A/N for 2021-05-14: This is my favourite of the story's earliest chapters. The chapter following is Eeyorefan12's fave.

I'm very curious to hear your reactions, folks!

- Erin

After hearing Jasper's news, Edward's mood was both lighter and heavier as he walked back to the room. The girl was completely innocent of anything to do with their operation. Jasper's on-the-ground contacts had verified her information and the evidence's merit had convinced Edward. Their initial assessment was solid.

This was good.

And this was bad.

It meant he had kidnapped someone and he had a moral obligation to make sure it affected her as little as possible. It was Monday, so they had four days to go before they could safely release Bella. The shipment she'd seen would be as secure as it could be by then, and even if she did go to the police or the FBI—the thought made him shudder—they'd still be fine.

Hold. Deceive. Release.

The holding part was underway, but he was behind on the deceiving. He had plans in the works, though, having tasked Al with assembling files that he could pretend to get sloppy with and purposefully leave in plain sight. She'd see just enough to form incorrect but plausible conclusions. A few staged phone calls with a handful of dropped keywords would seal the deal.

As Edward approached the room, he nodded at Demetri, who stood sentinel outside the door. Leaving the Italians to watch Bella while he met with Jasper hadn't been his first choice but they'd been the only men available this early in the morning, and he'd known he'd only be away for a few minutes. When he entered the room, Felix's profound scowl told him that something was wrong.

Then he saw Bella.

She was sitting on the bed but her body was contorted, her legs drawn up protectively to her chest, hands awkwardly behind her. One cheek was an angry red, the rest of her face flushed. She looked frantic and scared.

"What the hell happened?" He was still looking at Bella, wanting her reaction to his question.

But it wasn't Bella who answered—it was Felix.

- 0 -

With her headphones on and her attention focused on studying, Bella hadn't noticed when Edward had left and Felix had come in. Memorizing chemical combinations wasn't her forté, but it had to be done, and she would see herself succeed, kidnapping or no. While she might have applied to Harvard on a whim, she sure as hell wouldn't be earning her degree that way.

High school had been easy for her—too easy. Then she'd arrived at Harvard and the discovery that her study skills were abysmal had been a slap in the face. She'd had to bust her ass to pass her freshman year. As a sophomore, she'd finally sought help at the learning center, gathering the tips and study tricks she'd needed to thrive at an Ivy League school.

She was determined that nothing would interfere with her graduating with honors—not even being kidnapped by some mobster asshole whose mood changes were giving her whiplash. At least he wasn't quite so terrifying in a well-lit room.

After two nights and days with the guy, during which he'd mostly left her alone, she was pretty sure she wasn't going to be physically harmed . . . or worse. The two fricking creepy Italian guys were around, but they clearly answered to Edward; she only saw them when one or the other was delivering their meals. For her part, she kept her focus where she needed it to be: on studying and getting those last two damn papers done. She clung to the hope that the jerk would stick to his word and let her go by Friday. Toward that end, she cooperated as much as possible. She still didn't know what they'd been doing in that alley but she really didn't care at this point. All she wanted was to go home.

When she stood up from the bed, book in hand and ready to begin her usual pacing and murmuring to herself, she spotted Felix—and froze. He was leaning against the wall, arms folded and staring.

At her.

The book began to slip from her hands, and she fumbled to right it. Where was Edward? When had he even left? And why had he left her with this slimeball again?

She felt like the deer she'd nearly hit once in Forks, frozen in place in the middle of a highway as something fatally dangerous barreled towards it.

Felix was lethal. Of that she was certain. His behavior in the alley had also made it clear that his boundaries with women were unsettlingly flexible. What the hell was he doing here?

As she looked his way, he straightened himself up and smirked. Still unclear as to the reasons for his presence, she decided that it wouldn't be smart to leave herself unarmed. Gripping the book, she widened her stance.

"Sedere. Sit." Felix pointed to the bed.

Her heart pounded in her ears.

No way.

She looked at where he pointed and tightened her hold on the book, resolved to resist by whatever means required. Sure, there was no way she could overpower him, but maybe she could get in a good smack and run. They would catch her but at least she wouldn't be alone with him. She considered screaming but she wasn't sure if anyone would hear her—or care if they did. Edward certainly hadn't seemed to before.

"Sit, per favore," Felix repeated firmly, still pointing.

She felt her hands begin to sweat.

When Felix moved towards her, it was quickly, his long strides making short work of the space between them. She panicked, throwing the book at his head. When he dodged it, she snatched the candlestick off the table, taking a wild swing. He yanked it from her hand and tossed it behind him, grabbing her wrist.

With her one arm pinned, she kicked at him frenetically.

It was the briefest of struggles, leaving Felix with Bella's teeth marks in his arm and ending with his brutal slap to her face. He flipped her facedown onto the bed, putting a knee into her back and cuffing her hands. Her eyes watered from pain and fear.

Felix turned her over and secured her to the headboard with another set of cuffs, pulling her arms up painfully behind her.

She had been bracing for worse treatment when the door opened, and Felix quickly backed away from the bed.

Now Edward was staring at her, having heard Felix's version of things. It was much the same as Bella's, but Felix had left his ultimate intention unspoken—not that Edward would know this.

Would he believe her?

Or even care?

She rapidly assessed what she'd seen and experienced of him. He'd been polite and respectful at times, but she couldn't know if he would trust her—or she him.

All she did know was that he was her only option.

- 0 -

Even after Felix's explanation, Edward remained confused. What the hell had Bella been thinking? She'd been fine when he left. The only logical conclusion he could come to was that she'd thought she could escape. Even that felt like a stretch, but as he knew all too well, confinement did strange things to people.

Fuck.

He hated this. He'd have to keep her cuffed again. Doing so would also make her more likely to become a problem for them when they released her.

Mentally railing against her idiocy, he tried to calm himself, surprised to realize that he needed to. Why should this upset him? Cuffing someone was nothing new or even inhumane. Detained people tried to escape all the time. She'd made her choice—albeit a really fucking stupid one. But as he looked at her and then Felix again, he struggled to see why she would take on a man twice her size, even if she was addled. What was he missing?

"I warned you," Edward said, sounding angrier than he meant to. "I was very clear that if you tried to hurt anyone or escape, it wouldn't leave me any choice about keeping you restrained."

He watched Bella draw in short and shaky breaths, her body still coiled in on itself. With dismay, he saw her eyes filling with tears—the first he'd seen from her.

When she spoke, there was a quaver of fear in her voice. "He tried to rape me before, and I thought he might try again."

Edward snapped his gaze to Felix, who uttered an indignant, "Pfft," and rolled his eyes.

Edward turned back to Bella, knowing his features were cold and hard. Behind this mask, his mind was racing. "That's a weighty accusation and one that I take very seriously. Explain."

Her voice still trembled and her words came tentatively as if she didn't think he'd believe her. "It happened in the alley."

"It's not rape when you offer it, Bella, which you certainly did to me. Are you telling me you didn't suggest the same thing to Felix?"

A florid blush made her cheeks redden even more but she shook her head fiercely. "I didn't. He just . . . he said that since you said no, he would give me what I . . . what I needed. But he was angry when I tried to stop him—and I knew he had a gun—" She stopped abruptly, her face contorting with strong emotion. Edward watched her take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, ostensibly to calm herself. The tears were still there, threatening, but she hadn't let them fall.

Baffled and frustrated, Edward gave her a moment to compose herself as he turned to Felix. "Is this true?"

Felix snorted. "I expected to pay her after, Signor." He shrugged.

Edward's stomach went cold. "What?"

"You pay a whore after, Signor. Not before," Felix explained as if this were obvious.

The chill that had taken hold in his midsection was expanding. "Did you ask her if she wanted your 'business'?"

Felix's expression conveyed his confusion—and then his contempt. "She offered herself to you. What more does one need to know about a woman who sells her body in such a place?"

Edward felt suddenly numb as understanding dawned. "So you didn't ask her." His words were not a question. He already knew the answer.

"No." Felix shrugged. "Not necessary."

Horror. Rage. Anger. Guilt. Edward felt and welcomed them all because their presence smothered the chilling link his mind had made between this girl and his sister. How had he not seen this? He'd been an idiot not to comprehend what had been right in front of him. What he'd classified as Bella simply complaining at him from behind the gag had been something else entirely. She'd been trying to tell him . . . and he'd dismissed her. Even worse, he'd handed her over to Felix after they'd arrived. No wonder she hadn't said anything even when the asshole wasn't around.

He walked over and unlocked the second set of handcuffs that held Bella's hands to the bed. "Come with me, please," he said, then jerked his head at Felix. "And you."

Bella eyed him nervously but made no move to slide off the bed. When Edward reached to help her, she flinched away and pressed herself against the headboard.

"Where are you taking me?" Her voice shook.

"Just come with me. Now."

Slowly, carefully, she scooted forward, avoiding his outstretched hand. Her breathing remained rapid.

Taking her by the arm, he walked her to the door, only pausing to blindfold her. Unlike before, she was silent when he did so. He wasn't sure if he was feeling her body trembling in fear or his in rage. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this angry.

"Send Mitch and Al to the new lab," he called back to Demetri, who pulled out his phone.

His body rigid with fury, Edward guided Bella down the hall. It took all of his control not to turn and pummel Felix to a pulp right then and there.

Justice, he reminded himself, is measured and carried out in reason. His father had administered such before, and no doubt would again. It wasn't like they could call the police.

They walked downstairs and into the new building extension. The workers weren't in yet, but their tools were out where they had left them.

"Stay here," he told Bella, removing the blindfold and sticking it in his pocket. She nodded nervously.

Al and Mitch arrived. "Edward?" Mitch asked.

Edward said nothing, picking up a nail gun from a tool station. He pulled out the battery, checking the charge before shoving it back in. "Stand over there, Felix," he said, pointing to the wall opposite Bella. In the part he gestured to, the exposed studs were close-set, just wide enough for a man's head to fit between them.

"Signore?" Felix asked.

Edward made sure the strip of nails was in place, balancing the gun's weight in his hand. He tested the action, punching two nails into a scrap piece of wood.

"Did she offer or did you ask her for her . . . business, Felix?" Edward asked, advancing a few steps in his direction.

"No," he said, shaking his head.

Edward nodded, knowing the answer already but wanting Mitch and Al to understand the offense.

"And you didn't ask if she wanted to have sex with you?"

Another headshake from Felix, this one a more nervous gesture than the last.

"So you thought that a gagged and restrained woman, at whom you'd just flashed a gun, wanted to have sex with you up against a car in an alley without confirming that with her first?"

There was no response from Felix but the paling of his features told Edward he understood what was likely coming.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mitch and Al exchange glances.

Behind him, Bella sucked in a loud breath. Yes, she understood now.

"You know what we do here, Felix, and I believe you understand why. You also know that we don't hurt innocent people—even women we think are prostitutes."

Felix started to open his mouth but watching Edward approach, closed it again.

"And I want my point to stick. So, seeing as I've found you up against a wall, and I happen to have a nail gun in my hand, I guess you'd like to have your ears pierced. Stay still, so I don't miss."

Felix jerked his head away from the opening as Edward drew near. "Mitch, Al, help Felix keep still."

They did, with little resistance from Felix. He only grunted as Edward used the gun to drive a nail into the lobe of each ear, securing them and him to the studs.

Spatters of blood painted the wood and Felix's shirt. Edward eyed them as he put the tool down and turned to Al. "Make sure he's up to date on his Tetanus shot."

Al nodded grimly.

"And then let him work his way loose."

The nail heads weren't that large but it would hurt like hell for Felix to free himself, even with the full use of his hands.

Turning back to Bella, Edward spoke in a low voice. "Let's go."

Her face, so lately red, was ashen, and he heard her unsteady footsteps as she followed him to the door. He had just pulled the blindfold from his pocket and turned to put it back on her when her knees gave out.

He caught her before she hit the floor. Seeing that her eyes were closed, he picked her up, checking her pulse. Slow but steady—she'd only fainted. As he carried her into the hallway, he let his feelings loose, choking out a breath. Having already failed so miserably with Rosie, to have come so horrifically close with this girl . . .

He walked carefully with her to their room, mindful of the cuffs she still wore. In all likelihood, his actions had terrified her, but she'd needed to see the weight his words carried: no one would hurt her, and anyone who tried would pay bodily for it.

Demetri waited at the door, opening it for Edward and watching curiously as he approached with Bella in his arms.

She was still unconscious when he put her down on the couch. He undid the handcuffs, chucking them aside, and then sat down in the nearby chair, putting his head in his hands. His failure with Rosie was back in full force. Watching Bella's chest moving up and down, he struggled to steady his own breathing, overwhelmed by what he'd done and almost let happen—again.

Closing his eyes, he cast his thoughts back over the tumultuous past two days. He'd been laboring under the premise that he was alone in all this. He wasn't, but the trap was an old and familiar one—easy to stumble into again. He hadn't even wanted to take the ten minutes Al had given him last night. No, it was time to face facts and admit he couldn't do this without help.

Picking up his phone, he punched in the familiar number, waiting until the line picked up before blurting out, "Dad, I need you."

DISCLAIMER: S. Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.