4

Edward's words hit Bella like a ton of bricks. Emmett, Rose, and Jasper were members of Eclipse? They were a part of his organization, and what? He had them watching her?

Bella shifted her eyes from Edward to Jasper and then to Rose and Emmett before she shook her head and stepped away from all of them. "You've know who I was for a year, haven't you?"

"Yes," the three of them murmured, looking from her to Edward, who had his hands on his hips.

"You lied to me," Bella whispered, pushing past the three of them and running outside. She gasped for air, tried to keep the panic that she'd worked so hard at keeping at bay from rushing to the surface.

"Bella, wait!" Edward yelled, following her outside. He grabbed her arm and spun her toward him, but let her go when Bella screamed and brought her arms up over her head, protecting herself. "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you."

"You fucking lied to me, Edward!" she screamed, clenching her hands into fists. "We had a plan. A fucking plan, and they weren't a part of it! I trusted you. With everything I have, I fucking trusted you, and what do you do? You fucking lied to me!"

"I know," he said, calmly. "And I'm sorry, but I needed people in place in case you . . ." He trailed off, pressing his lips together.

"In case I what? Freaked out and started butchering people? Is that what you think of me? That I'm a stone-cold killer, preparing to take my next victim? Well, fuck you! I did what I had to do to survive."

"I know you did, Bella," he exclaimed. "But you shouldn't have been there in the first place." Edward brought his hand up to the back of his neck, and shook his head. "Every day for weeks, I sat there, waiting for word from you, knowing that he was . . . that he was hurting you. You're my wife, and I had to sit there, knowing that he was fucking you like a whore!"

Bella turned from him, staring at the barn. "A whore, huh? He called me a whore. I wasn't Bella, or even Isabella with him. No, I was a whore. Whore, whore, whore. That's all I was to him. To you, too, I guess."

She heard Edward sigh and a moment later, he placed his hands on her hips, sliding his arms around her. "I'm sorry. That's not what I meant. I just . . . I just needed someone here, someone to watch over you until it was safe for me to come to you. So I didn't blow the plan and show up here the night you left."

Edward pressed his lips to the top of her head. "We got to his house just after noon, and they hadn't moved his body yet. He was . . . he was just lying there, naked and covered in blood. I stood in the doorway, imagining every horrible, disgusting, brutal thing he'd done to you. I wanted to carve him into little pieces. I wanted to rip his arms off and light his body on fire. I wanted . . . I wanted to kill again and again."

Bella bit her lip as she turned in his arms, placing her hands on his chest. "Me, too."

Edward brought his hand up to the side of her face. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I love you so much, Bella, and I . . . I needed to know you were safe."

"I love you, too," she murmured.

"Do you forgive me for being an ass?" he asked, smiling.

Bella bit the inside of her lip as she nodded. "Just don't treat me like a fragile little flower. I'm stronger than you think I am."

"I just wish you didn't have to be," he whispered, before pressing his lips against hers. "Come on. We have work to do."

Bella suppressed a sigh, but followed Edward back into the house. She felt uncomfortable with the people seated in the living room, the ones she'd barely allowed in her life over the last year. She didn't trust anyone, but they were the closest people she had to friends, and she'd come to care for them.

Aro was seated at the base of the stairs, his eyes following Bella as she walked across the living room and sat on the hearth of the fireplace. The old man looked tired and worn, and she worried about the stress of trying to save Alice was hurting him. Aro had fought for his granddaughter, but would it cost him his health.

Emmett had his arm around Rose, who was watching Bella's every step. She hadn't gotten to know the tall, leggy blond well; it had been safer to keep as many people as she could at arm's length just in case she had to take off again. But here she was, having been placed by Edward to babysit his fucked-in-the-head wife.

Edward cleared his throat, pulling everyone's attention to him. "We have a . . . situation." He shifted his attention to Bella. "With Leah."

"Leah?" she asked, sharply.

Edward nodded. "She attacked Seth with a knife. Cut him pretty badly."

"Is he okay?" Bella asked, sharply.

"He survived, but it was touch and go for a while. My team managed to stop her before she . . ." His words hung in the air as he looked at Bella.

"Killed him," she whispered. "Before she killed him."

Edward's head barely nodded.

"You had someone watching them, too? More spies."

"I did," he admitted. "But it's too much for them. They can't handle her anymore, so we need to decide how to proceed."

"Who do you have on her?" Jasper asked, and when she looked at him, she found that he was watching her. He quickly looked away.

"Tyler." Edward moved to the hearth and say next to Bella, sliding his arm around her waist. "He has Ben and Ang with him, but I think we need to consider moving them."

"Where?" Bella asked, causing him to look down at her. "Here?"

"Yes," he murmured.

"But the plan . . . I mean . . ." Bella shook her head. "We can't be together. We can't . . . It's too dangerous. Reckless and stupid."

"Nobody is looking for them, honey." Edward lifted his hand to the back of her head before turning back to the group, his body tensing. "Hello, Alice."

Everyone turned and looked at her as she stood halfway up the staircase behind her grandfather, but her attention was on Jasper, who had stood up. "Why are you here?"

"I came to see you," Jasper said, smiling. "I brought you some more cupcakes. They're out in my truck."

"Chocolate with red sprinkles?" Alice asked, her eyes widening and the hint of a smile on her lips.

"Of course," Jasper laughed, holding his hand to her. "Want to help me get them?"

Alice shook her head and stepped backward.

"It's okay. I'll get them myself. Just hope I don't eat all of them before I get back," he teased, but Bella knew he'd never do that to Alice. To anyone else maybe, but not her. "Excuse me for a moment."

Edward gave him a subtle nod. Jasper rushed out of the house, coming back in a minute later with three large, white boxes in his hands. He placed them on the coffee table, opened the top box, and picked up a large, chocolate cupcake that was covered in red sprinkles. Turning, he walked over to the stairs so that he was standing a few feet from Aro, and held the cupcake out to Alice.

"I made this one just for you," he told her. Alice didn't move toward him, however, so Jasper sighed and handed Aro the cupcake. "For her."

"Thank you," Aro whispered, and once Jasper had taken a step backward, he shifted his body on the stairs and held the cupcake out to Alice, who wrapped her tiny hands around it and brought it to her lips, sucking half the sprinkles off in one go. Aro laughed, the first real laugh Bella had ever heard from the old man. "Slow down, dolce nipote. You'll get a stomach ache."

"Will not," Alice whispered, sitting behind her grandfather, almost as if she was hiding from everyone.

Aro smiled and looked back at Bella. "You just watch; she'll be complaining about not feeling good."

"Let her eat; she's earned it and a hundred more," Bella murmured, standing up and walking into the kitchen. She braced herself against the counter, taking several deep breaths. Her nerves were on fire, her body tense and ridged, and she was struggling more than ever to keep control of her sense.

"Hey," Edward murmured, causing her to turn and look at him. He was leaning against the doorjamb, a frown tugging on his lips. "You okay?"

Bella shook her head. "I've put smile on my face and pretended I've had everything together for so long, I almost believed I wasn't broken. But then I see them sitting in there, and they know what I've done, who I am, and it makes me realize just how fucked up I really am."

Edward didn't say anything, just stood there and stared at her.

"It's too dangerous to bring them here," she said, softly. "The plans been working. It's reckless to mess with it now."

Still, Edward didn't say anything, standing against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Jake can handle Leah. Or Sam. He's strong. He just . . . He just needs to be told what to do. How . . . how to handle her, right?"

Once more, Edward simply stared at her.

Growing frustrated, Bella turned and faced the counter, her hands gripping the front of the granite countertop. Her eyes flickered to the dish drain, a large butcher knife shining brightly. The urge to wrap her fingers around the handle was intense, yet she resisted, afraid of what she'd do if she picked it up, felt the power that came with such a weapon.

Bella released a thick breath as she pushed away from the counter and faced Edward. "I, um, I have things that need to be done."

She wrapped her arms around her torso and walked past him, stopping when Edward's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her toward him. "She needs us. They need us."

Tears flooded her eyes as she whispered, "Haven't I done enough for them?"

And without giving him a chance to respond, Bella gently pushed his arm off her and walked through the living room and out of the house. She headed straight to the barn, stopping in front of the large, brown and white horse she'd bought six months ago. The horse lowered its head toward her, nuzzling her.

"You get me, don't you, Daisy," Bella whispered. The horse neighed. "Wanna go for a ride?"

The horse neighed again, lifting her head upward. Bella laughed and began saddling the horse. Once she was ready, she climbed on to the saddle and directed Daisy out of the barn and into the pasture. As Daisy began trotting, Bella closed her eyes and for a moment, enjoyed the feeling of being free.

—BR—

Emmett was in the barn when Bella returned. She paused in the doorway for a moment, but then tied the reigns to one of the posts. As she began unbuckling her saddle, she heard Emmett clear his throat.

"Something on your mind, Emmett?" Bella asked, hoisting the leather saddle off the horse. She carried it over to the table and tossed it on top and then turned to look at the man she'd hired to care for her ranch.

"No," he said, quietly. "Did you have a nice ride?"

Bella nodded and pulled the padding off Daisy. "Was it easy to lie to me? When you responded to my ad, was it easy to look me in the eye and lie to me?"

"Yes."

"I don't know why I didn't see it," Bella murmured, picking up a brush and bringing her hand up around the horse's neck. "Edward's never hidden the fact that he didn't like me on my own. He never believed that I could take care of myself."

"He worried about you," Emmett replied. "Can't blame him for worrying, can you?"

"No," she admitted, looking over at him. "Finish Daisy for me. I need to check on Alice."

Emmett simply nodded.

Bella tossed him the brush before she turned and walked out of the barn, heading into the house. Aro was sitting on the hearth to the fireplace while Jasper and Alice were seated on the couch, opposite ends, but so that they faced each other. Neither were speaking, but at the same time, they were sharing all their secrets.

Bella shared a look with Aro, who appeared both happy, yet terrified, and walked into the kitchen, where she found Rose and Edward. Rose was standing in front of the stove, stirring a large pot of what smelled like stew, while Edward had his laptop perched on the table in front of him. They both looked back at her, but neither of them spoke as she walked to the table and sat in the chair next to Edward. She leaned her head on his shoulder, shifting her eyes to the computer screen, which was filled with code.

"Any sign of her?" Bella whispered, knowing he was tracing all communication networks for any sign of his sister.

"No," he told her, draping arm around her shoulders. "It's been quiet. Too quiet if you ask me. Going to start searching for this Sandman person. Hopefully, he'll lead to me Elizabeth."

Bella nodded, thinking about everything she'd gone through for Leah. The pain, the hurt, the humiliation. "You really think they should come here?"

"I do," he murmured. "I know you're scared, but they're family, and we take care of family."

Bella's eyes fluttered closed. "Maybe, but who's taking care of me, while I take care of everyone else?"

When nothing but silence filled the air, she knew nobody had an answer for her.