Disclaimer: I haven't written since the holidays and quite a bit has kept me from it. Like, our apartment being broken into and everything being stolen, including our laptops, moving into a new house, our car breaking down and having to buy a new one, my actual core classes starting in school, and we're in the process of trying to adopt three kids from foster care. So it's been a wild four five months. Shit …. five? Sorry, guys.
Beta'd by Fran, Preread by SarcasticBimbo, fucked with after by Me. So, anything that's messed up is my fault.
"Bella, you're not making any sense. Jacob Black is dead, Baby … you," Edward glanced around before moving closer to her bed. "You know he's dead."
"No," She shook her head. "He's not, Edward, he's not." Her heart was racing so fast Bella thought it would give out at any second. "He's the only one that knows. Jacob is the only one who knows about this."
"I'm sorry," Edward shrugged and smoothed her hair back. "Start from the beginning."
Bella struggled to take a deep breath, her throat aching as she swallowed.
"I went on a date with Jacob once. I had known him for so long and he had asked more times than I could count, so one day I finally agreed. He brought me flowers," Bella's voice was raspy and her speech was broken. "They were pretty pathetic, looked almost dead, with skinny little stalks and petals going in every which way. I had touched them a few times before we ate and suddenly I started having the exact same symptoms. I was admitted to the hospital for two days."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Bella tried to keep her irritation at bay and her voice level.
"I forgot. It literally happened once, and it was well over 10 years ago."
"I'm sorry, I was just scared." Edward's fingers slid through her hair.
"It's okay. I thought I saw Jacob at my crime scene and then this … He's alive Edward."
"I'll alert whoever I need to. We'll take care of it."
"I just want to see Addy."
"I'll see when you can leave, but rest for now." His lips touched her forehead.
O…O
Four Years Ago
"Edward … I just want to know."
He sighed and gripped a handful of his hair, letting his head hang between his hands.
"Why, Bella? Why do you need to know?" He snapped his head up, his green eyes staring through her.
"Because I want to know what the hell was going on in that house." She tossed her hands in the air and turned to face the doors that led to his office. There were boxes everywhere – some mostly empty and others overflowing. Bella winced as she felt their child roll beneath her ribs in quite an uncomfortable manner.
"We decided that you wouldn't ask and I wouldn't tell."
"Edward," Her jaw clenched. "I asked a question and you owe me an answer. Why the fuck is your mother so goddamn important?"
Edward's arm jerked to the left, sending his phone crashing to the floor.
"Isabella, you don't know what you're asking."
Her hand moved over her round stomach and Edward's eyes followed its path. He instantly relaxed back into his chair with a sigh.
"A few years ago the Russians were trying to form an alliance with my parents."
Bella thought back to her Intel on the Cullens.
"If you want to know about these people then you have to find a way in. These men," He pointed between the two pictures, "will kill you if you don't approach this correctly."
"All right." She waved her hand for him to continue.
"So after that you have the Underboss."
"Yeah about the Underboss, who is he? You guys have all this information on everyone else except for the mysterious Underboss."
"We don't know, plain and simple. It used to be Stefan Dacia, brought into the Cullen family as a Soldier in an attempt to join forces with the Russians. This was a huge leap of faith because traditionally, you had to be of full Italian decent to become a member. He worked his way up the ranks quickly, and the family appointed him to Underboss after two years. Everything was quiet until six months ago when we found Stefan in a warehouse in the West Loop." Sam placed a crime scene photo up on the board. It was a middle-aged man with black hair, wearing an expensive suit, tied to a chair. What little was left of his hands had been bound to his feet behind the chair. His throat had been slit from ear to ear, and a dead bird stuck in his mouth.
"A bird?"
"A canary actually," Sam smirked. "A clear message. Stefan had been talking to the police, and when it was discovered, the family handled it quickly and quietly. We didn't find the body until three weeks after he was murdered. It was a tremendous ordeal within their circle, so now they're back to only accepting Italians, and you have to be connected."
"Oh…" Bella nodded her head. "Okay." There were still a lot of things that Bella hadn't shared with Edward and that included all of the investigative work she still put into his family. She was just better at hiding it now.
"Well, they weren't really trying to have an alliance with us; that would have been ridiculous. The Russians were trying to find the boss's first wife, Galina Vasilyev. My dad let him in and moved him up, feeding him false information the entire time to see what he knew."
"What does that have to do with your family?"
"Galina went missing when my father was in Russia visiting with them some forty years ago. She was later presumed dead when they found her car at the bottom of an embankment. However, about ten years ago they had heard a rumor that she survived and had wanted to get away from Anton. There were tips coming in from all over the place, but most of them were believed to be false."
"Did your parents kill her or something?"
"Yes." Edward looked up at Bella.
"W-what? Why?"
"In a way they killed her. My mother is Galina."
O…O
"Bella, how are you feeling?"
Bella tossed the rag that she had been using to clean the counters into the sink.
"I'm fine, Edward, I had an allergic reaction, that's it."
"Mommy's fine, just an ageric racetrack."
Bella smiled at their daughter who was wiggling back and forth where she sat coloring on the floor to a beat only she could hear.
"See, even the baby knows."
"I'm not a baby."
"Of course not, Addy." Edward sat across from her and picked up a crayon. "You're a big girl and you need a baby brother, right?"
"Edward…" Bella warned, but he held up his hand.
"I was just joking."
This was something Edward did quite a lot lately – joke about having another baby. A son to be more specific. It wasn't that Edward didn't love Adriana or think that she wasn't enough; he just really wanted another baby and wanted a son to carry on the Cullen name.
Something Bella was adamantly against.
O…O
Bella slid back from her desk and groaned, scrubbing her hands over her face. She had been staring at her computer for three hours straight typing up her reports for the case she was working. The one where she had noticed Jacob at the crime scene.
Was it possible that he was behind it?
Would he even be capable of something like that? Could he kill an innocent person for absolutely no reason?
Surely not, Bella thought, not the Jacob she knew. Then again, she didn't think she knew who Jacob Black really was.
She stood and picked up the pictures of the symbols that had been burned into the victims' backs before walking through the hallway towards Edward's office. Bella pushed the door open and held up the pictures.
"Do these look familiar to you?"
Edward glanced up at her and then shifted his eyes towards the photos.
"I don't believe so, why?"
"I don't know why I thought you would, I was just hoping for a breakthrough in this freaking case."
He motioned for her to step closer. Bella slowly moved towards his desk, hoping that the awkward silence they usually found themselves in wouldn't reappear. She placed the pictures in front of him. Edward looked them over, his eyebrows drawing in.
"I've never seen any of this, but Jesus Christ, who would do something like that?"
His name was on the tip of her tongue.
She almost said it.
Instead, her teeth sank into her lower lip.
"Are you going to be working all night?"
Bella shook her head and started gathering the evidence pictures. Edward sighed and pushed back from his desk.
"What's wrong with you?"
"You're what's wrong with me, Bella."
She felt her eyes widen and her stomach flip.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Edward leaned back in his chair, his arms crossing as he looked her over.
"You know what it means. We've been fighting since we moved here. You stopped talking to me all together except for the few conversations I manage to squeeze in around Addy."
"Edward, I don't want to do this right now." Bella turned to leave, but Edward grabbed her arm. She froze, her eyes darting between the chair and her husband trying to figure out how he moved so quickly.
Then her anger began to rise.
"Then when are you going to want to discuss this, Isabella? It sure as hell wasn't any of the other forty-seven times I've attempted to bring it up."
Her eyes fell to where his hand was still wrapped around her arm. If Bella were being honest with herself, she'd admit that she missed this. Missed the anger that came from Edward, missed the way he would grab at her because it would let her feel something other than the emptiness that seemed to consume her. There were times she even missed the actual fighting.
Nevertheless, honesty was not her strong suit.
Edward's fingers slowly opened from around her bicep.
"I'm sorry … I wasn't thinking." He shook his head.
"Come on." Bella walked from his office, hurrying up the stairs.
"Bella?" Edward slowly trailed behind her. "Bella where are you going?"
She walked down the hall, dropping her file of photos just inside the door to their gym.
"Bella what's going on? Talk to me."
"Shut the door."
He sighed heavily, but shut the door. When he turned around, she was pulling her sweater off, leaving her in just a tank top and pants.
"Remove your tie and shoes." Bella said as she kicked off her own.
His brow furrowed as he toed off his shoes and reached for his tie, yanking at the knot. Bella stepped onto the large mat that lay in the middle of the gym and rolled her shoulders.
"Let's work off whatever animosity you have towards me." Bella smiled.
"I'm not going to fight you."
"It's not fighting … it's sparring. We used to do it at the precinct in Chicago all the time." She shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Are you afraid I'll kick your ass again?"
"Excuse me?" Edward stepped onto the mat, unbuttoning his dress shirt. "I think something may be wrong with your memory, Love."
Bella laughed.
"Come on, years ago … your campaign office? I shot you and ultimately won our little argument."
"You shot me after I almost killed you." Edward moved quickly, knocking her feet from beneath her.
Bella found herself flat on her back, staring up at her husband before she could even realize what had happened.
"You're such a cheater."
"Don't be a sore loser. Stand up." He held his hand out, but she ignored the gesture.
Standing, Bella moved to hit him in the ribs, but he blocked it and connected with her shoulder.
"Ow." Bella gripped her upper arm.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hurt you." Edward stepped up to her, his hand reaching out to soothe her arm.
Bella shifted and used her entire weight against him at the same time she hooked her leg behind his to bring him down. Edward grabbed her thigh when he collapsed, causing her to crash against his body.
"Fuck." She slammed her hand against his ribs. "Stop taking it easy on me!"
Edward coughed against the pain that shot through his side, taking his breath with it. He rolled to the right and stood up, facing his wife again. Bella's fist connected with his jaw as he tried to stabilize himself. He felt the heat bloom beneath his skin as it started to throb. In the four years since Addy's birth, the only thing that changed was her happiness and it had gotten worse since their move. She seemed to fluctuate between being happy and being miserable, but right now her eyes were alive and glowing with excitement. As fucked up as it was, he was excited too.
"All right," Edward nodded. "Let's do this."
They stepped around each other a few times, neither wanting to make the first move and leave themselves vulnerable. Bella was the first to take a step closer, but she kept her distance. Edward smiled at her trying to eradicate the feelings of worry and concern for her wellbeing. It wasn't hard once her fist connected with his jaw again.
"What the hell?" He rubbed his cheek.
"Stop thinking so hard." Bella moved to hit him again, but he quickly blocked it and twisted her arm back. He went to punch her, but she blocked it, his fist barely brushing the side of her neck. He repeated the move and she deflected, but as she was concerned about one hand, he hit her with the other. It was Bella's turn to feel the sharp pain slip through her jaw and over her teeth. She brought her foot up and kicked the front of his thigh, shoving him backward.
"You're a little too close to my balls, dear."
"It's not as if you need them." Bella winked.
"Then how would I provide you with a son?"
Her jaw twitched as she clenched her teeth. She punched him in the chest and started to land a second one to his ribs, but he deterred her, slamming her body against the ground. His fist connected with her ribs before he held her to the ground by her throat. Edward glared down at her, her lip was bleeding into her mouth, and a bruise had already formed on her cheek.
"Are you going to tell me what the fuck your problem has been?" He was almost yelling, his face a mere inch from hers and his fingers gripped at her throat. Bella tried to bring her knees up, but his own trapped them. She wiggled beneath him, fighting to push him off her and he barely even moved.
"Edward."
"Yes?"
"Get off of me."
"No, you're going to talk to me." Bella brought her arms together and shoved her forearms against his chest with enough force to make him groan. Edward jerked her arms above her head so hard it caused her upper body to lift and slam back against the mat. "Tell me what your problem is!"
She watched the vein in his neck pulsate in time with his heart, the blood flooding his cheeks as his anger rose.
"You're my fucking problem, Edward!" Bella had no idea why she was screaming or why the tears were suddenly filling her eyes, but she finally wanted to tell him everything she had kept at bay. "You moved me to a fucking city across the country that I had no ties to. You started to lie and keep even more secrets about your family, and then you wanted to settle into this sweet suburban life with me and pretend like all the shit from Chicago didn't follow us! You were willing to put our daughter's life at risk as long as you weren't bothered by the idea of the mafia coming after us.
"You were so blinded by the idea of having a real job that you could eventually benefit your rise to boss that you forgot about us. You gave me a child, promised that you would be there to help me, and then replaced us with this goddamn job. I am not a mother, Edward. I am not equipped to do this by myself, yet you want another child! Do you know how hard it is for me to even look at Addy sometimes, let alone pretend that I am happy to play with her? What kind of mother does that? What kind of person have I become? I never wanted any of this." Her body shook from the force of her sobs as her words began to run together to the point she couldn't even understand what she was trying to say so she stopped.
Edward stared down at her, unable to find the right words.
"I … I am here, Bella."
"No, you're not. You're at work, then you're doing whatever the fuck your family needs you to do, and then you're in your office. You see Addy for an hour or two a day to play with her and that's it. Edward, someone is coming after our daughter and you don't even seem to care."
"Of course I care, Bella! Why would you even say something like that? Adrianna is the most important person in my life."
They were yelling at each other, each trying to convey a point of view that contradicted the other; they were just fighting in circles.
"You can say whatever you like, but you will never claim that I do not care about our daughter."
Bella managed to bring her knees towards her chest while he was speaking and pressed her feet against his hips before shoving him off of her. He then flipped onto his back and they lay next to each other, panting.
"I know you love her, Edward. I'm just not sure that you love me, anymore."
O…O
Jacob Black sat in his car staring at their apartment. He had killed the two guards that staffed the street out front, but he had bigger issues once he was inside. In order to approach the door, there would be six to seven guards to get through including their state-of-the-art security system. He sighed and sank back into his seat. He had thought that he could grab the child when Bella was in the hospital. With Edward and Bella both indisposed with her reaction to the flowers, that sadly did not kill her, he should've been able to snatch the child easily. Except he wasn't planning on the guards and the alarms and the damn butler absolutely refusing to allow anyone through the building's front door.
So there were three people on his list to kill before getting to the little girl.
The guard watching the building's door.
The butler.
And Bella.
Then that little girl would be his to take back to the Volturis in Chicago.
Breathe, guys. Edward still loves Bella. It'll be okay, I promise.
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