12

Bella and Edward spent the rest of the morning clearing the air between them and talking through their issues. Well, most of them. Bella still struggled to let him in on everything she felt. Keeping her feeling bottled up inside had been her way of life for too long and it was hard to change that now.

Though reluctant, Bella agreed to let Leah, Jake, and Seth stay, but made it clear there were going to be rules. So, just before lunch, they exited her bedroom and walked downstairs to the kitchen, where they found Emmett sitting with Rose, Alice, and Aro.

"Jasper head back into town?" Edward asked, sliding his arm around Bella's waist.

"No, he's touching base with James' team and making arrangements for someone to come take over your post," Emmett explained. "Since you're leaving."

Emmett looked right at Bella when he added that last part, making it clear that he was speaking directly to her. A part of her hated him for being a mean son-of-a-bitch and all but calling her a coward. The other part, however, knew he was right; she couldn't keep running every time she didn't get her way.

"Can you get him, please?" Edward asked, pulling a chair out of Bella. "And everyone else. I think it's time we have a sit down and get some shit cleared up."

"Sure thing, boss." Emmett stood and walked out of the kitchen without another glance at Bella.

"I'm going to make a sandwich. Want one?" Edward asked, walking around the table and opening the fridge.

"Yes, please," Bella murmured, pulling her knees up in front of her. The idea of everyone crowded into the kitchen scared her more than she was willing to admit, but Edward was right. They couldn't all live together without clearing the air and setting some limits.

"Sweetheart," Aro said, reaching across Alice and placing his hand on top of Bella's. "Are you all right?"

Bella opened her mouth to assure him that she was fine, that everything was okay, but that just wasn't true. "No, no, I'm not."

Aro frowned and gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it and leaning backward, his arm tightening around Alice. Bella worried about him, about how much stress he put on himself to take care of her and Alice. He wasn't a young man and his health had been compromised greatly over the last year.

"Here you go," Edward said, placing a large turkey sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions in front of her. He sat next to her with his own sandwich. "Eat."

Bella managed to eat a few bites before everyone started shuffling into the kitchen. Jake, Leah, and Seth first, followed by Ben, Angela, and Tyler. Emmett and Jasper brought up the rear. While Leah, Seth, and Jake sat on the far side of the table, everyone else, including Rose, stood around the outside.

"Um," Edward started, placing his palm on the table. "I'm not really sure how to start this, so I'll just jump in. The last few days have been . . . Well, they've been a nightmare."

"Because of us?" Jake asked and though his question was directed toward Edward, Bella could feel his focus on her.

"Yes, and no." Edward shifted in his chair. "I made the decision to bring you, Seth, and Leah here without clearing it with Bella first. And because of this, I've made her uncomfortable."

Everyone's attention shifted to Bella, who felt her skin warm. She curled her hand into a fist, struggling to keep from clawing at her skin. She didn't want the attention on her.

"B? Is that true?" Jake asked, the hurt evident in his voice.

Gnawing on the inside of her lip, Bella nodded.

"But why?"

"It's kind of obvious, isn't it?" Seth drew Jake's attention to him, but he was staring at Bella. "When you left Forks that night, you never had any intention of ever seeing us again, did you?"

"No," she admitted.

"But . . ." Jake trailed off. "But why? I mean, I don't understand. We've been friends since we were toddlers. We fucking grew up together!"

Bella pressed her lips together, feeling the attention shift once more to her. "I don't . . . I can't. . ." She huffed, her chest tightened, and she struggled to keep from fleeing. The last thing she wanted was to bare her soul right then. "It's not safe for us to be together. It won't take much for someone to put two and two together. Here, I'm . . . I'm not Bella anymore. I'm Anna Mason."

"That's not what he called you," Leah sang, her eyes glued to Bella. "You were his little girl."

Bella clenched her jaw tight. "Shut up. Just shut the fuck up!"

"Everyone needs to calm down," Emmett said, shifting so that he was standing closer to the table. "We're not here to talk about anything that happened a year ago. This meeting is about what's going on right now. Right, Edward?"

"Yes, exactly. Thank you, Emmett." Edward once more shifted in his chair. "I should have talked to Bella first, made sure she was okay with you coming here. I didn't and that lies on my shoulders, but if you want to stay here, there are going to be some rules."

"Rules?" Seth asked. "What rules?"

"Like no liquor," Edward told him, but his focus was on Leah. "If you're caught with it again, you'll be asked to leave. Is that understood?"

"Yep," Leah chirped, leaning forward and placing her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Good," Edward said. "Also, if you want to stay here, you're going to have to earn your keep."

"How?" Jake asked.

"Emmett needs ranch hands," Bella said, tilting her head toward him. "There's plenty of work to be done in the stables. Fences that need repair, taking care of the horses, etc."

"I've got a long to-do list," Emmett confirmed.

"And for those of us who don't want to work the ranch?" Leah asked, smirking. "I've never been the kind of girl to get my hands dirty. You know that, Bella."

Bella wanted nothing more than to wipe that smirk off her face. Leah hadn't been like this snarky before and it scared her. "I'm sure I can find something inside the house." She paused, shifting her attention to Jasper and back. "Especially since Alice will be going to work with Jasper."

"I will?" Alice asked, her eyes widening.

"Oh, yeah," Jasper said, clearing his throat. "You and Aro both. I need a lot of help and you'd be doing me a favor."

"Oh," Alice murmured, titling her head toward her grandfather. "Is that okay, Nonno?"

"Of course, dolce nipote. Whatever you wish," Aro told her, but his eyes shifted to Bella.

"How sweet," Leah cooed, placing her hand on the table. "Guess that leaves just you and me to keep these guys in line, doesn't it, Bella? Just you and me."

"Guess so," Bella muttered, her hands curling into fists.

Edward placed his hand on top of hers, almost as if he were trying to keep her from losing her shit, which she was. "There will be a curfew, too. You must be inside the house by ten p.m. and no wandering before eight in the morning. Nobody is to go into town alone, either. Either Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Bella, or myself must be with you. I know that seems unfair, but to be honest, we're taking a huge risk by bringing you here."

"What kind of risk?" Seth asked, his lips curling into a frown.

"Aro, Alice, and I have spent the last year acclimating ourselves into this town. They know us, like us. She's my sister and he's our grandfather. We're a family," Bella explained. "Bringing three new, completely unknown people into my house is a risk to our safety, one I'm not thrilled about taking."

"Oh," Seth murmured. "Then, maybe we should leave."

"What?" Leah gasped, while Jake sighed. "We can't leave her!"

"She's already done too much for us, Leah," Seth argued.

"But . . . No. No!" she screamed, leaping from her chair so fast that it flew backward, crashing onto the floor. Leah slammed her hands onto the table, causing Alice to shriek and bolt from the room, hurrying upstairs.

Jake was immediately on his feet, his arms wrapped around her, pulling her away from the table. "Baby, calm down."

"I can't leave her. I can't leave her!" Leah screamed, fighting his hold on her.

"Get her out of here!" Bella snarled, her fists so tight she could feel her nails digging into the palm of her hands.

Jasper and Emmett helped Jake wrestle a fighting Leah out of the room.

"Bella, look at me." Edward placed his hands on top of her fists.

She shifted her attention to him.

"Take a deep breath. It's okay."

"It's not okay," she murmured. "She's not safe. She needs more help than we can give her here."

"Okay, sweetheart, I'll see if I can find somewhere else to send her, but right now, this is all we've got."

"B." Seth's voice seemed like it echoed throughout the room, though he barely spoke above a whisper. She shifted her attention to him; the hurt and anguish on his face cutting her deep. "We've done the best we can with her, but she's . . . she's not the same Leah anymore. I don't . . . I don't know what to do anymore."

"I can't save her this time," Bella whimpered. "I can't, Seth. I can't . . . Not after. . ." Bella shook her head, dislodging tears. "You can stay until Edward finds a better solution, but I can't take care of her, of you, of Jake. . . I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough anymore."

"I understand," he said, though she could tell that he didn't. He wanted her to be Leah's salvation again, to give him his sister back, but the Leah he'd known was dead. Seth pushed his chair away from the table and stood up, walking out of the room without another word.

"I should go check on Alice," Bella mumbled.

"No," Aro said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I've got Alice. You finish eating your sandwich."

Bella nodded, but didn't make an effort to pick up her food. Once Aro was out of the room, Ben, Tyler, and Angela took the seats vacated by Seth, Jake, and Leah.

"Well, that was fun," Ben said, his eyes shifting between her and Edward. "We haven't officially met."

"No, we haven't," Bella said, quietly. "But it wasn't difficult to figure out who was who. You're Ben, right?"

He nodded. "We didn't want to bring her here, but when she attacked Seth, we knew she needed more than we could give her."

"So I've heard, but we're not the ones to give her that help. We're kind of busy trying to take care of ourselves. I know it seems bitchy, but . . ." Bella shook her head, drawing her hand up to her chest. "I'm not a hero. I can't save the world."

"You already have," Angela said, drawing Bella's attention to her. "Seventy-eight people were found in the brothel run by Esme Platt. Runaways who thought they'd never seen their mothers and fathers again. And from the files you sent us from Carlisle Cullen led us to another three dozen girls who had been trafficked across the country. You stopped men like Eleazar Santiago and Demetri Romanoff from preying on innocent young girls. Maybe it's not the whole world, Bella, but it's a good chunk of it."

"Maybe," she said, quietly. "But I lost myself in the fight."

"That might be true. Honestly, I don't know you well enough to say." Angela leaned back in her chair, making it clear she was done speaking.

"So, what's the plan with Leah? If she can't stay here, I don't know where else to take her," Tyler said, clearing his throat. "Well, except . . ."

"Yeah, I was hoping to avoid Denali," Edward said, softly. "But we don't have a choice. I'll make contact with Marcus."

"What's Denali?" Bella asked, drawing Edward's attention to her. "Who's Marcus?"

"Marcus is the man who recruited me to the FBI, who helped me get Eclipse set up. He runs a compound in Denali, Alaska. They . . . Well, they specialize in intense, in-house psycho-therapy. Sometimes, the people we save are too far gone for our help, and he has ways of helping them."

"Like how?" The question made her uneasy and she wasn't sure she wanted an answer, but at the same time, she needed to know.

Edward shifted toward her. "Sometimes, like with Leah, the abuse they trauma they suffered during captivity is . . . well, too much for them to process. They have a psychotic break and they become dangerous. I had hoped to avoid sending her to Denali because, well, she was family. But I don't think we have a choice. If she can't stay here, Denali is the only other place to take her."

"Oh." Bella bit the inside of her lip, wondering if she should feel guilty for leaving him other option. Leah was her family at one time, her sister in many ways, but now, things had changed. Hadn't they?

"Are we taking her?" Ben asked, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"No," Edward said, quickly. "I'll make arranges to get her there myself. I have a new mission for you three."

"Oh, what's that?" Angela asked, her excitement made Bella nauseas, but she didn't say anything.

"Rose has a lead on this Sandman person," Edward said, but before he could utter another sound, Leah laughed and their attention was drawn to the doorway where she stood. Her eyes were wide and full of darkness.

"You're looking for the Sandman?" she asked, almost singing his name. "The Sandman likes his pretty little girls."

"You met the Sandman?"

"Everyone knows the Sandman. He was vicious monster before Anna took all his toys away. I can only imagine how upset he was."

"What's he look like?" Edward asked, placing his hand on Bella's knee.

Leah shook her head and took a step backward. "Not gonna tell ya."

"Why won't you tell us what he looks like?" Angela asked, but Leah's attention was on Bella.

"I'll tell you his real name, but only on one condition."

"What's that?" Bella wondered.

"You, and only you, have to take me wherever I'm going. Just me and just you."