Chapter 25 – Making a Deal

Edward

"You son of a bitch, you broke my nose!" the bastard shouted at me. "What the fuck is wrong with you? I'm going to sue you for everything you're worth. Mark my words you fucking lunatic."

As good as it felt to hit that idiot, I immediately worried about Bree. Did I scare her by punching the guy claiming to be her father? Even if the guy was a prick to her, it probably still upset her to see him hurt, so I turned to make sure she was okay and I was shocked by the look on her face. It wasn't fear; it was almost relief, which just about broke my heart. There was something very wrong with the situation.

But suddenly her face dropped. "Edward, watch out!" she shouted right before I was slammed in the back.

I stumbled forward from the force of the impact, and that was when I saw the broken lamp falling around me.

Did that prick really just hit me with a fucking lamp? Too bad for him the thing wasn't strong enough to actually do any damage. But I was beyond pissed, and as much as I tried to keep it together for Bree's sake, I snapped.

I quickly recovered myself, and then I charged him. We threw each other around, completely trashing the room; we may have even smashed that beautiful vintage piano, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment. I was so enraged that I didn't even notice when Jasper rushed in with a couple security guards to break up the fight.

"Whoa, calm down man," Jasper said after he pulled me off of him. "What the hell is going on?"

"That fucking wacko is trying to keep me from my kid!" that bastard shouted.

"Edward?" Jasper questioned me.

I shook my head and then threw Jasper's hands off of me. I was shaking with fury, so much so that I couldn't even talk at the moment.

"Alright, why don't you take the kid and go," Jasper said to the guy, but there was no way I was going to let him take Bree anywhere, so I moved in front of her to stop him. "Edward, what are you doing?" Jasper questioned me.

"He's not going anywhere with her. At least not until I know she's going to be okay," I told him.

"This is none of your business," Jasper tried reasoning with me.

"Yeah, listen to your buddy there, it's none of your business," the guy said smugly. I held my ground and refused to move, but that was when a strange expression crept across the idiot's face. "It's none of your business, that is, unless you want it to be."

"What?" Jasper and I said at the same time.

"If you're so concerned about the kid, you can have her… for seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

My mouth just about dropped open, and I think Jasper's did as well. "You're disgusting," Jasper said to him after a minute. "And I'm about five seconds from calling the cops."

"Do you want the kid or not?" the guy asked me. "You rich folk are all the same. You throw your money around like it grows on trees, but when it comes to real issues you fucking clam up. If you're that concerned for her, prove it. Put your money where your mouth is."

"You're a fucking idiot!" Jasper spat at him. "And I'm definitely calling the police."

"Wait," I told him, shocking everyone in the room. "If I gave you the money, how would I know you wouldn't turn around and take her back anyway?"

"Edward," Jasper said incredulously.

"Give me half now, and half when I deliver all the legal paperwork," the guy suggested. "You can even keep the kid until then."

The room fell silent as I considered it, but then Jasper started to freak. "Alright, you two get out of here and don't repeat any of this to anyone," Jasper told the two security guys who had come in with him. When they were gone, he pulled me to the side and tried to reason with me.

"Edward, what the fuck? You could get your ass thrown in jail for even talking about buying and selling kids."

I took a deep breath. "How will anyone find out?"

"What? Are you even hearing yourself right now?"

"All he has to do is sign over custody to me; I can have my lawyer make sure it's all legal, and then we never have to see that fucker again."

"Are we living in the Twilight Zone or something?" Jasper asked evenly. "I mean, are you fucking serious with this shit?"

"Yes, I'm completely serious. Look, Jasper, you weren't in here earlier, you didn't see Bree's face when that guy game in here. She's not only scared of him, but what the hell kind of person offers to sell their kid anyway? There's obviously something extremely wrong."

"Yeah, obviously, but it's not our problem. If you want to help her, let's call the police and let them handle it the right way."

"I can't do that," I told him.

"Why not?" he asked exasperated.

"Because the police won't be able to help her. I'm sure that guy knows how to work people. He'll make Bree out to be a liar and claim nothing is wrong, and then she'll have to stay with him."

"And maybe there isn't anything wrong. I mean, so she was scared of him, I used to be scared of my old man too."

"He offered to sell her, Jasper, there is definitely something wrong," I said aggravated.

Jasper shrugged. "Yeah, for seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars; most parents would sell their kids for that."

When I gave him a 'did you really just say that' look, he sighed.

"Maybe they're just really poor and can't afford to keep her anyway."

"Then why would they be at a fucking concert, Jazz?" I pointed out. "Look, I understand how crazy this looks, but I can't just turn my back on this kid. Seven hundred and fifty grand is nothing if it could save her from a horrendous life. How could I forgive myself for not doing it?"

Jasper shook his head slowly. "It's happening again."

"What?" I asked confused.

"This! It's that rooftop one-night stand all over again."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, seriously hoping he meant something other than what it sounded like.

"Oh, come on, you can't see what you're doing? I mean, besides the obvious legal matter here, you don't know this kid, and yet, you're willing to throw everything away for her. It's just like when you quit the band before because that chick you hardly knew messed with your head."

"You're talking about Bella," I said calmly with a nod. "How is this anything like that? I'm not throwing anything away."

"This is illegal, so you must be willing to risk jail for her," he argued. "And let's say you do somehow manage to get custody of her without anyone finding out you actually bought her, what then? Are you going to take her on the road with us? Maybe even hire a tutor so she can learn as we travel. How long is that going to last for? Eventually you're going to want to put her in dance class and shit like that."

"I haven't figured it out yet," I admitted.

"Exactly, because you're too impulsive. You get prematurely emotionally involved, and then you can't dig yourself out of it. You're like a fucking preteen who actually believes in all that love at first sight crap. You're too fucking old for that puppy love crap, and this kid ain't a puppy either. You can't buy people!"

"Okay, I've been in love once; you make it sound like it happens all the time. But I suppose you're right, this situation is similar to the Bella thing because like Bella, there's just something about Bree. I feel this… I don't know, connection, and I can't just walk away. She needs help, and I'm going to help her," I said determinedly.

Jasper didn't understand, and I didn't expect him to, but that didn't mean I was going to change my mind. But before I fully committed to trying to get custody, I needed to have a talk with Bree. So, I pulled her to the side and bent down to her level so she'd feel comfortable.

"Bree, you have to be really honest with me. I need you to tell me what's happening with you at home."

She hesitated, and that was when the man got impatient. "Are you taking the deal or not?"

"Please let me stay with you," Bree asked me quietly. Maybe if there wasn't so much desperation in her eyes I would have had more reservations, but there was no way I could ever say no to her.

"Okay, you have a deal," I told him.

"Now technically, I don't have legal custody of her."

"What?" I asked, getting increasingly irritated with him.

"Well, I do, but as of now I'm just her foster parent. The adoption is in the final stages of legalization."

"Now it's all starting to make sense!" Jasper announced. "She's not even really his kid. Edward, there is no lawyer in the state that's going to win this for you. The government is just going to come in and take her back. Don't you get it? That's why this guy wants your money."

The guy cleared his throat. "I have a very good lawyer myself, and she has a lot of friends in the child welfare department. I can assure you; she will make everything turn out the way we want them to. You give me the money, and you will get full legal custody of Bree."

"Don't do it, Edward," Jasper begged, trying to get through to me one last time. "If he's not really her father then go through the proper channels to get custody. This guy is just going to fuck you… excuse me," he said, noticing the way Bree was looking at him. "He's just going to mess you over," he corrected himself.

"If you let me stay with you, I promise, I will never do anything to make you angry," Bree pleaded.

"Three hundred and seventy-five thousand now, and she's yours," the guy said with a smirk. "You can give me the rest when the paperwork all comes through."

"Edward," Jasper growled.

"Done," I said, and then gritted my teeth as I shook the bastard's hand. We traded contact information, and then I handed him a check.

"Perfect. See ya around kid," he said to Bree before turning around and leaving the room, whistling to himself as he went. Fucking jackass.

I felt sick. Buying a kid was probably the lowest thing I had ever done, and yet, for the first time in a very long time, I felt like I was doing exactly the right thing.

"I'm going to go call Liam to give him a heads up about all of this," Jasper told me.

"Jazz, it's almost midnight, wait till morning," I told him.

"You have a child that doesn't belong to you. I think our lawyer is going to want to get started right away on keeping your ass out of prison," he argued.

"It can wait until morning," I assured him.

"Okay, what are you going to do tonight then?" he asked, and then we both turned and looked back at Bree. She smiled widely and gave us a little wave, so we waved back.

"I'm going to take her to my hotel room to get some sleep, and then talk to her more about everything in the morning."

"And what happens when the money disappears out of your account and child welfare services shows up to claim the kid. Because that is what's going to happen. You know that, don't you?"

I shrugged. "Well, it's not like three fifty is going to break my bank, and if she gets taken from me, then at least I'll know she's not with that fucking douche anymore. It's worth it, Jazz."

He nodded. "Okay. If you say so. I'll call Liam first thing in the morning so he can look into all your options."

"Thanks man."

"Yep," he said before heading for the door. "Goodnight," he said to Bree as he left.

"Goodnight," she called after him. "He doesn't like me too much, does he?" she asked me.

I sighed. "It has nothing to do with you, he's just a little upset at me right now."

"Because of me," she said somberly.

"I promise, it's not your fault, and I don't want you to worry about it. Come on, let's go get some sleep."

"Are we going to a hotel?" she asked wearily. "Riley and Victoria are staying in a hotel. I really hope it's not the same one because they'll probably try to take me in the middle of the night."

I shook my head. "I think Riley is pretty happy with our deal. You don't have to worry about him anymore," I told her gently, and then I silently prayed to all things holy that it wasn't a lie….