Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer and not to me… sigh.I also don't own Sleeping with the Enemy. The book belongs to Nancy Price and the movie belongs to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation.

Sleeping with a Monster

Previously…

"Since I can't have you following us…" James's words made me wonder briefly if he was still going to kill me anyway, but when he raised the gun over my head with the handle out, I knew she had succeeded in sparing my life.

Just before the pain from his blow crashed into my head with a white flash, my last thoughts were a promise to Bella. I will find you, my love. I will save you. Then my world slipped into darkness.

Chapter 36 - Numb


Bella's POV

"Bella, please. Don't do this. You don't have to do this. Don't leave me."

Edward's words were still ringing in my ears as I watched in despair as Edward slumped to the floor. My head ached, not because of my own injuries but from the blow James inflicted on my love, my Edward. The sight of blood trickling down his forehead sealed my anguish. A bubble of panic started to envelop my body blocking everything out around me except for Edward. There was no sound, no smell, no feeling, no emotion. All I could see was Edward as my eyes raked his body for any signs of life.

Oh God! Please, I beg you! Just let him be okay! I can't do this if he's not…

My bubble of panic burst as I saw his chest rise and fall with life sustaining breath. I felt relieved, an odd feeling in light of what I was up against. My fate was sealed and I surrendered to it, knowing it would save Edward's life. It was all I could give him. He was everything to me. My life for his was a small sacrifice and I would gladly give it over and over again if it kept him safe.

The sudden rush of my awakening senses overwhelmed me for a moment as the smell of sweat, blood and tears accosted my nose. I tried valiantly to push back the nauseous feeling rising up in my stomach as I felt my emotional control slipping.

Hold it together, Bella!

My fingers itched to touch Edward, help him, take care of his wounds. I wanted nothing more than to wrap myself around his body and hold on tight. But, I knew if I made any move towards him, I would never let him go. Having him so close was making it difficult to detach myself emotionally from my situation. The detachment was a safety mechanism I had learned during my marriage to James and was the only thing that kept me sane. If I clung to Edward exhibiting any outward emotion for him, James would most certainly see it as a betrayal.

The familiar feel of something rectangular and hard in my hand reminded me that I still had my phone. I felt a slight breeze fan my face as James strode past to the stereo – most likely retrieving that vile song from the CD player. While he had his back turned, I quietly ended the call and switched the phone to silent mode. I briefly wondered if Jasper had remained on the line throughout the entire confrontation with the gun. I silently flipped it closed and slipped it into my bra. He was my only remaining lifeline and I had to sever it in order the preserve what may possibly be my last fleeting glimmer of hope. Maybe one last call to…

"Marie, get up." A cold sweat broke out on my upper lip and forehead at the sound of James. I cowered away from the cold metal of the gun pressing up again my temple reminding me of the finality of my bargain – my life for Edward's.

"James, please," I begged. He gripped my forearm tightly and hauled me up to my feet. I sighed in defeat as I stood before my tormentor averting my eyes. I already knew the look of smug triumph on is face. I had seen it before.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

At last!

My heart leapt with excitement at the prospect of rescuers at the front door. My system was still in 'sensory overload' mode and I wasn't entirely sure if I had imagined my body's nervous jump at the loud sound.

James hissed and quicker than I thought possible, he turned my body, pressed my back up against his chest and covered my mouth with his hand. I felt like a human shield as he positioned me in between himself and the front door with the gun still pointed to my head.

"Don't make a sound, princess," James said in a quiet menacing voice. The implied threat was clear as he slowly back us up towards the patio door behind us. As the front door passed into my line of sight, my eyes tried to burn a hole through it to my possible rescuers.

"Open the door – quietly," James growled in my ear as we bumped into the wall next to the door. James slipped the hand on my mouth down to my throat when I pressed my hand behind us in search of the doorknob. When I found it, I quietly unlocked and opened the door. I felt the warm afternoon air past me with a quiet whistle disturbing the strands of my hair not already plastered to my face with sweat and blood.

"Good girl," he spat in my ear as he pulled me outside into the backyard. James inched us along the rear of the house, crouching to avoid the windows as we crept to the painted wall that surrounded the yard. I could barely make out the sound of someone knocking on the door again as we reached the corner of the house. James pressed me into the rough stucco covering the house, his hand still firmly in place on my throat as he peered around the corner quickly to see if someone was coming. The wall separating the house from the neighbor's was a mere five feet away. The gate leading to the front yard was about fifteen feet away. I knew both options were inaccessible escape routes for me. James would kill me if I made a run for it. Before I could think on it anymore, James released my neck and picked me up bridal style.

"Make a sound and I will kill you and your pretty little boy toy," James warned before he tossed my battered body over the wall into my neighbor's yard. The feeling of suddenly being air-borne was startling, but I managed to suppress the scream of terror, but not the loud hiss that escaped my lips as I landed on my injured knee. A sharp pain shot up my leg and I wasn't sure if the resulting crunch was from my knee or the gravel under my feet. I lost my balance and landed on my side in a yucca plant. The thin leaves sliced through my skin of my hands and forearms like tiny paper cuts. One leaf scratched the side of my neck and another scraped across the exposed skin of my stomach where my sweater rode up. I sucked in a sharp breath trying to keep quiet and grabbed my knee.

As I struggled to fight back the tears, a pair of powerful unrelenting hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up. I looked up, hoping to see my neighbor, Mr. Grier. All hope died as I met a pair deadly blue eyes set vividly against tan, blood splattered skin. James raised his index finger to his lips, indicating that I keep quiet as he pulled us back towards the wall he had just carelessly tossed me over. When I stumbled back, I let out a breathless gasp as pain shot through my leg. I slumped against the concrete barrier, separating me from my salvation as I gasped in pain and clutched my knee again. James clamped a gruff hand over my mouth pushing my head into the wall. He caressed the barrel of the gun down the side of my face. I closed my eyes trying to hold back the shivering torrent of tears and terror threatening to crash through the dam of my defenses.

I silently willed myself to detach from my surroundings. Being out of practice as I was, I found it difficult to exercise this skill again. My mind and heart rebelled against the cage in the name of survival after months of freedom. I struggled to get control, but managed to calm myself enough to control my breathing.

I felt that old familiar numbness start to creep back into the edges of my body as I listened to the creak of the gate opening, indicating someone was entering the backyard of Edward's rental. The slow quiet crunch of the gravel along the side of the house told me the person was moving with extreme caution. I knew it had to be the police, but I was helpless to do anything about it. They were so close, just on the other side of the wall that I found myself so ruthlessly pressed up against as James reminded me with the gun in my face that he was in control. He was in such a desperate state, I had a distinct feeling he would rather us both die than allow me to go free. He was obviously playing the 'if I can't have you, no one can' card.

As the crunch of the footsteps disappeared, my opportunity for a rescue disappeared as well. My chest ached. The squawk of a radio in the distance next door told me the police officer was probably at the back door of the rental.

I felt James grip my face harder, jerking me to face him. His frigid stare held the unspoken warning. Make a sound and you die. I sighed in defeat and nodded, averting my eyes once again as the gravity of my situation stared back at me. James slowly released my mouth and placed his hand had around my waist to push me ahead of him along the wall. As soon as I put weight on my injured knee, I recoiled from the sharp pain. I sucked in a quiet breath causing James to glare me. He glanced down at my leg, his lips pressed in a hard line. He grabbed my arm pressed between us and threw it over his shoulder. Then he pulled my close into his side to help me walk.

For a moment, I was completely dumbfounded that James would assist me in anyway. However, I quickly realized that this maneuver had little to do with concern for my injury and more for his intense desire to evade the police.

James helped me limp along the back of the house to side opposite of the yard. He stopped for a moment quickly surveying the yard. I felt a small rumble of soft laughter as he caught sight of a friendship gate leading into the next yard. He practically dragged me over to it and thrust it open with his gun toting hand. Before I knew what was happening, he pushed me through before closing it behind him. I stumbled, bracing myself for the impact of my imminent fall, but James still had a hold of me and quickly pulled me back.

"Stupid clumsy cow," he growled at me from under his breath. Ah. More insults. I shook my head in remembrance of all the horrible things he used to say to me. This insult was practically a compliment in comparison.

James continued to act as my crutch as we made our way along the side of the dividing fence and through the gate on the side of the house. The pain in my knee was throbbing as the emotional and physical turmoil of my experiences came crashing down around me. I felt my consciousness slipping as James stopped at the end of the house. I sagged against him and my hand slipped limply off his shoulder.

"Wake-up, Marie," James warned giving me a sharp jerk, snapping me out of my stupor.

"Huh? Oh," I whispered shaking my head in an effort to clear the fog. He turned his attention again to the rental, assessing the situation two houses down. Other than a police cruiser parked in front of Edward's rental, there was no other outward sign of the cops.

"Not a word. Act normal and I'll spare you for the time being." Although James released his grip on my waist, he still had his gun trained on my abdomen. With his free hand, he wiped as much of the remaining blood on his face as he could onto the sleeve of his blazer. He then turned his attention to my appearance and roughly tried to clean the blood on the side of my cheek. I winced as his fingers dug into the tender skin still smarting from the bruise that had formed there.

James straightened up and pulled me back into his side. I sucked in a breath, steeling myself for the painful task ahead of me as I put my arm back onto his shoulder to take the weight off my knee. With another quick assessment of the activities of the cops, James made rapid work of walking us down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the police, practically having to drag me the whole way. He still had the gun in his hand, but it was now lower and digging into my side, grating up and down my ribs from the awkward movement of my limping.

I started to wonder how he planned to get me away from here, when I heard the familiar chirp of a keyless remote and the crisp thump of a car unlocking. My heart filled with dread as I realized James was indeed prepared as I stared down at the black sedan with tinted windows so dark, the police were never know anyone was inside the car.

He pushed me out into the street to the driver's side of the car and shoved the gun into the pocket of his blazer. He opened his door and shoved me inside locking my wrist in his firm grip.

No mercy, no escape.

As James slid into the car beside me, he bruised my hip against the hard plastic of the center console when he pushed me over into the passenger seat. The sound of the door shutting and door locks clamping down rang out with the finality of a prison door slamming closed.

James looked into my eyes with an unreadable expression. He yanked me to him and leaned in close, just centimeters from my lips.

"Soon, princess, you will be mine again. And this time, I'll make sure you will never leave me," He whispered. His breath ghosted against my lips before he crushed them with his hungry mouth. I struggled to remove myself from the horror of what was coming as James reminded me of his physical needs by roughly pawing at me like an animal. The events of what seemed like hours finally caught up with me as I felt my body beginning to succumb to the darkness and temporary relief of unconsciousness.

My last thoughts were of Edward before the numbness took my body and I collapsed against the passenger door of the car.

For Edward…

***************

"Bella. Wake up," Edward whispered gently in my ear. I felt my lips curl into a smile of pure delight. I took a deep breath, filling up my senses with his delicious smell.

"Un-ah," I protested snuggling closer to him, my face buried into the crook of his neck. I felt warm and safe lying here in his arms. I let out the air in my lungs in a long drawn out sigh of contentment.

"Come on, Love. I need to say good-bye." The twinge of sadness in Edward's voice coupled with his choice of words left me feeling uneasy. A faint humming started in the back of my mind. Something is wrong. I pushed the feeling aside.

"What time will you be home?" I mumbled into his neck. Edward pulled back and I opened my eyes to look at him. His face was heartbroken. "W-what's wrong?" I stuttered, my eyes searching his for the cause of his sorrow.

"I'm not coming back," he choked out, his voice breaking as he softly stroked my cheek with his hand. I watched his eyes glisten with his unshed tears.

"What are you talking about," I protested in confusion. The humming started to get louder.

"You belong to James," Edward said in a tone of finality and defeat as he bowed his head.

"No! I'm yours. Please don't do this!" I sobbed, but could barely hear myself over the sound of the humming that was now annoyingly loud. I shoved it aside as I concentrated on Edward. I reached up to caress his face but pulled back when I felt something wet. I looked at my hand just as the smell of rust and salt filled my nose. Blood. I gazed back at Edward just as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell limp.

"No! No! No! Please. Don't. Leave. Me," I managed to gasp out between my sobs. I shook Edward as his arms fell away from me. A rough hand grabbed my shoulder and jerked me back sharply.

"Aaaahhh!" My raspy voice echoed back at me and my eyes flew open. The rough hand was still on my shoulder and I automatically turned towards the owner of the offending appendage.

As soon as I made eye contact with the cold blue eyes of my captor, all the memories of Edward, James, the fight, and evading the police flooding back. My weary mind was unprepared for the onslaught while it continued to reel from the nightmare. I felt my eyes widen in panic causing James to curl his lips into a sadistic smile.

"Don't worry, Marie. I'll never leave you," he said with a humorless laugh that sent a chill through my body. As he turned his attention back to the road, I realized my mistake. Talking in my sleep again. I mentally groaned at my subconscious blunder knowing that James was already planning my punishment.

I blinded back the tears as I gazed out the window at the surrounding landscape awash in the muted light of the fading sun. My mind returned to the dream. It was not lost on me that I uttered the same words in my dream to Edward that he said to me just before James took me. Please don't do this… Don't leave me… We were both begging for the same thing, unable to stop it from happening.

I realized then, as I continued to gaze out the window that we were no longer in the greater Phoenix area. I tried to control my breathing as a new fear started to build. Where was he taking me? I had no protection, no help, no one around to call for help. What if there wasn't cell phone reception. My cell phone! My hand twitched but I stifled the urge to check to see if it was still in my bra. James could have removed it while I was unconscious. God, he could have done just about anything to me while I was unconscious and I shuddered inside.

I took a calming breath as I tried to appear as normal as I could under the circumstances. I concentrated on the hum of the engine as we sped down the freeway. I tried to remember some of the things Jasper has told me to do in case I found myself in this situation. I glanced at the clock on the dash – 5:42 pm. I did the mental math trying to figure out how long we had been on the road. Maybe an hour, less than two. I glanced at his speed. He was going the speed limit. I knew James wouldn't risk getting pulled over. He was too smart for that. The setting sun was to the left; we were traveling north on the freeway.

As I assessed my location, I subtly glanced out the window, catching bits of information off the passing highway signs. We were on interstate 17. The terrain was mountainous and I knew we had not been on the road long enough to reach Flagstaff. Jasper made me study maps of Arizona so I would know the surrounding area enough to recognize place names and such. So what was between Phoenix and Flagstaff? Could I convince James to stop and give me a girly moment at a gas station? Probably not – too many people. He might consider a highway rest stop. That would be my best chance. Maybe I could leave a message or ask a traveler for help. I knew with my injured knee I would not get far on my own.

"Ow," I hissed while testing the mobility of my knee. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James's head snap in my direction. I tried my best to ignore him as I gently pressed on my knee trying to figure out how badly it was injured. It was tender, but was no longer throbbing. Moving it hurt, but at the same time, it felt good to change positions. I gently massaged the muscle around my knee hoping it would eventually bare my weight if the chance to escape presented itself.

As we drove in silence, I found myself itching to turn on the radio. Anything to distract myself from the thoughts my imagination kept conjuring up – all the things James might do to me when we reached our destination. As much as I wanted to allow my mind to linger on Edward, I knew it was not a good idea. Any thoughts of him caused my heart to clench and the sadness to engulf my system making me weak and vulnerable to James.

I distracted myself again with trying to get a handle on where we were going. Questioning James was out. He would see it as a lack of trust on my part and punish me for my lack of faith. I already knew he planned to make me atone for a multitude of perceived sins. I certainly did not need to add to it.

I could see a mileage sign in the distance and tried to nonchalantly act disinterested. I ducked my head, waiting for us to get closer so I could get a clear fix on my location. I waited, patiently, sneaking little glances around the interior of the car while keeping tabs on the signage outside.

Just as the sign was getting close enough to read, I felt a hand grab my chin roughly jerking my face to the left. Shit! I swallowed my groan of frustration.

"That's enough, Marie," James warned, his smooth voice cutting through the heavy atmosphere in the car. I looked at James in confusion. I hadn't made a sound or even fidgeted for the last ten minutes. What did I do to piss him off now?

"What's wrong?" I raised my eyebrows in confusion. Sheesh! Was I breathing wrong? For crying out loud. I can't do anything right by him.

"I know what you're doing and it's going to stop right now." His face was a mask of control while his eyes blazed with malice towards me. I immediately thought of my cell phone, the different scenarios for escape, and my thoughts of Edward. How did he know?

"You do?" Instead of sounding confident and disinterested, my voice squeaked in full panic mode. Wait! What am I panicking for? I haven't done anything wrong, have I? Damn! I mentally chastised myself for my stupidity. Of course, he didn't know my thoughts. I hated how this man always made me question, second-guess myself, made me dependent on him.

"Put this on." I felt something land on my lap and I looked down. I picked up a black silk scarf and looked at in confusion for a moment before it dawned on me what it was. How could I play this off as something else?

"James," I hissed quietly, acting bashful. "You want to that, right now on the side of the highway?" He blinked at me, his controlled mask slipping a bit to reveal his surprise for just a moment before it changed to lust.

"I… ah," he stammered. And, for the first time, James was flustered. I stared in wonder for a moment that I had this kind of affect on someone who despised me. I quickly composed myself before I continued.

"Can't it wait? What if someone saw us? Besides, I'd like to clean up a bit. Don't you want our reunion to be special?" I felt my face blanch in disgust, but I quickly disguised it as embarrassment as I looked around as if someone was watching us. I mentally cursed myself when I realized the mileage sign had passed and I was too late in my efforts to distract James. Instead, I managed to put the disgusting idea into his head that I wanted to play one of his sick bedroom games in the car.

James narrowed his eyes at me for a moment before he sneered at me. "Nice try, Marie. Put the damn blindfold on, now. You're going to stop trying to figure out where we are and where we're going." He ran his hand up and down my thigh before he gripped it hard and my leg jumped in surprise. His face twisted into the face of my vile bedroom tormentor. With one quick glance at the clock, I quietly obeyed, knowing that any argument would only make things worse. Once the blindfold was in place, I leaned my head back against the headrest and let out a sign of defeat. The only thing I could do now was count in an attempt to note the passage of time.

James broke the silence. "Don't worry, princess. The windows are tinted and it's dark enough outside. No one will see us." He let his hand wander and I closed my eyes in an attempt to shut him out, my body shuddering at his touch.

I heard him shift next to me before I felt his breath wash over my cheek. "And Marie… our reunion will be unlike anything you've ever experienced."


Red's POV

What in the hell am I doing! I don't even know Isabella aka Marie aka Bella. Damn, the woman had more aliases than I had bastard children – not that I'd acknowledge then anyway. I don't need that kind of baggage. And yet, for some insane reason, I feel protective of her. Well put a pastry hat on my head and call me the Pillsbury Dough Boy, 'cuz I'm so damned soft in the middle.

I knew why I wanted to shield her from James, but I didn't want to go there, to relive that painful memory. If only I had protected… Stop it!

Risking my reputation, my company for this little slip of a woman was not what I had in mind. If James found out about my meddling, all my hard work, everything I'd worked so hard to build would be screwed. He would ruin me just for kicks.

I was doing well, happy in my forced ignorance – well, partial ignorance. I wasn't that big of an idiot not to suspect what James would do with the information I gave him about his wife.

When James saw the picture of her with Dr. Masen, he immediately doubled my fee and demanded info on her friends, where she worked, all known associates, and, particularly, the man in the photo. It wasn't until later when I really started to look at the pictures of here outside the school where she taught or with her friends shopping that I realized she was happy. I still felt a little twinge of guilt over the hidden camera in their bedroom, but quickly realized that she and Edward were not having sex. Not that James would listen to any of that. She was guilty by association.

But, the one picture that let on that not everything this woman had experienced was gumballs and cotton candy was that picture at the cemetery in good old Forks, Washington. I kept coming back to it. Every time I saw that haunted look in her eyes. The depth of her sorrow seemed endless in that brief moment, forever captured on film.

Pretty soon I found myself seeing those eyes everywhere – in the wood grain of the paneling in my office, in the face of my secretary's brown-eyes little grandson. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Marie's eyes, but the face was not hers. It was Jenna's.

My audible sigh filled the space of the rental car and brought me back to the task at hand. I watched as Marie pulled into the driveway of the rental unit. How did James lure her there? In the past week she had not stepped foot in the place without Edward by her side and yet here she was, home early and alone.

I watched with mild amusement as she struggled to carry a massive bouquet of flowers while she talked on her cell phone. Women and their multi-tasking. She disappeared inside the house and I sat up a little straighter. I knew he was inside. What would he do?

I was surprised when she emerged just a few seconds later and retrieved the mail while she continued her conversation on the phone. As she disappeared inside the house again, the door closed sealing her in her tomb.

I waited, patiently for any signs of life. Maybe they were having a tearful reunion, overjoyed to see each other again… My answering snort was the only sound that broke the silence in the car. James was probably beating the crap out of her for leaving him. I felt a twinge of something I hadn't felt in a long time – sympathy.

After a few minutes of wrestling with my growing guilt, I felt my hand inching towards the door handle of the car. Argh! Well, here goes nothing… Just as I opened the car door, I saw Edward's car come racing down the street towards me. I closed my door and slouched down a bit. He parked his car a few house away and got out of his car. He ran quicker that I thought humanly possible towards the house that contained Marie and James.

I was transfixed. It was like watching a movie. I sat up and leaned in closer over the steering wheel of the car. Our leading man, our hero was still wearing his doctor's garb. Edward crept across the front of the house and around to the other side of the garage where he let himself in through the man door.

As I waited for any signs of the battle sure to be raging inside, I found myself rooting for Edward. What am I? A girly girl? Shit! I knew I wanted Edward to put James in his place. James was scum, the worst kind of scum. He was a wife beating pig. I felt my anger slowly building, but I was smart enough to know that this anger came from somewhere else and was reserved for something else entirely…

"Jenna! How did you get that bruise?" I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand-up, alerting me, that something was not right with my sister.

"I fell down," She mumbled as she looked down at her hands. She was ashamed! My anger grew as it dawned on me what was going on.

"Really? Did Nick help you fall down?" She shook her head fiercely, but didn't look up. Her body language told me I was spot on. She hunched her shoulders and hung her head as she clenched her hands into tight fists. My anger got the best of my as I brushed past her into the house.

"Hey, asshole! What in the hell did you do to my sister?" I bellowed from the living room. I watched as Nick stood up from the couch, beer in hand. He put down the remote and faced me.

"What's your problem? I didn't do anything to her." His denial angered me more as I got in his face. Jenna scrambled past me forced herself between us. She pushed me back, her expression full of anger and fear.

"Knock it off, Red! He did not do it. I fell." I could not believe my ears. She was lying about it and defending him. My anger started to turn towards her. How could she be so stupid!

"Yeah, she fell," Nick sneered at me. In that moment, I knew. He was beating her.

"Why you piece of–," I started to say, but Jenna smacked me in the arm.

"Get out!" She cried, pushing me out the door. Before she slammed the door in my face, I saw her broken expression of anguish, tears streaming down her face…

I shook off that first memory of her abuse. After that night, Jenna avoided me. I spoke to her on the phone a few times, but every time I tried to convince her to leave Nick, she would cut me off and end the call. I was angry with her for marrying that creep, for staying with him, for allowing him to beat her, and always going back for more. One night I told her just that and that if she didn't leave him, I would wash my hands of her. Whatever she got, she deserved because she stayed. A few weeks later, they moved and I didn't know where to find them. That was what started my career as a private detective – my search for Jenna.

When I finally did find her, I was too late. Nick had killed her - beat her to death. He was awaiting his trial date when I found him living in some rat hole in Mobile, Alabama. He still had Jenna's things, living in squalor. I beat him senseless, but left him alive. I took the picture of Jenna and me when we were kids and left. I never looked back.

In a way, I guess I still blamed my sister for staying with her abusive husband. Blamed her because she just didn't leave. But as I sat here in a rental car in Scottsdale, Arizona, I realized something. Even if Jenna had left, Nick would have come after her. I had all but told her I was disappointed in her and that I would not help. She had nowhere to turn. Sure, she could go to a woman's shelter, but after my disgusting comments… I was her big brother! Maybe she just didn't think she was worth it anymore.

The guilt this time hit me like a Mac truck. What a shitty brother I turned out to be. I rubbed my hands down my face in frustration. It was too late to do anything about Jenna now. She's been dead now for fifteen years.

"Well, it may be too late for my sister, but it wasn't too late for Marie," I said to myself in a voice husky with regret. I got out of the car, closing the door behind me. I spied the police cruiser coming down the street and froze. Playing it cool, I fumbled with my keys for a moment as I watched the car from the corner of my eye. Sure enough, it stopped in front of the house I had been watching.

Now was not the time to play the hero. I got back in my car and sat back to watch. A feeling of apprehension took up residence in my stomach as I watched the police officer knock on the door. When no one answered the second knock, one of the officers started to circle around to the back of the house.

I was so intent on watching the drama I almost missed James and Marie at the corner of the house across from where I was sitting. Thank God the windows of cars in Arizona are tinted almost black. They both looked like they had taken a beating, although I was pretty sure Marie's beating came form James. He had a gun pressed into her side, telling me she was not going anywhere with James willingly. Where was Edward? Did James kill him?

I watched as her body slumped forward. James jerked her up and said something to her as he glanced back at the house where the cops were. He wiped the blood from his face and did the same thing to Marie. She jerked her head away from his hand, but he continued to clean her up a bit. After straightening their clothing, he practically dragged Marie to the car.

He got in the car after he shoved her inside. I expected him to take off immediately, but he didn't. It took him a few minutes to start the car. I shook off all the images of what he might be doing to her in that car as I waited patiently for him to leave.

Glancing back at the house, I noticed another car arrive. Ah, Jasper – the cop. I guess it's always good to have a cop friend in your back pocket.

James finally decided it was time to leave as he started the engine and drove off. I swallowed my cynical side telling me to walk away as I slowly pulled away from the curb and started to tail him at a safe distance. It would be another 30 minutes before I finally convinced myself to make the call.

A/N: Hey folks. I won't give you any lame excuses other than to say that my life got really crazy for about a week and I had absolutely no time to even think about this chapter, let a lone write it.

Thanks so much for the reviews! And I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to respond to all the wonderful reviews and pm's. I wanted to send out a sneak peak for those who reviewed, but I figured since I had taken so long getting this out, you'd rather I just got the chapter out sooner rather than later. :) Let me know what you think! - SavageWoman