Playlist:

Iggy Azalea - Work

Toby Keith - Who's Your Daddy?

Beth Hart - Caught Out In The Rain

Kendrick Lamar - HUMBLE.

Eminem; Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie

Ellie Goulding; Juice WRLD - Hate Me

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the words. Stephanie Meyer owns the Twilight series, and the songs belong to their respective people.

Work

Edward blinked at the sudden smell of sea air. The sound of traffic rang strangely in his ears after so much time away from the constant noise humans made. They were in the nightlife section of a big city, and their appearances had changed drastically.

Carlisle was in a blue button down, scarf, and khakis, with a double-breasted black jacket over the ensemble. His father's hair was slicked back in the way it had been in Forks, and he looked every inch the composed doctor he was. Marcos, Kaedra and Bella were in rough nightclub style. Marcos had sprouted a dark beard and wore a black leather jacket; a thick steel chain swung from the front of his dark jeans to the back pocket. He wore heavy steel rings on each digit of his wide hands. Kaedra was in a form-fitting skirt in a neutral-blue, her simple navy button-down unfastened to almost her navel, and Bella—Oh. Wow.

Bella was in a thin, one-sleeved, black top that pulled tight across her chest, outlining her form with stretchy fabric that clung to her as she moved. Her opposite arm was covered by a fingerless black glove that reached past her elbow, and she wore the shortest whitewashed denim shorts Edward had ever seen, with a high cut that emphasized the length of her legs and shape of her hips. On her feet were tight brown stiletto boots that clung to her calves and extended above the knee. They made her a good five inches taller. The insanely high boots made Bella stumble as the group materialized, and Edward caught her before she could fall, relishing the now-rare chance to feel her body against his.

As Bella's body impacted with his, he noticed his own outfit. He was dressed in a modern and sleekly tailored black suit, with the collar turned up on his white-button down shirt, which was undone enough to show his chest. Around his neck was a bright red tie, but it was undone and hanging loose down his torso. The cut of the fabric emphasized his narrow musculature, making him seem taller and slimmer than he was while still preserving the masculinity of his form. So, this is how Bella would dress him, given the choice. He might have to let her materialize his suits from now on.

Bella patted his chest twice; a teasing, sexy smile was quirking her lips, and Edward realized he had been holding her to him entirely too long. His father's eyes were crinkling at the corners, and Marcos guffawed loudly.

"Damn, Isa. I think he just came."

"Shut up Marcos. You're forgetting he could rip your spine out of your throat before you could react. Again."

"So possessive." Kaedra snarked, already striding towards the entrance of a basement club, aptly named "Club Cumming" in red neon.

"Where are we?" Carlisle asked as they followed Kaedra across the street.

"In trouble." muttered Marcos, eying the entrance to the bar.

"Welcome back to the mortal world. We're in Miami, my friends. The second circle of hell awaits you." Bella threw open the door to Club Cumming, and Edward followed her inside.

Who's Your Daddy?

The inside of the club was narrow and long; it was cramped full of gentlemen, if Edward could call them that. When the men saw Kaedra and Bella, Edward could practically see the drool start pooling on the grimy floor; he heard the lustful, violent thoughts the mortal men threw at them. Marcos put his arm around Kaedra's shoulders protectively and quirked his head at Carlisle in a "this way" motion. Bella let go of Edward's hand where her own had entwined with his sweetly in an attempt to comfort him from his embarrassment.

"Come on."

The words reminded Edward that they were on a mission, and he subtly put his hand at the small of Bella's back in a protective, possessive gesture. Before he had seen the Bella that existed in Havana, it would have been all he could manage not to drag Bella from this place by the ear; now, he was strangely comfortable with her here. This wasn't the dangerous part, yet.

It was an epiphany sparking in his brain. Bella could care for herself in any situation. She was an adult, had been before he ever knew her. She allowed him to protect her, not because she needed it, but because he wanted to. He had always trusted Bella with himself, to keep his heart safe and treat it gently, but now he realized he could trust her with herself. She had the right to her choices, too.

Before he could reveal his sudden wisdom to his love, they were approached by the bartender where they lounged next to the wall of liquor. Bella procured a bright green drink without the bartender so much as glancing at her young face twice. The bar was velvet red, a 1920's speak-easy style, with a small stage and a single spotlight focused on the pole in the center. Dark stairs led up to the storage area behind the bar, which was lofted above the patron's heads.

After a few moments, Edward leaned down slightly; making his mouth level with Bella's now-taller form and brushing his lips against the outer shell of her ear. He was reveling in his new-found freedom to treat Bella as an equal, not something made of glass. Her responsive shiver made him half-hard, and he was glad the pants were so well tailored as to hide it.

"So, what's the plan?"

Bella quirked her lips at him in a seductive smile. She turned to wrap her arms around his waist and under his suit coat, sweeping a hand up across his shoulders. "Patience, lover. We're waiting for someone." She bowed her back slightly, bracing her hips against his thighs to lean back and pick up her drink without distancing her body from his own. Edward felt his mouth go dry.

Bella continued to distract him from the filthy thoughts around him, satisfying and immediate hatred springing up in the lecherous patrons as Bella made it known she was here with him. She rolled her hips in slight movements, clutching at his shoulder with a hint of nails as she sipped at the green liquid in the chipped glass. Her cupid's bow lips contrasted redly with the drink and shined with the sticky liquid when she spoke.

"This is gonna suck for you, Edward. And probably me too. You're the jealous type, and I love that about you; but damn, this is gonna suck. Just try to remember I'm a big girl who can take care of myself and have been for a long time. I need you to fade into the background for just a minute. If it gets to be too much, let me know and I'll back off. Remember, there is no danger here. I'm not in trouble, so don't play the hero, okay?"

"Okay." Her words echoed his epiphany anyway, and Edward would have brought the moon down from the sky for her as long as she kept up her delicious teasing. He could restrain his instincts. Hopefully.

A posh Asian man in a white suit clunked down the stairs behind the bar, carrying a large box filled with glass bottles. Bella's back was turned to him but he paused upon seeing her there anyway, his eyes flashing recognition for just a moment. Edward noticed Marcos stiffen from all the way across the bar. The man shook his head, dismissive of his own assumption; he called to the bartender. "Lou, here's that whiskey you needed." Bella extricated herself from where she clung to Edward, finishing her drink in one gulp and calling to Lou. "I'll take a shot of that."

When the man heard Bella's voice, he looked up from where he was unpacking the liquor on to the shelf in a sudden movement, his eyes gleaming with affection and happiness. He told Lou, who was tending to some drunkards at the end of the bar, "I'll take care of it, no worries." He poured a generous helping of top-shelf whiskey from one of the bottles. Before he approached Bella to give her the ordered beverage, he shot Marcos a cruel smile.

The man leered at Bella playfully, laughing and embracing her in a fatherly way. "On the house, dear one. It's good to see you, I was concerned when you disappeared without a trace. Well, and it was terrible for business. I don't suppose I could tempt you?"

"Sorry Chen, I'm here on different business today. But I have a deal to discuss with you. I think it will be worth your while. Meet Edward, my boyfriend."

When Edward clasped Chen's outstretched hand, the man's eyebrows shot up at his coldness. "Well, well, well. The plot thickens." Chen met Edward's eyes, challenging. He wound his arm around Bella's waist and patted her casually on her backside, unconcerned with Edward's reaction as they walked to the corner booth where Marcos, Kaedra, and Carlisle waited.

"Ah, and the blonde man makes two. What is that trash doing in my bar, Isa?" Chen sneered at Marcos, who clenched a fist in answer.

"It is always lovely to see you as well, Katy-kat." Kaedra nodded to Chen warmly.

Chen slid into the booth between Bella and Kaedra, still unconcerned as his exits were cut off. "So, I'm guessing this business isn't about a dancing job." Carlisle's eyebrows shot to his hairline, and Edward eyed the pole on the stage of the run-down club with sudden hatred.

"We need access, Chen." Marcos snarled, his knuckles turning white with the pressure of his clenched fist. "You keep your grimy hands off of them." Chen was as unconcerned with Marcos' unexplained anger as he had been with Edward's proclaimed "boyfriend" status. He turned to Bella with a sneaky shadow rising in his eyes. "I do hope you've been controlling your tempers. You aren't all covered in bruises, are you? They never bothered me much, but they do so detract from your beauty onstage. Now, let's discuss why I would give you access to the only unmonitored portal into the Badlands."

Before a righteous and angry Marcos could even make it to his feet completely, Chen snapped his fingers. Marcos stiffened and fell unwillingly back into the booth. Suddenly, Edward and the others couldn't move or speak. Bella, however, played with the stir-stick in her drink before sighing and turning to Chen. "Really, Daddy? Unnecessary. And I'd give you a favor. One "I owe you one" to cash in with no restrictions. I think you are aware of how valuable that could be to you, especially considering my status and your...shall we say...loose compliance with magical law. A back pocket get-out-of-jail-free card could save you a world of pain, if ever this whole operation came crashing down on you." Edward saw Carlisle's eyes widen at the strange endearment Bella had used. Marcos looked livid.

"Oh, baby." Chen shook his head wryly, "I have no interest in your political status, fragile as it is. I have more than enough allies on that front. But I will make you a counteroffer. Let me cash in on that favor now. Tonight. There is a mutual acquaintance of ours coming here this evening to strike a particularly interesting deal, and I could use your charms. I'll give you permanent access, in exchange for your help convincing him to join my cause. One dance, Isabella. I'll give you access, but I want a dance."

Bella hesitated, shifting her eyes from Chen to Edward's frozen form for just a moment nervously. Edward's mind screeched to a halt, but he shoved down his jealousy ruthlessly. This is gonna suck for you, Edward. And probably me too. Ntombi's deceptively blank face flew across Edward's mind's eye, and he forced himself to meet Bella's gaze steadily. He could handle it. Bella nodded at him and turned to the sleazy businessman.

"Dammit. You always did drive a hard bargain, Chen. Marcos could take pointers."

"I've been at it considerably longer than that street-rat." Chen sneered. "It is a fair offer, Isa. Generous, even, considering the company you keep. "

Bela sighed, draining her drink.

"You have a deal."

Chen and Bella shook hands, and Edward got a bad feeling.

Caught out in the Rain

"This is a terrible plan." Kaedra complained, once Bella had followed Chen backstage to prepare for her requested performance. "If this "acquaintance" of Chen's is who I think he is, we have just as much right to kill him as Ariam. But it might not be. It could be Tomas for all we know."

"Well, I didn't see you speaking up before they shook on it." Marcos snarked, draining his drink and raising his hand for another. "Dammit, I didn't even know she kept in contact with Chen after I started seeing her. Izzy is too goddamn sneaky for her own good. Just leave the bottle." Marcos waved Lou away from their table and lit a cigarette from the box he pulled from a pocket on his jacket, throwing the half-full box onto the table and taking a long drag with his leg jiggling.

"I don't understand." Carlisle broke in to Kaedra and Marcos' discussion. "What's so bad about a dance?"

"You didn't see her when she worked for that shithead. If Kaedra hadn't kept an eye on her, she would've lost herself to her own spells years ago. "Charms", my ass. Chen has always encouraged Bella closer to the edge of dark magicks than is sane. He abuses his hold on her."

"He doesn't have a hold on her anymore, Marcos." Kaedra rebuffed him. "She's been off the Glow for a long minute now, and we'd know if she succumbed again."

"Glow?" Edward inquired.

"Another nasty little trick of the Master's. Tomas cooks it up for him. Think heroin, but about a million times worse. The rush is insane enough, but withdrawal will suck you dry. Bella was really messed up on the shit when we lived here."

Chen and Bella's vague conversation at the bar took on a new and sinister meaning.

"Chen was her supplier, in exchange for her work as a dancer in this place. Kaedra and I finally convinced her to walk out before Chen could force her to do something she really didn't want to. He's the world's biggest asshole and the most powerful kingpin on Miami's drug scene."

"Bella is a recovered drug addict?" Carlisle's face was devastated. "Addiction doesn't just quit in one day. How did Bella get off this drug?"

"She didn't." Kaedra glared at Marcos, quelling his lie and speaking before he could. "Marcos was her supplier for a long time; when Isabella took off, she had no place to get it. I have no idea how she got herself to quit. When she brought you guys to Havana, she promised us she was clean. Not that we don't still check on her- there's no trace of the Glow in her system. She must've been clean for a while before she returned."

Edward's voice was threatening and hard, and he had to chant his promise not to cause a scene in his head to keep from starting another fight with Bella's commander. "You're a drug-dealer? Bella's drug-dealer?"

"It's not like you're thinking. I don't, didn't, and never will peddle the Glow. It causes nothing but pain. But yeah, I don't see a problem with helping people find a way to blow off steam for a minute in exchange for a couple dollars. I only provided Bella with Glow because she needed it. I don't regret it, but I hope I never have to do it again. Oh shit. Kaedra, look who it is."

"Well, that certainly explains Chen's desperation to get Bella to dance for him. Oh, this is gonna open up a world of problems. Keep it together, Izz."

A bald man was entering the club, in a finely lined black suit. The air of casual violence in his movement made the men in the bar stumble to get away from him, but he paid them no mind. He was clearly annoyed when he spoke to Chen, but he sat down quickly enough.

"Jesus, it's like the return of all my nightmares. It is Erik. Lord, get me through this and I'll never curse again, I swear." Marcos raised three fingers in the boy scout salute, before downing his drink and pouring another portion of amber liquid into his glass.

"Erik is Tomas' new right-hand man. He served with Demetri. Last time Bella saw him, Chen was selling her down the river to Erik. Me and Marcos had a hell of a time saving her ass, and let's just say there are still hard feelings. We can't attack him here; it would be suicide. You know, If Chen convinces Erik he's got Bella under his thumb again, he will give Chen all the Glow he could ever need. Do not attack him, Marcos."

"That crazy son of a bitch deserved everything I gave him. You should've seen her face, Kay. Her face when I walked into that place still haunts me. I should've killed the bastard." Marcos was beginning to slur his words, and Carlisle deftly removed his glass from his hand.

"As enlightening and disturbing as this conversation is, I do believe Bella's performance is beginning." Carlisle muttered to the group. Erik went to join Chen at the front of the audience. The lights turned down low, and all attention was fixed on the silver pole innocently gleaming on the stage.

When Bella entered the small stage, Edward could almost believe it wasn't going to be as bad for him as Bella had implied it would be. She met his eyes as she walked to the pole, still dressed in her form-fitting black top and fingerless gloves, though her form was disguised by the unfastened black trench coat she had draped over her shoulders. Her shorts had disappeared, leaving her in a high cut pair of black panties, and her brown boots had been replaced with an equally high set of glittery silver stilettos. She had a half-smoked cigarette in her hand, and Edward smelled the sweet smoke of tobacco and Bella fill his nostrils. Her eyes flicked to Marcos in a warning glance before she took her position, leaning back against the pole and bringing her cigarette to her lips.

Then, she had eyes only for Edward, reassuring him and provoking him all at once.

The music started and she leaned forward slightly. Her face showed a dismissive attitude as she drew the crowd's attention to her long legs, then straightened to flick away the butt of her cigarette. Bella threw the trench coat off the stage and let down her low ponytail, shaking out her hair as the music started in earnest.

Everything changed. Edward reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table with shaking hands. Tobacco had no effect on vampires, but he had to do something to shift his focus from her dance or he was going to lose his cool. Jealousy was the least of his problems.

From the first sexual cant of her hips, Edward knew this dance would be the sweetest torture he would never forget. Had it been seconds, days, years? He didn't know. As she spun on the pole, dancing sinfully, Edward spared what little thought was left in his brain to thank God that Emmett wasn't in attendance.

Bella moved from the pole to the floor and back. She tossed her hair wildly and Edward forgot about the crowd. He forgot about Ariam, Erik and Chen, and Marcos growing more and more tense near him. There was no room for thought with his body's reactions frying his brain. When Bella threw herself to the floor again, as lost in the music and dance as he was, Edward would have gladly died for the chance to touch her lithe form.

Bella was truly lost to the hypnotizing beat now, projecting defeat and submission as she curled herself to the floor and shed her top. A lacy black bra was revealed. She was relying on her long hair and dim light to cover her scars from view. Objectively, the dance was artistic, acrobatic and showed off Bella's flexibility.

But Edward was too caught up in her spell, mesmerized by long feminine fingers tapping hipbones, to have any hope of logical objectivity. It was simultaneously too much and not enough, never enough. Bella demanded his full attention and returned his rapidly heating gaze with a challenging one of her own as she twisted across the floor, begging for more heat from him.

Edward was spellbound. The dance was dark magick. It was aggressive and hypnotizing. If he had been human, he would've passed out on the floor; he couldn't seem to remember to breathe. When Bella finally turned her heated gaze from him to monitor Erik's reaction, her lips curled into a snarl and she twisted her long fingers into the strap of her panties, taunting the man with what he could never touch.

The song ended.

Bella finally surrendered to desire and cast herself back against the floor, spent and passive. The light faded, but Edward kept his eyes on her as she gathered her shirt off the floor and exited the stage. He had no idea what his face looked like.

Chen was grinning, distinctly cat-like, and Erik was standing, an erection tenting the front of his jeans as he quickly exited the club, sparing only a single dirty glance for Marcos on his way out. All around Edward, men were panting and sweating with desire.

Bella exited the stage, and Edward gladly took the moment to collect himself. He glanced at his companions, wondering what Carlisle and the others had thought of Bella's sensual performance. His father just looked sad; his thoughts were spinning as he too, had an epiphany about Bella's innocence. Kaedra looked mildly amused. But when his eyes rested on Marcos, Edward's strange and sated relaxation disappeared. Marcos Ipswitch was violently furious.

HUMBLE.

Marcos knew he was a bad man when he saw Izzy dance. And Izzy knew she could turn him into a bad man, hence the warning look before she began. Even half-distracted by this mission, Marcos was incapable of drowning the incessant need he felt: to take, to possess that which Izzy would not give him freely. Shame, rage, and greedy, grasping lust welled up in him. How dare she? It had been years since he had felt this way. She had toyed with him before, teased him to breaking so many times.

This city. God, why did it have to be Miami? Edward was eyeing him warily, and the vampire doctor looked concerned as he took in Marcos' fight with his past self. The vampires' eyes were usually so focused on Isabella that they were blind to everyone else, but right now the doctor saw entirely too much. It was enough to make Marcos lose the battle.

He drained the bottle of scotch he had been gulping all night and shed his jacket. Kaedra anticipated him, crossing to his side with a muttered, "Oh no you don't. This is so not the time for one of you and Izzy's little tiffs." But Marcos' rage had peaked now, and he stalked past Kay, forcibly freezing her to the floor as he headed backstage to the dressing room. Two vampires trailed confusedly behind him.

When he slammed open the door with a bang, Bella jumped. She had been in the process of buttoning her shorts with shaking fingers.

"Well, you certainly enjoyed that little perk. Got everybody all hot and bothered. Did you forget that people's lives are on the line? I forgot all you royals are just in it for the fun of it. It's all just fun and games and the greater good. Do you even give a fuck who dies?"

Bella's eyes narrowed. "Last I checked, Marcos, the deal with Chen was part of the plan. Don't start with me, little boy. I'm not a traumatized teen anymore, and I won't tolerate your bullshit now any more than I did then. God, you're just as bad as Erik sometimes. Just 'cause your gagging for it doesn't mean it's yours. I killed the last man who couldn't get that in his head."

Marcos could feel the monster in him rising, and the comparison to Erik was the last straw. He needed to disengage before he did something he would regret. The thought came too late to stop the words he had no control over as they left his lips. "Fuck you, Izz. You're still nothing more than a run-down junkie slut."

Bella slapped him, and Marcos exploded. He grabbed the chair at the vanity before he could stop himself; and the impact of it breaking against his hands as he hit Bella over the head with the chair felt amazing, as addictive as it had ever been.

"Bring it, bitch."

"Oh, and big daddy Marcos comes out to play! Come on, be a man. Maybe you can pin me again, if you try hard enough. Hold me down and preach all about the greater good with a hard-on." Blood was streaming from Bella's hairline as she matched him blow for blow, her temper rising in response to his own.

They were wrecking the room, throwing each other into furniture as the rest of their group screamed at them to stop, to calm down, to back off. Marcos had to pause in his attack for a moment when Bella threw him into the vanity, shattering the mirror and smashing his face into the lightbulbs in the frame. His hand closed around a long shard of shattered glass as he rose again, and in a fluid motion he thrust it between Bella's ribs, sneering.

Suddenly Marcos was attacked from another direction and thrown across the room, Edward between him and his prey. Isabella was clutching at Edward, her face pale. "I'm okay. It missed my heart. Caught a lung on the way out though. Fuck. I'm sorry Marcos. I know better than to let you goad me like that. Ouch. Okay, this really hurts. Carlisle, I think you may have to use those medical abilities of yours."

"Bella." Her lover's voice was pale and broken, crying out like he was the one who had been stabbed. When Marcos quietly got to his feet, Edward punched him with vampiric strength before he could react, shattering his cheekbone and sending him crashing back into the floor. "You sonofabitch. What have you done? You called her your friend."

"Edward. Edward, stop. He didn't mean to, it's as much my fault as his. Marcos and I had some ragers in the time we lived here. I know what it does to him to see me dance. I didn't think. Stop, please." Bella reached for Edward with the shaking, bloody hand that had been wrapped around her ribs and coughed wetly. Her lover immediately returned his attention to her.

Carlisle was already lifting her shirt to examine the wound. In all their raging fistfights, Bella had never actually been seriously harmed. This time, as Marcos laid eyes on the wound he had inflicted, he knew it was serious. Blood bubbled in the deep puncture as Bella breathed.

"Carlisle, what can I do?" The words rushed out of Edward's mouth, frantic with justified worry.

"I don't think you or I can do anything, Edward. This wound requires magickal healing, immediately. Or Bella will die. The fluid is already filling her lungs."

"I can -" Marcos shuddered. Izzy was dying, because of him; and he locked his old self away behind steel bars. "I can help with that. My affinities are in fire and water. I can heal her, but I'll need a conduit. Someone with medical training who can direct the flow of magicks. Jesus, I'm so sorry Izzy. Goddammit, I thought I was past this. Please." She was fading from consciousness quickly, and Marcos turned to Edward, imploring him. "You have to let me help her. I didn't mean to. I wouldn't. She's never been seriously hurt before."

"Oh, you mean the other times you beat her." Edward cried.

"We both have tempers. Please. I need your father's help. He has the knowledge, I have the magick. Let me fix this." Marcos begged.

"Fix this. And so help me God, if you ever touch her again, I will drain you dry."

Marcos grabbed hold of Carlisle's wrist, placing his other hand over Bella's wound before her lover could change his mind.

"This is gonna be weird, especially since you've never done it before; and Isa's physiology is weird anyway. Just try to think of the process you would use to heal Izzy if you were doing it physically. Close your eyes so you can see what I see."

Carlisle nodded at him, and Marcos focused on the wound he had created.

She'd be okay. She had to be.

Love the Way You Lie

If someone had asked Carlisle what he thought magickal healing would be like, he would have said under pressure that it was most likely like using a camera or scope. He would have been completely and utterly wrong.

As Marcos focused on Bella's aura, golden light flooded the space behind Carlisle's eyelids. Memories flashed before him, Marcos' and Bella's memories of the same events overlapping in his mind. As the echoes flashed by, Carlisle could see every wound Bella and Marcos had incurred during their constant conflicts. Not just the physical wound appeared, but aura wounds as well. Every hurtful word left a bruise, every screaming match- a deep cut. Sometimes, the aura wounds were healed by the physical ones, bruises on flesh releasing the anger and pain from wounds on auras.

The two Fae's voices echoed in his mind, clearly guiding him through the memories to where he needed to be; the far away chant got stronger. Marcos' voice was rapid-fire fast, shooting his words like a machine gun; Bella's was slow and soft, fading in and out with her consciousness. He needed to hurry.

Carlisle could read the energy of Marcos' and Isa's relationship, and it shined brightly in his mind, a deep and compelling gold-green. The ribbon of color that connected them to each other faded and strained, then grew stronger and twine-like, before suddenly snapping. Darkness fell behind Carlisle's eyes. Before Carlisle had time to panic, blue-tinted healing magic raced from somewhere within Marcos, and what Carlisle saw made him want to weep tears for these young Fae warriors.

The younger Marcos had Bella pinned against the wall of a shabby hotel room, his scream fading to a seductive whisper. He shoved himself between her legs, pinning her to the wall in an unbreakable hold, and rolled his hips against hers. Carlisle saw the panic attack hit Bella at the same time as echo-Marcos did, saw the black rise to form tears in her eyes as she scratched and clawed at the stronger boy, pleading constantly in a low voice.

Kaedra entered the hotel room, throwing Marcos back telekinetically as she rushed to contain the violently panicking Bella. Whirlwinds were forming small tornados in the room. In the memory, the papers on the desk curled and shimmered with heat before they caught fire, and Bella's tears sizzled when they hit the floor. Marcos was backing away, his hands raised in horrified surrender as he realized what he had done.

There was another flash of blackness behind his eyes, and the younger Marcos was watching Bella leave under cover of darkness from the window of that same hotel, looking lost and hopeless as he met her eyes on the street below. He closed the curtain and curled up, fetal position, in the bed.

With a last pulse of blue-healing magic towards Bella's commander this time, Carlisle saw the snapped twine of Bella's and Marcos' relationship bloom once more, binding back together and becoming as thick as ribbon and strong as steel, shining with the flaming green-gold mix of their magicks under Carlisle's watchful eye. Carlisle fell as though down a long well, and before he hit the bottom, he was back in his own body. He blinked his eyes as he took in Bella's flawless skin, where before there had been only blood.

Hate Me (with Juice WRLD)

Bella came back to consciousness slowly. When she finally gained her senses enough to process her surroundings, Edward was clasping her hand on one side, and Kaedra on the other. Chen was bitching about the destroyed dressing room to a patient-looking Carlisle who kept glancing at Marcos. Her wild, passionate commander was lying on the couch with one hand over his eyes, the other dangling to brush the floor below him, cigarette in his fingers.

She sighed contentedly at the lack of pain in her ribcage. Squeezing Edward's hand, she pulled herself to a sitting position using Kaedra's strength. She met her lover's eyes, taking in his pain and heartbreak at her newly revealed secrets.

"Well, shit. That sucked." She struggled to her feet and limped to where Marcos lay on the worn-out sofa, tapping at the sole of his boot to get him to scoot over. A tense silence fell across the group as Chen finally bowed to Carlisle and exited the destroyed dressing room. Marcos wouldn't look at her, but he moved his feet so she could sit. His eye was only partially healed. Bella surprised everyone, addressing Marcos' defeated form.

"What happened to your face?"

"Your lover punched me in it."

"Oh yeah, I remember now. Would you like me to heal it?"

"No."

There was a moment of silence, and then Bella sighed wearily.

"I'm sorry Marcos. I never should have brought you here. I know you killed that dark part of yourself that night. Miami is a bad place for us, even though we had some good times. I just got caught up in getting vengeance for Ntombi, I didn't think. You're not that man anymore, I know it."

"Oh, but I am, Izz. God help me, I still am. Do you know why I fight for you? What I think about every time there's a battle, or I train to lead soldiers in your name? You never stop fighting, Isabella Swan. Never. I know you never stopped standing up to me, no matter how often I beat you into the dirt. You never stop fighting the Master either, never break to his hold on your soul. That's what I think of. It's why I was certain you would return to Havana, why I helped raise an army in your name. But I don't want you to have to fight me. I want to be your friend." Marcos's voice was subdued and defeated.

"You are my friend. But I kept part of me hidden from you, too. We tried to make the pieces fit, but you only had a few pieces of the puzzle. I was so fucked up, Marcos. That whole disaster with Erik and Nikki was just the tip of the iceberg. I played with you even though I knew I had no right to. I can't be your lover, Marcos, but I can be your friend. Edward is the only lover I will ever accept. Can you give me your loyalty, knowing who I am now? Can you be my commander?"

Marcos sat up and swung his feet around to the floor, finally turning his head to meet her gaze. His shoulders straightened. When he met her eyes, his were shining, consumed with forest green. "Yes."

"Then get up. We have a certain battalion leader to kill. You'll like this next part." Bella grinned, every bit as wicked and seductive as she had been at the party. "I have some questions for dear Chen."