"Got it," he announced seconds later as he handed over the card. "Time to go, put that in your pocket," he told Edward who was still staring down at the watch in his palm.
Sliding the card and the watch into his jeans Edward headed back out the door they way they'd come in. He watched in fascination as Rose went back inside with what looked like a glass cleaning cloth in her hand. She was gone only one minute and when she came back out she was tucking the now black stained cloth into her jacket along with her gloves.
Locking the door from the inside and pulling it shut behind him Jasper nodded to Emmett who opened the electrical panel again. Twisting the wires back together Emmett hit the reset button when he was done and waited until the red blinking light on top of the box kicked in. He nodded once he was satisfied and as soon as he did Bella whistled loudly.
Bella grabbed his hand and a stunned Edward began to run beside his mate. Alice joined them back at the starting point and without a word being said they tore off into the forest and headed towards the Cullen house.
Edward stared down at the watch and the card for an hour and twelve minutes before he spoke, and when he did Carlisle sighed. "Help me find where he lives," Edward muttered, probably to Jasper who had the best investigative skills but it could just as easily have been to any one of them.
Jasper, looking first to an anguished Bella and then to a disappointed Carlisle, said that he would help. What else could he do? He knew Edward would find the details for himself if he refused and if the guy was going to do something stupid it made sense that someone in the group should know what that was likely to be. Jasper had been on 'clean up' duty for a very, very long time. He knew the drill. "Come on," he told Edward who nodded just once then slipped the watch into his jeans pocket before rising from the stair tread he'd been sitting on.
"Edward," Bella called his name softly from the heart of the living room. When he turned so she could see his face she smiled a little and hoped that her efforts weren't going to be for nothing. "Is it not enough that you have the watch back?" she asked carefully.
Edward, fully aware that she wasn't as willing to 'live with' what he had in mind smiled ever so slightly before replying. "Probably," he told her quietly.
And with that she had to be satisfied. She was his mate and in three days she'd be his wife, but she wasn't his keeper. Thinking back on the three slips she'd made herself she knew deep within herself that if she'd known him then she wouldn't have been called off the hunt by him, just as the pleadings from her family at the time hadn't worked. Her slips hadn't been born from the pain he was feeling now, and although they couldn't be described as purely accidents she didn't plan them and she didn't seek her eventual victims out personally. If Edward did this that's what he'd be doing. He'd have to plan it. He'd kill knowing exactly what he was doing and he'd be doing it for no other reason than revenge.
And it was revenge that Edward was thinking about as he watched his brother's fingers fly over the keys on his laptop. It was a simple process finding Jacob Black. His address, phone number and occupation lit up the screen when Jasper twisted the laptop for Edward to see.
"He's not a vampire?" Edward asked as he stared at the picture on the screen. Even it being a poor quality shot from his driver's license made it evident that he was human. Whoever had changed Edward would have crimson eyes, Jacob Blacks were brown.
"Did you think he was going to be?" Jasper asked carefully.
"I did wonder," Edward added. "I wondered if he'd hung around and come back for me once he was finished with my ..." he trailed off.
"After he'd hurt your mother," Jasper finished for him sadly. "Doesn't look like he's anything other than what this says he is. But then this doesn't say he's a thieving piece of shit either, so you never know."
"Thank you," Edward whispered as he memorised the details on the screen.
Jasper nodded and closed the lid of the machine. "You come to me," he told Edward pointedly as he stared into his eyes.
Edward got the message loud and clear. If this was what he wanted to do Jasper would be there. Emmett too probably.
Standing and offering his hand Edward thanked his brother for all his help that evening and announced that he'd be going home then. He waited at the bottom of the stairs for Bella to make her way to his side and once she had he thanked the family as a group for their assistance and then took Bella's hand into his.
The run home was quiet. And it wasn't nearly a run at all, more of a stroll. Edward deep in thought and Bella worried for her mate's state of mind. She wouldn't press him but she did hope he'd open up to her about what he was feeling.
Once inside Edward put the card and the watch squarely on the kitchen table then announced he was going to shower. Bella waited until she heard the water begin to run in the bathroom and then stared down at both items. The watch was precious to Edward, she knew that, and she hoped that what she'd said at the house had resonated with him. Having it back in his possession should have been enough.
Glancing at the name on the card she hoped that it would be because if Edward ever stumbled across Jacob Black she knew exactly how the meeting would end.
Edward was virtually silent for the remainder of the evening. He met Bella in their bed after his shower and made slow love to her for hours. He lost himself in her scent and in her body. There was no aggression and he had no thoughts for marking her. He just wanted to be inside her, safe and warm and in control.
The thoughts wandering through the dark corridors of his brain weren't controlled, however. They were messy and dangerous and lurked right at the back, picking at the seams of his psyche as he stroked Bella's body with his own. They tapped him at odd intervals and drew his attention back to the information he now possessed, insisting he think about it when all he really wanted to do was concentrate on his mate.
Bella knew he was distracted and she knew why. She did her best not to take it personally, understanding the crossroads he'd come to within himself. She knew that Eddie Masen Junior could be thankful for having the watch and let the rest go. What she didn't know was whether Edward Cullen could do that.
And so Bella held him tightly to her through the night and hoped that there was enough of Eddie left inside Edward to choose the right path.
When dawn came a different Edward emerged from the bathroom. His smile was back and he looked happy and content again as Bella stared at him in the mirror as he brushed his teeth yet again.
"Big day today," he grinned at her after he'd spit out the toothpaste.
"Yeah," she replied, confused. Was he not going to say anything at all about what had happened the night before? Had he really been able to get past it, just like that? Looking at him she thought that he had. His eyes sparkled and he was steady and relaxed. He looked like Eddie and she relaxed just a little. "I've got to go and collect your ring," she grinned back at him.
"I already have yours," he chuckled after poking his tongue out at her.
Marvelling at his ability to adapt and overcome Bella returned the childish sentiment and went to dress. He was right, she had a big day. With only two days to go until the ceremony she was going to be run ragged with all the tasks Alice and Esme had listed for her to do personally. "I don't know if I'll see you much today," she pouted prettily as they stood on the front porch before getting into his car for the drive to the Cullen house.
"I'll find you," Edward laughed as he took her hand and led her to the Mercedes.
And he did. When Bella returned to the Cullen house, sisters in tow, he cornered her at the first floor landing by darting out from Carlisle's study and pressing her hard up against the wall.
"Too long," he groaned into her lips before his tongue sneaked out and tasted her. The kiss was broken only by the clearing of a throat from further along the landing, but it wasn't the first to be stolen that day. After hiding out for an hour high up in his old bedroom while the tent, chairs and tables were delivered by two humans he bolted down the stairs the instant the truck departed. He threw his mate to the ground just below the decking by the back porch and shoved his tongue deep into her mouth. After kissing her thoroughly, and throwing Jasper the bird for the teasing, he grinned down at her, "One more day," he croaked against her throat.
When the night closed in and they could at last leave all the decorating and last minute decision making to the others they skipped off to their own home to devour one another.
Knowing it would be the last time they saw one another before they met at the head of the makeshift altar they clung to one another as the two groups split down the middle the following evening. Emmett and Jasper came to the Masen house to stay until the ceremony, and Bella ran off to the Cullen house to stay for the last time as a single woman.
Bella's scent had only just dissipated from the front porch when Edward turned to his brothers and growled. "No bucks turn," he hissed. "No idiotic games, no teasing, no taunting," he warned the two grinning men who bore what they hoped were innocent expressions.
"We weren't planning anything," Emmett exclaimed in mock horror.
"Where's Carlisle?" Edward asked as he snatched his car keys from the hook by the front door.
"He's got a shift till midnight, why?" Jasper asked as he stared at the keys in Edward's hand. "We going somewhere?"
Glancing down at his father's watch on his wrist Edward calculated the hours between then and midnight. "Five hours, should be enough," he guessed before returning his gaze to his brothers. "Help or don't, I won't hold it against you either way," he said simply.
The two boys got the gist of the statement pretty quickly. Bella had told Esme that their brother had made no comment at all about the information he was in possession of and they'd thought it odd as the information had filtered down through the rest of the family. It was very odd. He was an aggressive guy and not just because he was a newborn. They both figured it was because he'd been so repressed as a human but it could just as easily be because that was the type of vampire he had always been destined to be. Didn't matter to them the reason for it, but they knew it about him all the same.
An aggressive vampire didn't just give up on the anger and pain he had inside him. He hadn't tried to expel it any other way, as far as Jasper and Emmett knew, so they knew he'd hidden it from them and from his mate.
Shrugging at Jasper to gauge what his answer was going to be, and receiving an eyebrow raise and a shrug in return, Emmett clapped his newest brother on the back. "What do you need?" he asked.
"Silence," Edward said very quietly. "If I do this I need your silence. I won't ever bring it up again, and I expect the two of you not to either if you come along for the ride."
"Done," Jasper agreed without hesitation.
"Yeah, fair enough," Emmett agreed. "You got a plan?"
"I got a name and address but no way to know if that's the guy who pawned it after stealing it, or if he just ended up with it some other way. Any suggestions on how to find that out first?" Edward asked his brothers.
Emmett grinned then, a big wide toothy grin that made Edward shudder. "Seems pretty simple to me," Emmett chuckled. "We'll just go ask."
As the two brothers argued about riding shotgun Bella and her sisters were settling in for a girl's night. Esme swore she'd finish up with the flower arrangements for the tables as quickly as she could so she could join them, but refused their help to speed the process up.
In truth Esme wanted to listen to her daughters giggling one last time. The flower arrangements were done, she'd just been fiddling with the leftovers, so as soon as the door to Alice' suite was closed she made her way up to the first floor landing and sat down outside the door to listen.
The sisters knew she was there, of course, and they knew exactly why she was there too. It was hard for their mother to accept the changes around her and within her home. Vampires were unchanging in so many ways and significant disruptions to the status quo bothered Esme more than others.
She was grateful that Bella had found her mate, and she loved Edward as one of her own, but having them live away hurt a lot. She knew they'd come back, they all did, but the time they were apart from her made her feel incomplete.
Hearing her daughters giggle their way through Bella's retelling of her first few days with the old Eddie after his change made Esme smile smugly. Carlisle had known, even back then, that his newest son was more than likely going to turn into their son in law as well. How he'd known, how he'd been certain enough to force the issue by inviting the cousins she didn't know, but he had. He always did. He'd done it with Rose and Emmett and he'd done it with her.
Sending out a mental thank you to her own mate she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes as she drank in the details of her baby girl's tale. She'd join them soon she thought when Bella got to the part about them visiting Strawberry Bay that first time. Aware that Bella would clam up the instant Esme entered the room she stifled yet another giggle and thought yes, she'd join them soon.
Staying out of the stream of light thrown by the street lamp Edward inched his way around the side of the house. Jasper did the same on the opposite side. Emmett stood, hand poised to knock, on the front porch. After nodding to each of his brothers to make sure they were ready too he knocked on the door and took a step back to wait.
"Yeah, what?" the native guy said abruptly as he opened the door.
Edward heard Jasper hiss 'charming manners' under his breath and grinned to himself. Craning his neck to get a look at who he could only call a suspect at that time Edward took in the guys appearance.
For a start he was human so his scent scorched his nose and made his venom run but quite apart from that the guy stank. Body odour, cigarettes and alcohol seeped from his pores and if the stains that creeped out from under his arms were any indication it'd been a while since he'd last showered.
There was a faint chemical smell that oozed from his pores and rushed out of the house as its door stood open. Drugs Edward guessed. So he was a thief and a drug user, or maker Edward thought blackly as he stared.
Jet black hair that hadn't been washed in an age either stuck up in unruly tufts from his scalp and disappeared into the collar of his flannel shirt. He wore plain blue jeans but the pockets sagged and the knees were threadbare. He was bare footed.
"You Jacob Black?" Emmett asked calmly.
"Yeah, who wants to know?" the suspect asked warily, looking Emmett up and down.
"Mind if I step inside? I need to ask you some questions," Emmett, still grinning, said rather sweetly.
Jacob snorted and Edward stiffened. Jasper held his hand up to hush his newest brother and to give Emmett the chance he needed to get the job done.
"You a cop?" Jacob asked.
"Nope," Emmett stated simply.
Eyeing him from head to foot Jacob could smell trouble and decided to exercise his rights. "Fuck off, bro," he sneered and tried to shut the door in Emmett's face.
Tilting his head slightly to the side and then shaking it just a little Emmett gripped the doorframe just as it made to close fully. "See, I don't think I will, bro," Emmett hissed and shoved the door open so violently the hinges groaned in protest.
Jacob wasn't quite as startled as the brothers thought he should be. In fact, Jacob Black wasn't startled at all. He was used to being doorstopped. He was used to unnamed heavies arriving at his door and demanding payment, repayment, replacement and sometimes even revenge. For Jacob Black was a thug. A petty thief, a drug addict and a pusher of the insidious product that poisoned the mind and soul. He was also a stubborn idiot who thought he was above the law and could fight his way out of anything.
And Jacob Black was prepared to defend his castle.
It wasn't much of a castle. It was more a rat hole, but he was still prepared to defend it. He reached for the rifle that he kept tucked behind the architrave in the hall and as Emmett entered the house and began to growl Jacob raised that rifle and pointed it right at Emmett's chest.
"You'll be stoppin' right there, motherfucker," Jacob snarled.
Emmett, still grinning, took a good whiff of the surrounds and determined that the guy was home alone. There weren't any other human scents and there hadn't been for some time. There was, however, the distinct smell of chemicals and body odour. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at what he could smell he frowned at what he couldn't. Fear. There was no smell of fear from the guy. That would change Emmett thought to himself as he took a small step closer. Ignoring the gun pointed right at him Emmett stared Jacob down. "I'm inside, that's all I wanted," he chuckled and whistled for his brothers to join the party.
The two brothers wasted no time once they heard the whistle and raced into the house, Jasper pulling what was left of the front door closed as best he could behind himself once they were both in the hall with Emmett.
Jacob's eyes widened as the tiny space filled with three pretty pissed off looking heavies. His odds had been better with just the one big guy with himself holding the gun, but now the odds of getting three shots off before scarpering out the backdoor looked pretty shitty.
"What the fuck?" he barked at the three smiling guys. "What the hell do you want?"
"We just want to ask you a couple questions," Jasper said almost innocently. "No need for the artillery," he grinned, nodding towards the rifle.
Readjusting his grip Jacob ignored the mention of the weapon and tilted his chin toward Jasper. "Ask then fuck off," he barked. Edward couldn't help the growl that came from his throat because as filthy and as unwashed as Jacob was he was still human and Edward wanted his blood. Jacob raised an eyebrow at the sound coming from Edward's mouth and shook his head as though disgusted. "What's his deal?" he said as he used the point of the rifle to denote which of the brothers he meant. "He rabid or somethin'? Been bit by a dog there, bro?" he sniggered.
"Yeah, prolly not a great idea to address him right now, bro," Emmett hissed knowing exactly why Ed's growling was getting louder. Without waiting for another intellectual statement from Jacob he took another step forward. "You break into a house out on Mullins Lane about five months ago?" he asked.
Jacob scoffed again and Edward let out another hoarse growl. "Dude, lay off the kibble," he spat at Edward and then looked Emmett over from head to foot. "So what if I did?" he answered Emmett. "I aint sayin' I did, but what's it to you anyway?"
Not bothering to answer Jacob's question he looked past him and addressed his brothers, "Take a look around," Emmett suggested and as the two of them shuffled past the standoff in the hall Emmett narrowed his eyes at Jacob. "You just keep your little boom stick pointed right here," he told Jacob who was trying to follow the movements of the other two and keep a steady aim at Emmett at the same time. "This'll go much easier if you just tell us yes or no," Emmett said as amiably as he could.
Knowing he was outnumbered and not understanding why these three weren't afraid of a loaded rifle Jacob took a chance that he thought might save his life. "Yeah, I done that place over," he admitted.
Emmett didn't need to call his brothers back into the hall because they'd heard the admission easily for themselves. When they'd reached the hall Emmett asked whether they'd found anything and Jacob scoffed. "You got something to add?" Emmett asked with a sneer.
"They won't find nothin' here because that place was a waste of fuckin' time," Jacob postured. "Full of shitty old furniture and books and shit."
"You took a watch," Edward growled.
Looking over his left shoulder he addressed Edward with a sneer. "Pawned it. Piece of shit. I only got fifty bucks for it. It's prolly still at the shop," he snorted.
"Why that house?" Jasper asked as he too closed the distance between himself and Jacob.
The hall felt very small all of a sudden to Jacob whose hand began to shake as he held the gun. He had already been shaking before the heavies showed up because he hadn't had a hit all day. He was broke and would need to do over another house before he could score. "Random," he told Jasper who hissed angrily.
"There was a woman," Edward hissed as he approached Jacob from behind too.
With the three of them closing in on him Jacob began to sweat and Edward began to grimace at the stench. "She woke up as I was leaving," Jacob admitted. "I didn't touch her, man. I told her to go back to sleep and I left. That's it."
The boys didn't need Edward to confirm that that was a lie. They knew who they were looking at and they knew what he'd done. All that remained to establish was what Edward wanted to do about it.
That was always going to fall to Emmett because Jasper wouldn't ever bother to ask. He wouldn't give alternatives and he wouldn't provide an 'out'. Jasper knew exactly what he was and he wasn't afraid to exercise that part of himself. He had no qualms ridding the earth of scum when circumstance warranted it. His brain could rationalise that is was just one such situation. He was a do first ask questions later kind of guy. Emmett wasn't.
"Your call," he told Edward who couldn't take his eyes off his mother's murderer. When Edward nodded minutely Emmett turned back to Jacob. "Looks like we might be going to have a little party," he sneered.
It was then that the two brothers knew the order in which things would have to be done. Leaving Jacob in the hall with Edward – and whispering a hasty 'wait till we get back' – Emmett and Jasper shot off through the house making ready.
Emmett closed any windows that were open while Jasper checked all the doors. Locating the piss weak little stereo system Emmett cranked it up as loud as it would go while Jasper flew around opening drawers and tossing their contents out onto the floor.
Edward watched them with interest while Jacob transferred the aim of the rifle to his chest and began to wince at the volume of the music. Edward had no idea what they were doing or why but it looked like something else they were well practised at. That should make him sick, but it didn't. Jacob was no longer a suspect, he was the perpetrator and justice came to criminals in one form or another. To Edward the boys looked as though they were preparing to mete out that justice.
Jacob watched the brothers with interest too. Not because they were obviously tossing the place to make whatever was about to happen to him look like a robbery, but because his eyes couldn't follow their movements they were so fast. "What the fuck are you?" he asked none of them in particular.
"Your worst fucking nightmare," Edward hissed, still watching his brothers.
When they returned to the hall all three smiled evilly at Jacob who promptly pissed his pants. "Dude, that's just nasty," Emmett groaned as the smell hit his nose.
"Who the fuck are you?" Jacob croaked as he stared from one brother to another again. They looked nothing alike but they seemed to work as a team really well. Whatever that woman had meant to these guys was big. Huge. He'd fucked up royally and he knew it. His heart was really racing then, his pupils huge and his whole frame shaking from the need for coke and from fear.
"We've been remiss, brothers," Jasper chuckled. "Whatever would mother think of our lack of manners?"
Emmett clapped Jaz on the back and whispered 'good one' but didn't take his eyes off Jacob. "Allow me to introduce your newest friends," Em chuckled. "I'm Lucky, this is Chico and the redhead here is Ralph," he said almost politely, making Jasper roll his eyes and Edward scoff.
"What do you want? I told you I pawned the watch. I aint got nothing worth nothin' here," Jacob whimpered pathetically.
Incensed that his only thoughts were for possessions Edward began to growl more steadily. It was obvious that Jacob didn't care at all about the life he'd taken. Edward considered that the instant he'd left the property he'd given no further thought to what he'd done inside it, and rightly so for Jacob Black had never once thought back on what he'd done. He knew he'd shoved the woman hard enough that she'd been hurt because he watched her fall. He'd known that if someone didn't get her some help there was a chance, at her age, that she could be in real trouble. He'd known that there was a real chance that she was in the house alone and he hadn't given a thought to that since leaving the properties perimeter.
Jasper could see the emotions warring on Edward's face. He understood the need to kill for he'd done it himself for decades before meeting Alice and ultimately the Cullen's.
Emmett enjoyed the dance for what it was. He enjoyed intimidating the scum that plagued the earth and it wasn't hard to see that Jacob Black was scum.
Foul stench or not Edward had had enough posturing. He had the answers he'd been seeking and he'd had enough playing games. Surging forward he gripped Jacob by the throat and began to squeeze. "The woman you murdered was my mother," he hissed into his face as Jacob's hands began to claw at the fingers choking the life out of him. "You defiled my home, hurt my mother and left her on the floor to die."
"I didn't know," Jacob croaked, using what he thought might be his last bit of energy to defend himself.
"I don't care," Edward spat as he lifted Jacob clean off the ground and held him aloft in his hand. Surging forward again he slammed him into the wall and licked his lips. "You broke into my home and stole from my mother. You made her afraid in a home she'd lived in peacefully for forty years. You killed her and left her there for me to find and then I was found and my life was taken too," Edward spat into the desperately gasping face of who was going to be his first ever non-slip kill.
Of course Jacob had no idea what it meant that Edward had been killed and he had no idea how, if that were true, the guy could be squeezing the life out of him right now. "Didn't know," he squeaked again as Edward licked his lips one more time. Jacob could see the silvery sheen on his lips and began to shudder at the smell of it.
Edward had heard enough. Pressing a little deeper with the pad of his thumb he waited until Jacob's eyes began to bulge at the lack of oxygen before grabbing the front of his shirt and lowering him slightly until his throat was level with Edward's now bared teeth. Staring deep into his eyes Edward told Jacob to get ready to meet his maker then lowered his mouth to his throat.
In the split second it took Edward to dip his head his two brothers shot a glance at one another and shouted his name unison. Turning to stare at them Edward snarled. He didn't care what they had to say on the morality of what he was about to do because he'd gone beyond that. Now they were coveting his kill and as a newborn he had no intention of giving up the crimson prize that hovered just under Jacob's skin. "What?" he hissed as his brothers threw their hands up.
"If you do that she'll know," Emmett nodded towards Jacob. When Edward said nothing Emmett tried again to make his brother see some sense. "Bella," he said firmly. "If you do that Bella will know you've done it."
"You promised me your silence," Edward hissed through gritted teeth.
Emmett slipped into a short crouch at that. "Don't ever question my word," he snapped at his brother.
Jasper, knowing what Emmett was trying to say but couldn't articulate stepped in. "We won't say a word, we swear," he told his now shaking brother. "Your eyes, he means your eyes. If you drink him she'll know because you're newborn and your eyes will go back to being red within hours."
"Don't care," Edward groaned, desperate for the euphoria he knew was just below his fingertips.
"Dude, you do care. I know you do. You're getting married tomorrow," Emmett reminded him. "You're going to post for a thousand photos and every one of them will prove what you've done long before you can confess it to her."
Hissing and craning his neck Edward had to agree that what they said was true. He knew without asking what Bella would think if he showed up with red eyes on their wedding day. He didn't want to start his married life that way and yet he still couldn't let go of the need to destroy the foul creature in his grip. In fact he couldn't make himself let go full stop. "Need to," he managed to rasp out between his clenched teeth.
"I know you do," Jasper said as calmly as he could. His venom was running like a river too at the thought of mopping up the spoils once Edward had had his fill. But the fine details of what was about to go down needed to be voiced, if only so Edward could make a choice with all the information in his head that he could. "You'll have to start again, you know. With your thirst. One taste and you'll have to start all over again. Another six months, maybe a year, of hunting twice a day."
"Don't care," Edward howled. He hadn't taken his eyes off Jacob so he didn't know quite how close his brothers were behind him. "He killed my mother," he all but sobbed at the now unconscious creature in his grasp. "I loved her and she loved me. She was all I had," he choked out and unnecessarily tightened his grip a little more.
"But she's not all you have now," Emmett said quite rationally for someone who would've already done the job in Edward's place. But he knew Edward well by then. This wasn't the real Edward. He wasn't thinking clearly. This was a man in pain who had finally seen a way to deal with it. But this wasn't the right way for a guy like Edward to deal at all. This was an out of control newborn vampire and all at once he knew that if he let him do this it would eat at his brother's soul for centuries. He'd seen the sorrow on the guys face after hurting that mechanic and he hadn't ended that guy, just nicked him with his teeth. If he allowed this to happen this way his brother would spend eternity in a guilt driven haze. "Jaz," he whispered to his brother, "stand down." Waiting until Jasper had dropped his hands and retreated a few paces Emmett put his hand on Edward's shoulder and squeezed gently, "You lost everything when your mother was killed Eddie," Emmett said, waiting for his brother to flinch at the use of his old name. Using the distraction that cause he went on quickly, building momentum to prove his point. "But you have so much now because of that. Whoever changed you would never have come to your house without the scent of your mother's blood in the air. He'd never have changed you. Think about that for a minute, Eddie. You wouldn't have Bella. You wouldn't be getting married tomorrow and you wouldn't have this family."
"Bella," Edward moaned as though he was in agony and Emmett could see that he was, but he also knew he had him then. He knew that he'd made the right call because the mention of Bella, and the idea that without the piece of shit dangling from his fingertips Eddie might never have met her, Edward gave up the fight.
"Yeah, Bella," Emmett whispered as he slid the hand from Edward's shoulder down to his wrist. Tugging it gently he waited until Edward released his grip and until Jacob had slid to the floor before he returned that hand to Edward's shoulder and squeezed, hard. "You run on outside now," he told his wobbly brother. "Straight outside, no further than a hundred yards, but you go at least the hundred, you hear," he said firmly to a glazed Edward. "We'll bring the car and catch you up."
"You'll bring the car," Edward mumbled as he stepped over the crumpled body and towards the front door. "Need Bella," he moaned as he raked a hand through his hair in despair.
"I'll call her, go on outside," Jasper told him.
Nodding just once Edward fled. His brothers waited until the sound of his footfalls could no longer be heard and then they both looked down at the slumped body on the floor.
"He wouldn't have been able to live with himself," Emmett muttered matter of factly.
"Yeah, would've eaten at him I reckon," Jasper confirmed. "Good call, bro," he said with a slap to the big guy's shoulder.
"Would you have done it?" Emmett asked as he bent over and hoisted Jacob up until he was in a seated position.
"Definitely," Jasper said without hesitation. "You?"
"Shit yeah," Emmett chuckled darkly. "Nothing you could've said to me would've called me off."
"Damn straight," Jasper agreed. "But that's when I knew you'd made the right call. He was easy to call off," he said as he went through Jacob's pockets. Finding only the shredded pieces of some cocaine laced silver foil he threw them on the floor and gave him a good swift kick to the ribs. "How do you want to do this?" he asked without taking his eyes off the piece of shit who was moaning lowly as he came around.
"Dunno, who chose last time?" Emmett asked as he too gave Jacob a love tap to the gut with his fist.
"I think I did," Jasper chuckled. "That guy in Matane I think was the last."
"Nah, that was way earlier," Emmett surmised. "Had to be that evil piece of shit in Bolivia, that was only like twenty years ago."
"Good call," Jasper agreed again. "He was rank tho, tasted like shit. But yeah, I called it then so it's your turn."
"Cool," Emmett chuckled. "I choose heads."
Reaching into his pocket and pulling out a coin Jasper tossed it in the air, caught it and showed Emmett the result. "Damn," he hissed in disappointment. "Heads it is you lucky fuck."
"I told him my name was Lucky," Emmett chortled. Smiling like a kid who'd just gotten a bike from Santa he began to chuckle as Jacob began to rouse. "You take the car and check on the kid, this won't take long," he told an already retreating Jasper.
Fair was fair and Emmett had won fair and square. "Clean yourself up before you follow," Jasper reminded him. "If the kid smells that stink he'll freak."
Nodding just once Emmett leaned over Jacob and hoisted him to his feet. Slipping his hand under the almost lifeless one of his new friend Emmett used Jacob's hand to wave at Jasper. "Drive careful," Emmett squeaked in an imitation of the voice Jacob had used to plead with Edward. "Don't wait up," he muttered as the door closed.
Jasper chuckled as he slid into Edward's car. "How come I always have to be Chico?" he chuckled as he turned the car out of the drive. "I don't look anything like a Chico."
A/N: There were so many private messages after the last chapter went up!
It was a curious mix of comments...'Don't let him kill him'...'Rip his head off'...
I went with a mix of the two. And I want you all to know that I did struggle to decide which way to go. My long suffering partner in Cullen Crime will be well pleased that this chapter is now on the site and I can't mess with it any further ;) Sorry Jen :P
But in the end it made more sense to me that there is enough of Eddie Masen Jr in him to do the right thing even though the Edward Cullen part of him wanted to finish him.
Bring on either the pats on the back or the hate mail. Either way I'll be pleased to hear from you all.
Thank you for reading.
Please review.