TWO WORDS: ROUND. THREE. You guys got me to Round Three of the Epic T Rated Contest. I'm nearly in tears of gratitude that so many people voted for me to get there. The final round of voting - the big one, if you will - starts on July 6. Which is in about thirty minutes, lol. ;) ANYhow, I just want to thank you all again, and ask you one last time - go vote!!!

Now back to Ignorance, lol. Here is the next chapter, and I hope it doesn't disappoint. Enjoy!

BPOV

I wasn't breathing. I wasn't blinking. Hell, I only knew my heart was beating because I could hear it roaring in my ears.

If life were perfect, Edward would tell me he wasn't going to James, and that he had lied and he loved me to. If life were a fairy tale, Edward would come and be my prince, and Alice would be saved, and James the Evil vanquished.

But this was just real life and things hardly ever happened like that. Instead, it would go in the realistic way, and I knew that he wasn't going to do as I'd begged. My head dropped forward, resting against the steering wheel, and I pressed my lips together to keep quiet.

"Okay."

My eyes snapped open, and I stared wide-eyed at the steering wheel right in front of my nose. I hadn't imagined his hoarse, broken voice, had I?

"Your grandfather had better know what he's doing," I heard him growl, and then he hung up.

Slowly, I sat up, uncertain if I was relieved or even more hurt than before. He wasn't going to go get Alice, which was a relief of course, but he had ignored most of everything else I'd said.

Angry with myself, I pushed it away. It didn't matter, really. Even if he said he loved me too and it had all been a bunch of lies and slander, what would that mean for us? Everything was different now, and I wasn't sure they could ever be the same…. I wasn't even sure if I forgave him. Edward seemed to think things could never be the same. Perhaps he was right; yet I didn't think they were irreparable like he seemed to; if we worked together and tried, I thought the relationship could be salvaged.

That is, if I could forgive him,which I wasn't all too positive about yet.

I pulled back onto the street and turned back for Rose's house. When I got there and explained what happened, I was ready to go back to sleep. At least then I didn't have to think and worry.

*~*~*~*

I was incredibly annoyed. I'd called Nonno at least twice in the past hour and he wouldn't pick up. So far today - and it was barely eleven - I'd called him five times. I knew Edward was going to do something stupid if Alice didn't show up by this evening, because that's what Edward did- stupid, rash things.

I left another message because it made me feel better to vent. "Nonno, what is going on? Alice is still missing, and Edward's going to do something stupid tonight. You said four days - today is day four. Did something go wrong, or what? Call me back or I swear, I will not visit next time Renee shows up and you can deal with her and Charlie arguing with Nonna all by yourself!"

Feeling like I had threatened him adequately, I hung up and grumbled as I made my way down the stairs to the living room. Rosalie met me at the bottom, her expression supremely disgusted.

"What?" I sighed.

"My parents are here," she announced, each word grinding its way past her clenched teeth.

"They're back early," was all I responded with.

Rosalie just rolled her eyes and snapped, "Jasper is still a mess, and now they won't leave him the hell alone. I told them to, but do they ever listen to me?" It was a rhetorical question, but I shrugged nonetheless.

"No!" Rose answered herself, throwing her hands up in the air. "Instead, they do the exact opposite of what I suggest, and Jasper looks about ready to hit Dad, because Dad's convinced he's upset because Alice is cheating on him or something." Rosalie shook her head disdainfully. " So then Mom starts saying that you can expect such behavior from girls who aren't brought up to be polite young ladies, blah, blah, blah, and I was about to call Emmett and have him show up to distract their attention from Jasper." She finally took a breath and let it out in a sigh.

I raised a brow. "I'll go see what I can do." She sent me a tense smile, and hurried past me up the stairs.

Mr. and Mrs. Hale could be like pit bulls when they found a subject that interested or concerned them - they refused to drop it until they'd shaken it dead or found something more interesting. Since I wasn't going to tell them Alice was missing if Rosalie was avoiding doing so, I'd simply have to present something more interesting.

Fuck.

Though I was reluctant to broadcast my social life to the Hale parents, I knew I had to in order to save Jasper, but I couldn't help but smirk in amusement at the sight of him being interrogated by his parents. Usually more calm and able to handle such situations, he was currently looking at them like he was considering ripping their heads off.

"Good morning," I said, loud enough that I knew they would hear me over their own overlapping voices.

Helen turned to smile at me. "Oh, hello Bella. How are you?"

I purposefully sighed heavily and shrugged. "Been better."

She gave a concerned frown. "What's bothering you?"

I grimaced, which wasn't faked or forced. Jasper would owe me big after this. "Edward and I broke up."

Almost instantly she was next to me and patting my shoulder comfortingly. "Oh, you poor dear,and he seemed like a nice fellow, too."

Robert stepped away from Jasper, who quickly and efficiently took advantage of their change of attention and skedaddled right out of there.

For the next half hour, I let them fuss over me, trying to make me feel better. It was odd, because while their insistence that he was an idiot and blind for letting me go made me feel better, the way they spoke of him like he was a horrible person also annoyed me.

I was glad for the escape when Emmett arrived, and Robert and Helen turned their attention towards him and Rosalie. I slipped away, heading back up the stairs to my room, and picked up my cell phone, sparing a glance at the screen.

Still no messages. I grumbled about Nonno ignoring me and fell onto the bed, idly staring at the ceiling.

My phone buzzed and I jolted upright, frowning at the unfamiliar number on the screen. Normally, I wouldn't answer it, but I was hoping it was Nonno, so I did.

"Hello?" I asked slowly. I hated getting wrong numbers.

"Bella?"

My eyes shot wide and my mouth literally fell open. I could not believe my ears. That couldn't be Alice. Nope. No way, no how. Not. Possible.

"Could you maybe come pick up me and Kate ? I have no idea where we are except a warehouse number and a street name, but I'd like to get out of here before the place is swarming with cops, which apparently is going to happen in about an hour and a half."

APOV

One week. It had been six or seven days - like I was able to keep absolute track - since James had kidnapped me, and I was just about ready to slam my head through a wall. I wouldn't, of course, but it was tempting.

I was pretty sure Kate was sick, and not just a cold either. She was pale and had dark circles under her glazed eyes and had lost weight. She wouldn't talk to me. She remained curled up in the corner.

James hadn't come in yet today, and that made me uneasy. He always came in with a tray of breakfast, but this morning, one of the other guys who worked for him had tossed it in and left. From pressing my ear against the door, I knew they were rushing around like ants.

It didn't help that I had that uneasy feeling, the one I got when something big and not always good was about to happen. I hadn't stopped pacing this morning, and I was anxious for whatever was going to happen, to happen already. I was not a very patient person.

Growling in frustration, I kicked one of the stupid chairs. It fell backwards, and Kate jerked at the sudden noise before putting her head down on her knees again. Grumbling to myself, I kept pacing, trying to think of a distraction from my jittery something's-gonna-happen feeling.

I started counting backwards in German, which I apparently sucked at because I hadn't used the language since I passed my class. Not very smart of me, but oh well. I had reached forty and felt I was doing well when I heard shouts outside the room.

Kate lifted her head and I rushed to the door, pushing my ear against it and straining to hear actual words. I thought I could pick out James yelling orders, but I couldn't be sure. I chewed my lip as I heard loud, squealing tires from outside, then more shouting.

There was a tense silence that was suffocating even in here, and then out of nowhere a sharp shot.

I jerked back from the door, landing on my bottom, and scrambled backwards, eyes frozen wide. That had to be a gun. Oh, God. Someone was killing people. What if we were next? Shit, shit, shit!

I made it next to Kate, who was stiff and horrified looking. We both waited as gun shots and yelling rang out in the building, probably made worse by the way the warehouse echoed sound. After probably only five minutes, though it felt like an eternity, silence fell again. I held my breath as the sound of footsteps got closer to our door, then let out a soft sigh as they passed,only to freeze again as they came back. The door handle jiggled, but didn't open. A couple of sharp bangs later, and the door slowly swung in.

The man who glanced in was tall, with olive-toned skin and dark, strong features. He had on black slacks and a black dress shirt, and if I weren't scared enough to pee myself, I might have thought he was handsome.

"You are Alice?" he asked, and after a moment's hesitation, I nodded jerkily.

He smiled, and it had to be the kindest thing I'd seen in ages. Involuntarily, my body relaxed, and that anticipatory sense that had plagued me all day finally drifted off. He opened the door the rest of the way and stepped into the room, crouching down when he was a few feet away so he was eye level with me.

"I am Alphaeus,friend of Isabella's nonno. We are here to salvataggio, to, uh, help you." He smiled kindly. "You are safe now."

I like to think I'm a strong person. I managed to never once lose faith that I would make it out of here unharmed - for the most part. I managed to keep my spirits as high as I could in such despicable situations as I found myself in, and I never once let the people here intimidate me,but to hear that I was safe….

I broke down into tears.

A large warm hand settled onto my shoulder, and I pulled my hands back from my face to glance up at the man that was here to save us.

"Do not cry, bambina. We will take you home." With another smile, he rose and called something out in Italian. From somewhere in another part of the warehouse, someone called back. I listened cautiously as footsteps came towards the door again, and then two more people walked in.

They all talked together in hushed tones, then Al-whatever-his-name-was came over again.

"Alice," he started, and a small part of me couldn't help but melt at that accent. "Your friend there,who is she?"

I glanced over at Kate, absently wiping away the few tears still falling. She was watching the new men warily. It made my heart fall into my stomach to know that she'd probably be cautious around guys for a long time after this, especially men she didn't know.

"This is Kate, the sister of one of Edward's friends." After a pause, I added, "Edward is my cousin. Bella's boy-" I stopped, rolled my eyes and corrected myself, "Ex-boyfriend. Sort of."

Al-guy looked only a little confused by my statement, but mainly amused. "Isabella's confused amichetto, yes. Giraldo told us of him." He chuckled, as did the two men at the door. Al-guy continued, "This is a friend of his?"

I nodded, because it was pretty much true. Al nodded decisively and said, "she will come with us, too." He held out his hand to help me up, then offered the same to Kate. She scooted back infinitesimally. Slowly, keeping eye contact with her the whole time, Al leaned down to her eye level and began to speak softly and coaxingly. I didn't want to hover or anything, so I stepped slowly over to the two other men. They were whispering softly, but that didn't make their words any less angry.

"The bastardi. If I had known, they would not have died so painlessly," one spat.

The other nodded, a hard look in his eyes. He was older than Al-guy or the other one, and his hair was streaked with tints of gray. He said something in Italian, then added in English, "there is a special place in Hell for men like that."

I had a feeling that I didn't want to know these men in a more than passing manner. If Edward thought he had gotten into some bad stuff, I didn't doubt it was nothing compared to these guys.

The two glanced at me, and just like that, their demeanors changed. They looked like gentlemen, pleasing and polite and charismatic. The kind of guys who laughed and lived life freely,not the kind who spoke of death and men deserving of hell.

"Miss Alice," the older one said, smiling and bowing. "I am Biagio. Giraldo was my father's best man at his wedding. He is spoken highly of in my family."

I didn't want to seem rude and shrug - because what did this have to do with anything, really - so instead I smiled and said, "thank you for saving me and Kate."

He straightened, his expression flashing cold. "It was no problema, bambina."

The younger guy smiled and held out his hand to shake. "Buonasera, Alice. My name is Vincenzo, but Bella always calls me Vinny." He paused, noticing my dislocated arm. I might have been able to fix it on my own, but Carlisle was a doctor and I was brought up not to do things like that,so I'd left it; besides, if I seemed more helpless, I had hoped James would continue to protect me.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing. I hesitated. To let him, or not..

Before I could really come up with an answer, he was there, and I yelled loudly as sharp pain spasmed my shoulder and down my arm. He smiled sheepishly and sympathetically.

"It hurts, and should for a while, but is better than nothing working, si?"

I smiled at him, not sure if I agreed, but liking how his easy grin and calm demeanor differed from Al-guy and Biagio. "How do you know Bella?"

. "I have not seen here in many, many years. I stayed with Giraldo for… eh." He shrugged. "Two, maybe three years when I was just out of school." He winked. "My parents, they said I needed to learn discipline and Giraldo was the man for that. They were not lying," he grinned.

I smiled back. "Have you seen her yet? Is she okay?"

Vinny shook his head. "No, I have not. Giraldo told us 'You come straight for Alice, then socialize, capire? Bella would want her friend first'." With a grin, he shrugged. "So business first, then we do what we please."

Business -and he mentioned killing earlier. After Edward had gone with Bella to her family reunion, and after the whole mess with his mother dying, he had told me about the trip there. Bella's grandfather - Giraldo - had told Edward a crazy story about the mafia and his younger days…. I swallowed, suddenly completely willing to wait in this room for a month if I had to so I wouldn't have to see what was going on outside..

Al-guy (I honestly couldn't remember his whole name) walked forward slowly, his arm gently linked with Kate's and his hand patting hers where it rested at his elbow. "Are things ready?" he asked.

Biagio nodded. "The polizia will get an anonymous call from a pay phone in an hour that gun shots were heard. They come, they find no evidence, and they close the case."

Al nodded, sparing a glance at Kate and me. "You girls, you cannot talk about what happened this night, si? It will be our segreto, our secret."

I nodded, and after a moment, Kate gave the ground a nod as well. Al gave a sigh and another nod before looking at Biagio. With a curt nod, Biagio walked out the door, and Vinny offered me his arm, grinning. I smiled, though it was strained, and linked my arm with his, following him out the door into the hall.

He leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Close your eyes, bambina. This is something you will not like to see."

I squeezed my eyes shut as he suggested, listening as Al told Kate the same, but what surprised me was the resolutely whispered, "No," that came from Kate.

"I want to see them dead. I want to know…." her voice broke.

After a moment, I heard Al say firmly, "Of course, forte spirito. You can assure yourself they can harm you no more."

I listened as our footsteps echoed around us and Vinny lead me through the room. We were definitely not in an even relatively straight path. How many had they killed to save the two of us, and how many of them had been like Edward, here because they had no choice in life, just doing things that didn't deserve a death sentence? Maybe they were all guilty of something. Was it chance, or fate, or just plain bad luck that brought them all here this night to die?

Then I felt the fresh air on my face, warm but also cooling because it was free-moving. I sighed and almost opened my eyes, except Vinny quickly spoke.

"No, keep those magnifico eyes closed, bambina, just until I tell you."

My sudden freedom tasted sour. I followed Vinny blindly for a few minutes longer, and then he assured me I could open my eyes, so I did. Then I glanced around. My surroundings weren't familiar, and I felt a spike of panic as I noticed Biagio getting into a sleek black Lamborghini. Al smiled kindly at Kate, patted her hand once more, and then got into the car with Biagio.

Vinny grinned at me. "You might want to leave the area quickly, Alice. The cops will show up and search around eventually. Interrogation is not a fun experience," he laughed. "Call Bella and tell her to pick you up here, and tell her 'sono ancora il vincitore' for me." He said the Italian words slowly, and made me repeat them back to him multiple times before he seemed satisfied. Biagio yelled something at him in annoyance, and Vinny laughed something back before turning back to me.

"I shall see you soon, maybe, yes?"

I shrugged, and he laughed.

"A presto, Alice." He kissed my cheek tenderly and pressed a cell into my hand before turning and literally sauntering to the car. He hopped in and the three men raced off, leaving Kate and me in the middle of a quiet, deserted street, completely alone.

Bastards couldn't give us a lift or anything, could they?

Grumbling, I flipped open the cell and dialed Bella's number from memory. I could have called Edward, or Carlisle and Esme, but I had a feeling they would ask questions I wasn't sure how to answer yet, and Bella owed me answers, which I expected to get on the car ride home

"Hello?" she asked slowly.

"Bella?" I asked, just to make sure. At the gasp on the other end, I figured it was her, and when she didn't say anything, I hurried on, wanting to be somewhere familiar as quickly as possible. "Could you maybe come pick me and Kate up? I have no idea where we are except a warehouse number and a street name, but I'd like to get out of here before the place is swarming with cops, which apparently is going to happen in about an hour and a half."

"I… I'll be there as soon as I can," she said, voice faint with shock, before hanging up. I flipped the phone closed and moved closer to Kate, who was shivering, running her hands up and down her arms. There was a breeze, and Kate's clothes were torn in a lot of places.

"Bella should be here soon," I said, and she nodded, keeping her eyes on the ground.

We ended up waiting almost forty minutes for her, but the relief I felt when I saw her familiar BMW come down the street was well worth the wait. She had barely stopped the car when she was lunging out of her door and running towards me. I ran towards her too and when we finally hugged, I didn't want to let her go before I squeezed the breath out of her lungs.

"Alice," she said in amazement. "How…."

I pulled away and looked up at her, raising a brow. "Vinny says…" I paused a moment, trying to remember the words, then I slowly repeated, "sono ancora il vincitore."

After a moment of wide-eyed shock, Bella snorted. "He lies. I'm the winner, and he fuckin' knows it." I frowned and she clarified, "He told you to tell me that he was 'still the winner'. It's just a stupid inside joke from when he lived with Nonno." She snorted again, then a small crease came between her brows. "He was here? Nonno sent him? Who else?" The last question held a tinge of worry and cautiousness.

"Al-something-or-other and Biaglio."

Bella's eyes shot wide for an instance before relaxing. "Oh," was all she said before turning to Kate. "You must be Kate," she said quietly and kindly. "I'm Bella."

Kate glanced up at her and managed a small, quivering smile. "Hi," she whispered hoarsely.

Bella nodded firmly. "We need to get you guys to a hospital."

"No," I disagreed quickly. "I'll just call Carlisle on our way to Rose's. He can take care of things."

She nodded her assent and turned back for her car, opening the back door for Kate as I got in the passenger seat. When we were buckled in and well on our way, I turned towards Bella.

"Spill. Who were those men your grandpa sent, Bella?"

She shifted uncomfortably, her eyes staying focused on the road. "I only know Vinny,and that's because he was staying with Nonno for almost three years. I saw him at least a dozen times."

"The other two?"

"Vinny… mentioned them sometimes. And Nonno once or twice."

"Who. Are. They?"

Bella sighed, and glanced back at Kate. Biting her lip and letting it pop out from between her teeth, she quietly answered. "They're part of the mafia, I think, or maybe some other organization, but the thing is, someone there owes Nonno a few favors. And…" She shrugged. "I guess he called one in."

I stared in disbelief. "You mean your grandfather called in a favor with big important mob boss-like people just for me?" I had a feeling I should be honored. And I was… along with slightly horrified.

Bella shrugged, not looking away from the road. "He knows how much you mean to me, and Jasper, and Edward,and he wanted James out of the picture."

I nodded. "So you know they…."

Bella sighed, lifting one hand to rub her eyes tiredly. "Nonno wouldn't have kept the fact that they were coming from me unless it was something I wouldn't have exactly liked knowing."

There were a few minutes of silence, and then Bella spoke again. "You guys have to make up a story as to why and how you got away. Tell them you managed to sneak out or something, but do not tell them about Nonno's friends."

I nodded. "I won't tell."

I slowly nodded again, and Bella sighed. "Call Edward before he does something stupid."

It took four rings before he picked up, and I spoke up before he could. "Hey, Edward, I'm safe and sound, so don't do anything stupid."

"Alice?" he said in disbelief.

I sighed in impatience, even though I was shaken up over everything that had happened the past week and tonight. "Yes, who else would it be Edward?"

"Where are you?" he asked urgently.

"In Bella's car," I said casually, and smirked as he went dead silent. "We'll be going to Rose's so I guess I'll see you there. Grab me some fresh clothes, would you? And an extra set, for Kate. And bring Carlisle with you."

"Kate? She's with you?"

"Yeah," I said. "Just come over to Rose's Edward."

"We'll be there as soon as we can, but we're not in the immediate vicinity. We're a couple hours away."

"Okay, I'll be there," I said. I didn't ask where they were or why they were so far away, because I figured we could all talk when we were together and safe.

I had dozed off by the time we arrived at Rosalie's house, and before I could regain all of my bearings, the door was being yanked open and Jasper was on his knees before me.

I stared at him, at the relieved yet broken look in his gorgeous blue eyes, the complete chaos that was his hair, and the paleness in his face. Slowly, I reached out to caress his cheek, feeling my bottom lip tremble.

Jasper leaned into my touch, eyes fluttering closed for a moment until I unbuckled myself. He rose, pulling me up with him, and then into his arms. I snuggled into his chest, desperately breathing in his scent, kissing his jaw, and debating how long I could manage to get away with not letting him go.

He carried me up the stairs to his room, and set me on his bed. I was reluctant to actually let him go, but he pried my hands away, kissing my lips as he did so. He kneeled down again, slipping my pants down and throwing them to the side, then peeling my shirt over my head. Gently tugging my hand, he led me to his bathroom, started a warm bath, and left me alone.

A huge sigh escaped me as I lowered myself into the warm water, and I thanked Jasper for always knowing what to do. I leaned my head back, closing my eyes and absorbing the fact that I was safe and the peace of being near Jasper again.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because a knock on the bathroom door jolted me upright.

"Alice?" Jasper called quietly.

"Sorry," I said quickly. "I dozed off. Let me shower really fast."

"Don't rush yourself," Jasper said kindly, and I think my heart melted anew. If he were close enough, I would have kissed him.

After showering and washing my hair with Jasper's shampoo, I wrapped myself in his robe and walked into the room. Jasper put aside a book and got up, rustling through a drawer before handing me a shirt. He turned around as I put it on, but the instant I was decent, he was grabbing me up in his arms and falling onto the bed, holding me close to his chest.

"Are you… okay?" he finally asked, minutes later.

I nodded, snuggling closer to him. "Victoria tried to throw me around, and dislocated my arm. James didn't like that." I paused, and then added, "I think he thought he loved me."

Jasper's arms tightened around me, and I looked up to see a dark glare on his face. I'd never really thought of Jasper as dangerous before, but I did then. If I wasn't sure James was already dead, then I'd have been worried Jasper would have gone to kill him - with his bare hands.

"He made everyone leave me alone, and was polite," I shrugged, shivering. "It was scary, Jasper, and I'd just like to forget the past week. Okay?"

After a moment, he nodded, kissing the top of my head. "Forgotten."

I sighed, pushing myself up onto my hands a little and leaning forward to kiss his lips lightly. "I missed you. I thought of you the entire time."

A flash of pain in his eyes made my heart spasm for him. "You have no idea how hard it was, but I'm so glad you're back, Alice." He sighed, pulling me even closer. "Stay with me tonight? I know your parents will want you home, but I don't think I'm going to be able to let you go."

I smiled, kissing his neck. He shivered, and I grinned, doing it again. "I'll stay, just be sure to wake me up when Carlisle and Edward get here." I paused a moment, then happily sighed my favorite words to say to him. "I love you."

"I love you too Alice. Go to sleep, now. I'll chase away any bad dreams."

How he knew that was what was keeping me up, my worry that if I really fell asleep I'd have nightmares, I had no clue, but I didn't care. His assurance was all I needed, and I closed my eyes, wrapping my arms around him as best I could, and let my body and mind finally, completely relax.

So there you go. That cliffie is officially completely uncliffied, and we have Alice back safe and sound. ;) Thanks to Irritable Grizzzly for betaing, and hey! We started a collaboration about Alice and Jasper - Brilliant and Dangerous. It's gonna be a funny fic hopefully and is lots of fun, so I hope you go check it out! It's only on my profile, but be sure to praise Cat in the reviews as well, because she wrote half of it!

Review - on both, and go vote please! Loves and Hugs and Orgasmic Brownies!