A/N: So, here it is a day early! How awesome is that. I'm still super blown away by all the reviews, likes, and favorites for this story. Thank you all so much! Thanks again to Alice's white rabbit for her beta help. Also thank you to my pre-readers Maplestyle, Bitter Harpy, and AGoodWitch. No real questions I can answer without giving stuff away. Just a side note for someone who asked. Bella is 23 and a nursing degree takes 4 years and with her Sept birthday she would have graduated at 17. Edward is 28 and to be a Marshall, you need a bachelor's or experience equivalent, he was in the military. They are old enough for their careers. Anyway, off we go! So, here is the next chapter.
After three and a half hours in the car, we finally made it to our destination. We were going to be staying in Salem, the second-largest city in Oregon, but our "home" was situated on the outskirts of town. "Later this morning, after we've had some sleep, one of the officers I know personally will come to show Katiya mug shots. I officially can't do it."
"Are you sure this guy is legit?"
"Yeah, we're good friends. We've known each other for a long time. He works for the FBI and is at their field office in Portland. This situation is gonna move beyond state police, so we're officially going to give our statement to the FBI."
Edward grabbed our bags from the car, and I tried not to wake up Katiya. She may have been almost eight years old, but she was pretty light. I got her settled in the smaller bedroom without her waking up. Edward showed me the other bedroom and told me to get some sleep. I asked him where his room was, so I'd know.
"There are only two rooms. I'm gonna go sleep on the couch."
"Edward, I can't make you sleep out there."
"Well, I'm certainly not letting you."
I rolled my eyes. "Edward, we're adults. We can sleep in the same bed without it being sexual."
He scoffed. "Maybe you can. But I gotta tell you, Swan. I'm a cuddler and the pajamas you wear don't cover much."
"I have more modest pajamas. Come on, I'll feel guilty if you have to sleep on the couch," I said. I gave him my innocent eyes and pouty lips look and he sighed. That muscle in his jaw was starting to twitch again.
"I'll think about it. Get some rest. I've got to make sure everything is secure and safe. I'll be back in soon," he said and left the room before I could say anything. I changed into my more modest pajamas of yoga pants and a sleeveless shirt, then laid down on the comforter, grabbing one of the extra blankets I brought. I was hesitant to sleep directly on the sheets because who knew how long they'd been there and who had laid there last. I put washing the linens on my mental list of things to do tomorrow. Due to the late hour, I fell asleep shortly after lying down.
~O~
I woke up feeling extremely warm, and as my senses came back to me, I realized I was lying on a firm surface and there was a hand on my hip. I opened my eyes and realized the firm surface was Edward's chest. I looked up into Edward's face, he looked peaceful in his slumber, and for once that cocky grin was wiped from his face. I took in his insanely long eyelashes that any girl would kill for. His lips were soft looking and pouty. I moved to get up and his eyes opened sleepily. He gave me that smug grin. I wanted to equal parts kiss him stupid and slap him.
"Hey," Edward said sleepily.
"Hey." I sighed.
"You're a blanket hog."
I laughed. "It was a small blanket, Edward. Not my fault."
"Why didn't you just use the comforter?"
"I have no idea when that was last washed and who laid there last. I plan to clean all the sheets and blankets today."
"Look at you being all domestic."
I flipped him off while pretending I was scratching. His laughter followed me out of the room as I headed to the kitchen. To my surprise, Katiya was sitting there already, eating a bowl of cereal.
"Hey, pretty girl. You found something to eat?"
"Yeah. I had to get up on the counter to reach it."
"Oh, that's okay. Just be careful. Don't want you falling and getting hurt."
She gave a shy smile and shook her head. I sat next to her eating my own bowl of cereal when Edward entered the kitchen, completely dressed for the day. I rolled my eyes at the fact he could throw something on and look amazing in 10 minutes. He had on dark wash jeans and a plain white T-shirt.
We were quiet as we all ate breakfast. I kept shooting looks at Edward, then looking at Katiya. I was trying to signal to him to let her know what was going on, but he didn't seem to get the hint. When Katiya exited the kitchen to go get ready for the day, I pounced.
"Geez, Edward. I was trying to signal you."
"Is that what that was? Why were you trying to signal me?"
"You need to talk to Katiya and prepare her for your friend. She doesn't do well with strangers, and even more, men."
"How do you know my friend is a guy?"
"Nice try, you said he works for the FBI. A male pronoun is usually a clue."
He smiled. "I don't know how to tell her. I have no problem talking to her usually, but when it comes to work stuff, I tend to detach."
I sighed. "Just be honest but don't scare her. Just let her know we'll both be here, and no one is going to hurt her."
He nodded and I went to go check on Katiya while he finished eating. I found her coloring in the living room, dressed for the day. "Hey, I'm gonna go take a shower, and then get dressed, okay."
She nodded and I grabbed everything I needed and realized when I was in the bathroom, I didn't have a towel. I walked out to ask Edward where they were when I heard him talking to Katiya.
"… show you some pictures, and we just need to know if you recognize any of them. Bella and I will be there the entire time, but you'll have to tell my friend what you know?"
"Is he a good guy?"
"He is. He's really big and muscly but he really is like a goofy teddy bear."
I decided to make myself known. "Hey, Edward. Could you show me where the towels are?"
He got up from the couch and ruffled Katiya's hair, then I followed him to the linen closet where there were towels. They smelled fresh and laundered. "I promise, Bella. It's clean."
I shook my head and went into the bathroom.
After I was showered and dressed, I joined Katiya and Edward in the living room. There was some kid show on, and they were putting a puzzle together. I went and stripped the two beds and threw the bedding in the washer, then I came to sit down and help them. We were all quiet, concentrating, so when there was a knock on the door, I jumped. I put my hand over my heart while Edward went to go answer the door.
"Eddie, how's it hanging, man?" I heard a deep male voice say. It was weird because that voice was familiar. I stood up and went to meet Edward and his "friend" in the hallway. I caught sight of the person attached to the other voice and was stunned.
"Emmett?"
The other guy leaned around Edward, and when he saw me, he broke out in that dimpled grin.
"Baby Bell. As I live and breathe." He pushed around Edward and swooped me up into a big bear hug. I squealed and laughed along with him. He put me down and Edward looked shocked.
"You guys know each other?"
"Yeah, I dated Bella's sister in high school before I had to move here."
"Wait, Rose, the love of your life, is Bella's sister?"
"Dude!"
"Oh, please, like I didn't know that, Emmett. She still talks about you?"
"Really?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
"So, this is your FBI friend?"
"Shit, Edward, this is the girl you're protecting?"
Edward nodded.
"Fuck, Bella. What did you do?"
"I guess this is where I give you my statement."
Emmett nodded and gave me a pad of paper and a pen. "Sorry, it has to be written."
I nodded and we all gathered in the dining room. Katiya sat in between me and Edward. We both wrote our statements while Emmett got his laptop set up so he could show us mugshots. I finished writing my statement and gave it to Emmett and sat, watching, making sure Katiya didn't show any sign of distress. It was true that Emmett had dated my sister while they were in high school, during their freshman and part of their sophomore year. They would have stayed together if it hadn't been for his family moving partway through that year. I never knew that he had moved to Oregon, and I don't think Rose did either. She never really got over Em. She would still tell me that he was the one who was meant to be her one and no other guy would measure up. I wondered if I should give Emmett her number.
I looked over at Edward, content to just watch him a little bit. He'd finished writing and was watching Katiya just as closely as I had been. He tucked one of her pigtails behind her ear, and she looked over at him, smiling shyly. The smile he gave her back was sweet and beautiful. I really hoped that someday he got to be a dad because he was going to be an awesome one. He looked at me, and I gave him a small smile, knowing I was caught.
He chuckled and his grin turned smug. I rolled my eyes and got up to go switch the laundry, hearing the end-of-cycle signal. I came back to the kitchen, taking my seat next to Katiya. Emmett pulled up his program and started showing her mugshots. Katiya grabbed my hand and I gave hers a reassuring squeeze. Katiya told Emmett there were three guys there the night her parents died. When Emmett showed her a certain set of photos, she crawled into my lap.
"The one in the middle," she whispered, so quiet I almost didn't hear it.
Emmett pointed to the picture of the guy in the middle, and Katiya nodded, and then hid her face in my neck, my hair curtaining her from the image on the screen. I could feel the tears falling on my neck.
"I'm sorry. Can we take a break?" I asked, shifting Katiya so I could stand up while holding her. He nodded and I gave him a sad smile and took her to the room we had given her while we stayed here. "Hey, khoroshen'kaya devochka," I said, calling her "pretty girl" in Russian, hoping to calm her. She gasped and smiled at me. "I learned it last night. I know this is scary stuff, but remember when I told you that Edward and I would take care of anyone who wanted to hurt you? I need you to trust that more than anything. It's just pictures, Katiya. Emmett needs to know this stuff so he can go get them and stop them before they try to hurt us, or worse, they do this to another family. I know it's not fair, but I need you to be brave. Can you do this, Katiya? You have a choice so if you say no, then he leaves."
I could see that she was thinking through both options in her head. I already knew she was a smart and brave little girl, but she was just that, a little girl. She shouldn't have to think about things like this and make these decisions, but it was the situation we were in. I saw the moment her decision was made. She looked at me with a determined face. "I can do this, Bella. I don't want them to hurt someone else."
I opened my arms and pulled her into a hug. "How about you go out there, and I'll be there in a minute, okay?"
Katiya nodded and walked out of the room, whispering I can do this to herself over and over. I dropped my head in my hands, sighing to myself. "Hi, Edward." I heard her sing as, I assume, she passed him. I looked up and saw him standing in the doorway.
"Hey," I said as casually as I could. I wasn't in the mood for our usual banter and flirting. I got up off the bed and went to walk past him. He gently put his arm out to hook around my waist before I could leave.
"Bella …" He seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't know if he should.
I stepped back to look in his eyes "How much of that did you hear?" I asked.
"All of it. I'm not going to tell you that you're getting too attached because it's almost impossible in this situation and how young she is, but I can't get attached and I am. Do you think I should turn this over to Emmett? I trust him," he explained.
"Do you want to?"
"Bella, in this job and these circumstances, I have to be 100% focused and detached. Emotions could get you and Katiya killed," he said, the anger starting to show in his voice.
"Edward, I understand you believe that but it's not even true. Emotions make you care; emotions make you a better protector —" I tried to reason with him.
"No, emotions cloud your judgement and that's when mistakes are made," he said, the anger giving way to pain.
I knew enough about Edward to know what the look on his face was telling me—he had messed up before and someone he cared about had paid the price. I knew I couldn't win this fight with him without knowing more, and he surely wasn't going to tell me. "I won't make you continue with this case; if you want you can walk away, but I'll take Katiya and I will run. I don't trust anyone but you."
"You knew Emmett—"
"I knew him in high school, Edward. Knew. I don't know him now, and while I don't believe he has a corrupt or bad bone in his body, I don't trust him. I trust you. I would never have called you if I didn't."
"I can't screw up and have either of you get hurt."
"Look, I get it. I called you for help but I'm not some damsel who needs you to fix everything. I'm smart and I'm scrappy. Don't underestimate me. You are not alone in this. Yes, you'll have to make decisions, but I think we've made a good team so far."
He gave me that crooked smirk that made my stomach flip and my heart beat faster. "Yeah, we have."
"So, stop with the broody martyr stuff. I know this situation is serious, but I think we'll get through it, if we work together," I told him, lacing the fingers of my right hand with his hand. He surprised me by kissing the back of my hand and nodded. I playfully punched his arm and pulled him out of the room toward the dining room table with me.
~O~
The rest of the time we spent going through the mugshots went well, and Katiya was able to identify two of the men who had been there the night her parents were killed. The third guy just didn't have a record, and of course, the cop would look clean on paper. Emmett said that he would have to get this information back to his superiors and open an investigation, which was okay since he was the FBI, and he wouldn't have to answer to the state police. Edward and Katiya started making dinner, and I talked to Emmett as he took his laptop apart and started packing things away.
"So, how's Rosie doing?"
I found it amusing that he was the only one who could ever get away with calling her that. "Good. She's about to have a baby."
His face fell. "Oh, so she is married."
"No, she doesn't even have a boyfriend," I said, shaking my head.
He looked really confused. "But—"
"Think it through, Em. How do single women have kids?" I was trying to slow walk him to the answer.
"Well, yeah, but why did she decide to go that route?"
"Because she's 25 and she wants to have kids. No one ever measured up to her standards and so she's going to do it by herself. You know Rose; she doesn't give a damn what other people will think about her. I do think you should call her though," I said with a chuckle.
"You don't think it's been too long?" he questioned.
"Emmett, if she knew all this time that you were living this close, you both could have saved yourselves a lot of wasted time," I said, handing him a piece of paper with Rose's phone number on it.
Emmett finished packing up and smiled at me, and then he kissed me on the forehead. "Stay safe, Bell."
"You too, Em."
He walked out of the dining room, I heard him talk quietly to Edward in the hallway, and then I hear the front door open and close. I headed to the kitchen and pulled Edward aside while Katiya set the table.
"Hey, I don't really know what the rules are, but can I turn my phone back on and check messages or do I need to keep it turned off?"
"I mean, you can use your cell phone, Bella. You aren't in WITSEC or anything yet, but it's probably better to keep it off as much as you can."
"I just want to let my family know that I'm somewhere on vacation. If I don't, my dad will wonder where I am. He's a cop too, so we don't want that."
"Your dad is a cop?"
"Yeah, he's actually the chief of police in Forks. That's where I grew up. Rosalie and I live in Seattle, but my parents are happy in Forks."
"So that's how you know what to do with a gun?"
"Yep. My dad wanted Rose and I to both know how to handle a gun because, as a police officer, he had them in the house. They were obviously locked up. When I was 15, I knew how to take a gun apart, clean it, and put it back together faster than him. It's not something I kept up with; my aim would be sorely lacking now."
He got closer to me. "Got to admit it, Swan, but that's kinda hot."
I scoffed at him and playfully pushed him away by his face. We both started laughing and went back to rejoin Katiya. The rest of the night was spent teaching Katiya how to play various card and board games. I gave her a bath and helped her get ready for bed. Edward wanted to show her another card game, so I made both her bed and mine with the clean sheets while he was doing that. I went out and watched their game, but when I noticed Katiya yawning, I made them wrap it up. Both of them acted like children, with Edward adorably asking for ten more minutes. I chuckled at both of them and went to the kitchen, making a cup of tea. Katiya came in and gave me a hug goodnight, then skipped out of the room, and I heard her talking to Edward.
I went to sit on the couch and found the living room empty. I figured Edward was probably in the bathroom or something. I was a little surprised when I saw him emerge from Katiya's room. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, and he sat down next to me on the couch.
"I'm sorry I freaked out a little bit earlier. Truth be told, I wouldn't be able to hand this case off to anyone else because I'd be worrying the whole time."
"So, we're stuck with you?"
"Looks like it."
"Would it be overstepping some imaginary boundary if I asked you why you freaked out?"
Edward sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Bella, I've been doing this kind of stuff for 11 years. I was in the navy for six years, and then I jumped into the police academy so I could become a marshal. I've had to make decisions that put other people's lives and my own on the line. I would love to say that I have a perfect record, but I don't. I've made mistakes, and people have gotten … hurt."
I wanted to ask him more about it, but I could tell by the look on his face that he had shut down and was done with the conversation. I sighed and rested my head on my hand, looking at him. "I still trust you, Edward, and you've protected us thus far."
He gave me his cocky half-smirk to lift the tension. "Does that mean you won't hog all the blankets tonight?"
I laughed. "I still maintain it was a small blanket, not meant to be shared."
"Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, Swan."
I giggled and gave him my smart-ass smile. I yawned widely, not realizing until now how tired I was. Edward was going to stay up a little bit longer, but I wanted to go to bed. I gave him a friendly hug and said goodnight. As I looked back at the couch before going into out room, the emotions on his face almost made me want to run back to him and hug him. I sighed sadly and slipped into bed, falling asleep immediately.
A/N: Ah, broody Edward makes his appearance, we knew it was coming. So, how are we feeling. We met Emmett, and a little hope of maybe finding the bad guys….maybe. Let me know your thoughts and see you soon. Love you all!
