I've got the next two chapters with my beta, so we're caught up to the compilation. Currently I'm working on the next chapter of The Collection, since Wander No More is completing as soon as I post this. Hope you enjoy and I will see you in two weeks!

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.

Chapter 3

I heard the garage door open two hours after I had started painting the living room. It was a good place to stop, since I had managed to get the first coat of paint done. I turned on the faucet in the kitchen just as my father walked in with a casserole dish and a shopping bag.

"I had a few conversations today that were quite interesting," my father said.

"How many of them had to do with me?"

"I brought some of your mother's ziti, how about we sit down to eat and we'll discuss it," he said and I nodded.

I set up the card table and two chairs while my father unloaded his bag. With the table set and the food Esme had sent with him still hot, we served ourselves and began to eat before he spoke again.

"Jasper stopped by the bar and told us that he's planning to divorce Maria. Aro told him to speak to his lawyer and he would handle everything. We'll make sure Peter stays where he belongs."

"We need to watch Maria, Jasper doesn't believe it, but she's on something," I told my father.

"Jasper mentioned you fought about how he's handling his family and his life. He was hurt by what you said."

"I shouldn't have said what I did, but there's a lot going on, most of which he doesn't even know. I think part of it was watching him try to sweet talk Alice when we were in Chicago. He said he loved her, but when she told him she couldn't marry him at sixteen, he fell into Maria's bed not that long after returning from Italy.

"I don't care if I was broken-hearted. If I loved someone, there is no way I could disregard her so easily. Especially for a Moretti. I hate that entire family, but no one more than Maria, because of the man she has turned my brother into. She's a liability and if she isn't handled she will be our downfall. Family is the most important thing in our world. It is why the other families respect us. They know we have honor. With Aro looking to name a successor that isn't his child since Jane isn't able to run the Organization, we have to make sure we show him that his belief in our family isn't misplaced."

My father leaned back, his eyes narrowing before he spoke. "Are some of the things that Jasper isn't aware of related to you bringing Alice to New York?"

"Yes," I answered.

"Aro said you almost lost his money, and the young woman you met because of it is what has you so short tempered."

"We came a lot closer than he knows," I muttered.

"Tell me," he demanded.

I told him the whole truth of our meeting. He was smiling by the end of it, his head shaking. "Aro mentioned that you were worried about her connection to Seattle. You will have to determine what danger it could cause when she comes to find you."

"Why are you so sure she will?" I asked, hopeful.

"Because, she had a gun pulled on her and didn't dissolve into hysterics, that means it isn't the first time she's faced a threat. We will protect her if that is your choice, but it might require a trip west. Only time will tell."

"You don't seem worried that some random woman could blow up our world."

"First, Aro despises how those animals do business out there, so if this girl is involved but not in too deep, he'll help her even if she isn't connected to you. He was supportive of my actions for the love of my life, I don't expect any less for the man he sees as his successor."

"How did he help with mom?" I asked.

"Not your mother, Esme." My father responded.

He took in my shocked expression and sighed.

"Esme was my first love, but her father wasn't a fan of our connections, so he refused to let us be together. I met your mother and we married within the year. I don't want you to get the wrong idea, I loved Elizabeth, but it was comfortable, it lacked passion. She knew about Esme, but when I promised her that I would be faithful she believed me and I never broke that vow.

"We had you and we were happy. Esme had married and we lived separate lives until your mother got sick. The illness came on so quickly, the doctors couldn't do anything for her. The night she passed she was feverish and I sat with her, trying to calm her, but she took my hand and squeezed it with a strength she shouldn't have.

"I'll never know how she knew, but she looked at me and said Esme was in danger. They weren't friends, but she saw things she could never confirm, but she suspected."

My father looked down tears falling from his eyes like it was yesterday. "Esme came to pay her respects and I caught sight of a bruise on her forearm. I put one of our guys on her and he called twelve hours later saying Esme was in the hospital because her husband found out she'd gone to your mother's funeral. She lost the child she'd been carrying and he was dead before she was released from the hospital. Burglary gone wrong."

"And then you two took it slow? I remembered her coming around for a long time before anything came of it."

"Out of respect for your mother, and so Esme had time to heal. Her father was gone and her mother didn't say a word, so when we were ready we sought out Aro and he told us to be happy."

"And you think we'll receive the same blessing?" I asked.

"He's giving you keys to one of his properties to put Alice up so she has a place to stay based on a wish of yours. But if this woman comes to you, you need to make sure she knows what she is getting into without spelling it out. She'll know more if you ever get married, but she can't enter this blind and then want out."

"I understand, Sir."

"Good, now are we heading home together or are you sleeping here tonight?"

"I'm staying here. It is so close to being done, no point in putting it off," I told him.

"You were always hands on with things. Jasper let the crew do everything in that monstrosity Maria designed."

"Yeah, well I think it is time I actually live here, instead of mooching off you and Ma."

"And it is closer to a few of the properties Aro was suggesting. Alice will be here Thursday?"

"Yes, I have a truck and a few of our guys leaving tomorrow." It was the first thing I had arranged after Aro agreed to help.

"Well, I'll leave this with you, so you have something in your refrigerator and I will see you soon."

"Night, Dad."

"Edward," he said with a nod as I walked him out.

I cleaned up my supplies and went up into the one bedroom I had set up. There wasn't much here, just a bedroom set I had picked out when I'd first began to work on this house. Stripping down to my boxers and undershirt, I climbed into bed and fell asleep quickly.

The next morning I was thinking about where to go for breakfast when there was a knock on my door. I answered, glad to see Jasper was here.

"Happy birthday, Jas."

"Thanks, Ed. You want to grab a bite?"

"Sure, my treat," I told him.

"Let me get it, I'm gonna need your help today. I'm moving out of the house." Jasper said.

"Is that smart?" I asked.

"The house is in her name, so there's no point in fighting for it. She dropped Peter off with Ma and said something about spending the day at the salon. I spoke to our lawyer last night and apparently dad had him draw up the papers a while back in case Maria became a problem. He just went in and added a notation about me wanting custody of Peter, but she should be served by tonight and I want to be out of there."

"Smart. We'll grab some breakfast and then get you out of there."

And that was exactly what we did. Jasper had a bunch of boxes in the garage so, for the most part, we were just emptying his closet and the bathroom. Esme happily set him up in what was once his bedroom and when we'd successfully avoided Maria during the move, I watched as Jasper explained to Peter that he would be staying with Nono and Nona but they'd see each other all the time. Peter hugged his father and I went up to my room to pack up my own closet.

"You finally moving into your house?"

"Yeah, I'm doing it slowly, but may as well start, it's almost done. Though I'm not adding any personal touches yet."

"Because you may have the help of a pretty brunette?" Jasper said.

"About that. I fudged the truth with Aro, he thinks we stopped her before she left the airport, so don't let anything slip. I'm also hoping that a certain friend will be able to help me make her feel comfortable until she gets to know me better."

I waited for him to take the bait and it wasn't long. "What friend?"

"Alice."

"You're shipping her off to Chicago?" Jasper sounded shocked.

"No, Alice is moving into one of the apartments Aro owns. She'll be here on Thursday. I'm setting her up close to my place and when she's no longer needed to help with Isabella I thought I could help her set herself up."

"Pick one of the apartments that is over a retail space, she's always wanted to run a cafe."

"Done. Now, I'm headed back to my place after a stop by the grocery store. There is nothing in my fridge but Ma's ziti."

"Okay, Edward, I'll let you know what happens when Maria is served."

I laughed. "I'm pretty sure people in Jersey will know what happens when she gets the papers."

I made it as far as the kitchen when my Esme stopped me. "I can't believe you're leaving me."

"Ma, it's a seven minute drive. Ten if I hit traffic. And you know I'll be over for Sunday dinner and if you need anything, I'm a phone call away."

"I know. And I stocked up your kitchen, your father said there wasn't any food in there. I even got your favorite whiskey and some wine. Now, we need to talk about furniture and -"

"Ma, I love you, and thanks for the food and the booze but I can handle the furniture on my own."

"With the help of a young woman you're hoping will walk into the bar and back into your life?" she asked.

"My old man gossips like a woman. But yes. I'm going to get a couch and a television, but beyond that I'm hoping to have some input."

Sure enough, I made it to the house and the kitchen was fully stocked. I unpacked my clothes into the closet when I was disturbed by a knock on the door. I walked downstairs, knowing this was going to be trouble by the way they were knocking. No respect.

I almost expected to see Maria, so when Lucio Moretti was the one on my doorstep my hackles rose.

"Can I help you?" I asked him.

"I know you're behind this. You never liked my little girl because she wasn't interested in you. So now you've convinced Jasper to turn his back on his family."

"First of all, I wouldn't have touched your daughter with a stolen dick. Jasper was blinded by lust and wanting to raise his son, which he will still do since your daughter is a danger to my nephew. She's so deep in the coke that I don't even think she knows her own name most days. So, what you're going to do is go home and tell your daughter to be happy he's willing to let her keep that house and a nice settlement and sign the papers. Because if she doesn't it will be bad for all of you. And if you ever come to my door and speak to me like this again, I'll make sure they never find the pieces. Your family is a disgrace and my family and our Organization are done with you. Capisce?"

His face paled and he nodded, looking defeated.

Jasper called with his own run-in with his wife, so I told him about his father-in-law. He barked out a humorless laugh and I told him to steer clear of Alice for a while when she arrived.

Now that the difficult business was handled, my days were filled with all sorts of prep. One of our usual guys at Idlewild told me about a shipment that was coming in that we might want to nick. So I sent a few of our guys to intercept it when they were loading it onto the transport truck. The box truck was loaded, but unfortunately it wasn't the driver's truck. We filled his with cement bags so he didn't notice the weight was off.

We would make a pretty penny off that switch and I was busy that evening showing Alice her new apartment, so it could never be pinned on me.

"This is wonderful, Edward, thank you. Though it is sad the retail space below isn't being used." Alice said as the men carried her belongings into the three-bedroom apartment. I told her to use the last bedroom for storage, as I'd furnished one of the bedrooms for Isabella.

"I hope it won't be vacant for long. I'm hoping to have a little cafe open down there," I said offering up some bait.

"Really? Who is running the business?" she asked.

"She's been a friend of the family for years. At one point I thought she might join my family, but my brother is an idiot."

"Edward Masen," she said with a gasp. "How did you know?"

"The soon-to-be divorced idiot told me," I answered.

Alice blanched. "Please tell me he didn't do that because I was moving here."

"Relax, Alice. Those plans were in motion before he knew you were coming. He's worried about Peter and, considering Maria's behavior lately, I'm worried too."

"Okay, as long as he doesn't think he's jumping out of her bed and into mine," Alice remarked.

"No, I told him to steer clear of you in the beginning and I think he knows it's for the best."

Alice finished poking her head into the various rooms shaking her head. "I can't believe you put so much work into this place. The paint and the furnishings, it was really sweet."

"Well, the paint was left over from my house. I finally finished the last few rooms. It's in need of a lot of work, but I can be patient until the right woman comes along to give me her input."

"Have you heard from her?"

"No, and that makes me nervous. But I'm afraid if I have someone tail her it will scare her off."

"Probably will. I get how you're feeling, but just try and be patient. In the meantime, you can help me plan my cafe." Alice giggled.

"Nope, I'll give you the number of the guys we used to renovate the bar last year and you work it out with them. Anything you want, within reason, go for it."

I handed her the keys and smiled, one step closer to being ready should Isabella come and find me.