Chapter 28

I awoke wrapped Edward's big body. His breathing was even, letting me know he was still asleep. I looked at the clock on the night stand and saw that it was 5:40 in the morning.

Gently removing myself from his arms, I did my morning business in the bathroom and headed downstairs after checking on Erin.

Making my way to the kitchen, I decided to take inventory of the food we had available. Opening the fridge, I was surprised by it being fully stocked.

"Felix made a grocery run last night after you guys called it a night," a voice stated from behind me, causing me to jump out of my skin. I turned swiftly, and Alex stepped from the shadows. I wondered if he had been there when I walked in.

"Nessie made a list of things she knew we would need to hold us for a few days." He moved and sat on a barstool situated at the island in the middle of the kitchen. He took a casual sip from his mug; I assumed it was coffee.

"Any more of that?" I asked him politely. He motioned his head towards a counter where a Keurig sat.

"The cups are in the drawer below it."

As my cup of cappuccino brewed, I observed Alex. He was boyishly handsome, but there was something just beneath his surface that let me know this man was dangerous. He gave off a predatory vibe that was different from Felix and Dem, almost like they were trained and he was born this way. He moved quick and quiet like a cat, a skill I was sure served him well in his line of work. And I was no idiot; I was happy he was on my side, but he did unnerve me.

His back was to me as I watched him. He suddenly chuckled and said, "Why do I scare you so much? I can practically feel fear vibrating off of you." He turned and pinned me with his blue eyes.

"You kinda remind me of my father….I mean Charlie," I admitted quietly. "You move like him. But it's more than that. Charlie had this quality to him that set him apart from other men; it was obvious he was lethal. He scared me silly as a child. He was my first bully." I picked up my cup and moved towards the island. "I'm not sure if the mental instability was a result of military service or if he was born a sociopath, but either way, he all but destroyed my childhood. So it's not really you, but more of who you remind me of."

Understanding flashed in his eyes. "I've lost a lot of my brothers to their own minds. War has a way of breaking some men. The worst thing is when a highly trained soldier is released into civilian life and no one catches the signs that he needs help. Or even worse, a mentally unstable person is given a skill set that they shouldn't have. It was easier for men like that to slip through the cracks a few decades ago; now the mental evaluations are a little more thorough."

I took a sip of the hot liquid, and we sat in silence for a moment. "I know you are not like him, it's just the familiarity of how you carry yourself. It made a lot of sense that I wasn't his child; he didn't love me at all."

He looked at me and stated, "Be happy he needed you alive, Bella. If Charlie was anything like me, skill wise and as unstable as I am hearing, then you are lucky to be alive."

"I've gathered as much," I responded truthfully. "I remember I was in my room once as a kid, and I looked up and he was standing in my door staring at me with this look on his face. It was…..scary. He had a rope in his hands. We just stared at one another. I remember being terrified for some reason….the hair on my arms was on end, my heart was pounding. Then he just turned and walked away. I didn't sleep for weeks." My voice trembled a bit on the end, thinking about that day. "I mean, he didn't do anything, but I had this feeling…." I trailed off

"That feeling was your instincts telling you to flee, that something was wrong," Alex informed me. "Humans tend to ignore it. That feeling in your gut when you are walking and you feel someone watching you. Animals still have their basic primitive nature about them and man… well, we have abandoned our baser instincts." He sat his cup down. "When this is over, Bella, I will deal with Charlie. You have my word, but let's tackle one asshole at a time." He chuckled, putting me at ease.

I sat down my cup. "How about I get breakfast started." He hummed in agreement.

Pulling out the ingredients, I set about making buttermilk biscuits, scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. As I prepped the food, Felix walked in the kitchen followed shortly by a man I didn't recognize.

"Bella, this here is our man, Liam; he got in after you turned in." The man in question was ruggedly handsome and about 6'2. He had red hair and green eyes that had a twinkle in them.

"Ahhh, so this is our little trouble maker." He grinned at me, teasingly. His voice had a bit of an accent, not heavy, but it was there. He immediately put me at ease with his demeanor which was a lot like Demetri's. Erin was gonna love him. Another troublemaker.

As if he was reading my mind, he chuckled. "I heard that little lass of your is gonna be great fun."

I groaned and Felix snickered. "Yeah, that kid has been corrupted by Dem in a bad way."

A slim but muscular dark haired woman joined us. Her eyes were dark, and her hair hung to the middle of her back. She had full pouty lips and a long graceful neck; she was stunning. "It's 6:30 in the morning. What are you jackasses doing up already?" She walked towards the counter and eyed me closely. "Bella, I presume. Hmmm." She looked me up and down then walked away abruptly.

"And that barrel of sunshine is Siobhan," Felix stated sarcastically.

"Fuck you, Felix."

"No thanks, I'm never that desperate."

"Hey, now, kids. Behave yourselves. No hair pulling until after breakfast," Liam snorted out at the bickering duo who were busy staring daggers at one another. Alex was chuckling quietly to himself.

I decided to finish breakfast to get out of the line of fire.

As I fried the potatoes and bacon while the biscuits were in the oven, Edward walked in wearing sleep pants and a white undershirt. He looked adorably rumpled, and I knew he was looking for coffee. I almost giggled out loud at the look on his face as he searched the kitchen for a coffee pot.

I noticed Siobhan perk up at the sight of him, and my hackles rose.

"Well, good morning. I don't think we've met", she purred out flirtatiously and walked up to him with her hand out. "I'm Siobhan."

Edward's eyebrow rose and he replied evenly, shaking her hand. "I'm Edward." Backing away from her, he walked towards me and kissed me lightly on the lips. "Good morning."

"Huh, I never would've guessed that," I heard Siobhan spit out, her meaning perfectly clear.

"Excuse me?" Edward asked incredulously.

"I wouldn't guess you to be into men. I mean, he is pretty and all, but he is still a man," she stated matter-of-factly.

All movement in the kitchen stopped. Felix mumbled, "Unbelievable."

Edward looked me in the eyes, trying to read my reaction, but, honestly, I was so used to prejudice that Siobhan words didn't faze me.

"Actually, she is not a man," Tanya's voice came through loud and clear. "Not that anyone here owes you an explanation, but Bella was born intersex, with more female chromosomes than male. Her asshole father made a decision that she later rectified."

I turned to see my best friend standing there in all her strawberry blonde glory with her hands on her hips, Demetri trailing behind her. All I could think was, 'Awww,hell, here we go.'

"Hey!" I called out before this got ugly. "T, you are right. I don't owe anyone a thing, and I'm not going to explain myself to every person who has a warped idea about who or what I am. She is entitled to her opinion - who cares." I turned to Siobhan. "But he," I pointed to Edward, "is off limits. You have a problem with me, fine, keep it to yourself. I'm paying you for protection, not your world views."

She raised her eyebrow at us before laughing and looked at T. "Oh, yes. Tanya. Demetri's mistake."

Tanya's head whipped around like she was Linda Blair from the exorcist and was charging Siobhan before I could react. Alex, however, caught her mid-stride and yelled out, "That's enough!"

"I told you guys bringing them in was a bad idea," Felix said in an 'I told you so' voice.

Demetri looked at Siobhan coldly before stating bluntly. "Bella is like a sister to me and, as if attacking one of my best friends isn't bad enough, you go after my wife as well, and you've been here all of two seconds."

Liam tried to interrupt him, seeing as the scene was getting out of hand. But Demetri raised his hand up to silence him. He continued staring down Siobhan.

"You have a problem with me, fine, but don't you ever refer to my wife as a 'mistake' again. We," he gestured between her and himself, "are not friends. We are barely acquaintances. You don't get to have an opinion about my life. I would suggest you concentrate on the job at hand instead of insulting the very person who will be issuing you a check when this is all over. Last I heard, you could really, really use the money right now." He said the last part with a condescending tone, so I was sure there was a story there.

Siobhan turned red in the face and glared at Liam before muttering, "Whatever," and storming from the kitchen.

"Damn, D." Liam groaned. "Did you have to go there? She's gonna tell Mags, who is gonna give me shit about it."

"I couldn't care less who she tells, no one, and I mean no fucking body, talks to my wife like that," Demetri countered unapologetically. "She needs to learn how to behave; she's a fucking bitch."

Alex snickered, "Who is mad that you didn't pick her."

That caught Tanya's attention. "What?" She looked right at Demetri.

"Siobhan made a play for Dem when you guys were broken up….well, he didn't take the bait, but she tried," Felix answered, laughing. "Real damn hard, I might add."

"Why didn't I know about this?" Tanya seethed.

"Because she was interested. I wasn't. There was nothing to tell." Demetri gave Felix a look that I could tell meant 'shut the hell up'.

I was still cooking, but it was something about the way Felix sounded just then that raised my suspicions about how he really felt about the raven haired PI. I looked at T and caught her eye. She raised her eyebrow letting me know we were thinking the same thing.

Edward was sipping coffee and watching me cook. I knew he was trying to discern if I was okay, and I really was. That was a piece of cake compared to some of the things that had been said and done to me once my secret came out the first time. I had grown a pretty thick skin.

I smiled at him to let him know I was fine. Jake and Nessie joined us just as I was removing the bacon from the pan. After a few more minutes, all the food was done and everyone went about making plates. I figured Erin would sleep in, and I would make her some "eggy bread" when she woke up.

As everyone ate, a gorgeous woman entered the kitchen. She was a replica of Siobhan, except her hair was in a chin length bob and she was slightly shorter. They shared the same coloring and facial structure. She looked a little peeved, but was quiet as she sat beside Liam.

"Hello, I am Maggie," she greeted everyone. Her smile was tight and didn't quite reach her eyes, but at least she wasn't being a raging bitch like her sister.

"Hi, Maggie, I'm Bella. Thank you for coming." I decided to play nice. It wasn't her fault her sister decided to make things awkward.

She leveled me with an appraising gaze before answering tersely, "You're welcome." I saw Jake and Nessie exchange a glance, confused by the tension.

As we ate, Alex explained that they would be leaving at about 11 to start the job. They had a few hours to go over the plan, and then they would try to find Laurent and Irina. Jake had divulged that Laurent was like a vampire and did his dirty work at night. They would have the element of surprise if he was caught during the daytime hours.

Erin woke at about 8:45, and I made her breakfast.

She saw the two new women but made no move to introduce herself. Tanya smirked at that.

Edward was given a handgun as a precaution after he showed Jake that he could handle one. Maggie and Siobhan were given a rundown of the safe house, which included the emergency exits and all the defenses the place had.

The guys went over the plan; they would get Irina first, for obvious reasons. She was the easier target, and they needed her phone to draw out and trap Laurent.

I saw Jake staring at Nessie before he said, "Guys, I'm really leery about leaving five women… and Edward… here alone while we all leave for this little excursion."

Maggie bristled and Siobhan snorted while Felix laughed and patted Jake on the back. "Those two women are probably the most dangerous ones in this room because they are always the ones people underestimate. Trust me, dude. They are in great hands." He looked at the two women in question. "Don't let those pretty faces fool you. I've seen them in action. I've seen plenty men go down by their hands. Besides no one even knows they are here. Liam has been watching the texts."

Siobhan looked shocked that Felix came to their defense, but masked her surprise quickly. Jake decided to take Felix's word for it and began to get ready with the guys.

Hopefully, this would all be over tomorrow.

AN: Thank YOU Annaharding! My pre reader is all kinds of awesome. Siobhan is causing some friction. I mean there was bound to be ONE a-hole in the group right.