DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the intellectual property of the respective author. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended.

-Chapter Thirty-One-

The Senator was lying on his side in the bathroom. He'd managed to flip his chair over, trying to alert someone, and in the process, banged his head against the sink, causing a crystal soap dish to shatter in pieces on the tile. It was a colossal failure, and Edward groaned in frustration as he lifted him from the floor.

Edward rolled him back into the main room by brushing off his dad's suit. I was sitting on the bed with my legs crossed, gun in hand, and a shit-eating grin on my face. I was enjoying myself way too much.

"I hoped you spent that time in the bathroom reconsidering our offer, Senator," Edward said, reaching into the inner pocket of his blazer. He pulled out his wallet and tossed it over to me. "Take whatever cash he has in there."

Nodding in response, I set down my gun and opened the leather billfold. There were about a thousand to two thousand dollars in there. It was enough cash to keep our life afloat for a few days. He had a few credit cards, but those were useless to us. Going through each card slot, I found a picture wedged deep in the wallet. It was an old photo of Edward. He had to be about two or three years old and had a head full of red hair. It was just as messy back then. He looked cute in his sailor outfit as he smiled at a woman with reddish-brown hair. I assumed that was his mother. She was beautiful.

Looking up with a guilt-ridden face, I palmed the picture in my hand and quickly stuck it in my purse. Edward was too busy patronizing his father to notice, but the Senator saw me take it.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Edward asked, bending down and putting his ear to his father's face. The stuffed washcloth in the Senator's mouth made everything come out muffled.

I laughed, shaking my head. "Edward, stop being a jackass."

He looked up at me and smiled crookedly. "I'm just having my fun with him."

"Yeah, I see that, but we were supposed to be wrapping this shit up, remember?"

"Right." He nodded firmly and removed the makeshift gag from his father's mouth. "You were saying?"

Yawning and stretching out his mouth, he tried to regain some feeling after the misuse. When he spoke, it came out soft and raspy. "I'll do it."

"Atta boy," Edward said, patting his dad on the back. He held up an iPhone, waving it in his face. "But just in case, I'm taking your phone as an insurance policy."

I got up from the bed and stood to Edward's left as he scrolled through his dad's phone. The Senator had documented pictures of his countless conquests with filthy and degrading portrayals of naked women. It was disgusting.

"How does mom not know about this shit, dad? How are you able to fucking hide it from her?" Edward asked, shoving the phone in his dad's face, displaying a rather vulgar picture of a young blonde woman.

He looked away, refusing to acknowledge it. "Your mother doesn't ask questions. All she does is pray."

"You better start praying that you're able to get those charges dropped," Edward said, slipping the phone into his pocket.

"And what if I can't?" his dad asked.

"You don't want to find out, pops." He wadded the washrag back up into a ball and tried to stuff it into his dad's mouth.

He fought, jerking his head from Edward and closing his mouth.

"Don't make this shit harder than it needs to be," Edward said.

"What are you going to do once those charges are cleared?" he snapped and glared over at me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. He was trying to intimidate me, but it wouldn't work. He could hate me all he wanted. The feeling was mutual.

"Go back to Arizona," Edward said like that point was obvious.

"So, you're on the run, then?" he asked, a sly smile emerging slowly.

"I'm always on the run," Edward said, grabbing his dad by the hair and forcing him to keep his head straight. He shoved the washcloth in his mouth. "Now shut the fuck up."

He was still struggling, and I grabbed the silk tie and secured it around his head. Edward glanced up at me, smirking and giving me a wink.

"I figured you could use some help," I said.

Edward laughed. "Gagging fucking hostages really is a two person job."

I rolled my eyes, pushing him playfully on the arm. His father stared up at us like were we fucking lunatics.

"Alright, dad, here is the deal, you've got a week to get those charges dropped. If you don't, I will release everything I have on you to every single news outlet. Everyone will know what kind a sick and perverted adulterous man you really are. Nod if you understand."

He complied with a simple and firm nod.

"Now, we're going to leave, and in an hour, I'm going to call the front desk to have someone to come up here to release you." Edward bent down, getting face to face with his dad; he stated his words very slowly. "This next part is crucial. You are not to tell anyone that we did this to you. If they asked, we were masked. You didn't see our faces. If you sic the law on our ass for this shit, I swear to you that you'll live to regret that fucking decision. You got that?"

He nodded.

Edward gazed over at me. "Just to be safe, baby, you should wipe down everything you might have touched."

"Okay," I said, taking a washcloth out of the bathroom and cleaning everything.

My eyes drifted to the bed, and I smiled, reliving that memory. The comforter was slightly skewed, and I smoothed it out, making it seem untouched.

The room was damn near perfect in cleanliness, and other than the man tied to the chair, it looked as if no one had ever been there.

As I was fluffing the pillows for the millionth time, Edward came up behind me and smacked my ass. I jumped, my heart pounding out of my chest as I spun around to face him.

"Don't do that," I scolded, slapping him on his chest.

He smirked. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I think so," I said, glancing around the room. I tilted my head to the side, slightly confused. "Where's your dad?"

He glowered.

"Sorry," I laughed. "Where's the senator?"

"He's in the bathroom," he said with a suggestive undertone, placing his hands on my hips and slowly moving them down to my ass. He squeezed it hard, thrusting and yanking me into him.

"You wanna?" he asked, turning me towards the bed. The mattress hit the back of my thighs, and I rocked over it.

"We can't," I said, glancing over my shoulder. "I just made it."

He lowered his head and moved his warm and soft lips along my neck, working his way up to mine.

"We'll make it again," he said, kissing me. "Ten minutes, baby. That's all."

He slipped his hand under my dress and between my legs, rubbing and coaxing my heated flesh. Finally, he kissed me on my lips and pushed me back into the bed. He was my undoing, my weakness, and slowly, I always succumbed to his will without putting up much of a fight.

It was around two in the morning when we left the hotel. It had been exhausting three hours, and I just wanted to sleep. Edward made good on his word and called the hotel to inform them of his father's difficult situation, but he waited until we were officially out of Missouri. He wasn't too concerned about his dad's well-being or mental health. He said it would probably do the Senator some good to sit there for a while and think about his life and how quickly Edward would destroy if he didn't comply with our demands.

Even though Edward was confident that the Senator would do as we instructed him, we didn't go home. Instead, we headed northwest and towards the Canadian border. He said that he wasn't ready for the road trip to be over. Edward knew once we went home, he would have to share me again, and that wasn't something he wanted to do just yet.

Hell, I didn't care if we ever went back to Arizona. Edward was my family now. He was all that mattered.

He was the one who had a life outside of me waiting for him there—which he kept tabs on daily through phone calls.

It had been a few days since the St. Louis trip, and we stayed at some random hotel in Iowa. The money from the Senator, plus whatever we had before that, was still holding, but it wouldn't last forever. Eventually, we would need to devise a contingency plan, and I wasn't opposed to robbing a store.

Edward awoke the criminal in me in more ways than one, and I was itching to let her loose.

Sitting in bed, I stretched my arms over my head and glanced at the open door. The early morning sun was beating in, but the weather was not like Arizona. Instead, it was cooler, and the sun welcomed me.

Throwing the sheets off me, I got up from the bed and walked outside. Edward was perched on the top of the stairs, his back facing me, and puffing away on a cigarette. He wasn't an avid smoker and only did it when something stressed him.

"They're still running our story? Yeah, well, I did give him to the end of the week, Jazz, and it's only two days. So give the prick some time," he said as I inched closer.

He was talking on the phone with Jasper, checking on our situation with the Phoenix police department back home. Alice had been keeping a close eye on them. She tried hacking into their computer system to erase our records, but they had an extensive firewall, one she'd never seen before. It frustrated her, and she wasn't used to being shut out like that. She prided herself on being the best of the best, but now, she wasn't even able to clear her friends of petty and absurd charges.

She had spent most of her days after we left sitting at home on her computer. She searched countless pathways into their secured system, unwilling to quit until she found a way. Jasper had to hold her down several times and force her to eat. It took Edward to put a stop to the madness. Finally, he told her enough was enough and to let it go.

I sat behind him on the stairs, wrapping my arms around his body. He took one last puff of his cigarette, flicking the reminder over the railing, and then interlinked his fingers with mine. I laid my head on his back, listening to the sound of his breathing and the deep rumble of his voice every time he talked.

"I don't give a fuck about him," he said, pausing now and then as Jasper talked. Unfortunately, Jasper was soft-spoken, and unlike Emmett, I couldn't hear his side of the conversation. "I'm not worried, alright? The guy is a pussy. He's all fucking talk." Edward sighed. "Relax, Jazz, please. I know what I am doing." He laughed. "Yeah, that's what fucking Emmett said." He gripped my hand tighter. "We'll see what happens."

I could only imagine Jasper's thoughts about our life on the road and the shit-storm we continued to cause. He was quite the level-headed crook. But, other than Alice, he had the cleanest criminal record. I'm not sure how he'd gotten into this life, but he seemed like a guy who could do much more.

"What?!" Edward yelled, and his body stiffened. It startled me, and I raised my head from his back. "Are you fucking kidding? What channel?" Edward stood up, climbed over me, and grabbed my hand. He led me back into our room, letting go of his grip on me, and searched the room for the remote. His eyes shot to mine, wild and crazed. "Where's the fucking clicker, Bella?"

It was the first time he'd used such a harsh tone with me, and I froze, not knowing what to do.

"Fuck," he said, throwing the covers off the bed. The remote went flying and landed on the floor. He grabbed and turned on the TV. "What channel is CNN?"

"I don't know," I said, cautiously approaching him.

He continued to click through the channels until he found what he had been looking for and swore loudly. "Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!"

My eyes darted to the TV screen, and I nearly lost footing. Our faces were on the news again, but it wasn't for a petty assault charge or just localized to Arizona. It was national.

"That motherfucker," Edward groaned, rubbing his forehead roughly. "Extortion, Jazz? That's a fucking felony. I know. I fucking know. Even if, I release those pictures, it won't do shit. It'll just prove his God damn case, and he knows that. How did I not fucking see this one?"

The Senator was pleading a heartfelt case, betrayed and blackmailed by his criminal son. He didn't even deny the infidelity; he came out with it. He had his beautiful and adoring wife, Esme, with piercing green eyes by his side. She supported her husband. It broke her heart that her son, the child she gave birth to, would do this to them. They'd given him everything growing up. It didn't make sense why he would do this to them.

It was fucking ridiculous, and I stood there speechless, watching the train wreck as it happened, powerless to stop it.

In the end, Edward underestimated his father. He didn't realize how the Senator would spin this in his favor to get more votes. America loves a scandal.

"Yeah, just another one of my fucking blunders." Edward laughed dryly. "Right, I need to stick to petty crime." He looked over at me and frowned. "Look, Jazz, I will have to call you back. Yeah, she knows. Alright, dude, bye." He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. He came over to me and placed his hands on my face, bending his knees to get eye-level with me. "Baby, don't worry, we'll be fine."

"We can't run from this, Edward," I said.

He nodded. "Yes, we can. We just need to think for a minute."

I laughed, rolling my eyes. "That'll be a first for us."

"Bella, it's a wrench in our plan, that's all." He tried to be optimistic, but his eyes couldn't fool me. He knew as well as I did. We were fucked.

"They won't stop looking until they arrest us. He's the Senator, who might even be Governor soon, how do we fight against that?"

"We run," he said.

"Where?"

"Anywhere. Mexico. Canada. We'll figure it out." He kissed my lips and softly caressed the side of my cheek. "Stop acting like you're not enjoying this."

I narrowed my eyes, fighting hard not to smile. The fucker knew me all too well.

"Come on, grab up your things," he said, kissing me on the head. "We're getting the fuck out of here."