18

"Bella!"

Bella looked toward the door of the room of torture just seconds before Edward skidded to a stop. His eyes landed on her as she sat on the floor, blood oozing from the gunshot wound in her shoulder. However, the movie Leah set to play drew his attention away, his face crumbling as he watched Carlisle Cullen forcing himself inside her over and over while she screamed for him to stop, begged him to stop. One hand was wrapped around her throat, while the other was pulling her head backward.

"Where the fuck is she?" Garrett pushed Edward out of the way as he stormed into the room — though he, too, stopped when he saw the movie flickering on the wall. His eyes widened and he looked down at her with pity. "Shit, Swan."

"We've got to go," Emmett urged as he followed Garrett into the room, a handheld radio up to his ear. Just like Garrett and Edward, he stopped in the doorway as his attention was drawn to Bella's torment. "Oh, my God."

"He loved it when I cried," Bella said, her eyes locked on Edward, who snapped his eyes toward her. "Said it was music to his ears. He was going to beat the life out of me. That's what he said: he was going to beat the life out of me, and he did. He really did."

Edward hurried to her, dropping to his knees next to her. One arm wrapped around her waist while the other came up to cup her face. "Sweetheart, I'm . . . I'm sorry."

"I wanted to save her," she whimpered.

"I know," he whispered, pressing his lips against her forehead. "Come on. We've got to go before the cops arrive."

Nodding, Bella allowed him to help her to her feet. As Edward led her by Garrett, the latter reached his hand toward Bella, who flinched away from him. "I don't like to be touched."

"Fair enough," he said. "Did you touch anything?"

"No," she replied. "Don't let them see it."

Garrett's eyes flittered to the movie as he nodded and hurried past her. Edward tightened his arm around her waist as he led her through the house and out to the SUV, where Rose was waiting. Her eyes widened when she saw the bullet wound in her shoulder.

"Shit," she swore, reaching for Bella, who once again pulled away. "I need to check it out. See if we need to risk a visit to the hospital."

"It's nothing," Bella insisted.

Rose snorted and moved so that Bella had no choice but to let her cheek out her shoulder. "It went through. Doesn't seem like it's done any damage, but we need to get her checked out. Can't go anywhere local, obviously. I know a guy in Port Angeles."

"Port Angeles?" Bella asked, the realization that she had been shot hitting her, causing her legs to feel heavy.

Rose nodded and threw open the back door to the black SUV. "He owes me a favor, and, well, he's not technically licensed to practice medicine anymore, but he'll make sure nobody knows we were there."

"Oh." Bella wasn't sure what else to say, so instead, she allowed Edward to help her into the backseat of the SUV, leaning against him when he slid into the seat next to her. "I wanted to save her," she murmured once more before her eyes closed and she lost herself to the darkness.

—BR—

Bella's mouth was dry, her lips chapped, and her body ached. Her eyes were heavy, and she struggled to pry them open, only for them to close again. After a few attempts, she found herself laying on a lumpy, uncomfortable bed, in a dimly lit room. A stench of rot and dust filled her nostrils, but before she could make a sound, Edward's voice trickled from the darkness.

"Are you sure nobody will know she was there? Like one-hundred and ten perfect sure?"

"Yes," Garrett replied, his tone irritated. "McCarty and I scrubbed the entire house. We also destroy the flash drive that little bitch had with your little Swan's videos on it. Any idea how she got them?"

"No," Edward said with a sigh. "Bella sent me everything she got from Cullen, except for the videos of her. I just assumed she destroyed them."

Someone, Bella assumed it to be Garrett, snorted, but when they spoke, their voice was deeper, gruffer than Garrett's. "Clearly not. Not that it matters at this point. She's lucky to be alive. An inch in either direction and you'd be trying to hide two bodies, not one."

Bella whimpered as she rolled onto her side, drawing the attention of Edward, Garrett, and a third man, who stepped out of the darkness and into the dull lighting a single lightbulb provided. Tall and thin, he had shortly cropped blond hair and bright blue eyes. He stepped around Edward and reached for Bella, who shifted away from him, only to release that her shirt had been removed. She pulled the flimsy sheet that had been used to cover her, upward and scooted up the bed, ignoring the pain radiating throughout her body.

"Careful," the thin man said and took a step backward. "You're going to pop your stitches open."

"Who are you?" Bella asked, her throat dry.

"Name's Peter. Sorry about your shirt. Only way to get to your shoulder properly. Rose went to find you something new to wear. She should be back soon."

Bella nodded, her eyes flittering to Garrett and finally to Edward. "I didn't have a choice. It was me or her."

"I know." Edward walked over to the bed, sitting on the side. "Don't worry about her anymore. We've taken care of her."

"What does that mean?"

"It just means that she won't be found until we're ready for her to be found. And they won't be able to tie you to her death, either."

Bella nodded. "So that's it? I killed her and you make everything disappear again?"

Edward pressed his lips together.

"That's what I thought," she scoffed, holding the sheet tighter against her body.

"You didn't exactly leave us a lot of choice," Edward quipped. "Taking off on your own like that."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Don't do that!" Edward yelled, standing and peering down at her.

"Do what?" she asked, trying to climb off the bed, but stopping when Peter, Edward, and Garrett made to push her back down. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"Then don't be stupid," Garrett groused.

"Fuck you," Bella snarled. "You don't get to stand there and judge me. You think we could have saved her? Leah was too far gone. She started to like it, need it. In the end, she wanted him to hurt her. Don't you get it? She didn't hate me because I couldn't stop her from being hurt. She hated me because they wanted me more than her!"

"You didn't have to be the one to kill her, Bella," Edward said, dragging a hand through his hair.

"Yes, I did," she spoke quietly. "It was always going to be me or her. Besides, I already have blood on my hands. What's a little more?"

Edward frowned and sat back on the edge of the bed. "You could have been the one who died."

"But I wasn't." Bella scooted across the bed, keeping her arm pressed against the sheet hiding her body. She pressed herself against Edward, who snaked an arm around her. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"I can't lose you," Edward whimpered, and Bella heard Garrett and Peter mutter something about giving them a few minutes alone before they hurried out of the dingy room.

"You won't," she lied. There was no way she could promise him a forever, not when she knew how fleeting life could be.

Edward leaned his forehead against hers. "I really fucking hope not."

—BR—

Bella wasn't sure how long they'd been sitting wrapped in each other's arms when the door was thrown open and Rose stormed in with a shopping bag in one hand and Emmett, Garrett, and Peter behind her.

"I hope you know what we had to do to get you here safely, Bella," Rose said, tossing the bag at her feet. "Get dressed. We've been compromised."

"What? How?" Edward asked, scrambling off the bed, jarring Bella's hurt shoulder in the process.

"Picked up chatter on my way back from Seattle. Anonymous tip was called into the police station in Forks forty-five minutes ago, saying Isabella Swan was alive and well and laying low here. I figure we've got about five minutes before they are busting the door down seeing as they think she died in a fiery crash over in Wyoming."

"Shit," Edward snarled, standing and dragging his hand through his hair. "Who the hell made this so called tip?"

"I don't know. Caller was male from what I heard," Rose said with a shrug of her shoulders. "We need to head back east. Go to the bunker. We can regroup and figure out our next step from there."

Edward nodded, his head turning toward Peter. "You coming with us?"

"Can't very well stay here now that the cops know about me, can I?" Peter grumbled.

"Load up as much as you can. We're out of here in three minutes."

Everyone scrambled from the room, leaving just Edward and Bella. He turned and grabbed the bag off the floor, dumping the black sweatpants and long-sleeve T-shirt on the bed. "Guess I didn't hide you as well as I wanted."

"Yeah," she murmured and stood up with a wince. Her body ached, her shoulder throbbing. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Edward picked up the pants and held them so she could step into them. "I shouldn't have brought her to you in the first place. What worries me is who called you out like this?"

"Seth? Sam? Make Jake? Though, I don't think they'd help her, do you?" Bella asked, trying to keep from wincing as Edward helped her dress.

"No. I've, um, I've got people watching them. Seth and Jake met up with Sam and Emily in New Mexico. They didn't take the news of Leah's death well, but they didn't seem like they blamed you. According to Hank, anyway."

Bella nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Hey, it's okay." Edward brought his hands up and cupped her face gently. "Everything's going to be okay."

"Yeah?" Bella asked, and when he nodded, she felt a tear slip down her face. "I thought I was saving her. She was my best friend. I just . . . I wanted to save her."

"I know, sweetheart." Edward pressed his lips against her forehead. "Come on. We've got to hurry."

Bella repressed a sigh and finished dressing, stifling the wince that rushed to the tip of her tongue when she slipped on the T-shirt Rose had gotten her. Once ready, Edward wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out of the room, up a flight of wooden stairs and into the kitchen of what looked like a rundown diner. Garrett, Rose, Emmett, and Peter were crowded around the back door, each of them looking at Bella when they entered the room. It didn't take a genius to read their expressions. They loathed her, blamed her for compromising their positions. Yet, she couldn't find it in herself to care. She'd done what had to be done. Leah was a liability.

"It's clear," Rose said after peeking out the back door.

Edward and Bella followed her and Emmett outside. While Emmett and Rose took the backseats again, Edward pulled Bella into the middle seat of the black SUV with him, instead of letting her sit in the front. It was both comforting and uncomfortable. With Garrett and Peter in the front, they sped away from the diner. Bella leaned her body against Edward's and prayed for a life where she didn't have blood on her hands.