Chapter Thirteen


For several minutes Edward and Bella kissed on the kitchen counter, oblivious to anything but each other. At least that was the case until the grandfather clock in the living room chimed the hour. They had places to go, people to meet, one in particular. Jasper wasn't the most patient person.

"We should go," Edward whispered, his mouth lingering along the edge of her jaw. Bella's lips were swollen and the area surrounding them was sensitive due to his stubble. Her heels dug into his ass in an attempt to hold him captive, not that he wanted to let her go. There wasn't anywhere he'd rather be than right there.

The kitchen had warmed considerably when the others left, but it was the woman that tested his control with a nip and tug of his bottom lip that made him groan aloud.

Her laughter made him smile, infinitely better than the dread that creeped up on him after the others left. It was there in the forefront of his mind, and that wasn't fair to Bella. The thought of Jane, James, and Shelley leaving him behind completely terrified him. What would he do without them?

"Let me go get ready and we'll go see this Jasper guy." Bella leaned closed and squeezed his ass, humming softly, not in any hurry. "It's a damn shame we have to go though."

Edward thought the same thing, but he also didn't want to jump in too quickly with her. She was used to people leaving her, and for her to trust that he planned on sticking around, they had to take it a little slow. It would be difficult, there was no doubt about that. He kissed her again, nipping at the corner of her mouth. "We'll make time to be shameful later."

That earned him another laugh and kiss that almost made him rethink his priorities. It hardly helped that she seemed to love touching him. She offered another suggestion before he could change his mind. "We can grab some food after, maybe come back here and play some pool."

Something in her voice suggested it would be an interesting pool game. His hand slowly ran down the middle of her back, earning a sweet moan from her. "That sounds like the perfect fucking afternoon."

"We can post the video on YouTube when we get back, hopefully we managed to get some kickass footage."

That reminded her of something she said. "If we're planning on working together, there's a chance your identity could be compromised." She had asked him the night before to blur out her face and change the sound of her voice if needed. "Are you hiding from someone?"

Bella shrugged, wincing. "Not on the run kind of hiding. I try not to stay in the same area for long, mostly to keep this 'anonymous benefactor' from keeping tabs on me. Sometimes I work under the table, other times I work at most six months and move on. This was the longest I'd stayed, a little over three years. After I lost my grandmother, I still couldn't leave. I kind of fell in love with area."

"I can't imagine living like that," Edward stated, his brow tightening as his hand cradled the back of her neck. "You should be able to do what you please without constantly looking over your shoulder. Maybe it's time you did something to get this benefactor's attention, get him or her to come out of hiding."

"Uploading the video, if it captured anything, would be the first step. Though I didn't do much this time. Not sure if I glowed enough. I don't post videos of myself, just the paranormal incidents." She pushed him a little back, jumping down from the counter. "How good are you with computers?"

His lips kicked up on one side, feeling confident of his skills. What else was there to do during high school for a gangly, pimple-faced nerd.

"That good, huh?" she teased, tugging on his shirt. Her fingers danced up his tattooed arms, and though she seemed to want to study them, she stayed on subject. "There's a damn good chance whoever it is that keeps tabs on me is going to take down any videos of me. Whoever it is, doesn't want me to over expose myself, which makes little sense considering he or she asked my grandmother to allow me to explore my gifts. Talk about mixed messages."

Edward couldn't help but chuckle at her babbling. When she was nervous she had the tendency to talk too fast and mostly in one breath. "You're cute when you're flustered."

She did her best to look upset, but ultimately failed.

"Sorry, once I get an idea in my head I run with it. And you're right," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "Maybe it's time to force him or her out."

"I might be able to help you out with the DNA testing, too." He slipped his hand around hers, leading the way toward the guest bedroom they shared. It wasn't the best idea for them to be in the same room as a bed, but it was clear that Bella's desire had taken a back seat.

It was for the best, he reminded himself.

"My uncle, he's a doctor. We can always ask him, and if I tell him how important it is, he could just run the samples himself."

"You'd do that for me?" Bella stopped him just inside the bedroom, tugging on his hand. "Does he know what you can do?"

Edward had to look away, hating the guilt he felt for how little he'd seen his family since James died. "He knows, but not that I can see James." His gaze landed on her again, her smile gone. "How am I supposed to tell him that his son is haunting me?"

"I don't blame you for not sharing that." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Edward, I know we've talked about this, but I've seen spirits turn and it's brutal. I don't want you to see someone you love like James, Jane, and Shelley do that."

He wasn't ready to dive deep into that subject, but he had to ask for something.

"I understand where you're coming from, look at Irina, she turned within hours after my first encounter with her. I get it, but I'm asking you to tell me at the first sign of trouble."

"Jane is a concern," she answered softly, walking toward the closet. It was hard to keep his eyes from wandering further south than her back, but he managed. "She's quick to anger and that spells trouble. After getting her memories back, it has to be hard for her to keep herself under control. Not that I blame her considering her past."

"Five years, Bella," he said from behind. Unable to stay away from her, not with her half naked, he wrapped an arm around her as she looked through her clothes. He settled his chin on the top of her head, earning a playful huff of irritation. "James said he couldn't find me until I woke up almost twenty-four hours after the accident. Shelley, she was an old teacher that never gave up on me growing up. She once promised that she'd always watch out for me. She had died of a heart attack earlier the week of the accident, roaming the halls of the hospital until I was rushed into the ER."

"I understand," Bella said, turning to look up at him. "I have my best friend following me around, unless I'm on a case."

"What?" His hold on her tightened, but shifted her around. "You gave us a lecture about befriending spirits and you have one."

"Yeah, she's not with me all day though like your companions. She's well aware of what can happen to me if she's with me twenty-four-seven. She's been dead for about a year, has every intention of moving on soon. I didn't take her murder well."

Edward's thoughts ran through a series of memories, linking things she and others had said to local news. "Tanya mentioned someone named Vicky, that you took time off from giving lessons at the gym because of what happened to her. The serial killer, uh—" he snapped his fingers a few times, pacing as his mind raced. "What was his name? Something stupid the media made up…"

"The Nightingale Killer," Bella replied, her words making him stop. The color in Edward's face drained. Had he figured it out?

"His last victim was named Victoria," Edward said, though she could see he was still trying to put everything. "He died before they could build a solid case against him, of a h-heart attack." He looked nauseous, she led him to the foot of the bed, keeping her distance once he was seated. "You killed him."

Deciding she had to get ready, she returned her attention to getting dressed. It would help distract her as she explained.

"He was going to walk, everyone knew it. What do you expect from a former forensic student? Top of his class, until his mother was too sick to take care of herself. He had to quit school, had to work to pay for her care. In the end, it was what ultimately killed her. The facility wasn't as good as he had hoped. A virus broke out, making several residents in the nursing home very sick, including his mother. She developed complications and died. He went after the nurses and doctors associated with the facility, didn't matter that they had nothing to do with his mother's death, he still killed seven nurses and one doctor. Vicky worked there for a total of fourteen days before she quit, she didn't like the shortcuts her boss was taking to save money, even reported a complaint against the nursing home. He still went after her."

"There was little evidence from what I remember." Edward didn't know what else to say, only that he now knew why she tried to scare him away. She was really capable of killing someone, and she had. "He was on a long list of suspects, and some of the DNA evidence pointed to a former disgruntled employee."

"I killed him and a fissure in the ground opened up to take him to hell or wherever," she said, shrugging. "At least that's what I would call what I saw, he escaped its gasp."

"Did he haunt you?"

Her hand lifted to the cut on her forehead, the one that kept opening up the night before, the other moving toward her bruised ribs. The moves were unconscious.

"Up until a week ago, yes." She turned away from him, lifting her sweater off and slipping on a bra. There was no hesitation in her moves, she just kept getting ready in front of him like it was nothing. It was almost robotic, as if she hadn't remembered she had an audience. Or didn't care. "It took a while for me to get a hold of him, because he always tried to attack when I was the most vulnerable."

"Bella," Edward whispered, the soft quality of his voice seemed to make her knees give out. He was there to catch her, pulling her against his chest. His lips touched her ear, soft murmurs of comfort as he settled them on a nearby chair. "You did what you had to do. I don't think I'd be able to stop myself from going after someone that killed a loved one."

"What gives me the right to take a life?" She held back the tears, but it was quickly becoming a losing battle. "I killed a man that had another thirty years left in him, at least. Maybe if I tried harder, I could've found the evidence the police needed to make the arrest. Leave the punishing to the justice system."

"And explain it how? You and I both know that working with the police isn't fucking easy. Whatever explanation you have, they can't always put in a report. You killed a monster, Bella. There's a thin line that you walk, I won't lie about that. Sometimes you do what you have to do to save people. If you hadn't killed him how many more nurses would he have killed?"

"The facility employees about thirty-three at any given time," she said, trying to take in a full breath. Her chest was tight, it hurt to breathe. She hadn't realized she was having a panic attack, had been for several minutes. Her hands gripped onto something tightly, as she attempted to gather some control. She heard a frantic voice, but the distant quality to it made her think that he was leaving. "Edward! Don't go! Come b-back, c-come back."

"Bella, Bella, look at me." Edward tried to shift her so that she'd see he was still there. Her eyes were clenched shut, and from the ragged edge to her words, he knew that it pained her to talk. Did she have panic attacks often? Who was there to help her when they happened?

Handling her carefully, he rose to his feet and carried her toward the bed. She was shivering, warming her up was the only thing he could think up to try first. The second he wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, she melted against his chest.

"I'm f-fine." It was a lie and they both knew it. He held her until she fell into an exhausted sleep, wondering if he was capable of helping her carry the burden. Burying his face in her soft hair, he knew he wanted to be that for her.

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Edward fell in between a mild state of awareness and sleep. Bella woke up with a start a couple of hours later, and he tried to soothe her to lay back.

"Jasper needs help, he's going to call," she said groggily, yawning a little. She settled back onto the pillow, wrapping an arm around him.

Edward had called Jasper shortly after Bella had fallen asleep, promising to stop by later or the next day. He held her close and told her that he'd already spoken to his friend.

"He's going to call, so we need to go." She pressed her lips to chin, and then his mouth. Before he could deepen the kiss, she was out of bed just as his cell phone rang. At the foot of bed, she watched him, waiting for him to freak out or something.

He offered her a smile as he answered, watching as she started to get dressed. Her body was fucking phenomenal, and she moved with a grace he'd only seen in dancers, not that he knew many.

"Edward," Jasper said, something in his voice put him instantly on alert. He listened to his friend, a man that rarely rose his voice, talk frantically and loudly. After promising to meet him, he rose from bed and watched Bella's shoulders curl forward, her back facing him near the closet.

She waiting for him to leave without her.

"I'm not going anywhere, Bella. Not without you." He made his way toward her, skimming his fingers down her arm and resting a hand on her hip. The moment she relaxed, he kissed her temple. "You're actually not the only one I know that can predict things, you know?"

She looked at him from over her shoulder, a little pout on her lips. "Really?" He nodded, a little amused by her reaction. She had to know that there were others with some of their gifts. Rare as they may be. "My cousin Alice, you'll meet her one day. Jasper and me" She cocked an eyebrow at the last one. "It's true."

Confused, she seemed to want clarification. As if he was looking into their future, he closed his eyes. He hummed and even groaned a little. "I predict some kissing and groping in our future, even a little nipple action. Fuck, you're a wild cat, baby."

She punched him in the gut, not hard, but enough to make him cough.

"Don't you forget it," she purred, slapping his ass on the way out of the room.

Proud that he made her laugh, she looked a little better. No longer vulnerable and scared, ready for whatever came next.

Was he?

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"I'm sorry about earlier," Bella said from the passenger seat of her car. She'd been quiet since they left the house.

"You never have to apologize for having a panic attack, you have little to no control over them." He shrugged, but felt her eyes on him. Unsure of what he'd see in her eyes, he turned up the stereo and tapped his fingers to the beat.

"You've had panic attacks before," she said, though it was delivered as a fact and not a question. "I wasn't talking about that, but thank you for helping me work through it. I was talking about waking up the way I did. I don't have moments like that often, where I can see things before they happen. In fact, it's very rare, which could mean it's important. That usually means dangerous."

"Other than being a demonologist, my friend is a big history buff. He mostly works with historical homes and buildings, and with the local preservation society. His latest research is on a property just outside of the city, I'm not sure of any historical significance though."

"How did he sound?"

"Frantic, maybe manic, which says a lot since Jasper is pretty laid back most of the time."

"Did he offer anything else?"

"Not much, just that the police had finally allowed them permission to clean up and start the preservation of the property as planned."

"The police?" She pulled out her phone and asked for the address where they were meeting Jasper later. Within seconds, she was cursing. "Oh fuck."

"What is it?"

"The property belonged to Caius Lexington, aka The Nightingale Killer."


AN: Sorry for the delay, had to figure out how this case will play out before we get there. I appreciate each and every one of your reviews, and I'm doing my best to answer questions that won't give away the story. See you soon. Off to shop *cries*