A/N: Thanks so much for all your wonderful thoughts.

Most characters belong to S. Meyer. Everything else belongs to me, including mistakes.

*Almost done*

Chapter 43 - Love Makes Us Do Crazy Things

EDWARD

There's a piercing cry. It's followed by a steady but muffled hum that vibrates into every extremity, sears the fine hairs on my arms, and invades all the way down to my core. Like a sonar reverberating in an ocean's bottom, it probes deeper and ripples far and wide into the darkest depths, into crevices unknown, where nothing and no one has ever ventured.

For a few seconds, that's all there is.

OOOOO

Pain follows. It's a pain so excruciating it almost feels without beginning, with no origin or point of inception. Its full force momentum is so fierce that there's no way it hasn't always existed, always will exist, or will ever be eclipsed by anything else.

OOOOO

Something brushes against my skin, touch firm yet tender. But the physical contact is too much on top of everything else. The pressure it exerts may as well be that of a thousand-ton weight. I flinch away, but the pressure remains steady, and after the initial shock…it's not unwelcome. It skims urgently up and down my frame, focuses on my midsection. It expels indistinct, strangled sounds, the agony in them palpable.

It's this agony that pierces through my haze of torture and lifts the veil of disconcerted bewilderment. With a long, sharp gasp, I force myself to compartmentalize the pain and to refocus on what really matters. And what really matters now isn't the bullet that's just torn through me; what matters is the woman who hovers above me. She is the one imperative.

"Oh, God, Edward. Oh, God. What did I do? Edward…"

There's a gash just under her right eye, the dry crimson blood rimming it a dark contrast to ashen features twisted into an expression of pure terror. The worst of it is her eyes; her expressive eyes brim with explicit, palpable, naked horror.

"Edward, I'm sorry, baby. I'm so sorry. I couldn't, I couldn't pull, I couldn't…"

As if her erratic speech isn't proof of her current state of panic, the irregular rhythm of her breaths, causing her chest to heave in sporadic, inconsistent bursts, further establishes it.

"Stop. You didn't do anything wrong, okay? And I'm fine."

The last part is a bold-faced fucking lie, but I will do anything, say anything to protect this woman. She cannot know how it fucking scalds nor the effort it took to speak those three short words. My hand instinctively compresses the spot from where all the physical pain exudes, and like air in a burst bubble, the agony spreads. When I pull back my hand, my fingers are steeped in blood.

Fuuuck.

If at all possible, Bella pales further. "Oh, God. Please, no."

Returning the hand to my side, I apply pressure and wince inwardly, reiterating assurances with as much aplomb as I can manage.

"Bella, I'm okay. It looks worse than it is."

Attempting to prove the claim, I flatten my clean palm against the floor, using it as leverage with which to heft myself into a sitting position and swallowing back the ensuing torture. Then, I slide away from James' limp form and lean back against the wall. Bella follows, crawling along with me on her hands and knees.

All the while, I imperceptibly grind my teeth and shove back the inferno licking at my abdomen. When Bella reaches out to help me, I shake my head. I've got to send out a message, not just to her but even more compellingly, to the bastard who just shot me:

I'm still in play here.

"I've got it, Bella, really."

"What do I do, Edward? Tell me what to do to help you." She's trying to remain in control, but her quivering voice betrays her.

"Take off your shirt and tie it tightly around his waist to stem the blood flow."

The fact that neither one of us looks up at the sound of that voice doesn't mean we've forgotten his presence. When I nod, Bella does as Garrett suggests and briskly removes her shirt – my shirt – and remains in a tank top. Stretching it tautly, she winds it until it resembles a long strip of heavy gauze, then I push my back off the wall, and she carefully binds my waist with the shirt.

"Tighter – mph," I grunt.

The jostling stings like a motherfucker, but I force back the string of expletives, especially when almost immediately, blood begins soaking the shirt.

"That won't contain the bleeding for long," Garrett contributes.

He's right; it won't. The wound requires immediate medical attention, and beyond his helpful advice, I doubt either he or Kate plan to perform any emergency surgery tonight.

Bella strokes my face, cages it between violently trembling hands, and dips her wide, rounded eyes to my level.

"Listen to me; you're going to be okay, Edward." She nods vehemently, attempting to convince herself as much as me, her nostrils flaring with overwhelmed, vacillating emotions. "We'll get you out of here, and you're going to be okay."

Resting my unbloodied hand over hers, I nod and even manage a tight smile, although I'm more than sure that Garrett's perfect aim was no accident. With an abstracted sense of curiosity, I wonder how long he's been practicing that shot – catching me just under the vest's edge.

But again, none of that is my priority. At the moment, I'll say and do whatever I have to, and if that includes offering Bella an encouraging smile, then so be it. Some words may remain unspoken, though not unexpressed. What I really need to communicate right now isn't what she already knows; it's what she doesn't.

"You're bleeding a hell of a lot, Tony," Garrett points out. "What did it hit? The pancreas? The spleen?"

I deliver my reply in a tone as conversational as his. "The spleen, I think."

"Yes, that would explain all the blood. You'll go into shock and bleed out if that's not taken care of soon."

When Bella pinches her eyes shut, I offer her hand a hard squeeze, simultaneously wanting to wrap my hands around fucking Garrett's neck for forcing her to witness this as if he hadn't already forced her to witness the unthinkable.

"Hey," I whisper. Bella reopens her eyes, and now I shake my head imperceptibly, my lips pressed in a tight line.

I know that he is the stuff of your nightmares, but do not show him weakness.

She nods just as imperceptibly. Out of the corner of my eyes, I observe two things: Kate begins an awkward and unsteady rise to her feet, yet Garrett's attention remains on Bella and me.

He chuckles. "So, when did you figure it out, Tony? Or should I say, Agent Cullen?"

So, he wants to talk; he's one of those – the picture profile of a narcissistic maniac. I'm not surprised – not anymore, anyhow – not since I figured out, with Charlie Swan's help, Garrett's role in this drama. But he's kept that prominent role concealed for way too long, and he's obviously been aching to celebrate his successful subterfuge.

If it buys time during which I can concurrently discover a way to get Bella out of here, I'll allow him to talk fucking bullshit to his putrid heart's content. Therefore, I cast my attention on him.

"I've got to commend you, Garrett; you and Kate both put on a good show. The night after the arraignment, when Kate berated James and blamed him for introducing Bella into all your lives, I knew she was lying. But here I thought it was James going along with her act, when all along, it was you go along with the act."

Again, he chuckles – a curious image when he holds my own gun pointed at me threateningly, even as Kate wobbles and sways toward him.

"It was you pretending to know nothing and acting the innocent fool when you asked Kate why Bella would make up such lies, all so that Kate could spew the lines you'd both practiced together: cover-up lies that she and you made up, not she and James."

Garrett offers me an amused smirk.

"And all the while, Tony, you were so careful not to lead our conversations just in case they ever had to be presented as evidence. You tried so hard not to allow your feelings for Isabella to give you away, yet you were such an open book, Tony, talking about 'love makes us do crazy things.'" He snickers heartily as if recalling a great joke. "Ah, it was almost endearing to watch."

"Here I was trying to be cautious with my words so no one could claim in court that I'd baited the information when all the while…you were baiting me."

Unable to resist any longer, he throws back his head and bursts into full-out peals of laughter.

"See, that's the only difference between your side and my side, Tony: the arcane, archaic rules you all play by to pretend to some legal superiority, to some moral compass none of you ever stick to anyway. Again, I ask, when did you figure it out?"

"I wasn't sure to what extent, but I began suspecting your involvement when you gave up Kate."

Kate halts her sluggish stride, and her bruised forehead furrows.

"What? What does that mean, 'when Garrett game me up?'"

"Shh. Hold on, Katie, and I'll explain it," Garrett says, his gaze on me, still grinning, still pointing the gun at us. He offers me a languid nod. "Of course. That would be the eye-opening moment because my turning on Kate to save myself wasn't in keeping with your romanticized ideals of what a man in love would sacrifice for his woman."

"You turned on me?"

"Hold on, Katie," Garrett says, a hint of impatience tinging his tone despite the plastered smile. "But yeah, Tone, it makes sense that's what would've piqued your suspicions. I mean, look at what you seem to be willing to sacrifice" – he waves the gun around in the general direction of my frame, "just like the proverbial hero. But see, that's just one of the many differences between you and me, Tony. I don't believe in heroes."

At those words, my eyes flash to Bella, whose gaze remains on me. Show no reaction, baby.

"And while I'll admit that you have a brilliant, analytical mind, that analytical mind has always taken a back seat to your heart and your cock. Did you know I was at the head of it all?"

"The mastermind?" I grin mockingly. "No, not at that point."

"Not at that point," Garrett echoes with a sneer. "You thought I was too stupid for that, didn't you?"

I quirk a brow. "Isn't that what I was supposed to think? Too stupid to be involved and too in love to turn on Kate?"

"Garrett!" Kate demands now. "What does he mean?"

"Kate, stop interrupting. You know what, Tony? Never mind, I get the gist of when you caught on," he smirks. "You're too damn smart. That's the problem here. Had you just done your actual job without getting involved with Isabella and then convincing yourself you had to go above and beyond, none of us would be here right now, and I wouldn't have to do what I'm going to have to do to you."

"And what is that?" I taunt because if he turns his entire attention and fury on me, maybe it'll give Bella an opening to-

"Tony, Isabella was never the target here, at least not in my book. You know that…"

His brows pull together, and when slowly, his eyes sweep to Bella, or the back of Bella's head because she has her back to him, something about the way he gazes at her, about the strange…tenderness that suddenly engulfs his features causes all the remaining blood in my body to run cold.

"Don't you?" he ends.

Bella stiffens, and I give our knit fingers another squeeze as he resumes.

"She's always been the only real innocent one in this whole mess, hasn't she? Just a victim of all the men with who she's ever surrounded herself – her father, her Uncle Billy, Jacob, you, James. I mean, it's not her fault her father involved himself in something he should've left alone. But I blame Alec for the screw-up with her father."

At the mention of Charlie, Bella's nostrils flare wider, no longer out of pure panic but infused with growing, dangerous fury. Keeping her hand in a vice grip, I pass her another subliminal message. Stay calm.

But my own blood pounds wildly in my veins as it works its way toward my wound. He's trying to throw us off balance; I know it, but I can't allow that. I can't allow him to see how I'm holding on to my sanity by a thin thread.

Instead, I'll play along.

"Because it was Alec's job to check out the prospective patients for the experimental trials?"

"Yes. Alec's job was to make sure that Harry Clearwater's friends and family weren't the type to invite trouble for our operation. But somehow, the dumb prick overlooked the friendship between Mr. Clearwater and Detective Charles Swan, and well, there you go. Who I really should've taken care of at that point was Alec for being such a screw-up."

"But you couldn't kill Alec because any sort of problem, any irregularity would've spooked James, who thought he was heading everything when you were the one pulling his puppet strings. He would've shut down the whole operation, and you needed him as your cover."

Shivers begin to rack my frame, but I refuse to allow my body to go into shock. It's clear from Garrett's interested expression that he notices.

"You've connected all the dots, haven't you, Tony?" By the look of his grin, one would think he's actually proud of me. "James had an ego the size of Texas. You know that as well as I do. When Kate and I started the experimental trials, it was just too easy to make James think it had all been his idea. As I'm sure you've figured out, I've never been what one would call a…charismatic guy. Unlike you and James, and even my Kate, I've never had the gift to convince others to do what I want. I've always been better at being the behind-the-scenes guy." He shrugs carelessly.

"So Kate planted the idea in James' head, and all the while, you and she ran the operation and allowed him to believe himself the head."

"Garrett, enough talking and just shoot them!"

"Shh, Katie. Basically," he answers me. "Everyone had their part to play. My part consisted of standing back and making sure everything ran smoothly, and then rolling in the dough."

"Until Alec's screw up."

"Until Alec's screw up," Garrett sneers. "It's a good thing I made a habit of attending the funerals of the practice's patients. You can imagine my fright when Detective Charles Swan walked in to his buddy Harry Clearwater's funeral." He places his free hand dramatically over his chest, but then a vertical line forms between his brows. "What, Tony? Tell me what you're thinking?"

No fucking way. No fucking way am showing my hand – not yet.

"I'm thinking…Charles never met James, did he?"

"Bravo," Garrett chuckles. "Bravo, Tony."

Unable to maintain her silence any longer, Bella's breath hitches audibly. Then slowly, she peers over her shoulder.

"Tony, I've always been a pretty lucky guy. James left the funeral early-"

"And you introduced yourself to Charles as James."

"I needed to see how much he knew, and based on the questions he asked, he knew too much."

"It was you," Bella breathes accusingly, "not James."

"Don't tell her anything, Garrett," Kate orders.

But Garrett ignores her and turns an apologetic gaze to Bella. "I've always wondered what made you think it was James that night."

"Right before you ran us off the road, my dad looked through the rearview and called you…James."

"Because that's who he thought James was," I murmur.

Bella returns her dark eyes to me. "Then while I was being chased, I thought I heard Kate say, 'She's got to be here somewhere, James. We'll end everything if she gets away.' Only…she didn't say that, did she?"

Slowly I shake my head, and in Bella's horrified expression, I see it's dawned on her too.

"What she actually said was, 'She's got to be here somewhere. James will end everything if she gets away.' Oh, God. Oh, God," Bella moans before hanging her head.

"Kate told me about the damning quote," Garrett grins. "The one you were going to repeat all wrong on that witness stand and thereby place the wrong man at the scene. However, Kate incriminated herself by removing her mask even though I told her not to. Funny how a comma here and an apostrophe there change everything. And it's even stranger how the mind works. You believed it was James, so your eyes and your ears delivered you proof that it was him. I'll admit, I was concerned the first time you showed up as James's girlfriend."

Here, Bella sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes rounding in shock.

"You recognized me?"

"Of course, I recognized you. Isabella, since that night, I've never stopped seeing you in my dreams."

Bile rises to my throat. I honestly don't know if it's the gunshot or the outraged fear that now stiffens my limbs. Meanwhile, as an oppressive silence fills the room, both Bella and Kate hiss at once, and Garrett answers one claim while ignoring the other.

"Garrett, what the hell are you saying?"

"You shot me and left me for dead!"

"Because I had no choice, Isabella! It was only supposed to be your father on the road that night, but he took both you and your mother along and left me no choice! Bella, you looked so beautiful that night up on that cliff, so wild and innocent, like one of Odysseus' sirens luring men to their own destruction. Half of me wanted nothing more than to damn it all and take you in my arms."

My scalp prickles. Adrenaline comingled with a growing sense of dread course through me and create a potent mix that turns my blood to ice. The sharp edge of fear twists like a blade into my gut, the pain a thousand times worse than any caused by a mere bullet.

And yet, sickeningly, I have to swallow it back along with the bile. I have to tamp down on the gurgling flow of molten lava threatening to explode because, beside me, Bella's erratic breaths, her shaking frame, and the stiffness in her limbs confirm her fury has grown just as dangerous as mine – perhaps even worse.

"I watched you jump from that cliff," Garrett continues, either unaware of Bella's fermenting outrage or perhaps purposely fueling it, "and every night, I relived your bravery in my dreams."

"Garrett, stop this!" Kate shouts.

Garrett's nausea-inducing gaze, now openly conveying a repulsive sort of admiration, doesn't stray from Bella.

"Of course, Kate didn't recognize you when we saw you with James. Not only was it extremely dark in that swampland that night, but my Katie set you out of her mind the second you went over that cliff. However, as I said, I'd never stopped thinking of you."

He shakes his head, a dark, gruesome look of regret marking his features as if he wasn't the one who almost chased her to her death. Then, quickly, his blue eyes brighten like those of a young boy discovering that the beloved toy he'd purposely chucked out the window hasn't broken after all.

"So, you can imagine how thrilled I was that you'd lived through that jump, and even more thrilled when it became obvious that you had no idea who I was! All your hatred, all your covert, scathing glares were directed toward Kate and James," he grins, "and that's when I figured out you thought James had been the one that night."

"Garrett! Garrett, you knew? You knew who she was from the beginning?"

Disregarding Kate's bewildered shrieks, Garrett offers Bella an indulgent smile. "I didn't tell Kate because I knew she'd panic and want to finish off what we'd failed to finish that night."

"You fool! That's why you didn't want to-"

"But I couldn't do that, Isabella. There had to be a reason you'd survived. So, I decided I'd keep an eye on you until I figured out what you wanted." He sighs. "I should've known you sought your bracelet."

"My bracelet." Bella spit out the words, her breathing accelerated, the mounting ire mushrooming. "You had it," she says through clenched teeth. "But then…how…?"

"Yes, Isabella, yes," Garrett admits, "I kept your bracelet. It was a token, something to remember you by. Every once in a while, I would take it out and picture you on that cliff with your hair windblown and your beautiful face turned away in defiance."

My vision blurs, rage or gunshot, I don't know and don't care. Shivers run up and down my spine. Still, I know my staying calm right now might make all the difference. Unfortunately, I can feel Bella's own terror mixed with fury about to boil over, and it's a potent combination, as I've learned. With all my remaining strength, I squeeze her hand.

Bella, please stay calm.

When she exhales and her stiff shoulders relax, I know she understands. Nonetheless, I can't blame her for the continuing hunger for answers.

"But…how did it end up in James' safe?"

"He planted it there," I state.

Garrett nods, confirming my conjecture.

"Tell me something now, Garrett. When did you figure out I was a federal agent?"

"Do you mean, was it before or after the night you fucked Kate?"

Silence.

Then it's as if all remaining air has been sucked out of the warehouse and replaced with a much more flammable compound.

"Garrett," Kate cries, "what are you talking about? I never-"

"Don't." Garrett expels the one word through barely moving lips. His eyes have narrowed, darkened into the blue flames of combustion. Finally, finally, he turns his gaze in Kate's direction.

"Don't insult me even more with your denials."

"Garrett," Kate whimpers.

He releases a deep sigh and refocuses on Bella and me, his gun shifting back and forth with his gaze.

"It was after, much after, actually. It was on a night when I was still trying to figure out what exactly you wanted, Isabella, why you'd returned, knowing you could be recognized at any moment, though it was James and Kate you thought would recognize you, not me. So, I followed you."

"You followed me?"

"You walked the city for hours…then you headed to Tony's place."

"Oh God," Bella moans, and her eyes flash to me. Our gaze lock and hold because we both know what night Garrett refers to. The night she came to my apartment, and in my drunken stupor, I insulted her and let her go.

"You weren't up there long, and when you came down, you seemed so…angry…so hurt. Of course, I'd already noted the almost overwhelming attraction between the both of you. It was only James' huge ego and Katie's preoccupation with getting Tony back in her bed that blinded them to what was going on in front of their eyes."

A loud sob tears through Kate. "Garrett, it wasn't like that, I swear. It was a mistake!"

"KATE, THAT'S ENOUGH FROM YOU!" Garrett bellows.

Kate drops her head and sobs quietly, and when Garrett resumes, it's once again in a conversational tone.

"So I stuck around Tony's for a while," he shrugs. "I saw a couple of other people arrive at the apartment complex. They left separately but around the same time. It made me…curious. Honestly, I was more confused than suspicious at that point. Still, my sixth sense told me there was more going on than just you and Tony screwing around behind James' back. But just to be on the safe side, on the night of James' party, I planted the bracelet in his safe. Wouldn't you know," he chuckles, "the FBI raids the place that very night."

Now it's Kate and me who speak in unison.

"So you knew Tony was an FBI agent since then?"

"You set James up that night."

"James was anything but an innocent man, Tony," Garrett smiles, once again ignoring Kate.

"The last I feel is sorry for James. He got the justice he deserved, not that it was up to you to deliver it."

"No, you would've loved to have done that part, wouldn't you, Tony?" Garrett scowls. "I'm telling you, Tone, that moral compass of yours does not point due north," he snickers. "Anyway, yes, James did get what he deserved, but no, he had nothing to do with what happened with Isabella and her parents. But that's only because as much bullshit as he's always talked, when it came down to it, James was a sniveling little coward. He didn't have the balls to run this operation the way I've run it. Kate was right about one thing," he stresses, "had he found out what Isabella's father had uncovered, he would've shut down the entire operation instead of just plugging up the problem. You saw how quickly he folded after the raid! He wouldn't so much as jaywalk after that!"

"Until you convinced him to take care of the problem, so it would seem as if he'd taken care of it. When all along…as always, it was you."

"I always took care of the problems!" he shouts, pounding his chest with the gun. "While James was off sweet-talking college girls, and you and Kate were off fucking behind closed doors, and Alec was off sweet-talking young men, I was the one making sure this whole operation didn't blow up in everyone's faces! It's only because of James and Alec's sloppiness that you feds even got a whiff of what was going on! And yeah, even though I knew about the shit that had gone down between you and Kate, I was still going to try to help her get out of it somehow, find a way to discredit Isabella's testimony against Kate. I'm sorry, Isabella," he adds before turning to Kate, who's sobbing hysterically by this point. "Because I loved you, Katie. No matter what, I loved you. You seemed so helpless after the arrests, like you needed me so much."

"I did!" she cries. "I do, Garrett! Tony was a mistake!"

"Oh, he was, sweetheart. He really was. You have no idea how much of a mistake he was. And I tried, Katie. I swear I tried to convince him you weren't involved, but he was getting too close to the truth, and I had to throw him a bone."

"Garrett." I swallow thickly. "Garrett!" I shout, and when he flashes his eyes back to me, I clearly see now what Bella must've seen that night. Garrett's usually serene, unremarkable eyes are alight with a venomous glow, like a snake poised to strike.

"Garrett, I want to apologize, sincerely apologize to you for what happened with Kate. I should've never-"

He turns back to Kate and cuts me off.

"How did it feel, Katie, when I told you Tony was an FBI agent?"

Kate covers her face with her hands and wails wildly.

"How did it feel," he raises his voice so she can hear over her bawling, "to know he only fucked you for information?"

"Oh, God," Bella chokes.

"Jesus, Garrett," I breathe.

He continues.

"He never wanted you, Katie. He wanted the information you'd only give him if he let you ride him while you gave it." He dips his head as if waiting for her to uncover her face and meet his gaze, his voice growing softer. "Does that hurt, Katie? Does it? Because it can't possibly hurt more than my having to watch you drool after him day after day or more than watching you throw yourself at him when you were obviously a one-and-done to him. The thing is, I would've probably kept trying to get you off if you hadn't kept throwing yourself at him. It was embarrassing to watch."

Bella squeezes my hand. She squeezes my hand as if she means to comfort me, to remind me she's already forgiven me for Kate. Yet it doesn't change the fact that she has to witness this nightmare I've failed at keeping at bay, this clusterfuck that just grows worse with each second. And still, I have no clue how I'm going to get her out of this.

"Damn it, Garrett-"

His head snaps back to us. "So you see, Tony, why I say Isabella is the only truly innocent one in this whole mess?"

"She is, Garrett. You're right. She is innocent. So please, let her go."

"No, Edward," Bella grits through her teeth. "I'm not leaving you."

"Let who go, Tony?" Garrett asks, eyes narrowed like a serpent's. "Who is 'her'?

My vision blurs. I'm losing too much blood, and I can barely keep myself in a sitting position. But I won't waver or flinch under his gaze.

Nonetheless, Garrett shakes his head ruefully. "Things could've still worked out fine for most of us here. With my testimony, James and Kate would've gone to jail for a long damn time."

Kate's sobs abruptly stop. She drops her hands from her face and flashes red-rimmed furious eyes to Garrett.

"And what did you think, Garrett? Did you think I would've just let you testify against me and not told the truth?"

"Who would've believed you, darling? The evidence against you and James was staggering."

Now, his gaze pans to the backpack that has remained untouched throughout this entire exchange.

"Then, there was the physical and circumstantial evidence to corroborate Isabella's testimony. You never stood a chance against her, Katie, especially once the jury took a look at her. She would've been the perfect witness."

My skin crawls. I'm almost grateful I can barely move because I'd probably be doing something foolish right about now – like rushing the guy with the gun.

No," Garrett muses with absolute finality. "You and James would've gone to jail, Isabella would've been safely in witness protection, Tony would've gotten a pat on the back for a job well done, and I…well I would've mourned your loss for a long time, Katie, darling. But knowing that Isabella was alive, I could've searched for her, been the man she needed. Helped her get over all her pain and losses."

Bella.

Jesus Christ, he wants Bella.

The words are out before I can contain them, before I can think them through.

"You dirty bastard, you would've never found her in witness protection," I hiss.

Garrett merely laughs again.

And all the while, Bella squeezes my hand.

"Tony, Tony, Tony. Haven't you learned yet? I'm a lucky guy! Lucky that Charles never recognized me. Lucky that Isabella misheard that night! Lucky that you were too busy falling in love with Isabella to notice me! But most of all…I'm lucky that Isabella survived that night. What do you call that, Tony?"

"I call that a sneaky motherfucker's lucky streak, one that's about to run out," I snarl.

He chuckles. "You're funny. I personally call it fate. But with you hell-bent on uncovering the truth…"

"You knew he wouldn't stop," Bella says. "You knew if it was more than just a case to Edward, he wouldn't stop until he uncovered the entire truth."

"You're so smart, Isabella," he says, glowing proudly. "Yes," he answers her softly. "Isabella, I don't enjoy killing people. What I did to your parents, what I did to James, was all out of necessity. I could've sent someone else to take care of it all, but it's always better to handle it yourself to minimize mistakes in matters like these. Yet mistakes still happen. In Tony's case, I'd decided to allow James to take care of it for once since he was so angry, so hurt when Kate informed him of how you'd betrayed him, Tony. He really did consider you a friend." He shrugs.

"Garrett, I'm begging you from one man to another, please, just let her go," I ask plainly. "She doesn't need to see this."

And if she gets enough of a head start, she could still get away.

"Edward, no," Bella seethes.

"I'm going to ask you again, Tony," Garrett says, "who do you mean by 'her?'

I narrow my eyes. "Don't do this, Garrett."

"I was supposed to save Isabella tonight," he snaps. "James was supposed to take care of you, I was supposed to take care of him, and then I was supposed to rescue Isabella along with the evidence. Then she would've seen who the real hero was and told everyone how I saved her."

"I don't believe in heroes, Garrett," Bella says shakily. "Please don't do this."

"And I wouldn't have let you get away with this, Garrett," Kate shouts.

But Garrett's attention remains on me. "But you got through James' men, and you would've had James too. And you knew. All along, you knew about me! You weren't supposed to survive, and you weren't supposed to know about me!" he screams."

"Garrett, let her go!"

"But you're right, Tony, love does make us do crazy things!"

"Garrett, please, don't hurt him!" Bella cries tearlessly.

"Garrett, kill them!"

"And now I've got to clear the slate!"

"Garrett-"

"So, who do you mean by 'her,' Tony?" he yells, raising the gun and pointing it at me.

"No, no!"

"Let her go first!"

"Garrett?' Kate asks, bewildered and wide-eyed. "Why are you asking-?"

"Garrett, stop and think-"

"Pick one!" he commands.

"Garrett, goddamn it! Not like this!"

"Edward!" Bella screams and throws her arms around me, but I push her off, heart pounding.

"GO!"

"NO!"

She holds on tighter, and unable to fight her, I wrap her securely in my arms, shielding her eyes, protecting her the only way I now can. Because he won't hurt her, not now, at least. This is her chance to run, yet she won't take it. I know she won't.

"Pick one!" Garrett howls again.

"Christ! Don't put her through this!"

"PICK ONE!"

"BELLA! YOU KNOW I'LL PICK BELLA!"

"And you know I will too," he says, right before turning the gun and shooting Kate between the eyes.

A/N: Thoughts?

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