Apart from Mario, who is blissfully ignorant that his minions have been 'taken out' for lunch, the immediate Mafia problem is solved. Jasper has saved Ace's life by biting him so he is definitely going to make for a very 'intriguing' vampire! (And a very popular one with readers)!

Now Edward is preparing himself to say goodbye to his parents and his heart is breaking. He doesn't trust Aro (can you blame him), but Alice has said they'll be fine. She's been right so far, but he can't see any way this is going to work out well.

Here goes - it's going to be emotional. Get your handkerchiefs/valium ready because we are having to say ...

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE - Goodbye!

Jasper detached himself from Ace's neck then looked carefully at his face to check for signs of life. Ace's breathing was just discernible so Jasper was pleased to announce that Ace was thankfully alive, albeit unconscious.

"Will he be okay?" Edward asked frantically. He was also valiantly trying to ignore the tempting aroma of Ace's blood that was still bubbling from his chest. This was the first time Edward had been close to fresh, human blood since he was changed; Tom's blood had already started to deteriorate when they first discovered him and therefore had zero appeal.

"He should be," Jasper responded, "although I must admit I haven't changed anyone like this for over a hundred years. I injected your mom and dad as it's easier to gauge how much venom has been transferred. I presume Alice did the same to you and Bella?"

Edward nodded in affirmation as he watched Ace's face for the first signs that the venom was taking effect.

"What do we do with him now?"

"He's going to start thrashing about fairly soon so we need to find somewhere where he'll be safe."

"Can't we just take him in the house?"

"I'd don't think that would be a good idea; he's still more human than vampire at the moment, so I'd prefer to keep him away from Aro and his clan, and Esme."

Jasper thought quickly then bent down and went through his pockets and pulled out a bunch of keys.

"Ferrari, nice!" he said approvingly. "Do you think that's his house key on the bunch?"

"Probably."

"Do you know where he lives?"

"Why, are you going to take him there?"

"Yes, I think it'll be the safest place and at least it'll be somewhere familiar when he wakes up. I'll get Alice to come with me. Stay here while I get her and then we'll put him in the Cherokee."

"The track is blocked with Mafia cars," Edward pointed out.

"Shit, I forgot. I'll ask some of Garrett's coven to drive them away and dump them. Stay here and I'll sort it."

Edward sat on the sand next to his friend and colleague who had already started twitching. He recalled the excruciating part of the changing process and didn't envy Ace one bit as the next twenty-four hours or so would be hell. As he waited for Jasper to return, he recalled the conversations he had with Ace about his appearance and wondered how and when he had worked out that his boss was a vampire. Then he recalled an earlier conversation they had, not long after Ace joined the lab, when Ace told him how he and his mother had to move away from Sicily to get away from the Mafia and they had lived under assumed names in a small village on the mainland. Edward for the first time wondered whether they had lived either in or near to Volterra, which would be a plausible explanation. He tried to look into Ace's mind, to maybe get some clues on that and also to read what he was thinking as the venom took hold of his body, but Ace's thoughts were in turmoil as his human side was already trying to fight off the vampire invader, and Edward realised he would get nothing from him until he opened his eyes again.

Edward looked around him and there was a lot of activity in the dunes and on the beach. The vampires had finished feeding and now it was time to get rid of the bodies and their weapons. Some of them were taking their victims out to sea, while others were lifting large rocks and burying them a long way down in the sand. Didier was dragging the remains of his and Aro's breakfast towards the water and he carried on walking until his head had completely disappeared beneath the waves, emerging empty-handed only a few minutes later.

Jasper and Alice were walking hand in hand across the beach and when they got to where Ace was lying, Alice bent over him and brushed some hair away from his forehead.

"He's going to be a very handsome vampire, boys. You might have a bit of competition here!"

"Very funny, Alice," Jasper said sarcastically as he was not amused. "Come on, let's get him home and tie him to a bed."

"I wish you would do that to me, Jasper!"

"Okay, that's too much information, thank you," Edward cut in, trying to inject some disgust into his voice.

Edward gave Jasper Ace's home address for the Satnav and warned them about Madonna, who was very protective of her master and wasn't very good with strangers. Jasper didn't like dogs and from the way Edward described Madonna, he was expecting to be greeted by a snarling Doberman, not a small, fluffy, white poodle. Edward wished he could be there just to see the look on his face when they walked in the house and met her for the first time and he hoped Jasper would see the funny side of the wind-up.

Edward carried Ace up to the Cherokee where he laid him across the back seat, securing him with the seat belts just in case he started thrashing around during the journey. He noticed that Jasper had taken some packs of the animal blood for when Ace woke up in a couple of days' time, but he was hoping to be there when Ace opened his eyes, as he needed as many friends around him as possible when the enormity of what had happened to him sunk home. Aro had given him and Bella three weeks to think about the implications of becoming a vampire after he had laid down his ultimatum; Ace had decided in about three seconds.

As Alice ran back to the house to say goodbye to Carlisle and Esme, five of Garrett's coven had started up the Mafia's cars and were driving them to the turning point on the drive, then they headed off up the track on their way to abandon them on their way back to New York.

A few minutes later Jasper and Alice were ready to set off. Aro was livid that they were leaving, but he didn't have any reason to stop them as he had said in front of Garrett that he bore no ill-will to any of the family, which of course was a lie. He was still determined to get his revenge on this couple in the future, but smiled through gritted teeth as they drove past him. As Alice's eyes locked with his, he physically recoiled with shock when he read what was in her eyes, as there was something in her glare that unnerved him. Nobody had ever looked at him like that before and survived for long. There was pure hatred, loathing, contempt and disgust in her eyes, but there was something else, like an air of triumphalism. He admitted to himself that she had escaped his vengeance this time, but there would be no escape the next time as the gloves were off and he resolved to make it his mission to destroy this arrogant couple sooner rather than later.

Edward wandered slowly back to the house. The events of the last hour had interrupted his conversation with his father so he wasn't aware whether he had listened to his pleas and was now planning to return to Connecticut once they were free of Aro's will. He remembered Alice saying to him that Aro had no intention of taking his parents to Volterra, but he wasn't sure what she meant by that. He knew he had to trust Alice; she had been right so far about everything else, but he didn't want his parents walking blindly into danger, and when they were on the boat it would be two against five which he was not happy about.

Aro was waiting for him on the deck; his eyes now bright red whereas before they had been a dull maroon color.

"I understand Jasper has just changed your friend to prevent him from dying. Did he know before today that you were a vampire?" Aro asked this with an accusatory tone in his voice.

"I guess he did; he must have worked it out for himself though as I didn't tell him. Ace has an IQ of over 200, so nothing much gets past him. He lived in Italy when he was growing up, so maybe your family in Volterra are not as discreet as you think they are," Edward spat back.

"There have always been rumours about us, but we ensure there's no proof or witnesses."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter now. He's one of us, whatever that means."

"We have to protect our kind, Edward. Can you imagine the furore there would be if the human population had proof that fairy tales are really true and vampires do exist in the real world?"

"Yes, Aro. I get what you're saying, but you know and I know that my mother is no threat to our kind. According to your laws, Alec was more of a threat; raping and murdering his way across the country and other parts of the world. You're punishing the wrong people and you know it."

"That may be true, but I have to be seen to be strong, Edward. If I lose my grip on how vampires conduct themselves in society, we will, without doubt, be discovered and humans with power will seek to obliterate us. Mankind over the centuries has always destroyed anything it doesn't understand or cannot dominate. Self-preservation is a natural reaction and is totally understandable. We would be seen as a threat to the human species, as we have vastly superior powers and would be treated the same as if invaders from outer space had landed on the earth. We are in effect a 'master race', even though we are small in number. We would not be allowed to survive for long."

"I've never thought of myself as that, Aro. I'm still the same Edward Masen as before, who just wants to live quietly with his family. I'm not seeking to be a master of anyone."

"Yet you imposed your will over my son and destroyed him."

"Yes, my family did impose our collective will, because, Aro, it was for our self-preservation; a natural reaction as you have just agreed. He was a danger to me, to you, to Alice, to every vampire in existence. Look me in the eye, Aro, and tell me we did wrong. Knowing what you learned from Garrett, wouldn't you have done exactly the same thing in our shoes?"

Aro didn't say a word, but Edward was picking up his mood and he knew Aro was wavering, but he also knew he couldn't push it, so he kept quiet while Aro was debating what to do next.

Edward could clearly read what Aro's intentions were now and how dangerous it would be for his parents to be on the boat with him, but Alice had told him they would be fine so he had to let it go. He remained silent while Aro deliberated in his head what his next move would be and eventually he spoke.

"Much as I would like to stay longer in this beautiful spot, Edward, I think it's time we headed for the boat."

"So you're still intending taking my parents to Volterra."

"Only for a short while, just for my own peace of mind."

"I'll go and see if they're ready then," he said and walked upstairs to where Bella, Esme and Carlisle were finishing the packing.

"Aro says it's time to go. I'll take the Volvo so all four of us can travel to the marina together with the luggage."

"What about Aro and the others," Esme asked.

"They'll make their own way along the coast and will meet us there."

Bella wandered over to Edward and put her arms around him.

"Alice says everything will be fine, and we must trust her."

"I know," but I don't trust Aro," Edward whispered in her ear. "Any sign of Molly yet?"

"No, I've been calling her but she's probably too frightened to come back."

"I'm sorry, Bella. I know how much you love that cat."

Edward picked up the bags and carried them downstairs and out to the car and saw that Jasper had already loaded the blood supplies and some other items for the boat. Carlisle, Esme and Bella came out of the house and without speaking to Aro they took their seats in the car as Edward closed the trunk. Carlisle's eyes were fixed forward; he couldn't bear to look behind him at the house again as memories, good and bad, were coming back to him and he was feeling emotional. He'd done it; he'd walked out of the beach house, possibly for the last time.

Before he got in the car, Edward waved at Garrett and the remainder of his coven before they disappeared in a flash back towards New York. At the same time, the remaining members of the Guard went north to start the long journey back to Italy but without Aro this time. The only people that now remained on the beach were his family and the Volturi, plus the hidden bodies of nineteen Mafia who wouldn't be going anywhere ever again.

"I'll see you at the marina," Edward shouted to Aro, then slid in the car and powered the engine up. As he drove slowly towards the main road he was praying to God that Alice's foresight was accurate and he wasn't driving his parents towards a watery grave.

Brad's car was parked in a spot off the highway where from a high vantage point he had been watching the beach house for the past ten minutes. Using his binoculars he could just see the Volvo and the red and yellow Porsches parked by the house, but the Cherokee wasn't there and he was cursing his luck if the whole family had gone out for the day and he'd missed them. He couldn't stake out the house 24/7 or he would freeze to death, but he was determined to be there when they fell into the trap he'd laid for them as there would be no escaping. So he would sit in the cold for the next hour and wait to see if any of them emerged from the house and then he would follow them to make sure that this time luck wasn't on their side.

Brad was still technically on the run, but since the FBI had taken over his precinct he had been spotted several times by cops that he knew very well. They had turned a blind eye and pretended not to see him, even though an APB with his name on it was in force throughout Connecticut. The FBI was not popular in this part of the world at the moment and the agents had come up against difficult and uncooperative police officers during their investigations into corruption. There was a lot of sympathy among the ranks for Brad, and also for his two partners in crime, as most of the force didn't believe what they had been told by the FBI. The idea of cops being in the pay of the Mafia didn't ring true and Brad had been well-liked, so they pretended not to see him as he drove through the town that only a few days ago had been his personal playground. The two traffic cops had evaded capture by deciding to leave the state and start a new life elsewhere, rather than risk being caught and spending the next twenty years behind bars, but Brad was staying. He wanted to make a good impression for his new friends in the Mafia, especially Mario, and wiping out this family would be the first step towards being accepted into the Mafia Family, even though his ancestry was pure Irish and not Italian.

Brad turned the heater on for five minutes so he could feel his fingers again. He could see his breath in front of his face it was so cold. As he reluctantly turned the heater off he saw movement at the house and picked up his binoculars. He watched excitedly as Edward loaded some bags into the trunk of the Volvo, then he saw another male and two females getting into the car. He thought he saw other movements on the beach, but whatever it was moved so quickly that he couldn't decipher what was creating the strange blurring effect, so he dismissed it, putting it down to his brain cells freezing.

The Volvo had started to travel up the track and as it neared the main road he slumped down in his seat so he wouldn't be spotted. The Volvo reached the road junction and hesitated before turning left then accelerating away. Brad sat up in his seat and started the engine and slammed it into drive and put his foot down.

"Fingers crossed they're going where I hope they're going," Brad said aloud to himself. "You fucked my life up, Edward Masen, so I'm going to fuck up yours now!"

Bella was sitting up front with Edward and had her hand on his leg while he was driving. Every now and again Edward would take his right hand off the wheel and squeeze hers, or just touch it gently for some reassurance. His mom and dad were sitting behind them looking anxious. Carlisle had one arm around Esme's shoulders while gripping both of her hands with his other hand. This was the first time Esme had left the house or the beach since she was changed, apart from when she was kidnapped by Alec, and as she had been cut off from the outside world for the past nineteen years and had been practically house-bound for several years before that, this was her first foray out into the real world since Edward was about seven or eight years old.

Edward kept glancing in the rear-view mirror at his parents, trying to pick up on their thoughts, but his father was masking his intentions for the future by speaking to Esme about everything they were seeing. As well as watching his parents, Edward was also concentrating on the road ahead, so he wasn't able to pay any attention to what or who was behind him. In his mind the Mafia problem had been taken care of, therefore he didn't spot Brad's car following at a safe distance. As he approached the road that led to the marina, Edward was tempted to put his foot down and keep driving, but he knew how futile that would be. Aro's spies would find them eventually and that would be the end of their lives without question.

He slowed down and turned left into the narrow road that led to the marina, where they could see the masts of hundreds of yachts bobbing about on the water over the top of a line of trees. Edward drove to the entrance and tapped in the code that raised the security barrier, then drove into the parking lot, pulling up as near as possible to the wooden jetty that led to theirs and several other boats. Thankfully the marina was completely deserted as it was still early in the morning, and as it was four days before Christmas and everyone was either still at work or in the shops, theirs was the only car in the lot. He looked around for Aro and saw him walking through the tables of the cafe with the other four vampires and Edward thought how ridiculous he looked in his long flowing cloak and the others didn't look much better either.

Edward got out the car and walked round to the trunk and opened it. Carlisle joined him and picked up one of the bags and slung it over his shoulder.

"Which one is your boat?" Aro asked.

Carlisle pointed to the magnificent racing yacht moored near to the far end of the long jetty, wedged between two other impressive vessels.

"That one, second from the end and unnamed as yet," he said proudly then turned to face Bella, "but if Molly doesn't return, I'll call her Molly." He thought about that for a second. "Oh hang it, I'll call her Molly the Second anyway!" he added with a smile.

Bella flung her arms around Carlisle and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she said, her voice wavering. She was desperately hoping Molly would return once the vampires had gone but as time went on she feared the worst.

The car was unloaded and all nine of them were now standing on the jetty ready for the final farewells. Edward didn't want an audience when he said goodbye to his parents so he asked Carlisle for the keys to the boat. When Carlisle handed them over he tossed them at Aro.

"Do you mind; I would like to say goodbye to my parents in private?"

"Of course," Aro said. "My apologies, I wasn't thinking. Don't be too long though."

"I'll take as long as I want, Aro. And I'm not going to say 'it's been a pleasure', because it hasn't. I hope I don't see you again for a very long time."

Aro ignored Edward's cutting remark and turned his back on him and smirked, knowing that in a few hours' time his parents would be torn to shreds and their dismembered bodies would be scattered across the ocean floor. He strolled along the jetty towards the boat, stopping now and again to look at the other luxury yachts and cruisers, and his evil mind was sorry that he wouldn't be there to witness Edward's grief when he learned what had happened to his family.

Edward gathered his parents in his arms and hugged them tightly as Bella stood back and watched. Her heart was breaking for Edward as she knew how distraught he was that he was losing them so quickly. She was also desperately concerned for their safety as she didn't trust Aro one inch. How Edward was going to watch them sail away she didn't know. Vampires couldn't cry, but she doubted whether he would he would be able to hold it together when the boat finally disappeared from view.

All the time Aro had been in the house she had been tempted to give him a piece of her mind, but Alice had pleaded with her not to antagonise him so she had kept her mouth shut and kept out of his way, but she truly hated him with every fibre of her being. On the one hand she didn't want to say goodbye to Edward's parents, on the other she wanted Aro gone and out of her life for good. That moment was now and she was fearful that Edward might lose it and do something dangerous.

Brad parked his car in the street leading to the marina and hurriedly jogged the rest of the way to the entrance where he ducked under the unmanned barrier and walked the short distance to the parking lot. He hid amongst some bushes where he had a good view of the Volvo and its occupants who had just got out of the car and were unloading the contents of the trunk onto the jetty. He had only seen Edward in the flesh before, but it was obvious who the other three were. The family were obviously preparing to go on a long journey but he was disappointed that Jasper and Alice weren't with them, but his plan was working out even better than he'd anticipated; four out of six wasn't bad for his first attempt. He could deal with the other two later, maybe at Edward's funeral. He patted his pocket just to ensure his gun was there, even though he wasn't planning on using it today.

As he was watching Edward talking to his parents, five other people turned up; four men and one woman, all wearing unusual clothing and moving in a strange way. They came over and talked to Edward, so Brad presumed they owned one of the other yachts and were just being polite.

The five strangers eventually walked up the jetty and stood next to where Carlisle's boat was moored. As Brad watched Edward hugging his parents, it became obvious to him that this was not the start of a family outing at all; Edward was saying goodbye to his parents and it looked to him as though only those two and the five strangers were getting on the yacht.

"Holy Fuck," Brad muttered under his breath, then he slunk away back to his car to get as much distance as possible from the marina before the shit hit the fan.

Aro stood impatiently at the end of the jetty, watching and listening to Edward's heartfelt farewell to his parents. Aro was content now with his decision not to be lenient; Edward needed teaching a lesson because he refused to accept him as the supreme ruler of all the vampires on the planet, so a show of force was what was needed to remind him who was boss.

He would have killed Edward and Jasper too, but Garrett's testimony about Alec in front of Didier meant that he had no lawful reason to do this at present and even though he was head of the Guard, he needed to be seen to be acting within his own laws. The Guard had recently been showing signs of discontent, and one of the ringleaders had been made an example of in front of them just before he left Italy, but he didn't want to give them any more reasons to be antagonistic towards him as collectively they were dangerous.

Now he just wanted to get going and finish what he planned to do when he left Italy, which was to dispose of Esme, and Carlisle as a bonus, so he could inform the residents of Volterra that he had personally dealt with the dangerous problem of an uncontrollable vampire. He would tell them that Esme had attacked humans without discretion on the journey to Italy and therefore couldn't be trusted to keep their secret and because of his action in killing her and her troublesome husband, they were all safe again. He also planned, with Caius and Marcus's help, to dispose of Didier on the journey as well, as he was getting too powerful. He planned to blame his death on Carlisle and Esme, but he would wait for an opportune moment to kill him, as Didier was the only one who would be able to sail the boat back to land after he'd killed Carlisle.

Edward was still clinging to his parents desperately, not wanting to let go as he feared for them.

"I want you to come back," he was pleading. "I love you both so much; please don't make this our last goodbye," he begged.

"Edward, I'll let you know what our intentions are when we leave Italy; is that acceptable? I promise I'll contact you as soon as we're back on the boat."

Edward nodded his head and wrapped his arms around them both even tighter.

"Mom, dad, be on your guard the whole time," Edward whispered. "I still don't trust Aro."

"I promise we will, son. Don't worry about us."

"Hurry up!," Aro shouted.

"You've got the keys," Edward shouted back furiously. "Do something useful for a change and open up the cabin; we need to load the luggage and the blood supplies before you sail."

Aro walked forward to climb onto the boat first. As he wasn't wearing suitable deck shoes and the boat was moving about in the water quite vigorously, Didier held his arm as he put his foot onto the wet and slippery surface, then Didier cautiously followed him on board. Aro was still hanging on to him as he went to take the first step down towards the cabin, the keys still in his hand. As he dropped his foot onto the step he fell forward and cracked his head on the cabin door handle as his foot had caught on a length of wire that was stretched across the top of the steps. Aro cried out as he fell and the other four vampires rushed forward to assist their master, who was now glaring furiously at Edward as though he had laid a trap to make him look stupid on purpose.

Carlisle and Esme were hugging Bella while Edward picked up the heavy cardboard box containing the blood supplies and was walking along the jetty when they heard Aro shriek as he fell over on the boat. Edward was trying valiantly to stop himself laughing out loud as he watched the others rush forward to help him get up, when there was a brilliant flash of light followed instantly by a shock wave that hit Edward full on, blowing him off his feet and throwing him backwards. He finished up almost at the top of the jetty, flat on his back with the box of blood on top of his face and chest. A second later the boat exploded into a thousand pieces and as he lay prostrate on the ground, he felt a blast of intense heat roar over him.

His fingers were still clutching the box and they were scorched by the blast, but the box had luckily acted as a protective barrier and had saved his face and hair from being burnt by the scorching air. As he lay on his back, he could feel the heat burning his feet through the soles of his shoes and he knew he had to get up and away as fast as possible. He pushed the box from his chest and sprang upright and was greeted with the site of an inferno raging through the wreckage of his father's boat. Flames were shooting high in the air and obliterating the shape of what was left of the hull and black smoke was billowing from where the cabin used to be. As he backed away from the heat, wondering what the hell had just happened, he was showered with sharp fragments from the hull that were now falling like rain onto the jetty and the surrounding boats, embedding themselves into anything in their path.

As he stared into the heart of the fire, he could see shapes moving amongst the flames followed by the horrific sight of five blazing vampires staggering off the boat, vainly trying to pull their burning clothes away from their bodies whilst screaming in agony. Instead of jumping into the water, which is what he would have done, they lurched towards him, their melting faces a picture of rage, bewilderment and fear; their burning arms outstretched towards him as though they were trying to reach him, either desperately seeking help or to exact revenge, he didn't know which. Edward backed away from the firey figures as they staggered closer, then one by one they collapsed onto the jetty just a few feet away from where he was standing and slowly disintegrated before his eyes.

Edward could hear Bella behind him trying to calm Esme, now that they could see through the smoke that he was safe. He also sensed that Carlisle had come up behind him and together they watched the supremely satisfying sight of Aro and his brothers, and Monique and Didier, turn into five piles of smouldering ash in less than a few minutes. When the flames had died down, Edward walked forward and bent over one of the piles of ash and using one of Carlisle's gloves, he carefully picked out the boat keys that Aro had still been clutching in his hand when he collapsed on the ground. They were still hot from the fire so he waved them about in the air for a moment and blew away traces of the fine powder before dropping them into his pocket.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day," Carlisle commented dryly. "Bit of a bugger really; Esme quite fancied going to Italy."

"I hope the boat was insured, dad," Edward responded with a hint of humour in his voice. "Can't wait to see what you put on the claim form!"

Carlisle chuckled then stroked his chin as he thought about the implications of what had just happened.

"The Guard is going to be a bit put out though." Carlisle commented, sounding slightly worried. "This might take a bit of explaining away."

"Hopefully they won't find out for a while. They're well on their way north by now, so when Aro doesn't turn up in Volterra, maybe they'll all have a party to celebrate."

Carlisle went back to make sure Esme was okay as Bella came along the jetty and put her arms around Edward then kissed his fingers one by one where they had been scorched by the heat.

"So Alice was right all along. I wonder if this is what she saw. If so, I don't know how she kept it from us all this time."

"She probably did see this. She said humans were involved, so I'm wondering whether the Mafia were responsible for this as well. I don't suppose we'll ever find out who rigged the boat though."

"Does this mean we can live our lives as we want to now, without the fear of retribution from the Volturi all the time?"

"I hope so, Bella. We must still be careful though or we'll be treated like freaks, but I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders now that Aro is no more. It also means that I've got my parents for a bit longer and maybe dad will reconsider leaving, now that the threat from Aro has gone and they've nothing to sail away in. If so, then all this grief we've been through over the past few months has been worthwhile."

Carlisle had found a broom that was propped up near the cafe and he handed it to Edward with a broad grin on his face.

"Would you like to do the honors?" he asked.

"With pleasure," Edward replied, and took the broom from his hand, and in a few swift movements, the ashes of the five vampires, which included the three 'brothers' who had ruled the Volturi with an iron fist for the past two thousand years, were either floating in the sea or had been blown away by the wind.

"Fucking Good Riddance," Edward called out to Aro's spirit as he made the final sweep of the broom.

"Edward!" Esme said reprovingly, and they all burst out laughing.

Bye bye Aro!

I hope you enjoyed the demise of the Three Amigos. I thought it was about time someone finished them off - Way to Go, Brad ! (If only he knew what he'd done). Hahaha.

We're coming to the end of the story (29 chapters and an Epilogue), but there is still some more excitement to come. Bella is going to have a nice surprise in the next chapter; she needs a bit of a cheering up.

Joan xx