Author's note: Sorry its been awhile! Life has been rough lately. This isnt a long chapter either but we are close to having an EPOV. Thanks to Sheri who got this back to me in a jiff!
Thanks for your support!
Chapter 17
When It all Falls apart
BELLA POV
I left my office seething but trying to keep myself under control. I could not believe Jacob did this! I mean what the hell was he thinking? Was he trying to get this case taken from us? Did he deliberately sabotage it? It didn't make sense unless there was something going on that I didn't know about. I still felt like Marcus was blackmailing Jacob and Jacob not denying it had me thinking that as well.
Seeing Jacob sitting in a chair with his hands in his head did nothing for my mood. I couldn't feel sorry for him one bit. Looking from him to the holding room where Rosalie was being held, I made my way there.
Caius Richards who was an Attorney General in the Senate would be visiting soon after my little phone call. I've never had to call him before but after today I had reached my limit. Caius used to be Commissioner over the Precinct where my father and Jacob's used to work. I had basically lived there as a kid so the Commish and I were rather close. He had moved up after my father's death and was now an Attorney General. I knew calling him was an endgame for this case but I was supposed to, especially when it felt like my partner was being blackmailed and the mayor and deputy director were up to something.
Caius told me to let Rosalie go, especially if she had been arrested under false charges. I closed the door to the room and faced Rosalie. She didn't seem pissed at her situation and that struck me as odd. Why wasn't she upset or angry at being falsely arrested?
"Miss Hale?" I said taking a seat in the chair across the table from her.
"Yes, Miss Swan?" Rosalie said, smiling at me. It was rather strange since I don't think I had ever seen this chick smile.
"You can leave but I would like to apologize on my partner's behalf. I'm sorry that this happened this morning. It was definitely not authorized by me. There was no grounds to arrest you or anyone at Cullen Inc."
Rose gave me a smile. "It's alright, Miss Swan. I'm not going to press charges," she said too sweetly.
"I mean you're in your rights too," I pushed, still upset about the whole situation.
I rose up then to open the door when Rosalie spoke.
"Congrats, though," she said as she eyed my stomach. I felt a chill run down my spine. She knew? Edward had told people? Should I be mad about that? No, I couldn't be mad. He had been up front about this from day one.
"Um, thanks," I mumbled, not really sure of what to say, until it hit me. "Does everyone know?"
Rosalie's eyebrow rose and she gave me a look. "No, of course not. Mr. Cullen was big on keeping it hush hush. He knows how important this case is to you. Only Mr. Whitlock, Emmett and I know."
I nodded and I felt bad for having worried about Edward. Here he was keeping things from his staff and he shouldn't have been the one I should have worried about.
"Well, I'm glad someone was," I mumbled bitterly. Jacob had single handedly threw this case into the garbage due to arresting Rosalie. If I hadn't called someone then Marcus would have and made it bad for me.
Rosalie rose from her seat and made her way towards the door to the room. I followed holding the door when I saw the Mayor's red face.
"Agent Swan!" he yelled out. I swore I heard Rosalie say, "oh please" as she rolled her eyes. She must feel the same way about the mayor as I do. When he finally reached his destination, he stood before Rosalie and I.
"Agent Swan, what is the meaning of this?" he shouted, raising his voice even louder now that he had found his way towards me.
I don't know if it was all the stress lately, the men trying to one up me or what, but I couldn't keep my mouth closed. "Not sure what you mean."
"What does Rosalie have to do with your case?" He pointed to her and continued before even giving me a chance to speak. "Wait until Marcus hears about this," he said before he stormed off. I shook my head at him. How did he know about Rosalie if Marcus hadn't told him beforehand?
"Do I need to stay?" Rosalie asked as we walked towards the doors that would lead us out of the station.
I shook my head. Even though it would have benefited me in the long run there was no need for her to stay. I had been keeping tabs on Marcus for a little bit now. I had documentation of what he told me to do and when he came to question me as well as the things I was asked. It seemed to center on the blame towards Cullen and how repeatedly it came up even after he was cleared. Plus, I had already made a call in for the arrest warrant on Rosalie. They told me they would get back with me but it would save my ass knowing I hadn't put it in.
"No, you can go. I don't want to make this even worse," I said as we finally had made it outside.
The sun was shining bright. I had to squint my eyes especially when a large broad chest came into view.
"Emmett! You're back!" Rosalie squealed as she looked up at the big man in front of me.
"Well, Ed called. I was already on my way back here and was going to surprise you, but he said you had been arrested," Emmett said, annoyed but it didn't seem that it was directed towards me. He then looked at me and smiled.
"Emmett McCarthy and you must be the legendary Agent Swan." He shook my hand.
"Legendary, huh?" I said, trying not to smile even though I was pissed as hell.
"Oh yeah, you have made quite the impression. Jasper and I joke how you attained the unattainable." He laughed then went rigid as he followed something with his eyes. His joyful demeaner instantly gone before his eyes landed back on me and he gave me a smile.
"Rosie get into the car," came his gruff voice and she obeyed without question. I felt uncomfortable at his change of behavior before he turned his attention back to me.
"Is everything okay?" I asked and he nodded his head picking back up the conversation we were having before he was distracted.
"It's fine, no worries." I noticed he had moved a bit closer to me in a protective stance but he was trying not to be too close. I avoided looking back not wanting him to know I caught on to him.
"What's unattainable?" I asked not being able to let that go. It didn't make sense
"Edward," Emmett simply said and I looked on in confusion. How had I attained Edward? We just had a one night stand right? I was carrying his child but that's all there was right? I mean with what Edward said the night before still had me confused.
"Oh, I may have said too much," Emmett backtracked after seeing my confused gaze. "Anyways, I was also told that you needed to talk to me about this case. Granted, I was going to come after I saw Rosalie but considering the call I got from the boss this morning there was a change in plans."
"Yeah but considering my predicament I'm not even at liberty to ask you anything," I said bitterly.
"Oh." Emmett started looking around again. "Well, I should be in town for awhile if you need me here's my number." I took his card and quickly put it in my pocket as I saw a nice black government vehicle pull up to the curb. Seeing Caius step out of it had me shaking with relief.
"Thank you. Have a good day," I dismissed him as I turned and heard the door to the car Rosalie was in open.
"Miss Swan, don't let my uncle get the best of you," she said as she closed the door. My eyes went wide. How had I not put two and two together? Rosalie Hale, Peter Hale. What the fuck! A chill came over me and it felt like warning bells going off. Why did it feel like suddenly that was an answer to this case?
******TDOS******
Standing outside the conference room, I could hear shouting coming from inside. Marcus had just arrived and was currently getting his ass chewed out by Caius. The mayor was down the hall and currently trying not to hear. I was supposed to come in once I had collected my documents. Although, I doubt it would be needed since it sounded like Caius already knew something.
I entered quietly and shut the door behind me. Marcus glared at me but didn't comment. Jacob sat at the end of the desk with his head in his hands. I felt pity for him until I remembered he was part of the reason for this mess.
"Imagine my surprise though when I went to ask for an arrest warrant and there wasn't one!" Caius directed at Marcus. "You had Black arrest her without a warrant!"
"Me? You should be asking the lead agent." Pointing at me and I tried my best not to flip him off. He knew I had nothing to do with this, yet he wasn't going to take accountability for what he did.
"I have my paperwork here and there's nothing even mentioning arresting Rosalie Hale nor was that told verbally between Agent Black and I. We talked about questioning her and seeing if she would come in. That was it."
"Yet, Agent Black went to arrest her," Marcus replied, grimly trying to take control of the situation. "Only you could have given that order."
"And you," I countered back. This man has done nothing but undermine me and discredit me at every turn.
"Do I need to get Internal Affairs involved? Or can we handle this like adults?" Caius spoke a little calmer but you could see the rage in his eyes. "Black, who gave the order?" Caius looked at Jacob waiting for an answer. Also, Caius getting IA involved could cause a lot of problems for all of us.
Jacob hesitated but after looking at me he softly spoke, "Marcus." Caius nodded. It didn't even seem like he thought I did it anyways.
"A month's suspension, Black, since this is your first and I hope only offense. I'll have an agent take your gun and badge for now," Caius spoke and my breath rushed out suddenly. "After you return you will be put on close watch. You won't even be able to take a shit without me knowing."
Jacob stood and laid his gun and badge on the table and left the room. "Swan, did you talk with Ms. Hale?"
I nodded. "She isn't pressing charges." I crossed my arms the air thick with tension. "I didn't speak with her about the case though since I'm unsure of its status. I apologized for the mix up and she seemed fine."
"Let's hope. This could cause issues if she decides to and you're still on the case," Caius said and I felt relieved that I hadn't lost it however Marcus was seething by this point.
"Are you insane? She hasn't made any progress at all. Wants to waste time and money to go back and talk with the victims' families when we all know who it is," Marcus bellowed out.
"And who is it, Marcus?" Caius challenged him and I lifted an eyebrow.
"Cullen!" Marcus said with his hands like the answer was obvious. "Two of the victims were employees, the rest I bet he knows somehow. She cleared him! I bet she's fucking him too!" Marcus pointed at me and my mouth dropped.
"You're out of line, Marcus!" Caius shouted at him. I ignored him and brought all my evidence clearing Edward and Jasper from the murders. Caius gave it a look over before nodding.
"I haven't questioned McCarthy yet but he did arrive back in town after learning his girlfriend had been arrested," I explained, giving Marcus an eyelift. "Neither Cullen nor Whitlock were in town for all the murders. It's pretty clear that it's the same killer for all of them. Except Sanchez," I added, still believing she had had a copycat.
"I would question McCarthy and see if he's clear or not but judging by the notes you have it doesn't seem like he was in town for most of the murders either," Caius said.
"That's why I was going back to speak with the victims' families, see if there's anything they may have missed telling us at the time of the murder."
"A waste of time," Marcus mumbled and I shot him a look
"What's the mayor got on you, Marcus?" I said. I was unable to keep my anger down.
Marcus' eye widened at the accusation, before concealing his face.
"Agent Swan, you're out of line," Caius said and I mumbled my apologies even though everything in me hated it. I knew something was going on and why they were so hell bent on blaming Edward. Was it because of Rosalie? Did the mayor or Marcus have some agenda with Edward before and then Rosalie working there made it worse? No, that couldn't have been it. That didn't make sense but something was telling me it may have to do with her.
"Swan, take the day off, that's an order. Marcus, we need to talk," Caius ordered leaving no room for argument.
I left the room shaking, I was pissed. Everyone was staring as I did. The mayor looked angry and I gave him my "fuck you" look. Leaving the station, I headed towards my work vehicle, my body still shaking and my head throbbing. I closed the door to my SUV and headed home.
My phone started ringing as soon as I pulled out in traffic. It was Billy. Shit, Jacob must have already talked to him. I couldn't do this now, still upset that Jacob tried to sabotage the case. I turned my phone off but it was only a matter of time before he started calling me as well.
When I arrived at my apartment I quickly locked it up and checked over everything. My body was still shaking a bit and my head was still pounding so bad I wanted to lay down. I quickly took a shower and dressed in a long t shirt and some yoga pants. Laying down the headache subsided a bit. I wasn't tired at all though, just stressed and my mind was overthinking everything.
Had Jacob been working with them this whole time? Why did he just now sabotage the case? Why were all three of them so hell bent on making Edward the bad guy? Sure, he had a temper but I didn't know any male who didn't like to be honest. Sure, Edward could be scary, I still clearly remember him at his office that day.
Trying to forget thinking about the men in my life, I quickly picked up Bree Tanner's diary. I was close to the end and I needed to finish it. Hopefully it could provide me with some insight.
"I wanted to confront Rosalie; it still bothered me that she just threw me off like that. We were friends and then she goes to work for Cullen and now she's too good to talk to me? She changed her number too. I guess because I kept calling. I just want to know why but I guess I'll never know, huh? Mr. Whitlock, on the other hand, also seems to be avoiding me as well.
Well, he wouldn't be much longer. I snuck into his office last night and covered it with pictures of me. I also took pictures of it and sent it to his girlfriend whose number I found in his phone. That would be the end of that and he would just have to want me. I gave up on trying to use Mr. Cullen for my plan. I honestly think he's gay because he never took the bait and honestly, he creeps me out.
Edward gay? I tried not to laugh at Bree's antics even though she was very disturbed.
When Mr. Whitlock found the pictures, he was enraged. He told me I could no longer work there; he had that red haired bitch from Public Relations come down. I didn't leave quietly either. I shouted all kinds of insults, some of them I cannot even recall. I would have my revenge though as soon as his girlfriend found the pictures I photoshopped of Jasper and I. Oh boy, he would have no choice but to come to me.
Bree had left that entry and there was a bunch of entries of how she was going to make Jasper hers. I flipped a few pages until I found her next dated entry which was a few days later the same time around Charlotte and Jessica's deaths.
My doctor's office keeps calling. I haven't been in nor have I taken any medication in a while. I don't need it, I feel fine. I actually feel amazing. I'm currently sitting at the coffee shop waiting for Rosalie to come in. We always had coffee together here. I kept coming in hoping she would too so that we could talk. I needed to know if Jasper's girlfriend saw the pictures? I needed to know everything! Of course, Rosalie didn't show. It seemed like the mood here is weird anyway. Two students were murdered that came here. I vaguely remember seeing them here not too long ago.
My breath hitched. Coffee shop? She went? Could it be the same one Charlotte and Jessica went to? Rosalie used to go there with her? Could the coffee shop be my link? Could it actually be the same coffee shop that I visited? There's no way I could get a search warrant. I would have to turn the diary in. Then I would lose everything because I held onto this. Would Bern let me look at his camera footage? Could I question him?
My head pounded at the thoughts running through them and I sat the diary aside and drifted off to sleep.
*****TDOS*******
I woke up to a pounding coming from somewhere in my apartment. My headache was gone but I still felt groggy from sleep. The pounding noise on the other hand hadn't stopped. It took me a minute to realize someone was at my door. I quickly looked at my phone and forgot that I had turned it off. Shit! I quickly turned it on and made my way to my door.
Whoever it was, they really wanted to get my attention. I looked through the peephole and saw bronze hair. Shit, what was Edward doing here? I heard him speaking with someone as well. I opened the door, and Edward gave me a once over before entering my apartment.
"Ms. Swan," Carl the security guard said to me. He must have been the other voice I heard.
"Hi Carl," I answered sleepily.
"Mr. Cullen wasn't on your approved visitor list, so I walked up with him. He was getting the attention of the neighbors."
"I'm sorry about that, please put him on my list," I told him. I should have done that a while back.
"Will do. I will need to have a copy of his license but for now it's fine. Have a good night, Ms. Swan!" He turned to leave the entryway.
"You too, Carl!" I said with a smile as I shut the door behind him and locked it back.
When I turned around, I let out a shriek, Edward was behind me giving me a glare. I thought I had heard him go to the kitchen, but I must have been wrong. I held my hand to my chest trying to calm my heart.
"Shit, you scared me!" I stared at him. His gaze never moved from mine. He didn't speak and the silence between us was suddenly interrupted by my phone beeping from my yoga pants.
Edward's eyes moved from mine to my pocket. "Four of those texts are from me," he explained as he turned from the entryway and headed to my kitchen. I followed him looking at my phone. Sure enough the texts from him were asking why I wasn't answering the phone, if I was okay, then that he was on his way, and that he was worried since I hadn't replied.
The others though were from Jacob, and it seemed I had a few voicemails as well. Shit, I hope not all of them were from him. As soon as I entered my kitchen I was hit by an amazing smell. My stomach growled and I realized that I had skipped lunch today. Looking at Edward, he seemed to be staring at me and I caught him taking a quick glance at my stomach.
"Not that I'm complaining but what are you doing here?" I asked as I sat down at my table and Edward gave me a plate of steak and veggies.
"I told you last night on the phone I was going to come tonight to talk." I had completely forgotten about that.
"Sorry, I forgot. Today was a shit day. I got sent home and didn't feel well so I took a nap," I answered as my stomach growled again and Edward smiled.
"Eat, Bella," he ordered and I dived in. He had picked the food up from the restaurant we ate at the other night. My steak was also cooked rare again and I didn't complain.
I dug in stuffing my face as Edward looked on. His shining emeralds staring at me. I then noticed he wasn't eating.
"Are you not hungry?" I asked as I took another bite of steak.
"I had a late lunch. We celebrated Emmett's return and I dismissed everyone for the day," he replied as he stared at me.
"I met Emmett this morning, too bad it was under those unnecessary circumstances," I said as I finished my food and pushed my plate aside.
"Yes, he told me he talked to you as well." Edward crossed his hands on my table. "He indicated that you couldn't talk to him about the case at the time." He took a breath. "Did you lose it?" he asked me with a curious gaze.
"I did not," I answered truthfully. Edward seemed a bit disappointed at my answer and I knew why. He had expressed his worries because of my pregnancy. They were accurate worries to be honest. "I don't have a partner at the moment," Edward's eyes fell and I swear I saw his fist clench. "Jacob was suspended," I said feeling angry and a bit sad. Now that I had some time to cool down, I was feeling other emotions besides rage.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Edward said but he wasn't speaking to me, more like himself.
I touched his hand that was now laying across the table, he gasped in surprise, but he moved it in a quick gesture and held my hand. His hand was like ice, but it seemed it quickly warmed due to my touch.
"I want to apologize for the other night." I started trying not to think of the weird atmosphere at the moment. "I felt like I hurt your feelings." I began but he waved his hand.
"Don't apologize, looking back on it, I never gave you the indication that this was more than what it was," Edward confessed and my heart started pounding in my chest.
"What was?" I asked, unsure if I was able to handle anymore today. My head already felt full.
"I told you I wanted to be in my child's life. I never told you that I wanted to be in your life as well," he finished and I quickly pulled my hand from his. His face tensed up like he didn't like me doing that but I was in a bit of a state.
I sat in shock. Was he really telling me what I thought he was telling me?
"That's my fault though. Even though my actions and feelings said differently, I wanted to be in yours as well. I even told you I couldn't stop thinking about you after that night."
I blushed but didn't know what to say. "I thought maybe you said that because you wanted to get into my pants." I blushed again but I was being blunt as hell.
He smirked. "But I had already gotten in your pants so why would I say that?"
I giggled. "True."
I then rose up to clean my plate but Edward took it from me. I then headed to the bathroom to pee. After washing my hands, I felt my phone go off again. I had forgotten to check my texts from Jacob earlier and I had received another one.
Most of them were begging me to call him, he had something to tell me. I listened to some voicemails as well with him saying the same thing. One voicemail was from Billy asking what was going on. He said Jacob called him upset. My heart jumped that that fucker couldn't even tell his father what he did?
I scoffed at my phone and turned it back off as I exited the bathroom. I saw a shadow leaning against the wall and I jumped.
"Geez! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" I said holding my now racing heart.
"Sorry, you were just in there a while, I thought maybe you were sick," he said looking at me with concern but something else in his eyes flared. I just couldn't tell what.
I passed him and headed towards the living room to sit on the couch, my body feeling drowsy.
"You alright?" he asked while I covered myself up with a blanket.
"Just tired. Today was a bad day like I said," I mumbled getting comfortable on the couch.
He sat at the end and put my feet in his lap. It didn't bother me, it felt normal. He started massaging my feet and I moaned at the relief I felt. He grinned but neither of us spoke. I stared at him, noticing he was wearing dark blue jeans and a button-down shirt. His hair was perfectly styled and his emeralds glowed. He then turned to me and gave me a smile as if he knew I was staring.
I smiled back, not the least bit embarrassed. He was hot. "Did you wear that to the office?" I blurted out.
His eyes rose and he smiled at me "No, I went to my place to change. I thought maybe you were tired of seeing me in suits."
"Never," I giggled and he smiled back when a thought came up. "Why would you care how I saw you?"
He stopped massaging my feet and his face looked serious. "I'm not good at this, Bella. I've never been in a serious relationship, but I can't stop thinking about you. It's like any thought I have centers on you. I'm always questioning myself wondering how you're doing, what you're doing. Asking myself If I have a right to even ask you because we never labeled ourselves but I can't help knowing."
Label? Did he want to try? I mean I did want a label or whatever, but I thought it was all wishful thinking. I thought he was being nice to me out of obligation because I was carrying his child. Had he wanted more?
"I think about you too," I admitted. "I'm not good with this stuff either, in fact I forgot what a relationship felt like." I let out a giggle, but he was staring at me intently. "I didn't know if you were just being nice to me because I'm pregnant. Then you would hold my hand and sometimes it felt like you were being possessive," I said and I saw a flicker of emotions come across his face.
"I am possessive," he admitted and it caught me off guard. "You're having my child, of course I would be, but I don't think that's it. I think I wanted you after that night and in my head, it felt like you were mine." He let out a sigh. "Like I said, I'm not good at this type of thing."
"What a pair we make," I let out a laugh and he chuckled as well. 'So, we're not just two people having a baby?"
He mumbled under his breath, and I couldn't make out what he said. "No, were partners."
I went wide eyed, "partners?"
"Yes, I don't want to be anything less than that," he said with a serious tone, like there was no room for an argument in his voice.
"Not boyfriend or girlfriend?" I inquired with a smile.
"That's juvenile," he said, giving me a smile. "We'll take this slow but I just need for everyone to know you are mine."
"Partners," I said back liking the word however not sure why he seemed so dead set on being partners. Why not friends and work our way up to it? Was it because we had sex, we couldn't be friends?
"Partners."