Good morning! I hope everyone's week has been good. I've decided to update today! I'll still be updating every Sunday, but I've decided that if I have about a five chapter cushion, then I'll update on Wednesdays. I can't promise I'll update every Wednesday though, just look for it.
Again, I wanted to thank everyone for the overwhelming responses to my last chapters. It was so amazing and it truly makes me feel good. Thank you all for taking the time to read the story I've written and for supporting it this far.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I stepped out of Bella's room to speak with the two officers. I didn't want to leave her side, but I needed to know what they found. We walked into an unoccupied room so we could speak privately.
"We did a full sweep of the area. We couldn't find anything. Whoever this bastard was, made sure not to leave anything behind."
I nodded, "You couldn't find anything?"
Officer Cameron shook his head, "Her apartment was trashed though. And we found that her car was also totaled. It looks as though whoever did this was targeting her specifically."
"And the bakery downstairs? Was it bothered?"
"No. It was left alone," Officer Uley said.
I nodded, "Alright. Thank you for saving her." I shook both of their hands again, "I'm going to send you two a little something extra this month."
Officer Uley nodded, "We'll let you know if anything comes up. And we'll keep an eye out for anything suspicious."
They left the room as I got a phone call. It was Emmett. I had called him to go to Bella's apartment get the cat and a couple of her things.
"Hey man, how's Bella?" He asked.
"She's fine, thank god," I ran a hand through my hair, "She just needs to rest for a couple weeks. Did you get the cat?"
"Yep. Little bastard clawed the shit out of my arm, but I got it."
"Did Jasper find anything?"
"Yeah, he tracked the IP address of the ad, but it was a dead end. Whoever made the ad covered their tracks very well."
"Damn it." I growled, "I'm calling Aro first thing in the morning to see what his cameras picked up. I'm going to find this fucker. And when I do, he's going to suffer."
"Hey, you might want to give the girls a call. They're loosing their shit. They're worried about Bella."
"Tell them not to worry. Bella will be okay. She needs to rest now. They can see her tomorrow or something."
"Alright, give her some love from me."
"Will do, talk to you later."
I hung up the phone and walked back into Bella's room. The nurse was taking the IV out. I held her hand while they got her ready to be released. I had gone back out to my car and grabbed my overnight bag. I kept it in there in case of emergencies.
"Here princess," I gave her my shirt and a pair of sweatpants. It was going to be too big for her, but she'd be comfortable on the way home.
I helped her into the wheelchair, making sure she didn't use her ankle. The drive home was pretty silent. I knew Bella was probably in shock and trying to process everything. I just held her hand, rubbing her skin gently with my thumb.
We got to my house and I carried her to the bedroom. She didn't complain, which was surprising. Her cat was laid up on my bed. He meowed happily when he spotted her.
"Hey," She whispered as she scratched between his ears.
I helped her change into the pajamas she left her last night. I'd have to get her some more clothes tomorrow. Some comfortable stuff while she was resting.
"Easy," She winced as I put a pair of her socks on her feet.
"Sorry," I said, "How are you feeling?"
"My back really hurts," she sighed, "It's that vertebrae that I broke from the car accident. My anti-inflammatory is at my apartment."
"I'll send someone to go get it." I said.
She shook her head, "Don't worry about it."
"I'm going to worry about it princess," I pulled at my phone and texted Paul, "Hey, I'll even have him stop and get that ice cream you like. You want something else?"
"Yeah," She whispered, "Can you get me a couple pairs of pajamas too. And my toothbrush. Please?"
"Of course."
Tears started falling down her cheeks. I put my phone away and scooted closer to her. I wanted to hug her, but she was in pain. I didn't want to hurt her even more.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked as I moved onto the bed beside her.
She leaned against me, "I was so scared," She shuddered, "I thought I was going to die. I didn't have time to grab my gun. Everything happened so fast."
"It's okay now. You're safe. Nothing like that is ever going to happen again. I swear."
"I don't want to go back home." She said.
"You don't have too." I kissed the top of her head, "You don't ever have to go back if you don't want too. You can stay here."
She seemed to relax against me, "I don't know what I'm going to do."
"Shh, don't worry about it now. We'll worry about it later, okay?"
"I just… I can't stop thinking about it. My brain won't stop replaying it," She took a deep breath, "I… I think I know why this happened."
I rubbed her arm, "Why do you think this happened?"
"I've never told you this story. I never wanted to relive it," She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, "When I first opened my business, these two guys came in one night. They demanded I pay them a protection fee. And when I didn't, they threatened me. I shot one of them with the gun my dad gave me. They got away. I always figured they'd come back and try to kill me."
I closed my eyes; this would be the perfect time to tell Bella that it was my men that visited her. But I couldn't bring myself to say it. I didn't want to distress her anymore. And I definitely didn't want to ruin our relationship.
"Bella, I'm sure this isn't related." I told her; I had already killed James. He wasn't an issue now.
"What else could it possibly be? I mean, who would sneak into my apartment and attack me? Why would someone do that?"
I sighed, "I don't know Bella. But we'll figure it out. In the meantime, we're going to worry about getting you all healed up. I'm going to get the big TV up in here tomorrow and hook it up for you."
"How did you know I was in the hospital?" She asked, surprising me.
"I swung by to see if you were still home because I was going to pick you up. There were cop cars everywhere and they told me where to find you." It hurt me to lie to her.
"How did the police know that I was in trouble?"
"Your security system Bella. They have people who monitor the cameras. The person watching you must've seen everything."
She nodded, accepting my answer. I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't want to lie to her, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth. Not yet. Not when she needed me to protect her.
Paul stopped by and brought Bella's things. I grabbed a glass of water and her medication.
"Here you go," I gave her the water and her medication. She took everything and settled down in the bed.
"I'm going to go to sleep," She mumbled, her eyes drooping, "Thank you."
"For what?" I chuckled.
"For being there," She yawned, "I don't know what I'd do without you."
I smiled and kissed her forehead, "Get some sleep honey."
She fell out pretty quickly. Once I was sure she was completely asleep, I got out of bed, pulling the blankets to her chin, then walked into my office.
It was late, but I didn't give a shit. I needed answers. I picked up my phone and called Aro. I needed to see the tape.
He picked up on the fourth ring, "Hello?"
"Aro, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need the videos from Swan's bakery."
"Is something wrong?"
"Bella was attacked and I'm trying to figure out who attacked her."
"Oh my, I'll send those to you right now," He said, "Is Isabella alright?"
"She'll be fine." I said, "She'll get better before I do. I need to find this bastard and punish him."
"Of course," Aro said, "I've sent the videos to your email. Call me if you need anything."
"Thank you."
I logged into my email account and found three videos. I started with the first one. I poured myself a glass of whiskey as I watched it.
A car dropped the man off. I wrote down the license plate and watched as he walked around the building to her apartment. He expertly punched in the code. He didn't even hesitate with the numbers.
He obviously knew the code. My back felt hot. I had a feeling, but I wasn't ready to say it yet. I had to turn the video off. So many thought were racing through my head. I shot a text to my father, Jasper and Emmett.
They were at my house within the hour. They weren't sleeping tonight, they were on edge, just as I was. They came into my office and sat down wherever they could.
"Aro sent me the videos of the guy who broke into Bella's apartment." I said once they each had a glass of whiskey.
"How is Bella?" Dad asked.
"She's hurt, but she'll be okay in a few weeks," I said, "But it could've been so much worse."
"Have you watched the videos?" Jasper asked.
"I started to watch the first one. But I got pissed." I took a deep breath, "He didn't even break into her apartment. He had the code."
"He knew the code to her apartment?" Emmett said.
"Yeah, he just waltzed right in."
"How could he have gotten the code?" Jasper asked.
"I'm thinking that Aro is behind this," I blurted out, "He's the only one who could get access to the codes. That would explain it."
"Has he done anything for you to think this?" Dad asked, "Aro has been our ally since before you were born. It's just hard for me to wrap my head around him betraying us."
"I don't know what else to think," I told him, "He's the only one who could have access to the codes."
"I'm not telling you what to do son," Dad said, "But I would hold off on the accusations. You don't want to start a war based on speculation."
I sighed heavily, "Bella was attacked tonight. She could've been killed. I can't just let this go."
"I'm not telling you to let it go. All I'm saying it gather more information before you accuse Aro."
I grabbed my drink and turned away from him. I knew he was right, but it still pissed me off. I wanted to find the bastard who did this and torture him to death.
Who do you all think is behind this? Tell me your thoughts! Have a great week, look for the next update Sunday!