Chapter Forty-Four-A Bit of Freedom
"God, this feels amazing!" Bella screamed out her passenger window of his car. The dashboard had been replaced, the new muffler she found him installed; insomnia had allowed them to get some projects done around the house. They had security following them, and Edward was positive the truck in front of him was also part of their protection detail.
Edward laughed, grabbing a loop from her jeans to pull her back in the car. "Get in here, crazy girl!" He had to admit it did feel good to feel the wind in his face. To feel the first ounce of freedom—though, they had little obligations other than homework and school. It was leaving that god-forsaken town, even if it was only for a little while.
She bounced back into her seat and sent him a big smile. "I'm just so fucking glad to be out and about. I mean, yeah, Thing 1 and Thing 2 are still around, but it's better than having nowhere to go but school, the diner, the store, and your house." She winced and shrugged. "No offense."
Edward shook his head. "I get it. My house is damn big, and we have all the luxuries of a five-star hotel, but when it's the same four walls, it can feel stifling."
She hummed in agreement, finding some music on his phone. "Do you think we can head to a club later? I mean, I just need to unwind for a bit." She pulled two IDs out of her purse. "I have fake ones for the both of us."
Edward had some doubts the agents assigned to them would agree to that, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. "We could ask."
She made a face that said the chances were slim; she was about to say something but decided not to. However, he knew her well enough to know what was on her mind.
"We can't sneak away, you know that." He looked at her, watching the good mood she was in fly away.
"Yeah, I'm not stupid. If they were following us, they'd use it as the perfect opportunity to grab me. For whatever reason, they want me alive, but now that the authorities are in Forks, they may choose to use me against my uncle."
Edward had thought of that, too. It scared the fuck out of him. So far, Marcus was allowed to work on the investigation, but not lead it, thanks to his relationship to Bella. It was public information if people knew where to look, but it had been leaked by the media. Along with the fact despite the ongoing investigations, there was an alarming number of missing girls between the ages of 12-19 in the surrounding areas. It seemed the deal was still on and there was nothing they could do about it.
Worse yet, Bella believed they'd kill them all if the deal didn't go as planned. Why keep the loose ends that could potentially destroy them?
"I read the profile on Victor Sousa on your laptop." Edward cleared his throat, nightmare-like images flashing through his mind. Bella beaten and broken, blood smeared around her lips, horrible shit that plagued his dreams. "You're exactly the kind of girl he looks for, the kind he loves to break."
Her hands fisted on her lap, her nails biting into her skin a second later. "I know."
"When they said it's time for us to go…" He couldn't even look at her, because if he found she had every intention to stay, he would probably lose his shit. She wasn't the only ticking time bomb between them.
"Harry has been placed in long-term care; his stay paid for in advance by an anonymous donor. Sue and my baby brother are 'visiting' family in North Dakota." She placed her hand on his arm. "Edward Masen and Isabel Crane have enrolled to a fabulous art college in Paris."
"What?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing. How?
"Surprise!" She laughed as Edward kept looking at her then the road and back again. She was serious.
Edward pulled over. The SUV behind them did the same. He waved them to stay as he circled the car and pulled Bella into his arms. "Please tell me you're not fucking lying."
She was giving him his dream, art school.
She huffed, half in amusement, half in irritation. "I wouldn't lie about this, Edward. I already talked to your parents; they're all for it. They'll be near, but not too close under another name than yours. My dad, Sue, and my brother will be doing some traveling for at least a year or two, since he'd be the one likely to testify against the organization. They're determined it won't be either of us."
Edward understood why they insisted on it going down that way. If either Edward or Bella had to testify, the bullseye would be on their backs. For it to be on Charlie wasn't any better though, and he knew Bella would help in whatever way she could. So far, the information Toshiro shared with her proved unusable in court since it wasn't obtained legally, but the agency was still combing through a lot of information. Hopefully, they could find something to stick, and it wouldn't require any of them to testify, but Edward knew it was wishful thinking.
"We're sitting ducks out here, baby."
Bella held him a little tighter and smiled up at him. "Let's go see your parents, check in on Rosalie, and then figure out what we're going to do the rest of the night." Something in her eyes made his blood simmer; the way she snuggled closer to his body made him swallow hard. The first punch of lust after a long period of nothing felt like a fucking sledgehammer.
"Don't look at me like that." Edward looked toward the SUV where the two agents stood, watching the busy road. "There's nothing I can do about that look for at least a few more hours."
She nodded, playfully waving at the boys in black and jumping in the car with a giggle on her lips. A sound he hadn't heard in much too long. "Come on."
Edward winced as he adjusted himself and grumbled at the kiss that she blew him from inside the car. He fucking loved that she was her old self again. The mood wouldn't last long, but he'd take what he could get.
.
.
.
Bella happily munched on some fries as she spoke with Esme about the recipes she'd been cooking up at the house. She loved the kitchen and Edward loved her cooking, but she insisted on teaching him. Charlie was visiting too, accompanied by a large agent who only grunted his responses. They spent the last two hours pretending life was good.
Esme leaned toward Bella, cradling her face in her pale hands. "You are hurting so much inside, aren't you?" The out of the blue question, the softness of her voice stilled everyone into silence.
"The pain; I'm used to that. Edward helps keep it from consuming me." Bella's voice shook, her teeth grinding for a moment. "But there's this thing growing inside me; it's been there for years, dormant, a silent beast within a cage. It's getting stronger, and I don't know if I can fight it any longer." Tears slipped silently from her eyes, relentless in their pace. "It wants nothing short of annihilation of the entire organization."
"Dear God," Carlisle said, choked up by the look in Bella's eyes. Glorious in her anger, but there was no doubt in their minds; if she could, she would deliver on her words. And she would succeed, but likely at the cost of her life.
Edward smoothed a hand down her back, feeling the tension in her body. She was strung so tight. "We're leaving."
Esme's hands dropped from Bella's face, but not before, she wiped away her tears. "You're going to be okay, sweetheart. You keep your head on straight, and you'll be okay."
Bella nodded, using Edward for support to stand. "I think Edward's right; we should go."
Charlie agreed, saying he'd let their security detail know their plans to leave soon. He returned to say they'd need a few minutes for security to pull their cars near the elevator. Within minutes, Charlie and his ogre for a guard escorted them down to the underground parking lot.
Edward and Bella kept their heads down as per agreement, but Bella felt eyes on her. She looked up and locked eyes with someone in a dark car several yards away from them. She licked her lips, one corner of her mouth lifting, and she made a gun gesture with her hand and pointed it at the car. Then she kissed the tip of her fingers before it morphed into only her middle finger.
Edward's eyes snapped toward where Bella was looking; two intimating figures stepped out of the shadows, FBI badges on their belts as they approached the car. The headlights came on and it moved away before the agents could get within a few feet of it. They called in the license number through their walkie-talkies, but they knew it would be futile. The car would be found abandoned and burned within the hour.
Charlie grabbed Bella's arm hard, yanking her toward the safety of the SUV. "Why do you insist on antagonizing them? You're only pissing them off." He practically threw his daughter into the backseat.
"Hey!" Edward laid a hand on Charlie's arm, but the older man shook it off. Too angry to back down.
Bella held chin up high. "If they're pissed, they'll make mistakes. If they make mistakes, we can get them."
"Not at the expense of your life." Charlie was fuming; almost puce in color, and Edward knew he was holding back. Barely. "Not after your cousin."
Bella's eyes narrowed. "You and I know the real reason I'm here."
Charlie stepped back, unable to meet her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"That's how you're going to play this?" Bella faced forward, saying nothing more.
Edward climbed in beside her, worried about whatever those last several moments with her father were about. Was Charlie forcing her hand? Making her leave before he could? If that were the case, did they honestly think they'd be okay with being separated? There was no way he'd allow that, wherever Bella was going, he'd go, too.
The car door slammed closed behind him, Charlie and the other agents huddling up to talk. They were supposed to head to another apartment where Rosalie was staying before she disappeared for good. She told them she couldn't stay there.
It wasn't long before they were off, taking an indirect route to their destination. They ran red lights, went around in circles, exchanged vehicles and agents three times before they finally reached a simple house outside of Seattle, nestled in a quiet corner lot.
Bella climbed out of the SUV first after the "all clear" from Collin, one of the few agents they liked. Edward slipped his hand in Bella's as they stood on the porch, each wondering how Rosalie was really doing with the death of her baby's father. The love of her life, she had called him. Bella was the first to press the doorbell, looking into the camera above it. "It's us, Rose."
They heard the snicks of several locks and deadbolts before the door swung open to a smiling Rosalie, appearing radiant, and a tiny baby bump that seemed to appear overnight. It hadn't been that long.
Bella's eyes narrowed, as Rosalie was quick to lose the smile and cover her face with both hands. Edward followed a stomping Bella who made it halfway into the kitchen when she stilled and whimpered, swaying as he joined her.
"Uh, hi." Emmett held up a hand, his other arm in a sling. "Good to see you, guys. Missed you, fuckers."
Edward stood as still as a statue, unable to say a word, his brain still working on what he just learned. Bella was much faster to recover, running to her cousin, slapping him in the face, and pounding his chest, crying and screaming. Emmett let her, and he whispered his apologies and how much he loved her.
Rosalie stood beside a speechless Edward, one hand on her tummy. "It's a good thing I told him to wear a cup."
At that, Edward started to laugh as he fell on his ass; soon the sounds coming out of him were tortuous, gaining Bella's attention. She crawled into his lap, crying with him. He felt like an idiot, but it couldn't be helped. He honestly thought he'd lost another friend.
Emmett winced, wiping the blood on his lip, apologizing over and over, but knowing there'd been no other choice.
AN: You have no idea how hard it was to kill Emmett off, even for a little while. Six more chapters and an epilogue. Thanks to my beta, she's been amazingly helpful. Thanks to everyone that has read and reviewed.
