Hey guys! I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. First off I apologize so so so much. I know this update is lonoong over due, and I'm so, so, so sorry. Junior year is kicking my butt (that's the nicest I can put it). I hope you forgive me for taking so long because I think this is one of the longest chapters yet. I hope you all are doing well. Enjoy :)


CHAPTER 7:

The sound of the bullets echoed in the room. With a sharp focus, I managed to shoot the target twice in the head and three times in the heart. I pushed a button and the silhouette came closer to me. Examining the tears in the paper, I was decently pleased with myself.

My head turned to watch Edward. His jaw clenched as his fingers hit the trigger. One after another the bullets shot through the air hitting the target. We didn't have room for errors. Once he finished, he took the magazine out of the gun and laid it on the wooden table next to him.

Taking off his noise cancelling headphones, he sauntered over to the table in the back to reload his Glock 17 9mm. He did this meticulously at a faster pace than most could.

Leaning against the wall, I watched again as the bullets pierced through the air. My mind traveled back to Alice's conversation: "Ahhhhh Bella. That's the sweetest thing ever. And the motorcycle—that's kinda hot. I mean I'm liking the bad boy vibe with the nice heart. You're going to be so happy. Ahhhhh." I could still hear the ringing in my ears. Truthfully Alice was a couple steps too far. I barely knew Jake so I couldn't say much about his heart and I never understood the connotation of the "bad" boys having a motorcycle. It's just a mode of transportation.

Regardless, I was as overjoyed as Alice sounded. Every couple minutes his picture would run across my thoughts completely distracting me from what I was doing.

"Ready," Edward yelled taking me out of my daze.

"Of course."

It was almost the end of our training day—it wasn't necessarily training because we already had the skills but more like upkeep. Next was our five mile run that I sometimes enjoyed.

Edward was still changing as I glanced down at my phone.

How was your day? -J My heart soared as usual.

Pretty good. I'm about to go on a run. -B

Oh. Are you almost done for the day? -J

Yeah. After this I can go home. -B

Do you want to come over later? I could pick you up and we could have dinner ;) -J

I squealed internally. Of course, what time? -B

6? -J

I'm excited. See you in a few. -B

Edward came out of the men's locker room and was almost startled by my expression.

"I hope everything's going well."

"It's perfect," and, yes, I was aware that I sounded like a love sick teenager.

I retied my shoes, and then we were off.


We were back in 40 minutes with sweat dripping off our bodies. Taking a quick hop in the shower, I was almost bouncing with anticipation.

Once I was thoroughly clean and Edward was out of the men's room, we headed into the car and drove home. The road was filled with rush hour traffic which struck a small panic in me. Surely I would have time, right? Eyeing the cars in front of us I wish they would just disappear or move or something. I swore I used to not be this impatient.

Sprinting up the stairs, I rushed to the door. It sprung open and bounced off the door stopper coming back to hit Edward in the face.

"Sorry," I bared my lip; that had to have hurt. Before I had time to think my body pushed me into the bedroom where I applied what makeup I actually knew how to do.

Bursting out the door again, the movement startled Edward, "I've got to go," I yelled with my head out the door. Dashing down the stairs, I almost slipped…twice.

My heart thrummed in my chest as I waited. Seconds later, I heard the low rumble of Jake's motorcycle and a giddy feeling spread through me. He parked it in front of me and threw me a helmet.

He stepped off his bike to the side walk. With "my" helmet in his hands, he brushed the stray pieces of hair behind my ear and then gave me a quick kiss. Putting the helmet on, I watched him climb on the back of the motorcycle. Alice was right…it was definitely hot.

"You look beautiful as always," he whispered to me as I climbed on the back and pressed my body onto his.

Like before, the wind blew through my hair giving me a euphoric feeling. I was also partial to being able to latch onto him.

Weaving through traffic, we came to our destination sooner than I anticipated. I was slightly disappointed with having to let go, but the moment we got off he gave me a quick kiss that made up for it.

"So what are we doing today."

"We're having dinner," he took in my expression, "you didn't already eat did you?"

"Nope. But if you don't mind me asking…where is it?"

"It's a block away." His hand slipped into mine as we walked on the crowded sidewalk.

In the distance, a soft guitar strummed. A smile crept onto my lips.

"Here it is." I waited as he went up to the hostess. Partially overheating the conversation, he made reservations surprised me. I only agreed to this two hours ago.

I took a moment to glance at my surroundings. I was stunned. Fairy light hung over the wood awning leaving enough space that the costumers could still see the painted sky above. I bet it's beautiful when the moon comes out. The outdoor space was filled with tables covered in pristine white table clothes. Everyone was nicely dressed, not over the top, but just enough to feel that my jeans and decently nice shirt weren't adequate.

A waiter passed me holding a plate of food that smelled so good my stomach growled.

Jacob lightly grabbed my hand and led me towards the hostess. With his hand on the small of my back we walked towards the outdoor area.

Jacob pulled out my chair before sitting down himself as the waitress put two menu's down in front of us.

"Do you like it?"

"Jake. How did you find this place?"

"I've got resources," he smirked. I rolled my eyes flirtatiously.


Three courses later, I was utterly stuffed. Jacob smiled back at me.

The evening was definitely memorable. I learned more about him than I knew about most people. Like how he had two sisters, but one that stopped talking to him years ago or that his mom died as a child. I had no clue what to say after that except a short "I'm sorry for your loss." But it wasn't all sad, his life was…adventurous. He moved around frequently but usually only for a couple months or less. He'd been to almost all the continents which astounded me.

Every word that left his mouth was part of some mystery that I was still trying to piece together.

In the middle of a strange conversation of about different types of fair foods and which ones were the best, I realized he would eventually have to meet Edward. And, I would rather that be sooner than later.

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

I stared up at the sky and hoped that I would find some other way to do this. I could already feel the awkward tension building up in my chest.

"I need you to…meet Edward."

"Meet who?" I mentally started screaming in my head. I had to have mentioned him before, right? Biting my lip, I realized I might have left Edward out of the equation. It's only the second "official" date. (I didn't count the multiple hospital visits as dates.)

"Um. He's kinda…my roommate," this is going to scare him away I can feel it, "my partner, and a really close friend."

"He's your roommate?!" Here it comes. I clenched may jaw.

"For convenience."

"How have you not mentioned this guy before?"

"I—I didn't want to scare you away. I haven't dated in a while but I'm pretty sure living with a male close friend isn't a perk."

"Bella," he ran his fingers through my hair as I buried myself into him thinking that this might be a deal breaker. "You don't need to be so worried, hon. I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, "Aw Jake you're the best." I planted a chaste kiss on his lips.

"I don't want you to be on egg shells near me. If he's a big party of your life I should get to know him."

"You want to meet him?" My heart was already going a million miles an hour. This could go so wrong.

"Of course I do."

"Today?" The word slipped out with my knowledge. I expected his eyes to pop out of his head, but instead he cupped my face.

"Yeah, when I drive you home I can meet him. But I can't stay too late. I have some work to finish up."

I was filled with…relief? "That sounds great."


The check was payed all too soon and the ride back, while exhilarating, could have been prolonged.

"Jake can we slow down." He was walking at a perfectly normal pace, but I wanted to go slower.

"You okay?" Besides my heart palpitations and my nauseousness, I was fine.

"I'm doing okay—you know we really don't have to do this today."

"Bella," he stopped at the beginning of the hall and faced me. Tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, he smiled and opened his arms for me. His gentle nature comforted me quickly but I couldn't escape the overlying anxiety.

"It'll be fine," he whispered into my hair and then left me go.

As we walked closer to the door, his hand intertwined with mine. I struggled to get the keys out of my bag with my shaking hands.

"Relax."

It clicked and I opened the door into our kitchen. Edward was spread out on the couch watching some music documentary.

"Bella?"

"I'm home."

"You sound off is everything okay?" Immediately, he almost jumped off the couch. He froze once he saw Jacob.

"I wanted you to meet Jake." I wanted to hide behind him…something…anything.

"Hi Jacob. I'm Edward. I'm Bella's partner. She's told me a lot about you."

"All good things I hope."

"Yeah, all good." I became extremely nervous. What are they supposed to do next? Is Jake going to just walk out the door? Do I have to continue to the conversation? Edward's staring at me really hard. I swallowed.

"Nirvana?" Jake pointed to the TV in the back and I released some of the tension in my shoulders.

"Yeah, they're pretty good and nothing else good was on."

"Are you really into music?"

"Yeah I used to play a little." I started to tune the conversation out from anxiety. I could tell that Jake wanted to comfort me, but couldn't. One word could send this whole encounter downhill. I liked Jake a lot, I really did, but I still wasn't sure how well they would get along together.

"You can stay if you want, there's a few minutes left of the documentary." That's a good sign right? Edward likes him right?

"Sorry man. I've got some work to finish up maybe we can catch the game some other time."

"Yeah." And that was my cue to walk Jake out.

Once we were outside the apartment and the door was closed I was feeling the stress leave my body slowly.

"Bella, are you okay? You look strange."

"Sorry, that just really scared me."

"But it went fine," he kissed the top of my head, "you worry too much." I spent a few minutes in his arms letting myself relax.

"I'm going to have to go, but you're okay right."

"I'm perfect Jake." He released me.

"Goodnight Bella."

"Goodnight."

He walked down the hall and down the stairs until I could no longer see him. This was the hard part. Edward could be cordial to anyone, but if he actually liked Jacob was unknown to me.

I slowly close the door, hoping to not make a sound, but it was a wasted effort. He was standing in the kitchen with his gaze on me. Of course he would want to talk.

I looked up at him with concern in my eyes; his body language wasn't giving me any hints.

"Bella calm down. He was actually really nice. I mean I don't really know him but he was pleasant."

"Really? Like you guys could be friends?"

"Of course," he paused, "did you really think I was going to hate him?"

"I don't know Edward. It's been a while since I dated so I wasn't sure how you would react." He rolled his eyes.

"No, I really like him. He looked really concerned with you being so nervous."

"Well, I really like him…a lot."

"I'm happy for you." And that was it. I changed clothes and the went to sleep knowing that they didn't hate each other which is as much as I could ask for.


The rest of the week was filled with small dates, training sessions, and short pleasant interactions between Jacob and Edward. They bonded to a point that I couldn't understand why I was so nervous about them meeting in the first place.

Our case load primary consisted of favors for Emmett and other people in the department. That was until Aro called us into his office on Monday.

"Cullen! Swan!" The harsh voice echoed through the narrow hallway.

Immediately, my back straightened and my mind focused. Aro didn't mess around. Before I got out of my chair Edward was already half way down the hallways with his eyes aglow with excitement.

With a half-jog, I caught up to him as his hand reached to open the door. Edward greeted me with a slight smile before we entered.

Perched in his seat, Aro stared at us with lifeless eyes and a clenched jaw. Right away my gaze turned to the massive window behind him, but I concentrated back on Aro within a second knowing whatever he gave us was serious.

"Good you're here. I've got a new case for you two." Instantly, I picked up "new case for you two," so we weren't the first to attempt this. My gaze transferred to Edward whose face was still covered in a childlike smile. Leaning against the dark blue wall, his glanced at me and then returned his gaze to Aro.

"Don't get your hopes up Cullen. This case had been passed around the department. Five other agents tried to catch him, but no one can get close to them. Don't screw this up."

"We won't sir," Edward's confident voice responded. But, I wasn't as hopeful.

"Good," and that was it. I sulked out of the room wondering what case could have possibly stumped so many agents. Meanwhile, Edward strolled into the other room with a buoyant step.

Edward already had the file opened; his mind scattered with possible conclusions. But, there was something off about his demeanor. His grin faded into horror as his eyes widened. Before I could ask my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Bringing the phone up to my ear,"Bella!" My heart fluttered with his voice.

"Hey Jake." I beamed.

"Do you want to do something tonight?" One of the many things I loved about Jacob was that he was always straight to the point; it made the relationship much easier.

"Of course. What were you thinking?"

"My place?"

"Wait, did I hear that right? You found an apartment?" Somewhere in my mind, I doubted that he was actually looking for a place to rent, so I was overjoyed hearing this.

"Yes I did." His voice proudly boosted.

"I can't wait to see it."

"6?"

"Sounds great. I've got to go but I'll see you later. Bye."

"Bye Bella," I relished in the way he said my name before I snapped the phone shut.

Walking into our office, Edward stared out of the window. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the outward excitement from earlier had dissipated within mere seconds. He moved away from the trance that the window held for him.

"I'm sorry," the file slid across the table into my hands. A new panic arose in me; the last time he was this solemn about a case a five year-old girl had been brutally murdered. The image of her disheartened parents sobbing was forever etched into my mind.

Opening the file, I took a large intake of breath, loud enough that Edward turn towards me with his hand clenched in his hair. My finger gently turned the pages so that I could obtain all I could from the photos. The pictures imprisoned my eyes; I couldn't look away.

With another breath, my eyes scoured the picture unwillingly. The girl lay in the middle of Muir Woods. The redwood tees sprouted around her. Wearing a black fitted dress, she, and her clothes, were soaked from the previous rainfall. Fanning out all around her, her hair was cut into a short bob. Her obvious beauty didn't pass my observation. Silently I wondered if jealousy was an issue.

But none of that mattered, the defined bruises around her neck indicated a strangulation, until you looked further down. Where her right leg should have been, there was nothing but cut arteries and severed skin. The following picture was a close up that made me queasy.

The coroner pronounced the cut as postmortem. I began to reinspect the picture. Bruises, in the shape of hand marks, lined her arms and legs. She had shallow cuts on her as well. Bitting my lip, I wasn't sure how bad this case could get.

Flipping the page, the previous picture had not conditioned me. I gasped. Located in a garbage bin, the woman was reduced to trash. A thin layer of filth covered her flashy red top. My eyes glided to her face. Bruises painted her cheekbones. Like the other case they also continued down her arms and legs stopping where her right leg was missing.

Extremely daunted by these images, I was mortified to find out there was a third. Before I could turn the page I glanced up to Edward.

"I know," his somber expression didn't exemplify what I was feeling. This file meant that the last agents hadn't solved it.

I felt the warm touch of his hand on my shoulder, "It'll be okay."

He flipped the last page for me. This picture had only been taken two weeks ago. Another woman was dropped on the side of a river bed. My observation didn't take very long; she was just the same. Bruises extended on all her limbs and her neck, yet her hyoid bone wasn't broken so she didn't die by suffocation. Her right leg removed.

Putting my hand on my head, I could feel my anger and anguish rise for these woman. They weren't just killed, they were beaten, scratched, scarred, and then left to rot.

"Do we have any leads?"

"Not any that haven't already been followed. We have to start from the beginning on this one. If the last five agents couldn't get it, we have our work cut out for us."

"But why give us this case now?"

"They got a call about another body 10 minutes ago, and I guess Aro's looking for another view of the case."

Stuffing the file into my bag, I waited for Edward to grab his gun before we meandered into my car.

I hadn't noticed the time fly with my thoughts attached the to pictures from earlier. My body bounced up and down from the rough gravel beneath us waking me from my pensive state. My eyes scoured the surroundings for a moment.

The showered morning brought along a thick fog that made it seem as if it were twilight. Olivia, our medical examiner, followed behind us along with her assistant Liam. He luged the stretcher behind him. I listened to their careless banter as I focused on not tripping on the overgrown roots below me.

My eyes shot to the petrified hikers. The mother had taken the child a whiles away in attempt to hide him from the horror that lay in from of me. I didn't have enough time to acknowledge the father before I saw her.

The rancid smell of the decomposing flesh hit my nose as I took a step closer. Putting my gloves on, I took a few photo graphs of her before sliding the misplaced hair out of her eyes. He dark brown pupils were still visible, butt had a think cloudy layer over them.

Drowning out Edward's discussion with the parents, I snapped a few more pictures of he clothing and the surroundings. Wearing skinny jeans and a tight white top, she was eerily similar to the other victims. A shiver ran up my spine.

Turning in a circle, I wondered how the family even found her. Her body lay so far off the beaten track that a decade could have passed before anyone noticed.

"Time of death?"

"I'm going to estimate around 8 hours. The body is still warm but the muscle is rigid until the legs. The lividity of the blood is permanent. So yeah I'd say about 8 hours."

"And the leg," I couldn't glance farther than the knee without bitting my check to keep the nausea down.

"Post-mortem."

"Bella," Edward stalked down the rocks and bounced to my side.

"How are they?"

"The kid's probably not going to sleep for the next year and the parents…well I guess they're as good as to be expected." He stepped closer to the body wincing once his eyes met the ankle.

"Same M.O. Right leg missing, bruises up and down. She's only been dead for about 8 hours."

He leaned towards the body taking in her facial features. "She's familiar."

"What do you mean she's familiar."

"I don't know Bella, but I've definitely seen her before."

"Do you have any idea where?"

"Nope." I waited in silence hoping that something in her appearance would spark his memory. While I left my mind run wild as I waited, a dreadful though popped into my head.

"Bella, are you okay?"

"Edward, do you think someone's keeping the all the…limbs?"

He froze and his movements became static.

"Wait," my mind traveled back to all the murder mystery shows I watched as a kid. In one particular episode, the detective identified the victim by only the foot because he was a kick for the football team. "Do you think they're athletes?"

"It's a possibility."

"Or…or the killer cut off their legs as a sign of vengeance." Either way, my stomach churned at the thought.

"We'll know more once facial ID picks up her picture."

Before I knew it the fog had dissipated and little steaks of light showered the ground. My eyes glanced carefully for any trace evidence on the ground, but the killer was stealthy. There was nothing to be found. We even completed a luminal test and found not even one drop of blood.

"It's time to go Bella," Edward's arm gently pulled me towards him.

The van had left hours ago and by now the facial recognition should be finished.

It was eerily silent as Edward led me back to the parking lot. The birds had disappear and the sky was beginning to mist. Holding my elbow, Edward kept me steady as he navigated us through the thick woods.

Once we got into my car, I relaxed into the seat finally acknowledging how exhausted I was. My muscles slightly spasmed from the long hike as my head spun. Just then I remembered my promise to Jake to go out tonight. I was definitely not up for that.

I slowly reached towards my phone. I didn't want to disappoint Jake, especially since he was so cheerful this morning, but I didn't think I could handle any more interactions. My mind drifted to the couch that I desperately wanted to take a nap on.

Flipping it open, I went towards speed dial and hit Jake. The prolonged rings made me feel guilty.

"Jake I don't think I can make it today?" Short sweet, to the point, the easiest blow that I could give.

"That's okay, hon. You okay?"

"Today's been really…draining." If that's what you could call finding a dead body.

"You sure you don't just want a break?"

"I would love to go out, but today was terrible, and I think I just want to stay home."

"Okay honey. I'll see you soon I guess," his voice turned on the melancholy side.

"Yeah I guess. Bye Jake." I flipped it shut and felt absolutely terrible. I didn't want to cause him any trouble or to put any doubts in his head. That worried me enough as it was.

But my worries faded as the slight hum from the car lulled me to sleep. Edward continued driving until we were suddenly in the parking garage. With a slight tap on the shoulder, my eyes blinked open and I sloppily stepped out of the car.

We both dragged ourselves into the hallway. After opening the door, I dropped all of my bags and headed to me room.

For hours, my eyes were glued to my laptop screen. The images taunted me. There must be something that we aren't thinking of. The last three girls had been very difficult to identify since no one had put in a missing person's case and they weren't a previous felon.

He'd recognized her but how? My mind searched everywhere we went to find somewhere that she could be from. But in a city this big, that could have been practically anywhere.

Edward grew tired of my persistent questions of how he knew her and when into the kitchen.

"I'm going to go take a quick shower. I feel disgusting, can you finish this?" He called.

Going into the kitchen, I began to stir the vegetables. A loud knock caused the door to shudder slightly.

"Come in," I yelled from the kitchen with my hands on a large pot.

"Hey Bells."

"Jake?" Spinning around, the pot almost crashed into him.

"Wow there." Carefully he took the pot from me and placed it on the stove. "You okay?"

"Yeah…you just surprised me," I tilted my head, "why are you here?"

In the background, Edward's faint steps lead to the living room.

"I wanted to come take you to my new place. I just finished moving all my stuff in and I have a surprise for you." His smile was almost contagious.

"That's really nice of you, but I called."

"Come on Bella. I promise I won't make you go anywhere. Just come chill out with me."

"Maybe a little later, okay?" I hated turning him down, but I was about to fall over from the physical and emotional exhaustion. If not for my stomach, I would have been asleep.

"Please." Oh god, he's resorted to begging.

"Jake I would love to go but I'm afraid I won't be able to give you my full attention." My excuses were weakening.

"I don't need your full attention, just come. Maybe I can get your mind off today." He was right; I wouldn't be able to sleep with what I saw today. There was a possibility that he could fix that, to give me something better to focus on.

"SHE DOESN'T WANT TO GO." Edward's voice sent a shock down my spine. I haven't ever heard that before. Bitting my lip, I thought about what I could say to soothe this tension, but before I got to that Edward started speaking again with a very stern voice.

His heavy footsteps pounded into the floor as he walked toward us. "Leave her alone, Jacob. I don't want to tell you again. If she says she wants to stay here, that's exactly what she's going to do." Jake practically growled in response.

"Jake can you wait outside for a sec." His resentful gaze turned towards me. "Please," I pressed up onto my toes to give him a quick peck on his cheek before I pushed him away. The door slammed shut.

Edward huffed out a disapproving breath.

"It's all okay Edward. I promised Jake this morning to do something."

"I thought you called." He leaned into his hand on the counter.

"He knew I was feeling down so he clearly is trying to cheer me up. It's supposed to be sweet Edward."

"I think he need to learn some respect."

"No. Like I said…, he's trying to do something nice for me."

"But you said no," his hand ran through his hair, "if you don't want to go, I'll go tell him."

"Enough." I glared up at him. "I didn't know how important it was to him. Clearly, he wants me to see something."

"You shouldn't go."

"Leave it alone. He's trying to do something nice."

With a harsh exhale, he turned away from me.

"Well don't get mad at me."

"I'm not. Go have fun." He's definitely angry with me. I sighed and grabbed my coat.

I ignored Edward's opinions. Jake was truly trying to do something nice for me and I can't blame him we're both new to this relationship.

"I'm sorry," he leaned up against the wall with his arms opened up for me.

"It's okay. He'll get over it."

"I promise it's something good. I just wanted to make your day a little better."

"Of course," I pressed up into my toes and gave him a quick peck on his check.


We arrived at his apartment. It was…not what I was expecting. The area was meticulously clean and there were multiple security guards waiting in the lobby. Not to say I was expecting something filthy, but this place had to be on the more expensive side.
His fingers interlaced with mine as the elevator took us up. Glancing up to him, he looked on edge; his foot lightly tapping against the elevator's carpet.

The door dinged and let us out. I walked slowly wondering which one could possibly be his. Towards the end of the road, he halted and smiled at me.

"This is it."

He struggled with getting the key in for a bit before the door swung open.

It was certainly, again, beyond what I expected. All the decor was color coded with different earthy tones. There were multiple windows in the back that brought in an extraordinary amount of light.

I gazed up at him with awe. I won't have been able to put this together myself.

"Don't look at me like that. There are many things you don't know about me Ms. Swan," he kissed my hair, "do you like it?"

"I love it Jacob." While being such in awe of everything I completely missed the whole surprise.


A/N: Again, I'm so, so, so sorry guys. I know it sounds like I don't have anything done, but I've written a lot of the later scenes in the story. My problem is, I have a bunch of holes to fill. I'm really trying. I even had a friend yell at me and that's how you guys got this chapter. So, I'm trying I promise. Please review. I would really appreciate it :)