26

Bella pulled the fourth car they had 'acquired' on their journey across the country in front of a small brick house that looked like every other brick house on the block. It was perfectly ordinary and that was exactly what they needed. Sparing a nervous look around, she motioned for Elizabeth and Kate to follow her up the small, stone pathway to the front porch, and biting her lip, she entered the code into the keypad.

"My birthday," Elizabeth murmured, drawing her attention. "He used my birthday."

"For just about everything," Bella said, pushing the door open. "After you."

Yet neither Kate nor Elizabeth moved. Stifling a sigh, Bella stepped inside the house, and held the door open. "Nobody is there. It's perfectly safe."

"Because of Edward?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes wide.

She nodded.

"Okay," she whispered, taking a small step inside.

Kate followed and Bella closed the door. One look around made it clear that nobody had been here in a long time. There was a clear inch of dust covering every surface and it smelled like musty.

Bella turned to Kate and Elizabeth. "Think there is any food?"

"Doubtful," Elizabeth scoffed while Kate simply shook her head.

"Yeah, kind of what I was thinking, too." Bella walked across the living room, turning on one of the lamps. "I guess all we can do now is wait."

—BR—

Four hours later, Bella, Elizabeth, and Kate were seated on the sofas, the later curled in a ball as she tried to protect herself. Once again, Bella had offered to let her call her parents, but Kate kept refusing. She didn't say much, which Bella understood. She had been through Hell, too. There wasn't much to say about it, either.

"How much longer?" Elizabeth asked just as the sound of a car pulling up filled the air. She scrambled to her feet, rushing to the farthest wall in the room, like it was going to suddenly swallow her up. "Oh, my God, he's found us!"

"Calm down," Bella murmured, putting her hands up as she stood. "I'm sure it's just the neighbors."

Of course, she wasn't sure of anything as she walked over to the front window and pulled the curtains back an inch. She smiled, a sense of relief filling her when she saw Edward climb out of the passenger seat of Garrett's black SUV. Looking back at Elizabeth first, Bella walked over to the front door, pulling it open and finding herself faced to face with the love of her life.

"You're here," she whispered, throwing herself into his arms. "You're really here."

"I wouldn't be anywhere else." Edward kissed the side of her neck but pulled back when Elizabeth and Kate moved from behind them. "Lizzie?"

"Hey Eddie," Elizabeth murmured.

Bella stepped to the side, causing him to look from Elizabeth to her. She tilted her head to the side and smiled. Tears filled her eyes as he watched as Edward slowly approached his sister, reaching out and placing his hands on her arms, and for the first time in six years, he held her in his arms.

Feeling overwhelmed, Bella slipped out of the room and into the kitchen. She pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water, taking a small sip.

"You okay?"

Bella felt her shoulders tense as she turned and looked at Garrett. He was leaning against the entry way with his arms folded in front of him and a frown on his face. "Not really."

"Yeah, guess that was a stupid question," he murmured. "You killed him."

She nodded.

"Good."

"Good? It's good that I killed yet another person. The blood of six people on my hands, but it's good?"

"That's not what I meant," Garrett grumbled, pushing away from the doorway and stepping toward her, but stopping when she scooted from him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"Okay."

"Guess I don't blame you for not believing me."

Bella wasn't sure what to say. It wasn't that she thought Garrett was going to hurt her. She didn't. It was more that she didn't trust anyone. Except Edward. Maybe.

"I'm sorry," Garrett said, quietly.

"Why are you sorry?" she asked.

"We should have known not to trust Peter," he groused.

Bella stared at him for a solid ten seconds before she started laughing. Garrett gave her a look like she was crazy.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, I don't have time for your guilt, Garrett," Bella scoffed.

"What?"

"I. Do. Not. Have—"

"I heard what you said," Garrett said, interrupting her.

"Then why did you ask why?"

"I'm trying to apologize, Swan."

"I don't need your apology."

"She needs mine."

Bella and Garrett looked back, finding Edward and Elizabeth standing in the doorway of the kitchen, Kate stood a few feet behind them. Edward dropped his arm from around Elizabeth and walked over to Bella, who tensed when he placed his hands on the sides of her face.

"I'm so sorry, baby. I shouldn't have let them come. I should have listened to you. I am just so fucking sorry."

"Me too." Bella felt her eyes fill with tears as she covered his hands with hers. "I didn't want to kill him, too."

"But you had to. Just like you had to kill Carlisle Cullen, and Esme Platt, and—"

"You killed Mistress, too?" Elizabeth asked, pulling everyone's attention to her.

Bella nodded.

"Why?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

Frowning, Bella pulled away from Edward and walked over to Elizabeth, placing her hands on her arms and tugging her toward the chairs that surrounded the small kitchen table. They sat, and Bella tried to organize her thoughts.

"About a year ago, I, um, I did something really stupid."

"What?"

"I put myself in Carlisle Cullen's hands," she said, slowly. "On purpose."

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, no, you wouldn't do that."

"I did," Bella admitted, noticing the way Kate watched them from just inside the living room. "You know how you were taken away from Edward?"

Elizabeth shifted her eyes to her brother before nodding.

"My best friend was too," Bella whimpered. "Leah was . . . Well, Carlisle Cullen was a cruel man and I needed to save her. That's how I met Edward."

"How?" she murmured, looking at Edward. "Were you looking for her, too?"

Edward moved over and sat in the chair behind Bella, shaking his head. "No, Lizzie. I was looking for you. Always been looking for you."

"Me?" she cried. "You were looking for me?"

"Of course I was," he said. "I knew you were out there. I just . . . I just couldn't find you."

"I thought they had taken you. That's what he told me," Elizabeth whispered. "He said you had stolen from him. You had to be punished, and I had to help pay for your release. She said it was a lie."

"Yeah, that was a lie."

"I was so stupid," Elizabeth cried, wrapping her arms around herself.

"No, honey, no you weren't," Bella insisted, grabbing her hands and pulling them down. "Carlisle Cullen was a sick, sadistic asshole, who thought he had the right to take anyone he wanted to make them his."

"And you stopped him," she sniffled. "You . . . you killed him."

Bella nodded. "I did."

"And you killed Mistress, too."

Once more, she said, "Yes. I couldn't let her hurt you or anyone else ever again."

"And you killed the Sandman."

Closing her eyes, she murmured, "Yes."

"But how? How did you know where I was?" she asked.

"I didn't," Bella admitted. "After I killed them, Alice —"

"Alice is alive?" she exclaimed, a smile filling her features.

Bella grinned. "She is. I couldn't leave her behind, could I?"

"She was nice to me." Elizabeth frowned. "They were mean to her. Made her cry."

"Hey," Edward said, sliding his arm around Bella and reaching for Elizabeth, who grabbed his hand. "Alice is okay."

"Where is she? Can we go to her?" Elizabeth asked, eagerly.

"Of course we can," Edward said. "But first, we need to take Kate home."

Everyone looked back at Kate, who was sitting on the floor just inside the room. Her eyes were wide and full of fear. Bella sighed inwardly as she slipped from in between Edward and Elizabeth and walked over to her, sitting in front of her.

"You're scared, aren't you?"

Kate nodded. "They'll be mad at me. I lied to them. Told them I was going camping with friends. But I was meeting him. He . . . he lied to me, said he was my age. Said he loved me and . . ." Kate tightened her arms around her legs, crying.

"Your mom misses you," Bella whispered. "She cries every night for you."

"She does?" Kate asked.

Nodding, she reached out and pushed her matted blond hair out of her face. "I wasn't lucky enough to have a mom who loves me like that, Kate. Don't let her suffer without hearing your voice again."

"I . . ." Kate trailed off as she nodded. "Okay."

Bella shifted so that she was sitting on the floor next to Kate, pulling the phone she had stolen off Peter Davis out of the pocket of her pajama pants. She shifted her eyes to Edward as she held it out to Kate, who took it gingerly and began to dial. She put the phone up to her ear and ten seconds later, she cried as she said, "Momma . . . Momma, I'm here."

—BR—

Kate didn't talk to her mother for very long. They cried and she promised her mother that she was okay. That was another lie she would feel guilty for telling her. While Kate refused to let Bella move from beside her, Garrett, Edward, and Elizabeth moved to the living room, trying to give her some privacy.

Bella couldn't hear the other side of the call, but based on the way Kate cried, it had been exactly what she needed to hear. Jealousy sparked loudly inside her. Her father hadn't fought for her. He had given her up willingly, then taken his perversions out on her best friend.

"I love you, Momma." Kate ended the call and held the phone out to Bella. "Thank you. You were right. I needed to talk to her."

"You're welcome."

"I didn't think she missed me. We never really got along, so. . ."

Bella simply nodded and stood up, offering Kate her hand. "Come on. Let's get cleaned up and then we will get you home."

Frowning, Kate agreed and when they walked into the living room, they found Elizabeth had already showered and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt that didn't belong to a rapist.

"There are clothes for each of you in the bathrooms," Edward said, standing up. "Might be too big."

"Whose clothes are they?" Bella asked.

Edward's ears turned red as he smiled and said, "Mine."

Biting the inside of her lip, she simply nodded and went to find the bathrooms. Kate took the one on the first floor, while Bella headed upstairs to the one just inside the master bedroom. Picking up the clothes, she settled on the bed. Tears filled her eyes and fell down her face. Tears of sorrow for the lives she had taken, for the ones she had saved. Tears for the pain and suffering she had gone through.

"Can I come in?"

Looking up, Bella saw Edward standing in the doorway. "Yes."

He walked over and sat on the bed next to her, slowly reaching over and taking hold of her hand. "Are you okay?"

"I'm . . ." Bella shook her head. "No."

"If I ask what happened, will you tell me?"

Frowning, she said, "I let my guard down, found myself locked away in hell. Again."

"Did he hurt you?" Edward asked.

Bella hesitated before saying, "He beat me."

"That fucking bastard," he muttered. "He didn't do anything else?"

Biting her lip, she shook her head and then added, "We didn't give him a chance. Elizabeth fought back, Edward. She fought back because she knew you were okay."

"She really thought I was in trouble?"

"Apparently." Bella stood up and placed the clean clothes on the bed. "One of these days, I'm going to learn not to kill the people who hurt me."

She turned and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Turning on the hot water, she pulled the phone and flash drive out of her pocket, placing them on the counter. Bella shifted her eyes to the mirror, seeing the bruises on her chest, her arms, around her neck. More bruises to just add to the collection she had earned over her stupidity.

Bella added a little cold water before climbing into the shower, letting the fervid water wash away the tears that fell freely. Everything was going to change. It would only be a matter of time before the police found Peter's body, before they linked her to his murder, as well as the other five people whose lives she had taken.

"Sweetheart, are you okay?" Edward asked through the door.

"Yeah," she hollered, her voice wavering. "Be right out."

Five minutes later, she turned off the water, wrapped a towel around her body, and opened the door to the bathroom, still finding Edward sitting on the side of the bed. He looked over at her, smiling as his eyes roamed her body. How he could still look at her like that considering everything she had put herself through amazed her.

"What's the plan?" she asked, grabbing the sweatpants off the bed and putting them on under the towel.

"Figured we should head out before the sun comes out. Won't take them long to figure out the car out front was stolen."

"And, um, what about Peter?" Bella wondered, picking up the shirt and slipping it on before pulling the towel out from under it.

"Emmett and Rose are handling it." Edward grabbed her hips, pulling her toward him, leaning his forehead against her stomach. "I almost lost you again."

Bella raked her fingers through his hair, causing him to shiver. "I'm scared, Edward."

"Me too," he murmured, looking up at her. "I don't know how to protect you now."

Biting the inside of her lip, Bella pulled out of his embrace and walked back into the bathroom, hanging the towel over the side of the tub before picking up the flash drive and carrying it back out to Edward. "This should help."

"What is that?" he asked, taking it from her.

"Data I took off his computer. Thousands of pictures of some very important people in compromising positions. I didn't have time to go through it all, of course, but I'm sure there's something in there that can help us. At least, I hope so."

"Me too, sweetheart. Me too."