Chapter 26

A/N: It's Monday! Here's another update. Those who don't like to read AN's cause of possible spoilers look away now. This chapter had GRAPHIC depictions of violence. Y'all know our Edward well enough to know whether or not you can handle reading this. Thank you so much for all the reviews, follows, Facebook comments, and general awesomeness! Thanks to our prereaders and beta, ya'll know who they are. Let's see what our favorite couple is up to.

Songs- All I need by Within Temptation, Jekyll and Hyde by Five Finger Death Punch

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EPOV

"You love me?"

Her wide green eyes stared back at me with disbelief. Leaning over her, I dropped a kiss to her upturned lips, drawing her into a leisurely dance before breaking away. "Without a shadow of a doubt. You challenge me and infuriate me to no end. You're smart, sexy, and sweet. You're everything I never envisioned needing. I used to coast through this life with a frozen heart and had no desire to let anyone in. Now, I can't imagine a day going by without you in it. I want you with me, beside me … fearless and brave. I've taken over leadership of the Celtics, and I want you to be my equal."

Her eyes became an emerald sea, gleaming back at me as she misted, a tear leaking free, rolling down her temple. Bella's fingers combed through my hair as I stared down at her, waiting to see how she would handle my admission. For a long minute, she looked as if she'd burst into tears, yet she took me by surprise when a bright smile lit her features, and her eyebrow rose. "You love me? The big, bad Edward Cullen … the lion of the Northwest, loves little old me? I can hardly believe it coming from the man who vowed to go to his grave a glacier."

"Gloat all you like, minx," I stated, dropping down to bite her shoulder before backing away to study her, trailing a finger along her cheek, mindful of the bruises tainting her beautiful ivory skin. As I examined her swollen lip, the familiar pangs of rage threatened to steal the lightness of the moment. Later … later, the cunt responsible for damaging my baby would pay … severely, I promised silently, wincing as she flinched from my touch. "You melted me, babe … At least where you are concerned … never doubt that."

Bella shuddered in my arms as my words flowed through her. Her fingertips pressed lightly on the nape of my neck and drew me into a hot kiss that tempted me to forget everything. Hell, the second her tongue darted into my mouth, my dick went hard, and I was tempted to roll her to her belly and slide deep within her silken channel. Yet, she nipped my bottom lip, whispering against my mouth, "I love you too. I've never wanted to belong to someone so much in my entire life. When you appeared in that basement, you showed me there wasn't anything you wouldn't do for me. The feeling is completely mutual. I would go to my grave for you, Edward Cullen."

"Please … please, don't do that," I whispered. The thought of looking down at Bella in a pine box sent an unexpected jolt of desperation through my soul. "I couldn't fucking bear to live my life without you. Please, don't put me in a place where I wipe Seattle, Washington off the map … 'cause I promise, if I lose you … I'll lose my damn mind."

"Well," Bella started with a wicked glint. "I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon. I've learned how to kick some major ass, Mr. Cullen, and I will plant one in the person who threatens to take you away from me. Believe that …"

"Why do I totally believe you?" I growled, settling between her thighs. "My fucking queen." I thrust forward, brushing the tip of my cock against her soft folds. "I wanna fuck you, Bella Swan-Masen. Will you let me?"

"Fuck, yeah," she whispered against my lips as I started to push into her slick channel when the trill of my phone interrupted us.

Instantly, I went tense and rolled from her welcoming thighs. "Sorry, baby, business calls. And I think this is business I'll want to handle." When disappointment flashed in her eyes, I dropped a kiss to her nose. "Don't look at me like that, baby. Connell's calling, which can only mean one thing, considering it's nearly four in the morning."

"Connell?"

Intrigue now stared back at me as her eye widened with understanding. Grabbing my cell from the nightstand, I put it to my ear. "Tell me you have good news, Connell."

"Located the cunt … he's near the docks and is currently looking at our package. Boden and Marx are heading down there to get the bastard. Where do you want us to take him?"

With exhilaration coursing through my blood, I hopped from the bed and shot to my closet. "Take the prick to Seamus's and put him in the barn. Lay down all the plastic wrap you can find and get the tools from the basement. Seamus keeps them near the furnace. I'm headed in your direction now."

"Will do, bossman."

I grabbed a suit and strode with purpose to the bed. Bella instantly threw back the covers, acting as if she were getting ready to come with me. Dressing quickly, I shook my head. "Nope … don't even fucking think about it. You've been through enough over the last couple days, and you don't need to see any more."

"You said we were partners. I'm going to be there for this." She shook her dark mane as she hurried around the room to dress. Considering she didn't have any apparel, she opened my middle drawer and took out a pair of my pajama pants; she slipped them up her trim hips and tied a quick bow. "I intend to follow through with that. I want to be at your side, even for the ugly shit. Unless you were lying, and you don't intend to treat me as an equal."

My hands dropped away from the buttons I'd been securing, and I crossed the carpeted floor and took hold of her chin, forcing her to meet my gaze. "Bella, don't question my loyalty or sincerity to you. I said I wanted you as my partner in all things, and that includes this. If you want to be there … then be there, but it won't be pretty."

"That bastard put me on my knees and held a gun to my head. He's, in large part, responsible for everything Alec did in that dirty, dingy basement," Bella stated, tugging her chin out of my grasp. "He told Alec he could do whatever he wanted, and that bastard damn near raped me. I don't want it to be pretty, Edward. I want it to be very, very ugly."

A hard glint entered my eyes, and I could practically feel my retinas burning with a vengeance. "Oh, it's going to be." Heading to my closet, I dipped into the wall safe and retrieved the 9mm with the matching silencer before reaching for a box of shells. I tossed the gun and ammo on the bed as I shrugged into my jacket. "Put it together, load it, and keep it on you. If anyone—anyone—looks at you sideways during all of this … don't hesitate … pull the fucking trigger."

Twenty minutes later, we pulled into Seamus's at breakneck speed, and I slammed on the brakes next to Connell's SUV, glad to see Emmett lingering among his associates. I leaped from the driver's seat as Bella opened the passenger door and hopped onto the paved drive, meeting me in the middle as we came to stand before my allies. "Is he in the barn? With the tools?"

"Yep." Marx nodded, coming to stand among the group. Winding some extra rope around his hand, he gestured toward the barn. "Found Adrian's cunt ass holed up in his house. Boden tied him up next to Liam. Which one are we handling first?"

My hand fell to Bella's waist, my fingertips caressing, yearning to feel the warmth of her skin. "Adrian … His disloyalty is inexcusable, but he didn't take my brother or my girl. He'll get his, fast and quick … Liam, on the other hand, will be praying for death by the time I'm finished with him."

"By the time we're finished." Dylan started coming out of the bushes and stepping into the circle. "I want to be there … when my father is delivered to the devil."

"Who the fuck called you?" I wanted to know, glaring at the kid. Yeah—since everything had gone down with Alec, Dylan had really stepped up and shown his loyalty to the Celtics. There was only one downfall to his desire to help put Liam in his grave. Liam was Dylan's father, and despite the indiscretions and grievances, and everything Liam was responsible for, seeing a parent pay for those sins wasn't even close to easy. I remembered the glacier my life had become after witnessing my mother's death, and honestly, I didn't want that for the kid. "Go home. We'll contact you when all is done."

Dylan's chin lifted with a stubborn tilt. "I want to be here. I have a right to be here, and I want to watch him suffer for all the shit he's done."

Dylan's arguments registered with me on a personal note, one I could hardly ignore. Even though my mother's death had impacted me on all sorts of different levels, I ultimately blamed my father for everything that went down that night. If he hadn't been such an ignorant, selfish louse, perhaps my mother wouldn't have been taken from me in such a brutal way. "You really want to see this? I'm not going easy on the bastard because his kid's here."

"I don't want you to go easy on him. As I said, I'm here to make sure he goes to hell where he belongs. Hit my mom all the time … knocked her tooth out the last time. I want to be there." He nervously shifted on his feet, half-expecting me to turn him away; disappointment darkened his eyes … a trace of fear.

Yet, I recognized that panic. I'd had the same fright once. It hadn't been fear for what happened to my mother, but what Connor Murphy would've left behind if my father had lived. Dylan wasn't scared for what I planned for Liam; the boy was petrified that after this, somehow that bastard would walk out whole. Clicking the safety off my Beretta, I cocked my head toward the barn. "Let's do this then."

"Boss, grabbed a bag of salt," Marx offered, heading around to the bed of his truck and grabbing a large bag. With a menacing grin, he nodded. "Now, we're ready."

Bella fell into step with Emmett and me flanking her and the Celtics trailing close behind. Connell and Boden hurried ahead to open the barn door, the rolling of wheels on the track music to my fucking ears. Besides Bella's body strewn across the bed, bare-ass naked, seeing Liam strapped to a chair in the center of the room was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. Before I could relish Liam's distress, I had other things to contend with, and for that reason, I tore my gaze away to focus on Adrian.

Tossing my gun to the shelving unit, I shucked my jacket and rolled up my sleeves as I stepped in front of the traitor. "I bet when you followed Liam into this scheme, you envisioned an entirely different outcome, but your boy here made a vital mistake … many actually. But for starters, he fucked up, leaving me alive."

Adrian sat there, shaking his head with tears running down his cheeks. I couldn't understand a word he said because a gag was taped in his mouth, yet I had no real desire to converse with the traitor. I rolled my eyes, thoroughly annoyed by the entire situation. "Why is it people betray their own … step all over the loyalty, and then cry when the shit falls through? See, I imagine if Liam had gotten his way, and I was the one bound and gagged, you wouldn't be crying. Right?"

His pale skin went beet red, nearly purple, as he tried to argue through the rag. I merely laughed, darting a glance at his "boss". "You see this shit, Liam. I bet if I took this gag from his mouth, he would be throwing you right under the bus. Blaming you for everything that happened, and really, he's probably right. None of this would be happening if you'd understand your place.

"It's pretty sad when your own kid wants you dead … recognizes your betrayal. Of course, maybe if you hadn't beaten his mom, he might've had an entirely different outlook." I crouched down in front of the chairs, loving the sweat drenching their foreheads as I pushed. "But anyway, this is the way you chose to play the game. It's my real fucking pleasure 'cause I've never cared much for you. You've always given me this snaky vibe. If Seamus had succeeded in handing the organization to me, I would've eventually fed you to the sharks anyway."

Rising to my feet, I headed toward the workbench and retrieved a saw. Delight filled me when Adrian's eyes went as wide as saucers. I chanced a glance toward Bella and noticed the color leave her cheeks. "Em … if things get out of hand …"

"I got her, boss," Emmett confirmed, stepping closer to Bella, his head lowering as he whispered into her ear. I watched her head shake and pride welled in my chest when she remained standing there.

Looking back at Liam, I raised a brow. "I believe my queen over there has become a little bloodthirsty. You should've seen the workover she gave Alec. I'm sure you saw the slashes on his chest … but I cut his cock off. I should've kept it and made you eat it."

As I spoke, rage built and built until I needed quick relief—just a small taste. Holding the saw with one hand, I came forward with all the venom in my soul and blasted him in the jaw. I chuckled as his jaw swelled, and he glared back at me with animosity to match the hate I had. "Don't look at me like that … you are the idiot who left me alive. Stupid fuck. Should've killed me when you had Bella on her knees."

He mumbled something inaudible, and I glared back at him. "Yeah—yeah, I know you're rethinking that shit now, huh? Wishing you'd planted that bullet … maybe a couple, huh? Take me out with my girl?"

Licking my lip with a wicked grin, I blasted him again, relishing the pain that shot through my knuckles—this time, however, his eyes rolled, and his head drooped farther on his shoulders. With Liam battling between conscious and unconscious, I turned my attention back to Adrian. "I'm willing to bet while you were in cahoots with Liam, you heard things … saw things … said things. There's only one thing I'm interested in knowing, though. Do you have any idea where Seamus is? See, I know he's dead, but I'd like to do the honorable thing and give him a burial. Can you help me with that?"

Incoherent rambling followed with a shake of his head. "Hmmm … that leaves you in a bit of a quandary because you have no useful information for me.

"What is the old saying?" I asked, turning to glance at Emmett.

"Hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil." His gaze fell into a glare as he looked at Adrian.

"That's right," I mumbled, stepping closer to the chair. Now Adrian struggled against the rope binding him to the chair. I held the saw up for him to see. "Hear no evil … right—right. Marx grab his ears."

While the punishment was brutal, it was necessary. For any of these men behind me to view me as a leader, they had to understand what happened when they crossed their boss. That meant drastic measures. I only looked toward Bella once, and when her eyes connected with mine, the slight tip of her chin was all the confirmation I needed. His muffled screams filled the barn as I sawed off his ears. Blood streamed down the side of his face, and I tossed his ears aside with a heavy sigh. "Trust me … this pains me as much as it does you. Now, where were we? The second rule? See no evil, right, Em?"

Grabbing the chisel, I stepped back in front of him with a humorless laugh. "You are really not going to want to see this, and lucky for you, that won't be a problem … much longer."

Soon his eyes joined his ears, and I glanced toward Emmett. "What was the final piece of the puzzle, Em?"

"Speak no evil," he mumbled, stepping in front of Bella.

Even while my queen endured the brutality I subjected Adrian to, I understood the harshness of her witnessing it firsthand. I was only doing what had to be done, however, and with that in mind, I pinned Connell with a glazed stare. "Get me those pliers and pull his tongue out."

It took Connell and Marx holding his head and pulling his tongue out, but they managed to grab the appendage. This time shrill screams filled the barn as I cut his tongue out and flapped it toward Liam. "See what you are responsible for? I'm sure you don't give a shit. Em … put the poor guy out of his misery."

Without hesitation, Emmett pulled his gun and aimed it square at Adrian's head. My lashes fluttered as he pulled the trigger, and Adrian went limp. Sniffing with an air of arrogance, I turned toward Liam. "Someone come remove this assholes tape. He has some information I need, and until I get it … he isn't dying."

As soon as Connell ripped the gag from Liam's mouth, he started sputtering, sucking in a lungful of air. "Breathe deeply while you can, and enjoy the air tainted with betrayal. You are a disgrace to your family … to the Celtics … and most importantly, to yourself."

"Like you're one to talk," Liam shot off, his gaze darting to Bella. "You went weak over a piece of pus …"

I went on instant alert the second his gaze locked on Bella. When the cunt started speaking, however, I fucking snapped. With a tightly closed fist, I decked him in the mouth, his teeth splitting my knuckles, yet I didn't feel the sting. Growling, I lowered my face to his. "Don't even look at her. If you look at her again, I'll rip your eyes out and put them with Adrian's."

Liam's nostrils flared as blood streamed out of his mouth, and an evil grin flashed across his face. Tearing his attention from me, he focused on Connell, Marx, and Boden. "You've turned your back on blood for a man who'd risk your lives for a piece of tail. How the fu …"

"I risked their lives for a piece of tail? You did that." I laughed, hitting him again, satisfied when his head dropped a few inches. His chin laid on his chest, and drool mixed with blood trailed down his shirt. "You jeopardized their lives because if anyone else had been involved in this plan, they would be sitting with you. I would have hunted you all like dogs, and I would've ended anyone standing between me and that tail."

I grabbed a fistful of his hair and jerked his head back until he stared back at me through swelling eyelids. Seething through spit and blood, he growled. "What the fuck did Seamus ever see in you? You aren't family … not blood. Stupid little cry baby. That day your mother was shot in her head, I laughed because you were such a crying little bitch, knew you were weak."

"I only want to know one thing from you," I said, backing up and collecting myself. This was an accomplishment for me, considering I just wanted to knock all of Liam's teeth down his throat. Laughing, I shook my head as I stalled in my own reaction. With a snarl, I regained the vigor of my animosity as the vision of my mother's brains blown out of the back of her head filled me. Nodding, I said, "You might be right … I've gone weak, but I will fix that right now." Holding his hair tight, I slammed my forehead into his, loving the dizzying effect of the pain shooting through my skull. What was even better than that was the split in his forehead I'd created. "Where the fuck is Seamus?"

Through a haze of pain, he glared back at me. "Wouldn't you like to know? I'm not telling you shit."

"Fabulous then, the party has just begun." I grinned back, the copper taste of blood twinging my tongue. "Boden, take his shirt and pants."

As quickly as they could work, Boden and Marx used the box cutters in the toolbox to remove Liam's clothing, not caring if they nicked flesh here and there. By the time Liam sat before them naked, his body was riddled with a series of cuts, some running deeper than others. I glanced to Marx with a nod, and obediently, he stepped forward with the bag of salt. "I will give you one last chance for a quick death because death at this point is the only option. Where is my brother?"

"He's not your brother. Seamus is my blood. I can't believe he even considered …" Liam broke off, catching himself before he admitted too much.

"You can't believe what? That he was going to hand over the organization to me?" My brows lifted as I regarded the broken, bleeding man in front of me. "Judging by your expression, you didn't think I knew about that. There's a lot …"

Liam cut me off with a growl toward Dylan. "You are a sorry excuse for a son. Probably your bitch mother's fault. She's a stupid cunt. I should've beaten your ass more as a kid instead of molding you to fit this organization. Worthless …"

Hearing the things he spouted toward Dylan rocked my nerves on several levels. However, when I stepped forward to stop the flow of words, Dylan quickly beat me to it, planting a firm fist to his father's teeth. I let the boy take out some of his aggression before stepping in the middle as Liam's head rolled as if he were fighting consciousness. "There will be plenty of time for that later. I need him to talk."

"Y-you're n-never gonna find him," Liam mumbled through drool and blood. "Made sure of that."

With a heavy wave of regret, my head dropped on my shoulders as the obvious became more accurate than any fact I'd known. Seamus was gone … Dead. If there was one thing the Celtics knew how to do, it was getting rid of a body. There was no chance I was going to find my brother, and as the sorrow momentarily claimed me, I sent up a silent prayer for the peaceful rest of my lifelong friend. Once that prayer was complete, the devil inside me returned with a vengeance.

Pushing Dylan toward the toolbox, I said, "Get me the knife in the bottom drawer." A quick glance toward Bella confirmed she was holding up, but still, I found the need to ask. "You good?"

Her head nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I'm good."

A part of me was bothered by the fact Bella was about to see the monster I could truly be. No one should witness the person they loved turn into the devil, yet there I stood. I scoffed at the direction of my thoughts. Months ago, I wouldn't have cared how she felt or how she saw me. To an extent, I didn't care now. I couldn't appear weak before my brothers, and I couldn't let Liam get away with all the destruction he'd caused. So with that thought in mind, I took the knife Dylan handed me.

I spent the next several minutes extracting several cuts. Liam's tortured screams were music to my ears, and finally, once I was satisfied with my handiwork, I gestured for Marx to bring the salt. "Make sure it goes deep. I want him to feel every nerve in his body burn, but Marx …"

"Yeah, boss?"

"Do it slowly." I stepped back and watched with pure delight as Liam's jaw clenched, and his breath hissed as he fought the effects of salt being ground into the cuts. After it seemed as if Liam went numb from the pain, I stepped closer, giving him another opportunity. "Where is Seamus's body?"

"I-I f-f-fed him t-t-to the sh-sharks," Liam stuttered past the pain. "H-h-he should've n-never considered giving the Celtics up to a b-b-bleeding heart."

"Fuck, you are a stubborn one." I laughed with a shake of my head. "I guess you can go in pieces then. Connell, take his toes … one at a time."

Chills raced over my skin as my orders were followed, leaving Liam's feet bleeding, missing all their toes. "How are we feeling now, Liam? Do you remember setting my girl on her knees and putting that gun to her head?"

"S-s-shou-uld'a pulled the t-t-trigger."

"Yeah, well, hindsight and all." I growled at his response. "I think I want his fingernails next." Tossing a look at Emmett, I gestured toward the door. "Take Bella out of here. I think she's seen enough."

"I-I'm not leaving," Bella argued with a shake of her head.

While I admired her bravery, I could only fathom the nightmares this would cause her. "Damn it, woman. For once in your bloody life, listen to what I have to say, and let Emmett take you out of here."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Fucking stubborn … so … never fucking listens," I grumbled. With effort, I tore my gaze away from Bella to focus on the man before me. "I guess she hates you as much as the rest of us."

Over the next several minutes, I extracted body part after body part until the tarp beneath my feet was littered with bloody stumps. Finally appeased with my vengeance, I called an end to the torture. I hurried back to the workbench with purposeful strides and grabbed my gun before stepping back in front of him. "I would allow you to make peace with your maker, yet I don't believe you're worth it."

Raising the gun, I aimed at the center of Liam's forehead. As my finger settled over the trigger, a whistle sounded in the barn. By the time I realized what had happened, Liam's head lightly jerked as a bullet pierced his skull. Shocked, I whipped around to find Dylan with a gun in his hand, his fingers trembling, his chest pumping hard with a blank expression on his face. As the surprise seeped from my pores, I approached the kid slowly and removed the gun from his shaking hand. That's when I saw it.

I stood there in silence, watching the transformation of a child becoming a killer. The hardest glint entered his eyes, and with a sniff, the boy's chin jerked as he met my gaze, his mouth set in a firm line. It was as if I were looking into a mirror—one set twenty-some years ago, witnessing my own transformation into the killer I'd become.

When I was finally able to tear my gaze from Dylan's cold, blank features, I looked toward Boden and Connell. "Put Liam and Adrian through the grinder, and take 'em to the sea. They don't deserve anything more than that. Burn everything else and scatter the ashes in the forest."

As my men stepped forward to clean up the mess, I washed my hands off in a bucket of water before slowly making my way to Bella. While her face was devoid of color, she managed to wrap her arm around my waist as we quit the barn.

The sun was just peeking over the horizon, birds waking, their morning chatter following us as we climbed into my SUV and headed for home.

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A/N: So, how are we feeling? Do y'all think Liam and Adrian got what they deserved? Let us know what you think. See you lovelies on Friday! Have a great week!