BPOV

"Has something disastrous happened since you've left Forks?"

Edward was manically typing on his phone, eyebrows creased together, and seemed very agitated. He stopped long enough to give me a look of annoyance and then continued.

"My sister."

I leaned back against the plush couch we were sitting on and smiled. "What did she do now?"

We'd had zero cell service while we'd been at the cabin- and the silence had been absolutely perfect- but now, back in the real world, both of our phones were filled with missed calls, text messages, and emails. Judging by Edward's reaction I assumed his must have been more serious than mine. Since we'd arrived at Quil Ateara's office he'd been so focused on what he was reading, or responding to, that a few of my questions had gone unanswered completely.

"She's Alice. Is that explanation enough?"

It was.

I patted his knee in an act of feigned sympathy. "Well, I am sure she means well."

He sarcastically snorted before slipping his phone back into the inside front pocket of his suit jacket. "Alice, being Alice, wants to throw you a surprise birthday party."

"Excuse me?" My voice came out much louder than I'd meant for it to.

Edward raised his eyebrows while trying to hide a smile. "Oh, but she means well."

I was reaching to get my phone out of my purse, to tell Alice exactly where she could shove the surprise birthday party she was planning, when the receptionist appeared from out of nowhere and said my name. I stood up to follow her but made a mental note to deal with Alice when we got done.

Quil Ateara's office was filled with the late afternoon sunlight that spilled in through the entire wall of windows. He was seated behind his desk, looking deep in conversation on his phone, but promptly hung up once we'd come inside. He took three wide strides to meet us across the room.

"Ms. Swan."

I nodded, accepting the hand he was offering. "Call me Bella, please."

"Bella." He grinned before looking at Edward. "And I assume that you're Mr. Cullen?"

"Edward."

The two of them shook hands before we settled into the oversized leather couches. Quil took one of the matching chairs across from us as he exchanged pleasantries with Edward. I briefly looked around, taking in the room, and trying to get a feel for the man we'd just met. He had numerous artifacts- I assumed from his tribe- that were carefully housed in glass cases, and large paintings that took up the majority of the one whole wall. However, it was a smaller- less noticeable painting- that caught my eye.

"Is that a Yaha Uta?"

Clearly surprised by my question he fully turned around in his chair to see what I was looking at. He grinned focusing back on me. "Are you familiar with his work?"

"My stepmother is Quileute," I explained. "I took her to an exhibit in Phoenix that had a lot of his pieces displayed."

"Well, I guess that answers one of my questions," he said, grinning. "I was wondering how someone like you would have ever gotten involved in a divorce case for a Quileute woman."

"Oh." I shrugged, looking at Edward. "Actually, Hope House was involved before I came along- Emily had been there for…"

"She originally came to us about a year ago. The second time was only a few months ago," he finished for me.

The conversation took a serious turn as we dove into the details of Emily's case: the medical records that documented her abuse, what little information I'd been able to find out about Sam Uley or Paul Young, and the lack of progress I'd been able to make with the Tribe's elders.

"I'm not sure what else I can do at this point," I admitted- feeling defeated. "Emily won't talk to anyone and I can't get the tribe's counsel to listen to anything I have to say. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a woman, or an outsider, but they've made it obvious that nothing I say will change their decision."

"And Emily is the only one to come forward, so far?"

"So far?" Edward asked, repeating his question. He shook his head when there was no elaboration. "We've never had anyone else from the reservation come to Hope House."

Quil nodded before moving out of his chair. He walked back to his desk and picked up a file folder before returning and sitting down. "I hope you don't mind but I'm going to ask my private investigator to join us."

He passed the folder to Edward who took it and immediately started flipping through whatever was inside. I watched, curious, as his eyes widened in surprise. Edward looked to me, then back at Quil, before closing the file. "What is this?"

"A problem. And a possible theory." Quil's voice was very somber when he answered.

I held my hand out for the file. "What is it?"

Edward ignored me. "Theory? You think this could be related to Emily?"

"Possibly."

There was a knock on the door and Quil excused himself before getting up.

"Edward?" I asked, whispering.

I couldn't tell from his face if he was just confused or if he was actually worried about whatever he'd seen inside of it- maybe it was a mixture of both. He hesitated before handing it to me.

I opened the folder and tried to make sense of what fell into my lap.

"What?" I asked, looking at the pictures of the women who stared up at me. "What is this?"

Edward plucked one piece of paper out from in between the pictures and handed it to me.

My eyes quickly scanned over it and then looked at him. "A missing person's report?"

"Not just one."

We both looked up to see Quil had rejoined us, bringing with him a man that I assumed was his private investigator.

XXXX

"Fifteen?" Edward muttered, shaking his head.

Quil steepled his fingers together and somberly nodded his head. "That we know about- it could be more."

Fifteen women, in the course of three years, had gone missing from the tribal land between La Push and the Makah reservation in Neah Bay- North of Forks. No bodies were found. No explanations as to where they could have gone- or what could have happened to them. Just gone.

"How has this not been all over the news?" I asked, outraged.

"They probably were." From the corner of the room Embry Call, Quil's private investigator, spoke. "Accidental drownings. Bear attacks. Suicides. Runaways. There is a whole lot of National Forest land between La Push and Neah Bay."

My stomach knotted as he listed all the explanations that could have been used to cover this up. I carefully picked up the pictures and stared at the faces of the women they showed. They all had dark, straight hair, with eyes that matched. They were all young- the oldest being in her early thirties and the youngest in her late teens.

"It may not be connected to your client's case at all. She could just be married to a son of a bitch that doesn't respect women and has a brother that feels the same way." Quil leaned back in his chair. "But I am not a big believer of coincidences."

"It would explain Leah's reaction when you asked about Sam."

I looked at Edward, remembering how she'd basically pinned me against the wall at the mention of Sam Uley's name. A shiver ran down my spine. Could she possibly be involved in this? She'd been the only person I'd spoken to that even acknowledged the name Sam Uley.

"So are we…" I stumbled over my words, trying to wrap my head around the situation. "Are we talking about sex trafficking? Or a serial killer? What is this exactly?"

Embry came closer now, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. "We don't know because we've never been able to find anyone on the inside of the tribes that will talk. At least not one that's knows anything. Those reports were filed by the women's families and they're the only ones who are willing to give us any information."

"We do know there is a meth operation that runs between the two tribes." Quil added. "Is that also a part of this? I only found out about these because Embry happened to meet one of the mothers of the missing women. We've tried to put the few pieces we have together but there is still a lot that we can't figure out. When you emailed me back Emily, and then told me the specifics of her case… well. Like I said, I am not believer in coincidences."

I felt like I was going to be sick.

"There is someone, possibly more than one person, specifically targeting women on the reservations." My voice had a hint of hysteria in it. Edward placed a calming hand over mine and I squeezed his fingers. "Wouldn't the tribe's elders be all over this? Shouldn't they be?"

"You've met them, Bella." Embry reminded me.

I sighed when he raised an eyebrow as if that answered my question. The elders didn't care about Emily; why would they care about any other women that were possibly victims?

"So what do we do?" Edward asked, looking between the two men across from us. "I mean, not only for Emily but for all of them. Even if they aren't connected to each other."

Embry answered, "Find someone that cares. Someone that will fight."

"I'll fight," I said automatically.

Edward's fingers squeezed mine this time.

"My family lives on that land." I continued. "I grew up going out there every time I was with my dad. I've known some of those families my entire life. I care! And I want to help!"

"Bella," Edward's voice was strained when he said my name.

I stood up to talk directly to Embry. "What do I need to do? How can I help?"

He looked back at me, seemingly amused, but didn't answer.

"Look," Quil sat up, moving to the front of this seat. When he spoke, he spoke to Edward but I turned to listen. "Why don't you let us come down there tomorrow? We can take a few days and let Embry poke around. Maybe he can talk to a few people and I can meet with Emily if she's willing. If it ends up just being an issue of getting her a protection order and a finalized divorce, then I am more than happy to offer my help. If we find out it is more…"

"Then what?" I asked even though I wasn't sure I wanted hear the answer.

"Then we try to figure out what is really going on," Embry said.

Edward stood up behind me and once again took my hand. "And figure out how to stop it."

XXXXX

The drive back to Forks felt like an eternity. Edward and I had both been silent for a majority of it- trying to process what we'd just been told.

How could this not be a bigger issue within the tribe? Or the town for that matter? Why weren't there people searching for those poor women? They were someone's daughter- sisters- possibly even mothers. Didn't anyone care?

My mind raced as I tried to see if any of what Emily had ever told me could fit with what little information Quil and Embry had given us. She'd never mentioned any other women or anything related to the Makah tribe. Granted what she had told me didn't always make a whole lot of sense, but still… If she knew anything about what they'd just told us, then certainly she would have said something.

"Bella."

I turned away from the window and looked at Edward's stone like face.

"I know you have a tendency to hate all forms of authority- especially when it comes from me- but please, I am begging you, please stay out of La Push until we figure out what all of this is."

"My dad is out there, Edward. And Sue. I can't just not see them."

He sighed and briefly closed his eyes.

"There haven't been any women, who weren't from the tribes, that have gone missing."

"How do you know that?" He asked, his voice was suddenly harsh. "If they can cover up fifteen murdered women on a tiny reservation then what's to say they can't do it in a town the size of Forks?"

"Edward-"

"I mean it, Bella. I can't stop you from seeing your dad- I'll give you that- but, I can stop you from doing anything with Emily's case out there."

"Excuse me?" I laughed indignantly. "I don't need your permission to do anything."

"Do you remember the conversation we had when you first started at Hope House?"

I resisted the urge to cross my arms at the mention of his demand that he got the final say in anything regarding Emily's case. I'd understood it but that didn't mean I had to like it.

"I'll be fine, Edward. No one out there has any desire to hurt me."

He pulled the car to the side of the road so quickly that we skidded to a halt on the loose gravel. His seatbelt came off in a hurry and I watched as he turned in his seat to look at me.

"Bella, I'm not joking. If I have to call your father and tell him what's going on I will. Do you think he would want you going out there if he knew what was going on?"

"Don't you dare, Edward Cullen." I point a finger at his face. "I am grown fucking woman and Charlie doesn't need to worry about this on top of everything else!"

"And I do?" He pushed my hand away and was yelling now. "There is some maniac on the loose, hurting women- killing them for all we know- and you think I'm overreacting by asking you to stay away from his hunting ground? Does that really seem so unreasonable that I'd want you to stay safe?"

"And just leave Emily to deal with this by herself? What about her?" I yelled back, taking my seatbelt off now. "I promised her I would help her and I can't do that if you're going to forbid me to go to La Push!"

Both of us were breathless, staring angrily at the other.

"You're infuriating; you know that?" Edward asked after a few minutes.

I sighed, suddenly deflated from exhaustion over the conversation, and turned my head away- going back to stare out the window.

"What if something happened to you, Bella?"

"Something could happen to me in Forks, Edward. I could get hit by a car, trampled by a moose, eaten by a bear."

I heard his breath come out in a huff.

He wanted me to be safe, I knew that- I understood that. He probably felt the same way thinking about Alice and Esme and would likely tell both of them to be more aware of their surroundings. But unlike his mother and sister, I had a job to do. I had someone, now maybe more than one someone, counting on me.

I turned my head to look at him. "I don't want to upset you."

He didn't believe me.

"Hey," I reached for his hand and angled my body so I was in front of his face. "I mean it. I understand you're worried- not just for me but for all of us. I'm worried, too. But I can't just stop because there's a chance that I could get hurt. My job is to protect her. And if I can possibly help these other women, or their families, then I will. I have to."

"You don't have to."

I was leaning in front of him, halfway out of my seat, and could see that the anger had turned to anxiety.

"Edward."

He shook his head, turning his eyes to look out the window.

"You stood in the middle of my office and told me that all these things you're mad about right now- about how I will always stand up for those that need it, that I will fight for those that can't fight for themselves- was the perfect reason why I should have taken the board position at Hope House. Did you mean it? Or were you just saying that to try and get me to stay?"

His eyes immediately cut to mine. "You know I meant it. But you being on a board for a nonprofit organization is a far cry from you running around hunting after a murderer!"

I moved to sit back in my own chair and the car became suddenly quiet- only the soft vibration from the engine could be heard.

"You can't tell me what to do, Edward. But-"

He let out an incensed growl but I continued- speaking over him.

"I will promise that I'll be careful. Okay? I'll wait and see what Embry finds and then we will go from there."

"And as your boss I don't get an opinion on this?"

"Well, you're not my boss. Let's make that clear right now. I volunteer and have just as-"

"Okay! Then as your fucking boyfriend or whatever the hell I am," Edward angrily waved a hand between us. "I don't get an opinion? I can't get upset when you tell me that you're going to try and take on whatever the fuck this is by yourself? This isn't some god damn true crime podcast, Bella!"

He shook his head before raking his fingers through this hair.

I watched him, feeling guilty that he was so upset and yet justified in the fact that I was refusing to back down. Could he really expect me to just walk away after hearing everything we had this afternoon?

"I'm not asking to do it by myself." I carefully reached for his hand and was relieved that he didn't pull away from me. "We have to do something."

He shut his eyes before taking a few deep breaths. I could practically see all of the scenarios he had playing in his mind- all the ways I could end up injured or worse. I squeezed his hand.

"Edward."

He was slow to open his eyes to look at me but when he did I could tell the argument was over for now. He would wait, we could wait, to see what Embry and Quil were able to discover in the next few days.

He slid his fingers between mine before firmly squeezing my hand. "Promise me you won't do anything without talking to me first, okay?"

I leaned over the console again and this time Edward turned his face to look back at me. I nodded before placing a single kiss on his lips. "Okay."

"Say it, Bella."

"I promise."