Chapter 22

A/N: It's Monday! Which means that it is posting day! Yay. Thanks to our fabulous prereaders and our beta. They are absolutely amazing and awesome. There may be some triggering items in this chapter. If you are concerned about anything, feel free to PM us and we can give you more info. Hope you enjoy the chapter and on we go to BPOV.

Songs-Six Feet Under by Billie Eilish, Sound of Madness by Shinedown

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I'd been awake for a few minutes when everything started to come back to me. The fear, the look on Edward's face, and even more terror as Alec knocked Edward out. I tried to sit up and realized that my hands were bound behind me, and my mouth was covered with cloth. Not to be deterred, I tried to sit again, but without my hands to brace me, I fell off the bed I was sitting on. Luckily, it was low to the ground, so all I got was a sore ass.

Whatever was covering my face was freaking me out, and seeing as how I was already captured, I'm sure they didn't care if I was quiet. I tried to let my eyes adjust to the dark room, and knowing I was on a bed before I fell, I felt around as best as I could with my hands bound. I found a bedpost, so I hooked it under the edge of the fabric; I pulled it down, uncovering my face. Then I started to yell while looking to see if there was anything sharp in this dark, dingy room.

I heard footsteps, and they sounded like they were coming down a set of stairs, a bright light turned on in the room, and then fucking Alec stepped in the room. I immediately stopped yelling. Well shit.

"Hey, Bella. I see you're up and aware now."

I felt shivers race up my spine with the way he was looking at me. "You guys have to be the biggest morons on the face of the planet. You realize Edward is going to fucking kill you for this, right?"

Alec stalked up to me, grabbing me by the throat and pushing me up against the wall. "He has to find us first, sweetheart, and I was kind of hoping that the sight of your mangled body would be enough to give him pause." He paused to give that thought time to sink in, but I didn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he had scared me. I had gone toe to toe with Edward Cullen, so this asshole could fuck off.

"Fuck you! I'm not scared of you, but if I were you, I'd be afraid of what's coming for you and Liam. You may think that you're real clever, but—" I was cut off by him covering my mouth back up with the fabric.

"You talk too much, Bella," he said, trying to use that charming voice.

I narrowed my eyes at him, wishing I could just junk punch him.

"I want to hear you scream, but there is more than enough time for that." He grabbed me by the throat again and pushed me to the bed. Before I could even right my position on the bed, he was on me again. Pushing my body into the mattress with his weight.

My chest was pushing into the bed, my hands behind me, and I felt the need to warn him. I dug my nails into the meat of his jean-clad thigh.

He pushed away from me with a groan of pain. He turned me over onto my back and got in my face, squeezing my throat again, truly cutting off my air this time. "Do that again, bitch, and I will happily beat your pretty ass," he threatened, then pushed my head to the mattress and left the room.

I coughed after taking in deep lung full of air. I waited for the adrenaline to burn off after pulling down my mouth covering again because I knew the freak out was right around the corner. I wasn't stupid, and my previous encounter with Alec had been him about to try to rape me. Luckily, Edward was around to stop him, and my previous experience with Liam made me think that he would join Alec rather than stop him, so I was on my own. If Alec was sure that Edward wouldn't find them, then I had to be somewhere that wasn't obvious.

Ugh! I had no idea what their history was. All I knew was that they all knew each other somehow. Instead of giving Edward all the information I had, I let myself get wrapped up in the passion that we always had burning at the surface when we were around each other. Even though I told Edward I wanted space, I wanted nothing more than for him to be here, now, with me. I was scared of what they were planning on doing to me but also the toll it would take on Edward when he found out.

I sat up on the bed and strained to hear any sounds that I could. I really didn't want Alec to come back. I still had so little experience with Liam that I didn't even know if he was a better choice. I heard footsteps descending the stairs again, but they sounded a lot lighter. When the door opened, a younger guy was standing there. He was younger than I was. Standing at probably six feet, he was taller than me. He had black hair that was a little longer on the top, with the side and neck shaved short. He had an easy smile, and all I could think was he was adorable. He was probably 15 or 16. He had a plate in his hand and the food genuinely looked really good, but with these sadists, who knew what was in it.

"Is there something in that?" I asked, knowing he would never say yes.

"No, Bella. I made it myself," he replied, smiling. It seemed sincere.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"I'm Dylan," he said simply. He put the plate on the nightstand next to the bed.

I gasped. I remembered that name from the research that Ali, Rose, and I had conducted. It was a sore subject to think about now. "Liam's son?"

"How do you know that?" he asked, concerned.

"I looked up Liam before all this shit went down. I know more about your dad than he probably thinks I know. So, you know how much of a scumbag your dad is. Too bad. I almost wanted to trust you," I said, my hope finally leeching out.

Dylan looked in the corner of the room, walked over to a very well-hidden camera and pulled the cord out. "Okay, so I won't have much time before they come in here now. I didn't know my dad was a bad guy until he started talking about getting rid of some hitman and getting me involved. Then he kidnapped you, and I knew he went off the fucking reservation. Does Edward know they have you?"

"How do you know Edward?"

"I was the one who shot him."

"What the fuck? What the hell is going on here?"

"I would love to explain all this to you, but we don't have time."

"Yeah, they took me in front of him. Knocked him out. Alec said that he would never find us."

"Is your dad in Forks still?"

I shook my head, wanting to know how all this shit fit together, but he said our time was limited. "I don't think so. He was at my apartment last night, so I think he's still in Seattle."

"Well, looks like I gotta go get some people together to break your ass out of here."

"Can you just tell me who the good guys are?"

"I am, Edward, and his big, muscled friend. My dad and Alec are the bad guys. Your dad is on the fence."

I suddenly felt exhausted. I sat back on the bed. Dylan smiled at me, cut my hands free, and handed me the plate from the nightstand.

"Later," he said, shooting a wink my way, and left.

I was left feeling very befuddled. So, this kid is who shot Edward that day he came back bloody—there was a story there I still had yet to be told. My dad somehow fit into all this shit, and everyone—Liam, Alec, Emmett, Edward, my dad, and this Dylan kid—all had ties to each other. What the fuck? I thought back to all the information that my girls and I found that night.

"Guys, I'm not sure, but I think I found something. 'Seamus Murphy was reported missing by his housekeeper when she came to his house for the weekly cleaning and noticed that it seemed he hadn't been home in days. Seamus had recently come under suspicion of mafia ties, and his disappearance came before local law enforcement had time to build a case against him. Liam Brennan was questioned about his cousin's whereabouts, but no answers were found. He is not a suspect at this time …' Then it just gives info of where to call if you have any info."

"Mafia ties?" Alice asked. "Like mob stuff."

"That would be what the mafia is," Rose said, as if she were talking to a five-year-old.

"Okay, you don't need to get all superior. I just found out that I work for someone in the mob," Alice accused.

"We don't know that Edward is part of the mob, Alice," Rose replied.

"Come on, Rose. He gets a call from this guy whose cousin is suspected of having mob ties, Edward disappears for a couple hours, and he comes back fucking shot. How are you not making the connection?" I said.

"The mafia," I whispered. Now I remembered why I had freaked out in the first place. When I had confronted Edward, I started with what I had thought would be the easiest thing to deal with. He had distracted me, and then had told me that he was a hitman, but he never specified who employed him. Then I thought of something that Liam had said the other night that didn't make sense to me either.

Liam was faster and kicked my legs out from under me, dropping me to my knees. He pointed his gun at the back of my head, and Edward froze. I was crying at this point. Edward and I locked eyes.

"Bella," he choked out.

"This feels familiar doesn't it, cuz? Tell me why I shouldn't just splatter this bitch's brains all over the carpet."

So, was that cousins in the literal sense, or in the chosen family way? Was Liam there when his mom had been executed? Edward had told me: They put my parents on their knees and took out their guns. They shot my mom first. If he had been there, what was his role in the whole thing? What was more, did it even really matter? I know I told Edward I didn't want to blindly follow him, but I was so out of my depth that if we fixed what we had, I may have no other choice but to follow his lead on all this shit.

I felt that yearning again for Edward, and I knew that no matter how this all went down, I wanted to fix things with him. I had felt nothing but pain and uncertainty since I questioned whether I wanted to be with him. Yeah, finding out your boyfriend was a stone-cold killer was a shock, but he wasn't lying when he said he would never do that to me. When we were together, we were just Bella and Edward, and none of that outside world shit mattered. He was different with me, and I may be the only one who would be able to keep him grounded.

I got upset because he wouldn't let me in and wouldn't let me comfort him, but I now understood he sought comfort in other ways. I was the one he wanted to stay with him when he had gotten shot, I was the only person he had ever spent an extended amount of time in his home with, I was the only women who he slept next to every night, and I was able to piss him off and bring him back from the abyss. I finally got it, and it happened in the worse place. I was even more pissed off at Liam and Alec now.

The door creaked open, and speak of the devil, Liam stood there all tall, black hair, blue eyes, and perfectly clean-shaven face. I could easily see how some people might find him attractive, but he never smiled, and he just looked fucking evil. The day in the bar I had been nice before he had shown his true colors, but that was my job: above all else, be nice to the customer. I was unnerved by him from the beginning. I let my lip curl into a sneer, and he got a humorless smile on his face. It was hotter on my Edward than it was on him.

"Oh, Bella. We don't know each other well enough for you to look at me like that. I see my son cut you free."

"Actually, for you, it's Isabella, and I know enough about you to know I don't like you. Do you have fucking amnesia? Did you not hold a gun to my head and threaten Edward to, oh what was it?" I said, tapping my chin like I was thinking. "Oh, that's right, give you a reason why you shouldn't just splatter this bitch's brains all over the carpet. That was you, right?"

"That was just to get a reaction out of Edward. And holy shit, did I get one. I had no idea he was in love with you; that just makes this so much sweeter."

"What? What is this that you are actually planning on doing, Liam? Do you think you'll actually get away with this?"

"I do. Edward has been off his game, and it probably started when he met you. I knew the minute he mentioned you that you were different from all the other bitches."

"Women, you ass. God, you are such a dick—more than Edward—and that's saying something." I really should have expected it, but when I felt the sting to my cheek and the blood pool in my mouth, I was stunned. He had backhanded me. I flexed my jaw and glared at him with pure hate. I felt my lip, and it was bleeding.

"You know what? I get it now. You certainly have guts. Most women would be cowering in fear at this point. You're standing tall and even trading zingers with your kidnapper."

"I'm not afraid of you." I lied because I was scared. "Edward is scarier than any of you assholes, but he would never hurt me."

Liam grabbed my arm, hard, and pulled me to him. "Well then, I guess that's the difference between us because I'm going to hurt you, Bella, and I'm going to enjoy every minute."

I didn't let the fear take over, pulled away from him, and backed away. I put the bed between us. He smiled humorlessly, cold, emotionless. It made him look evil, and I wanted to run and scream, but I had nowhere to go.

"Ah, your fear is showing, Isabella. Still more afraid of Edward, than me? Because I can surely show you just how ruthless I can be." He grabbed my arms before I could get away, and in a move that made me dizzy, he had me lying on the bed underneath him, my arms pinned up above my head and his body weight on mine. I looked to the side, refusing to look him in the eyes, and I knew that was the wrong move immediately when he leaned down to nuzzle my neck. I groaned in protest, and he chuckled. I felt his tongue dart out to lick the column of my throat. I let out a whimper and clenched my eyes shut. The door to the room was flung open, and I wasn't reassured to see Alec. Well, fuck.

"You started without me, I see."

"Just giving Isabella a demonstration."

"Well, the camera had been unplugged," Alec said, pointing to the corner of the room where the camera was. Liam looked at me and let go. I immediately scrambled off the bed and as far from them as I could. Liam went over to look at the camera, and then turned to me.

"Did you unplug this?' I just shook my head. "Then who did? Was it Dylan?" I said nothing and to him that seemed to be confirmation. "What did he say to you?" he asked, stalking toward me. I matched him step for step, trying to stay away from him and Alec. He slapped the top of a nightstand, and I flinched and closed my eyes. "You are testing my patience."

"Nothing!" I finally said, finding my voice. "I asked him how this shit all fit together, but he wouldn't tell me anything. He unplugged the camera, cut my hands free, and gave me the food I ate," I said, pointing to the empty plate on the nightstand. "Maybe he thought you'd be mad about him cutting my hands free."

I felt a presence behind me, and I didn't have to turn around to know it was Alec. He roughly grabbed my hands, pulling them behind my back. Liam came to stand in front of me. I was overtaken by uncertainty because if I was right and the two men in the room with me were mafia, then I absolutely was screwed. My patented blend of sarcasm and taking no shit wasn't going to help me here. They expected fear and wouldn't tolerate disrespect. For the millionth time, I thought about Edward again. Was he okay? Was he looking for me? Did Dylan find him yet?

I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt the rope against my hands—they were tying me up again. Liam grabbed my hips and deposited me on the bed. Before I could even try to fight back, Alec was looping the rope through the headboard, and I was effectively attached to the bed. I pulled against my restraints a few times, trying to get away, but I figured out pretty soon there was no point.

Liam leaned in and ran his nose down my jaw, inhaling loudly. "Sit tight. We have some business to attend to before we can have any real fun."

He and Alec both chuckled and walked out of the room. I heard a lock engage, and the room was plunged into pitch darkness. I finally let the tears welling in my eyes fall.

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A/N: So, how do we feel? We found out a little bit more about kung fu Dylan. Poor little Bella is sure in over her head and still kind of in the dark about all of this stuff. Let us know what you think and thank you for all your reviews and support. We appreciate it so much. Until Friday lovelies!