Edited by Stilldreaming85 and Banshee69
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Isabella.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, as we sat in the car outside Michael's building, Anthony and I that is.
I don't know how he convinced Edward to let him take me with him. But let's be honest, there's a very big chance Edward didn't know where Anthony or I was right now. Knowing Anthony, he probably passed on the wrong information to his brother, because I can't imagine Edward letting Anthony do this solo.
As usual, Anthony offered me no answers. He simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to whatever it was he was doing on his phone.
Today, Anthony was being an asshole, more so than he usual. One of his hands had been resting on my knee the entire car ride here. No matter how many times I swatted it away, he wouldn't budge. It was still there right now, and I regretted my decision to wear a skirt. I do believe Anthony took great joy in my discomfort towards his inappropriate touch, if the look on his face was anything to go by.
"Seriously, Anthony. Why am I here?" I asked again, becoming more impatient with him with every passing moment. I attempted to swat his hand away again, but it was no use.
"If he steps out of that building and doesn't see you, he'll know its a trap," he said, placing his phone in the cupholder. "And we can't have that now, can we?"
"You want me to approach him and make him get in this car with us?"
"No. All you have to do is stand your pretty little self in front of his building where he can see you when he comes out and we'll do the rest," he said.
"We'll?"
"Do you think me that stupid that I would come here for him with only you as backup?" He questioned with a raised brow.
I followed his earlier actions and simply shrugged. Let's face it, it wouldn't be the dumbest thing Anthony has done.
"There are people inside the building waiting. I have them set up at every exit in there. I have people all over this street watching, waiting for the order to be given," he said.
"Good to know," I said, swatting at his hand away again.
"Does it really make you that uncomfortable, me touching you?"
"You shouldn't want to touch me. You shouldn't want to be take me out anywhere, not after what your brother did to you the last time. Do you never learn, or do you simply not care?"
"What can I say." He shrugged, offering me a bright smile. "I'm a glutton for punishment."
"I believe the correct term is masochist," I said turning to face him just as he was leaning into me. Lucky, I managed to snap my head back just in time and his lips landed on my cheek.
"Admit it," he said, his mouth still hovering over my cheek just at the corner of my mouth. The vibration of his voice and his warm breath made my skin break out in goosebumps and I doubt it went unnoticed by him. I hated he caused me to have that kind of reaction. I hated myself more for letting it happen. "You like me touching you."
I gave up on offering him any sort or answer or smart come back; he would only take it as a challenge. He was playing a game and I wasn't about to walk into his trap. I wasn't going to help inflate his ego anymore than it already was.
I gave him a slight shove, thankful that this time he seemed to get the hint and removed himself completely from me, even the hand that had been on my knee all morning.
We fell into a comfortable silence after that, until a deep voice was heard coming from Anthony's watch.
"Target entering the elevator on the twenty-third floor."
"Time to play," Anthony said.
Suddenly, I didn't feel so good. This was it, and I was helping them. I was helping them lead Michael to his death. I don't know why that bothered me so much. Michael wasn't an innocent man or was he?
I couldn't help but doubt myself, doubt my own mind. What if, in fact, it was all a mistake, a misunderstanding?
I noticed the car door being opened, then Anthony pulled me out.
"What are you doing?" I asked. "Shouldn't you stay in the car? What if he sees you?"
"You think I'm going to leave you to stand here by yourself?"
"If he sees you, he'll know something's up and run," I stressed.
"He's got nowhere to go."
"Target's in the lobby, on far left end speaking with a female." Anthony's watch alerted us.
"Anthony, I don't think I can do this," I said. This all became so real so fast and my mind refused to let me process it all. All the doubts I had flooded me and refused to back down. I'm going to be the reason for Michael's death. I may not be the one to actually kill him, but I'm leading him into the trap that will lead to his demise.
"You don't have a choice here, little lamb," Anthony said. I noticed the gun in his hand as he stood behind me. With the hand he had on the small of my back, he pushed me away from the car and into the middle of the sidewalk; right in front of the double doors where Michael would exit.
"What if he's innocent? What if I'm helping you lead an innocent man to his death? Anthony, I can't do that."
I was well aware of Anthony's close proximity. I could feel him as he pushed himself closer to my back. I felt his hand trail up my arm along my shoulder and up my neck. I wanted to stop him, to move away from him but I couldn't find the ability to move. An overwhelming sense of guilt washed over me.
He swept my hair away off of my shoulder and leaned in. His lips were dangerously close to my ear, while his other hand snuck around my waist still holding his gun.
"The most innocent looking people are the ones that carry the dirtiest of secrets. Michael is no different. He played you. He wanted you to fall for him, to choose him willingly," Anthony said. "You're beating yourself up about this because you care for him and that's exactly what he wants."
As I looked up, I saw him. Michael was walking out of his building. He had come. He came here alone to meet me. It was then that I became aware of those around us. All the people Anthony brought along for this. He was right, he came very well-prepared.
Michael noticed too; he was aware of what was going on the moment his eyes met mine. Anger, fury, and hurt radiated off of him and on to me. He didn't fight, maybe he knew he was outnumbered. Be that as it may this was still a very public street; he could have caused a scene to draw attention to himself and the situation at hand.
He never took his eyes off of me, or maybe it was the man behind me he was staring at. Anthony hadn't moved from his place, nor had he let go of me yet. Anthony, who despite being on a busy street, held a gun in his hand for all to see without any fear or worry.
"Look at him," Anthony said. "Does that look like an innocent man to you? Look at how he's looking at you. He still believes he has a chance." He chuckled. "The bastard."
Michael looked at me almost pleading, asking me to help him somehow. What if we were wrong? What if Michael was only an innocent person whose only crime was wanting me?
"Isabella," Anthony whispered softly, bringing his hand up to my cheek, turning me to face him. "I'm going to kiss you."
And he did. His lips were warm and soft against mine. It was a gentle kiss. It almost felt like a "thank you" for the part in which I played in all this. His hand on the back of my neck tightened as he gripped my hair and pushed me deeper into him. What surprised us both was my response. I kissed him back.
I don't know what came over me. Maybe it was the situation at hand that was responsible for my momentary lapse of judgment. Maybe it was the fact Edward was still angry at me for something I didn't even know I did and a part of me wanted to hurt him like he was making me hurt. By the time common sense slapped me in the face, Anthony pulled away with a triumphant smirk plastered on his face.
It was then that I realized why Anthony had done what he did. When I looked back at Michael and saw his face; I saw the hurt and betrayal staring back at me. His eyes welled up with unshed tears. I knew I made a horrible mistake and there was no way I could possibly fix it. There was no way I could save Michael's life.
~MINY~
"Hell no," Garrett said, as he stood in front of the door blocking my path.
Have you ever had a nagging voice inside your head that just wouldn't leave you alone until you gave in, gave it what it wanted? That was my current predicament. I knew I shouldn't want to go down there again to those cells. I knew that I may be signing my own death certificate with Edward. I knew that I didn't want to, nor did I need to see what was happening, or had already happened to Michael. But there was this voice that kept on screaming at me, telling me to run down there and the feeling in the pit of my stomach agreed. I tried to ignore them both and failed miserably; the only option I had left was to give in and go.
"Please, Garrett." I tried begging. However Garrett wasn't giving in this time.
"There's nothing down there for you."
"I just... I need to do this. I need to so I can stop feeling so... so restless."
"You've lost your goddamn mind," he said. "Let's get out of here. Let's go get a drink, it'll help take the edge off whatever it is you're feeling."
No, alcohol wouldn't help me right now, if anything, alcohol would make it worse, make that nagging voice louder and that feeling stronger. I only had one option left. I really didn't want to do this to Garrett but I had no other choice because I needed to go down there.
"Garrett," I said, putting my hands on his shoulders. I looked him right in his eyes. "I'm so sorry."
He frowned his brow at me, not understanding where or what my apology was for, until he felt it. With as much force as I could muster up, I brought my knee to his stomach and watched him double over.
I didn't look back at Garrett. I couldn't because then my guilt would overtake me and I would go back and help him. He would be fine, I was sure of it. Let's face it, I wasn't that strong. I think I just took him by surprise more than anything.
I punched the access code into the keypad to open the door just as Garrett started coughing and attempted to get back up while holding his stomach.
"I swear to God, Isabella," he coughed out, but I had already slammed the door closed, blocking him out.
I ran down the stairs, thankful all I had on was a pair of socks. I didn't want to draw anyone's attention from the noise shoes would've caused. As I reached the bottom of the steps, I could hear faint voices from somewhere down the long hall. I kept walking; the closer I got, the louder one voice became. It was just loud enough for me to make out whose it belonged to, Michael. The door was slightly ajar, so I stood there, listening to them as my fingers knotted together.
"Oh, there's this doctor in Geneva, he can make you into anyone you want to be," Michael said.
What the hell was he talking about?
"You fucking son of a bitch," Edward said, before a loud crack was heard.
From where I stood outside the door, I could see the outline of Anthony. I knew it was him because he was still wearing the same clothes from this morning. He stood there impossibly still, and to be honest I'm not sure he even blinked in the short time I had been here.
Behind me, I heard shuffling or what sounded like footsteps. I turned around, and sure enough there was Garrett coming down the hall. I didn't have any other choice but to slip inside the room and shut the door behind me.
Anthony didn't flinch at the sound, but Edward's head snapped up.
"What the fuck are you doing down here?"
"I…" I didn't know what to say, 'the voice inside my head told me to come here.' I was well aware that this is probably the most stupidest thing I have ever done, but there was a part of me that felt I had to be here.
"Love, I never would have thought," Michael said with a smirk.
My head turned towards his bloodied face. It appeared that his nose was broken, yet he smirked like a madman.
"Dolcezza, get out of here," Edward said, as he came over to me, grabbing my arm, trying to pull me towards the door.
"No," I said firmly. "I want to know the truth. I have a right to know."
"Isabella…"
"You want to know the truth?" Anthony spoke, although he didn't move from his spot. "Ask him his name."
"What's your name?" I asked, turning my attention back to Michael.
"You know my name, love," he said.
Edward left my side and within a blink of an eye he had Michel by the throat.
"She's not your fucking love." He spat in Michael's face.
Edward didn't let go of Michael until he was gasping for air. Something in Edward had shifted. I had only seen him like this once, back in Ragusa when he killed Stefan and made me watch.
I took a step closer towards Michael. Neither Edward, nor Anthony made any move to stop me and it wasn't like Michael could do anything considering he was tied to a chair.
"Who are you?" I asked him again.
"I think you already know," he said, looking at me through his watery eyes.
I had overheard a conversation between Edward and Anthony, before Anthony had me make the phone call, claiming he thought Michael was - in fact - Liam. The same Liam who had stolen his wife, Kate. The same Liam who was suppose to be dead. A few days ago, I thought Anthony was being delusional; that maybe Edward had actually damaged his brain. I thought he was only grasping at straws, trying to make something out of nothing. However, now as I looked at Michael, noticing the way he watched Anthony. Maybe Anthony had been right all along.
"How are you alive?" I asked. He only shrugged. "But you would have recognized him the first time," I said to Edward.
"He changed his appearance." It was Anthony who answered.
"You were there the night of the ball," I said, taking another step towards him, until Edward stepped in front of me.
"Maybe," Michael, well, I suppose Liam said. He never lost that smirk as he spoke.
I stared at him in disbelief. I couldn't believe I had been so stupid; so blinded that I hadn't seen any of this earlier. I had been so focused on hating Edward back then that I let this man get close to me, close to us, and look at what happened.
"You killed Eleazar."
"I wish I could take responsibility for that one, love, but it wasn't my bullet that killed the poor bastard."
I tired to get closer to him. I wanted to hurt him. I have never wanted to hurt anyone as much in my life as I wanted to hurt this man right now, not even Anthony. Edward wouldn't move out of my way, he kept pushing me towards the door, until I pushed him back.
"No," I said. "You don't get to decide this. You don't get to tell me to leave."
"Isabella," Edward said, as he grinded his teeth together. "I'm hanging on by a very thin thread here. Leave before I do something I'll regret later."
"Brother, let her be," Anthony said, placing his hand on his brother's chest. They had a moment together, a silent stare off if you will. I used Edward's little moment of distraction and went around him and back to Liam.
"I have to say, you're a hard shell to crack. Kate, she was easy, so eager to betray Anthony no matter the cost," Liam said.
"Why?" I asked.
"I'll admit, I had thought I had you at the lake. I thought I had cracked you, but no, you continued being loyal to him, to them, to the people who stole you from your life, who abused you, Isabella."
That was the first time he had used my real name, or at least the first time I had heard him use it. However, the other things, he had no way of knowing about.
"Don't look so shocked. I knew who you were the moment I saw you. I know everything about you."
"You know nothing about me," I said.
He threw his head back laughing, causing some of the blood on his face to splatter onto me. I turned on my heel ready to leave.
"You fucked everything up," he said.
"Leave now," Edward said, this time gripping onto my elbow.
"All you had to do was fucking give in, cooperate, and things would have been different now. They would have all been dead and we, we could have been happy, you could have been free."
My back stiffened at his words. At one point that was exactly what I thought of him as, an escape, a happy ending and now…
I turned around in time to see Anthony knock him down to the ground.
"You fucking piece of shit!" he yelled as he kicked him wherever his foot landed. But Liam, all he did was laugh.
"Did you shoot Carlisle?" I asked.
"Why would I do that?" he said.
"Because you're a sick, sadistic bastard who's hell-bent on revenge," I said.
"Revenge?" he laughed. "Me? I'm not orchestrating this show, I'm merely helping out a friend who has the same interest as I do."
Edward and Anthony shared a look between them, one I didn't understand.
"Love," Liam said. "I'm gonna die here today, but you, you are all going to suffer a fate far worse than death," he laughed as Anthony kicked him again.
Edward almost successfully had me completely out of the door before I heard Liam.
"I'll give Kate a kiss from you," he said to Anthony. "I'll give her more than that."
Anthony had stilled his actions. I could only see his profile but it was enough. Let's face it, he wasn't my favorite person and he probably never will be, but a part of me, a sick part of me, cared for him. I knew I had a case of Stockholm Syndrome when it came to him. However, I couldn't overlook Anthony's pain right now, it was so much, so raw, a blind man could see it.
All that pain, all those years he suffered played out across his face. All his emotions were there on display for us to see. I felt as if I could feel it to. I felt everything he was feeling, all that hurt, it ripped away from the inside out.
Before I could stop myself or give anything a second thought, I pushed Edward with so much force he stumbled back and almost fell to the ground.
I straddled Liam's chest and grabbed a hold of his hair, lifting his head up off the ground only to slam it back down on the concrete floor - over and over again - until the only sound left that could be heard was my heavy breathing. Neither one of them tried to stop me and I'm glad. I wanted to make the pain stop and it did. I didn't feel numb, I didn't feel regret, in fact, I felt somewhat free.
I had just killed a man with my bear hands and all I felt was relief.
~MINY~
Days passed and what bothered me the most was the fact that I still felt nothing. I wanted to feel something, some sort of remorse, but it never came and neither did any nightmares. Edward said it was normal, but even he couldn't hide his concern from me.
Garrett and I were back on good terms, even though he insists he won't forgive me, his actions showed otherwise.
"Hey," Edward said, bringing me out of thoughts. "You okay?" he asked, placing a lingering kiss on the top of my head.
"You know that's the tenth time you've asked me that today."
"It is not," he said, pulling me down on his lap.
"I love you, dolcezza. I'm worried about you," he admitted.
"I'm fine. I promise," I said, as I ran my fingers through his hair. "I just…"
"You what?"
"Now that he's... gone. Why are we still down here?"
I thought the whole point of us being here in the underground was because of the threat. Michael was the threat and he had been taken out, so why were we still here?
"It won't be for much longer, I promise. Why don't you go to our room, you look tired. I'll be in there soon," he said.
There was currently a small party happening in the bar to celebrate Carlisle's homecoming. Who would have thought he would have pulled through after the doctors only gave him a ten percent chance. Carlisle was a strong man though, and regardless of my feelings towards him, I'm glad he pulled through.
I gave Edward one last kiss before I stood up and made my way towards our room.
"Marie," Carmen called out to me from the other side of the hallway.
I hadn't seen Carmen in weeks. Edward had told me she had been at the hospital with her brother and then she left with Emmett and Rosalie.
"Carmen, it's so good to see you," I said, hurrying over to her and giving her a hug.
"It's good to see you too," she said, kissing both of my cheeks.
Carmen wasn't alone. I noticed two men standing behind her, both were dressed casual in jeans and sweaters with leather jackets over the top, but something felt off about them. I had never seen them down here before and I had been here long enough to remember every man that frequents this place. These two were new.
"Who are they?" I asked.
"They work for me," Carmen said, taking a hold of both my hands and holding onto them a little too tight for comfort.
There was something about Carmen; she was acting weird. She seemed to be on edge constantly looking over my shoulder.
"Marie, amore, are... Is everyone in the bar?" She asked.
"Yes. Carmen, what's going on? What's wrong?"
She looked over her shoulder and motioned something to the two men, they seemed to both nod their heads in understanding. They looked ready to move. I saw them both as they slid their hands inside their jackets. I could see the outline of not a gun but a goddamn rifle.
"Carmen, what the hell is going on? Who are they?" I asked, trying to free my hands from her grip.
"Listen to me, Marie. I want you to come with me," she said.
"I'm not going anywhere with you. What the fuck is going on Carmen?"
I struggled against her grip, but she wouldn't let go of my hands. Who would have thought that Carmen, for someone so small was so strong.
"Don't be a stupid regazza. Come with me. Let me take you away from here and free you from all of this," she said.
I sucked in a breath as her words and her actions hit me.
"You're not suppose to be caught up in this mess. Come with me and together we can be free from them."
"I am not going anywhere with you, now let go of me," I said, finally yanking my hands away from her.
I took a few steps back from her, from them, but as I moved back, they moved forward. I contemplated turning on my heel and running as fast as I could. I could probably make it back to the bar, but not without a bullet in me.
"What about Michael, Marie? Don't you want to be with him, to have your freedom? He's waiting for you. You're all he ever talks about."
"How do you know Michael?" I asked, confused. I know I had mentioned Michael to Carmen, however that was months ago. Did they know each other?
"Well, I needed someone to help with my plan," she said.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Putting it all together now, it had always been in front of us. Carmen knew about Carlisle's account so it would have been easy for her to steal from it. She knew where we were all of the time. That's why they had been able to attack us so easily. That was why they had been able to shoot Carlisle. She was always one step ahead because she knew what their plans were. But she'd killed her husband? Why?
"On second thought, change of plans," Carmen said. She snapped her fingers at the two men behind her and they automatically stepped in front of her.
"She's coming with us." I heard Carmen say behind them.
Before I had time to react, before I had time to scream, a hand was over my mouth and I was pulled roughly toward one of their bodies, after that, everything went black.