Chapter 35 - I Think They'll Call It

EPOV

I watched her walk away, watched Felix walk after her, and watched them both walk out of sight. It was strange, but the second she was away from me I felt anxious. I tried not to tense too much, my sister was still fast asleep beneath my arm and I was enjoying her silence far too much to run the risk of disturbing her.

I saw Emmett eyeing me studiously. "What?" I sighed.

"Nothing, just wondering how you're ever going to convince Bella to take the trip down the aisle. She doesn't seem as keen as you do," he snickered and my mom shot him a warning look. "Hey, I'm just pointing out the obvious."

"I've got a plan, don't you worry about that." I laughed. "I'll need all the help I can get, but still, it might just work."

"Ooh, what is it?" Mom trilled excitedly.

"It's top secret. I have one co-conspirator and that's all I'm saying." I winked and refused to say another word, much to my mother's irritation.

I was still feeling off somehow and I considered calling Bella to check she was okay. Not wanting to appear insane and overbearing, I settled on sending her a text instead. We enjoyed a few minutes of banter and I relaxed.

"Jeez, Edward, let the poor girl take a piss in peace." Art rolled his eyes. "We're supposed to act cool around the chicks, remember?"

"Are you kidding me? Art, the eternal bachelor is giving relationship advice to a guy who lives with, and is engaged to the perfect girl? I think we've got a bit of a role reversal going on here," I joked and Art conceded.

"Fair point. But harassing her while she's in the bathroom is still lame, man."

We continued to chat about the wedding, and Emmett and Rose's honeymoon. They were heading over to Saint-Bart's on Monday morning for two weeks R&R. I could have done with some myself. The fortnight away with Bella was something I was looking forward to, but that holiday was also part of my plan so we wouldn't be going just yet.

Not that I was counting or anything, but it had been fourteen minutes since Bella's last text and there was no sign of her or Felix. I frowned and sent her another message.

Thought you were going to be back quickly?

No reply. I left it for a few minutes before trying again.

Bella, are you okay?

Still nothing. I forgot about seeming overbearing and called her. It rang and rang before tripping to her voice mail so I hung up. I scoured around the room looking for any sign of her or Felix, but the lobby was deserted.

"Edward, what's wrong?" my dad asked.

"Bella's been in the bathroom ages. I've tried calling her but she's not answering. I'm going to try Felix." I dialled his number and that went straight to voice mail. Now I was officially worried.

"I'll go check she's not sick." Mom smiled and stood up. "Or she might just be talking to someone. Try not to worry, Edward."

I moved Caitlyn onto the couch carefully, but she didn't flinch so I stood and followed after Mom. As soon as we rounded the corner and approached the door she held out her hand and stopped me.

"Edward, wait outside, it's the ladies room, okay?" She opened the door slightly and then stopped. "Oh, the lights are off. She must have used a different bathroom."

"No, I saw her and Felix walk over here." I started to ring her again, remaining outside the door.

There was no sign of Bella, Felix, or anyone at all. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, and I willed her to answer. From inside the bathroom I could hear a noise; a cell phone ringing, and as Bella's number cut to voice mail again, the sound from the bathroom stopped. I immediately rang her again and the sound resumed. I looked at my mother and pushed through the door.

I flicked on the light switch and heard my mom gasp. The first thing I saw was Bella's purse on the counter, and then, as I let my gaze drop, I noticed what had scared my mom.

Blood.

Blood on the edge of the counter and a small, smudged puddle on the floor. I stepped forward and ran my fingertips over the drop on the floor and found it was still wet. I looked down at my reddened fingers and I froze in horror.

"Oh my God," I heard my mother choke, and then she streaked out of the bathroom shouting for help.

I was helpless. I had no idea what to do, so I just stood looking at the blood, and tried to imagine what the hell had happened to Bella.

James Hunter.

The thoughts that raced through my mind were unbearable, so I turned and flung open the door. I barged past Emmett and Art who were approaching, and sprinted outside to the concierge.

"Have you seen anyone leave here…within the last twenty minutes? A girl, dark hair, and wearing a long pink dress?" I shouted loud enough to draw the attention of anyone passing by. Even at this late hour there were people walking in front of the hotel and they all looked to see what was going down.

The man looked startled at my aggression and he nodded. "Yes, Sir, maybe ten or fifteen minutes ago. The lady was accompanied by her husband and he asked for their car to be brought around to the front."

"What did he look like?" I asked, although I already knew. The bastard had gotten to her, he'd taken her while I'd been sitting not a hundred yards away laughing and joking with my family.

"Tall, muscular, and fair hair. I didn't really notice much else. I was more concerned with the young lady." He looked at me and sighed.

"Why, what was wrong with her?" I felt sick, it rose up in waves and I almost couldn't get out the words, the bile was burning my throat.

"Well, Sir, she did seem dazed. He had her wrapped up in his coat and was having to take most of her weight. He said she'd had far too much to drink and taken a heavy fall. I noticed that she had quite a nasty cut on her head, and I offered to call him an ambulance. The gentleman declined and said he could get her to the hospital quicker. I helped put his wife into the passenger seat and then they left." He looked behind me and I felt someone approach. "I'm sorry, Sir, I didn't think...I mean I..."

"Edward." My mother's voice sounded in my ear and her hand gripped my shoulder. "We've called the police, they're on their way to the hotel, and your father is with the manager now. They're trying to see if they can get anything from the security footage."

"Where the fuck is Felix?" I spat. "For Christ's sake, he was with her, wasn't he? How the fucking hell did he get into the bathroom and out again without Felix noticing?"

I was losing it, quickly unravelling in sheer panic. I didn't know what to do and I almost set off on foot onto the street when I felt another hand on my arm.

"Edward. Let's go inside, okay? If she left in a car then you're not going to find her by running all over Manhattan. We've got the registration, we'll find her. Come on inside, yeah?" Emmett pulled me along, and I didn't fight him.

I made a move back to the toilets again, drawn back there, trying to find something that might tell me what he was doing. As I went to walk through the door Art stopped me.

"Edward, don't go back in there, it's just going to fuck with your head...seeing that again. The police are coming, they might be able to find something else and us traipsing back and forth won't help." He put his arm across me and blocked my path.

"What the fuck do I do, Art?" My eyes were burning and my heart was racing. I was terrified, more scared than I had ever been in my life and there was nothing I could think to do. I knew I should call Alice, Angela, and even her father, but what would I say? "Oh hey, guys, guess what? James has taken Bella from right under my fucking nose and judging by the blood in the bathroom, I think she's hurt. I'm standing around waiting around for the cops to show up so I can explain to them that because of me he's got to her."

Art shook his head despairingly. "Sorry, Edward. I don't fucking know what to say or do."

I was hit with a wave of nausea, the men's room was directly opposite the ladies, and I only just made it to one of the stalls before I was sick. I knelt over the toilet and squeezed my eyes shut tightly forcing the tears to run down my face. No one followed me and I appreciated the space, I was falling apart and I wasn't doing anyone, least of all Bella, any good like this. As I knelt there, I noticed my knees were damp. I glanced down and saw the white tiled floor covered in something thick and red.

More blood.

I stood tentatively and called out to Art as I glanced under the door and followed the pool. A few stalls down the door was closed. With my heart in my mouth and my stomach in knots, I pushed open the door. I couldn't bear to look but I had to see.

"Oh…what…oh...shit..."

Art saw the body of Felix slumped on the toilet before I did and as I focused on his crumpled body, I breathed a huge sigh of relief, because it wasn't Bella. The reason for the blood was apparent quickly enough, his throat had been so deeply cut, that his head was almost severed from his shoulders. I looked into his eyes, they were glassy and empty and I immediately felt a brief pang of guilt for the feeling of relief but I couldn't keep hold of it for long. I was too preoccupied with Bella to think about anyone else.

"Edward, are you okay? Mom sent me in here to ch...Jesus fucking Christ, is that…is that Felix?" Emmett looked on in horror. "Shit. What the hell? What the fuck is he going to do to...?" He backed out of the bathroom and I heard him shouting for my father.

"Come on, Edward. Let's go." Art tried to pull me back but something sticking out from Felix's front jacket pocket caught my attention. "What are you doing? You can't touch him, Edward. Stop it, oh, shit."

I ignored Art's protests and stepped closer, careful to not step in any blood or move the body at all. I reached over and pulled the note out and looked down at an envelope with my name on the front.

I didn't open it at first. I just held it, my hands shaking. I was too scared to read it, I knew who it was from and didn't want to hear what he had to say. He would be gloating, make no mistake about it, he would want to rub it in that he had got to her, he would mock me for ever letting her out of my sight. I scrunched up the envelope and felt something solid dig into my finger. There was something else inside the envelope, I could feel it through the paper and it didn't take a genius to work out what it was. I removed it carefully from the envelope and felt tears sting my eyes again. Bella's ring was staring back at me, the diamond sparkled in the lights from the ceiling and I squeezed my hand tightly around it, feeling the cut of the diamond pressing into the palm of my hand. I snatched at the letter and read it. If I was scared beforehand then there were no words to convey how I felt afterwards.

Edward,

First of all I should commend you on your attempt to protect Isabella. After the incident in Los Angeles I quickly realised I would have to rethink my strategy. You took no chances with her and for almost three months I couldn't get close to her. The few times I did your very capable employees almost caught me. Please apologise to your brother and newly acquired sister-in-law, it is with regret that I had to tarnish their special day. However, I have spent seven years waiting for her and I have grown tired of her games. She is mine, mine alone, and you had no right to try and claim her with that ring. I understand how you are feeling, it is the most painful thing I have ever experienced being without Isabella, but you took something that never belonged to you and this is your punishment.

I should warn you not to bother trying to find us. I have no intention of ever letting her go again and in one last act of generosity I thought I would give you back the ring, something you can keep hold of which belonged to her. Something to remember her by, because I swear on my life and hers, Edward Cullen, you will never see her again. I am taking her home and I am taking her home tonight.

I dropped the letter, watched as it fell to the floor and then I was overwrought with every single emotion that was running through my body. I felt my right arm rise up, and as if under its own command, it began to rain down punches on one of the toilet doors…again and again. The rage was oozing from my body, down my arm and out through my fist. Over and over I hit the door. To his credit, Art stood by and let me do it, not once trying to intervene, knowing that I had to vent this; I had to let it out. After at least twenty punches my fist went straight through the wood and tore a gash in my arm. The sight of my blood soothed the rage and then the searing pain from my battered fist pushed away what remained. It was a mess, there were cuts all over my knuckles, some of which, had pieces of wood protruding from my skin. I could feel the dull ache and noticed the immediate swelling; it was obvious that I had broken something. The cut on my arm was bleeding but it wasn't too bad, but then again, it could have been a severed artery in my wrist and I wouldn't have cared.

Nothing mattered, I'd lost her. His words were, "You will never see her again." and I believed him with every part of my body. He thought of Bella as his and I had no idea where to even start looking for him.

"Are you done?" Art asked softly. "Come on, Edward, outside, yeah? The police are probably going to be here by now and that hand is a fucking mess. You need to get it cleaned up." He motioned for me to follow and I did.

As soon as we stepped outside I was faced with my mother who looked frightened to death. "Emmett said Felix was d...d...dead in there?"

I nodded. "It's James for sure, Mom. There's a note in the bathroom and he took this off her finger." I bit my lip and opened my good hand to reveal Bella's ring. "I've lost her, haven't I?"

My mother's face crumpled and she began to cry. Art wrapped his arm around her. No one answered. What could they say? Nothing. A big, fat, fucking nothing. We stood there in silence, I could see people hovering, obviously aware something was going on but no idea what it was. It was like being part of some lame television show, with hysterical family members running around screaming but not actually achieving anything. If only we could get the ending they did. If that was the case then any minute now the heroic boyfriend would have an epiphany as to where the kidnappers would have taken the love of his life and he would save her single-handedly.

"Excuse me."

I looked around and recognised the detectives who had dealt with Bella's complaint a few months ago. Detective Solbakken, and the junior of the two, Detective Fisher, from the Major Case Squad. I remember being quite impressed at Charlie's ability to pull in the big guns. They had been pretty damn good when we made the initial complaint, they did everything they could considering the piss poor laws in place to protect Bella. Now though, I was angry. Just like Sarah had warned, there was nothing the law could do until after he'd done something to her. Now look where we were. They glanced down at my bloodied fist and then back up to my face. As with all people who dealt with emergency situations, they tried to lace their voice with compassion but their faces were hard. The years of dealing with this kind of thing was preventing them from matching their tone with a sympathetic expression. I wasn't judging them, I was sure they had seen more than enough horror during their career that they had built up somewhat of a resistance to fucked up situations like this.

"Mr. Cullen, I assure you we will do everything we can to find Ms. Swan," Detective Solbakken spoke first. "Is the body of her minder in there?"

I nodded and moved away. "Yeah, the dead person is in the bathroom and will still be dead in twenty-four hours. Don't worry about my fucking fiancée who is God knows where with the crazed fucking lunatic she asked you to protect her from. Does this class as 'threatening' behaviour now, huh? Snatching her, hurting her and then slitting some poor bastard's throat?" I looked at them in disgust and walked away.

My father was standing close to Seth and Garrett, watching me walk towards them—their faces fraught with worry. The night had completely turned on its head, going from a wonderful evening to an absolute nightmare in one short hour. I could still hear my mother's quiet sobs, Art remained at her side, just helping to calm her down.

"Come on, son, let me have a look at your hand?" My dad placed his hand on my shoulder and slowly pushed me down on to a chair. He raised my hand up and looked at it closely. "You've made a mess of this, Edward. You need to go to the hospital. You've got some deep lacerations and with the amount of swelling already, I wouldn't be surprised if you've broken your wrist as well as some fingers."

"I'm not going anywhere. I don't give a shit about my hand, Dad." I shook my head in disgust and raced over and over things in my mind. Where would he go? What would he do? It didn't matter what I asked, what I thought, I was too far gone to think constructively. "I have to go and look for her."

"Look where, Edward?" Dad stood as I did and looked at me sadly. "Where would you even start to look for her?"

"I'll scour the streets of Manhattan if I have to, but I can't just fucking sit here, Dad. I need to help her." I pleaded at him to understand and let me go.

"Edward, you're no good to her like this. Let the police do their job. We can go and talk to them and see what they've already got set in motion. He's never hurt her before Edward. You told me that. What's to say he's going to do it this time?"

"He's never slit anyone's throat before, Dad. He's never kidnapped her before and he left a note saying I'd never see her again. He's lost it and I'm scared to fucking death." I sat back down and pulled at my hair desperately.

Dad sat beside me again but didn't say anything. Seth and Garrett were lingering close by and Emmett was consoling Rosalie who looked distraught. "Where's Caitlyn?" I asked. She was nowhere to be seen.

"She's gone with Seth's parents. I didn't want her to be down here when they brought Felix out of the bathroom," Dad answered quietly. "We've not told her too much, I don't think she should know just yet."

"Mr. Cullen." The detectives were back and they looked at me waiting for me to give them my attention. "I understand how you feel. We always hoped it would never come to this, but now that it has, we need to focus all our efforts on getting Ms. Swan back. We have his registration and a trace out on the vehicle. There has been a city wide alert issued, and the Port Authority Police are issuing bus and rail terminals, tollbooths, and airports under their jurisdiction with a photograph of Ms. Swan and the suspect." The senior detective knelt in front of me. "Your arm is bleeding heavily, Sir. Take yourself to the hospital, get it sorted out, and then come straight back. We will keep you informed of every update as soon as we receive them. Please, Sir, let us do our job."

"Edward, listen to him and go to the hospital. Emmett and I can come with you, and then as soon as you're done we'll go and look for her. We'll search all night, all of us, and I promise you, we will find her," my dad begged.

I looked down at my hand and winced as I tried to close my fingers. It was bleeding heavier than I thought and fragments of the door were still embedded in my knuckles.

Everyone got involved and basically railroaded me into agreeing. "I'll give them twenty minutes to take care of it and then I'm gone." I stood up and said to Detective Solbakken, "Please, please find her."

My dad wrapped a small towel around my arm to stem the bleeding and then walked me to the doors. With the wedding of my brother and Rose, and the commotion from inside the hotel, the paparazzi were out in force and they descended upon us the second we left the security of the main door.

"Edward, what's going on? Where are you going? Edward? Emmett? How was the wedding? Where's your wife? What happened to your hand?"

We were being pushed and shoved as we fought our way to the car the hotel had provided. No one answered, no one even acknowledged their presence, and we just climbed into the car in silence.

"We'll take you to Presbyterian, I know the Chief in the ER, he'll make sure you get discretion," my dad mused and then told the driver where to take us.

I looked up at Emmett, he looked worried. Dad looked worried. Mom and Rose had looked broken, and Art, Seth, and Garrett looked resigned. I knew what they were thinking...we were too late...deep down I knew it too. I was beginning to feel the rage building up again as we arrived at the hospital. "I shouldn't be here, Dad. Who gives a fuck about my hand when he's out there doing God knows what to Bella? I should be out there looking for her."

"Edward, I have no idea what you're going through right now, but trust me, you need to keep yourself together. You can't find her like this. Let the doctor take care of your hand and then I promise we will look for her. Please, son, just let's get this done first, okay?" Dad patted my shoulder and walked ahead to find his contact in the ER.

"Come on, Edward, think positive. You'll find her. He wouldn't wait all this time just to...well, you know," Emmett tried to reassure me.

It didn't work, all I could think about was her. I couldn't stop thinking about what he was doing to her, in his letters he had always made a comment about removing every trace of me from her body. I knew what he meant, Bella knew what he meant and now he had her he could do it.

The main waiting room was busy, it was a Saturday night in New York, how could it be anything but? As we hovered around waiting to register, everyone stared. Obviously my brother and I were easily recognisable at the best of times, but throw in a couple of wedding outfits, a mangled and bloodied hand, and two tense and angst-ridden faces and it was pretty obvious something was amiss. Dad appeared and we were moved away from the main area and shown into a small room right beside the nursing station. We were ordinarily reluctant to accept any special treatment, but tonight I was appreciative of it. I couldn't be around others, not here. I couldn't deal with the stares, the whispers or anyone who may have approached us asking for autographs. No, tonight I needed to be Edward, Bella's Edward and I had no room for anyone else.

"Dr. Mellor's going to come and see you as soon as he can. I'll give your mother a ring, see what the news is." Dad stood and disregarded the sign who which asked you to refrain from using cell phones in the hospital.

I listened briefly, but it became obvious enough there was nothing worth listening to, no news, so I tuned him out. After a few minutes a nurse walked into the room. "Dr. Mellor shouldn't be too long, your father asked for a cold compress for now." She looked at my hand and rolled her eyes. "Couldn't you have beat the crap out of a pillow instead?" She smiled and pressed the compress down firmly. I winced and she smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Keep the pressure on it until you see the doctor." She nodded at Dad and turned to leave.

"Excuse me, Nurse. Could you see if Angela...um...I don't know her surname, but she works on the Intensive Care ward. Could you see if she's on duty. I do need to speak to her urgently." I asked, and the nurse nodded.

"I know Angela Weber. I'll go and check if she's working and due her break." She left the room without another word.

"Someone needs to tell Alice, but I can't do it, I wouldn't know where to start," I explained to no one in particular. She was her best friend and had been through everything with her. She would want to know.

So here I sat, waiting. Waiting for another nurse, waiting for a doctor, waiting for Angela, waiting for a phone call to tell me something…anything. I was just waiting for everything, and feeling so utterly helpless. I was fast becoming consumed by a dark cloud of despair, it was like a thick fog and it was choking me. I sat, then stood, and then paced the room. Sat, stood, and then paced again. Dad and Emmett sat quietly watching me, making sure I wasn't about to break out into another violent outburst.

I could hear the controllers on the radio announcing incoming emergencies. There had been four so far, an elderly man with a suspected stroke, a teenager who had gone overboard on the alcohol, and two men who had been involved in a bar fight. I listened to each call, the distraction was welcomed and it helped pass the seconds, which seemed to pass by slower and slower.

"Control, this is dispatch."

"Go ahead, dispatch."

"You have incoming. A jumper from 59th St. Bridge."

As soon as my father's phone rang I focused my attention on him and didn't listen to the end of the transmission. He answered it but then cursed, "God damn battery. Emmett, can you call your mom back for me?"

I drifted back to listen to the radio call again and realised it was already finished. A nurse was barking orders out and the room began bustling with activity. "Right, everyone ready? We have incoming, a man has apparently jumped from the 59th St. Bridge and taken his girlfriend with him. We've got one probable DOA but the other is critical. Foxtrot resuscitated at the scene, but patient has crashed again en-route. ETA two minutes."

Before the nurse's words had time to filter their way into my brain I heard my father swear quietly. I whipped my head up to look at him, his eyes were closed and his head hung down. "Jesus Christ, Esme…where? Okay, well we're already here. Jesus."

My heart lurched, that wasn't a, "we've found her and she's okay," phone call. That was something much, much worse. "Dad?" I stood and shook his arm roughly. "What?"

He opened his eyes and looked at me, despair was raging all over his face, and I wasn't sure I even wanted to listen anymore. "They found the car parked up on the 59th St. Bridge. Two patrol officers saw a woman matching Bella's description on the floor beside the vehicle, a man was with her and when he realised he had nowhere to go, he..." Dad trailed off.

"He…jumped…he took her with him." I covered my mouth and felt my knees buckle. I grabbed onto the wall to stay on my feet. "They're coming here, I just heard the call come in. Dad, someone's dead. I heard them say DOA. That means dead, right? That means someone fucking died."

Dad nodded infinitesimally, and I turned and ran out into the hall to the nursing station. Besides a clerk there was no one there. "There's an ambulance coming here with two people who fell from a bridge...the 59th St. bridge. I heard the call come in, and I need to know what's happening, please you have to tell me," I begged the clerk and she just looked at me in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I can't tell you that...I mean I couldn't if I wanted to, but I just don't know."

"Please, please help me. Please, you have to find out, my fiancée was one of them…please, I have to know. I'm begging you." I squeezed my good hand into a fist and pressed it hard against my forehead. The room was starting to spin, probably because I was almost hyperventilating.

"I really am sorry, Sir. I wish I could…please just wait in the office, and I'll send someone into see you as soon as possible." She motioned for me to return to the office but I just stood there.

"I'm Dr. Cullen, could you page Dr. Mellor for me? Tell him it's an emergency please," my father asked the clerk. She nodded and reached over to the phone.

I felt my legs begin to buckle and went to sit when I heard a few raised voices coming from my right and almost simultaneously, Emmett who was standing with me, said in a voice which sounded like he was being strangled, "Oh…Jesus." I followed his line of sight and had to clutch at the counter to remain on my feet.

Two doctors and nurses were running down the corridor alongside a trolley. One paramedic was pushing and the other was standing on the side administering CPR as they moved.

"Female, early to mid-twenties, severe head trauma, and suspected pneumothorax. She was submerged for approximately four minutes and initially resuscitated at the scene. Lost pulse and breath sounds en-route, unable to intubate and no output. She's hypothermic and we can't get her temp up."

"Okay, room one now." A nurse was pumping a bag over the girl's face...Bella's face.

"Bella?" I looked on in horror as she was wheeled past me and into another room.

I walked over rather unsteadily towards the swinging doors. I pushed one open and stood watching. I was vaguely aware
of Emmett shouting me and someone pulling on my arm but I shook it free forcefully.

I could barely take in what I was presented with. It didn't seem real. The doctors and nurses were working on Bella furiously, one doctor, presumably the most senior was issuing orders to each person in the room. I knew nothing about emergency medicine, but I knew enough to understand just how bad it was.

"Asystole."

"Right, I want 0.5 mg atropine push and get some warm fluids into her. We need a chest tube, get her intubated."

After the briefest of pauses, the shouting resumed again.

"De-fib."

"Charging, 200…clear…nothing…okay. Again…charging…clear."

I saw Bella's body convulse with each shock, but I couldn't see her face. I cringed as the doctor administered another shock and once again Bella's body convulsed on the table.

"Right, charging 260, clear."

I felt two hands press on my chest and back me slowly from the room. "Excuse me, Sir, you can't be in here. Let them do their job. Please, Sir, they're doing everything they can." One of the paramedics moved into my line of sight and walked me gently out of the room. He instructed me to sit in a chair by the door.

"Is she going to die?" I braced myself for his answer.

"She's critical. I can't tell you anything else, but they will do everything they can." He remained at my side to prevent me from walking back into the room.

I closed my eyes. "That's my fiancée. She can't die. She can't die. She can't die."

Emmett crouched in front of me and squeezed my shoulder. I could hear more orders being barked from inside the room, but I could tell nothing from their tone. Bella was dying and I couldn't do a damn thing but sit here and wait.

The paramedic remained beside me, watching the events unfold.

"What about the bastard who did this?" Emmett growled. "I hope you left him in the fucking water."

"I can't tell you anything I'm afraid another team dealt with him. We were concentrating on your fiancée." As he spoke I heard the two detectives' voices at the nursing station, asking for information on Bella and James. The second paramedic had also emerged from the trauma room and he moved over to talk to them.

"How's the girl?" Detective Fisher asked.

Clearly, the second paramedic had no idea that I was within earshot, because if he had then he wouldn't have replied so bluntly, "Not good. She's crashed twice now and they can't get her heart into sinus rhythm. Honestly, if they can't get her back soon I think they'll call it."

In translation they were too late. In translation he had killed her. In translation my Bella was dead.

At that moment my world collapsed.

A/N I'm not a doctor or medically trained if in any way...I've pulled the info from this chapter from the internet, so I do apologise profusely for my mistakes.

I'm also so very sorry to leave you with another cliffie and probably the worst one yet. I hate them, but I couldn't do anything else with this chapter...you'll understand when you read tomorrow's update.

Thanks to Prettyflour for prereading and to you guys for reading, reviewing, and hopefully not attacking me with weapons lol :D

Waves sheepishly before going back into hiding ;)

Katy

xxx