A/N: So, the morning doesn't work for me anymore and I don't want to make y'all wait all day for the next chapter. I am being a nice author and posting now. See, I love my readers! Thank you so much for all your lovely words and general enjoyment of the story. Now, I don't speak Russian, so if I did it wrong and you speak Russian, PM me 'cause we need to talk lol. Thank you to Cullenlvr 83's wise circle of ladies (They haven't exactly accepted that name) prereaders- maplestyle, bitterharpy, agoodwitch, and lamomo! Alice's white rabbit attacked this with her red pen, and I love her for it! You ladies make me 3. Off we go!

I woke the same way I had been for the last week, cuddled up to Edward; this time we were spooning, and he had a tight hold around my waist. I tried to subtly roll away to get out of bed without waking him up, but he was strong as hell and had a death grip. I huffed in frustration and rolled my hips, causing me to rub against his front. That is when I felt his very prominent erection. I was a nurse, so I knew this was a biological thing, but it was still embarrassing, even more so that I wanted to rub against it some more. Before I embarrassed myself more, I slapped his arm pretty hard to wake him up.

"What the fuck, Swan? Why are you abusing me first thing in the morning?" he said, letting go of me, and I increased the space between us.

"You had a death grip around my waist. I couldn't move," I said, not looking at him.

He harumphed and turned over, grabbing his pillow to cuddle with instead. I smiled at his early morning adorableness; I giggled and left the room. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. When I checked on Katiya, she was still fast asleep. I smiled and let her continue to sleep. When I made it to the kitchen, I knew we were getting down to bare bones after breakfast, lunch, and dinners for the week. I made a pretty hefty grocery list while making pancakes, sticking the leftover ones for grumpy and sleepy girl in the microwave, and then went to sit at the dining room table. I knew that now would probably be the best time to call my parents; I had sent them a text letting them know I had gone on vacation and was out of town. So, I turned my phone on and was inundated with texts. Most of them were from Rose and Alice, and I knew I'd have to deal with them after my parents. Scrolling to their number, I pressed send.

It rang a few times, and then my mom's cheerful voice answered. "Bella, honey, how are you?"

"Good, Mom. You guys finally got caller ID?" I asked.

"Yes, I finally got your dad to join the 21st century. He even caved and has a cell phone now. I'll text you the number when he gets home. How have you been, sweetie?"

"I've been good, Mom. I started my vacation a week ago. I wanted to check in with you 'cause my phone will probably be off more often than it'll be on." I looked up and saw Edward standing in the doorway. I pointed to the microwave and he went to go check, giving me a thumbs up when he saw the pancakes. I watched him move around the kitchen as my mom talked.

"Oh, that sounds like fun. Did you go somewhere exotic?"

"No, I went out of state but not far." Edward sat down at the table across from me and gave me a sad smile. I'm sure he could tell from the look on my face I hated lying to my mom.

"Well, have a good time, honey. You work so hard all the time; it's great to take some time for yourself."

"Thanks, Mom. Will you tell Dad I love him?" I asked.

"Of course, sweetie. We might be able to come up and see you and Rose this summer. She's due in June," she said, sounding hopeful.

"That would be great and Rose will probably be too much for me to handle alone." My mom laughed and it made me smile. "I miss you, Mom."

"Oh, honey, we miss you too."

"I better go, got lots of relaxing to do." I tried to sound cheerful.

"Okay, I'll give your love to your dad. I love you, beautiful girl."

"I love you too, Mom," I said, trying to keep from losing my composure and crying.

We hung up and I laid my head on the table, groaning.

"Sorry, Bella. This is always the hardest part of going off-grid," Edward said, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze. I gave him a grateful smile and picked up my phone again. Alice had texted me a few times, and I texted her letting her know we were alive, and we made it where we were going. I also told her my phone would probably be off most of the time. Rose sent me texts that got snippier as they went unanswered, and then I got one last one this morning that said, "call me now or I call the cops." I rolled my eyes and hit the call button, putting it on speaker.

"You get to meet my sister now," I told Edward, knowing he would get a kick out of her hormonal ass.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose demanded.

"Well, hello to you, sister dear. I miss you so much too," I said, the sarcasm obvious.

"Don't give me that sarcasm shit, Belly. I've been texting you for three days with no answer." My phone had been turned off for a week, so she picked a hell of a time. "Guess who called me last night," she said.

"I have no idea, Ro."

"Emmett fucking McCarty, and he said he got my number because 'he has his ways'. What the fuck does that even mean? I haven't heard from him since high school." Edward was shaking with silent laughter. I playfully smacked him.

"I'm well aware of your history with Emmett. Aren't you always saying he was the one who got away?"

"Yeah, and get this, he lives in Portland. Less than three hours from here. Like this whole time. Getting my license would have been more interesting if I were going to see him. I need you to come over and help me figure this out. Like what does this mean? We need to dissect the discussion he and I had."

My smile fell and Edward squeezed my hand again. "I can't. I'm not in Seattle."

"What? Where are you?" she asked.

"I'm out of town. I went on vacation a week ago." I grimaced, knowing the tantrum that was about to come. I told Rose everything.

"What the hell, Isabella Marie, you always tell me when you're going out of town. Why didn't you tell me? Is everything okay?" She sounded concerned, and I felt like shit.

"Yeah, I just decided to go out of town for my vacation. It was a last-minute decision. Just, if you talk to Emmett again, I think you should go for it. You never got over him, Ro," I told her sincerely.

"I'll definitely think about it. I love you, Bella. Let me know when you get back in town, and call to let me know you're alive every now and then."

"Okay, love you, bitch," I said.

"Love you too, whore," she replied.

We hung up and I looked at Edward. He looked a little surprised.

"So, that's your sister?" he asked.

I nodded. "That's Rose."

"And your full name is Isabella Marie?"

"Oh, God, now you know my middle name. It's only fair if you share yours, Edward."

He laughed good-naturedly and nodded. "It's Anthony."

"Edward Anthony Masen. It fits you," I said, smiling.

"Yeah, well Isabella Marie Swan fits you," he shot back.

"I wonder what Katiya's middle name is."

"Russians usually have their father's name as a middle name with ovna or evna added to it."

"That's interesting," I said, not knowing that. He nodded and I remembered I needed to ask him about groceries. "Oh, I went through the cupboards and we are down to bare essentials. I don't know how the shopping thing would go."

"Well, one of us should stay here with Katiya."

"I wanted to get her a birthday present. Her birthday's in a few days."

"Okay, I will stay with her. We're in a different state, but we can't be too cautious, so I would appreciate it if you let Emmett come with you, for protection. He'll be able to see if someone seems suspicious." I nodded, agreeing. "I'll call him in a few." He went and put his plate away in the sink. I followed him to get the list I'd made and left on the counter, jotting a few more things down on it. He turned from the sink, facing me. I turned as well because it looked like he had something to say. "You okay?"

I knew what he was asking, and I didn't know how to answer. "I don't know, Edward. When I saw that Katiya needed help, I just figured I would report it like I'm supposed to, but she was so freaked out about police being involved. I knew at that moment this was probably going to get complicated, but this is so much more than I originally expected."

"Okay, I'm gonna be 100% transparent with you. There's a chance you may not be able to go back to your old life. Worst case scenario, depending on where this case goes, you and Katiya may have to do WITSEC, which means you'll have to sever ties with everyone and everything in Seattle and your old life."

"I can't do that, Edward. That would kill my parents and Rose. And what about you?"

"Well, the US Marshalls are the ones who run that program, Bella, so I would still be in charge of keeping you safe, but, again, worst-case scenario, you would be putting your family at risk if you had to be relocated and you didn't. It's completely voluntary and it is a worst-case scenario. I just wanted you to know it may happen."

I nodded, taking in what he was saying. This was bigger than I thought, and I was fighting to keep from cracking under the pressure. Moving to a new city and getting a new job wasn't such a big deal, but not being able to ever see my sister or my parents again was not something I could do. I just had to hope and pray that it never came to that.

"I need to get dressed." I needed to get away from him so I could freak out a little bit by myself. He looked like he wanted to say more, but I just walked away. Behind the closed door of the room we had been sharing, I slid down the wall next to the door, finally breaking down. Crying felt cathartic after everything that had happened in the last week. Even though everything fell apart when I met Katiya, I couldn't be upset or even resentful toward her. I felt honored that she trusted me when she had no real idea who I was or what I was like when she asked for help. I knew in the end I would do what I needed to keep her safe, and I couldn't separate us—I wouldn't do that to her. I heard a knock and I tried to stifle my crying. "Who is it?"

"It's Edward. Let me in."

"Can I have a minute?" He ignored me and opened the door. He took one look at me and I saw that defeated look again. In my emotional state, it made me start crying again. He sat next to me and pulled me into a hug, and I cried against his neck.

"You've seen me cry more than any other person. I promise I'm not usually this weepy," I said, starting to calm down.

He laughed, his breath puffing against my neck, making me feel warm and tingly. "It's a scary thing, Bell. Your world has been flipped upside down. I've seen people go through these emotions so many times. I usually don't end up hugging them, though."

"So, you're saying I should feel special?" I asked.

"No, telling you point blank that you're special," he clarified.

I pulled back from his embrace a little bit. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"Starting to, yeah."

I was feeling a very strong urge to kiss him, but I knew that would be a mistake, so I settled for breaking eye contact with him and tucking my hair behind my ear. "Thanks, Edward. That's actually really nice to hear."

Edward cleared his throat and let go of me. He stood up and put his hand out to help me up. I took it and stood with his assistance. "We'll take it as it comes, Bella. I hope that it's not a worst-case scenario." I nodded. "I'm gonna call Emmett. You should check to see if Katiya's awake."

I smiled and gave him a mock salute. When I stepped into the hall, Katiya was just coming out of her room. She looked adorably sleep rumpled and was rubbing her eyes. "Come on, khoroshen'kaya devochka. We have pancakes ready."

She gave me a sleepy smile and took my offered hand. I got her set up with breakfast and some juice before letting her know that I was going to get dressed. When I got back to the bedroom I shared with Edward, I didn't see him, so I grabbed my clothes and started to get undressed. Before I was able to start getting redressed, Edward walked out of the walk-in closet with no shirt on. We just stared at each other with wide eyes. All of his tattoos were on display, and sweet mother of all that was holy, his nipples were pierced. I suddenly realized I was half-naked, only in my bra and panties and I was thankful I was wearing a matching set. I grabbed a blanket from the bed and covered myself as best as I could. Edward gave me that cocky smirk and pulled his T-shirt on over his head.

"Like that's going to remove the image from my head, Bella."

"I'm not going to continue to stand here half-naked, sir," I said, putting heavy enunciation and sarcasm on that last word.

Edward practically stalked toward me and I matched him step for step backward and hit the wall. I wasn't scared of him; I was really turned on. He brought the back of his hand up to caress my cheek and trailed it down to my lips, tracing them with his forefinger and thumb. My eyes fluttered close and my mouth fell open. I felt his hand grasp the back of my neck, and then I heard a loud knock on the door. My eyes flew open and Edward looked like he wanted to punch something. He gave me a "this isn't over" look, answered the door, and stepped out to help Katiya. I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding and flopped on the bed, groaning into a pillow. I sat up and got dressed. I was about to open the door when there was a knock. I opened the door and Edward was there.

"Oh, good. You need to get out here. Emmett has some news, but he wouldn't talk about it in front of Katiya. Can you keep her occupied?"

"Well, sure, but don't you think I should know what's going on?"

"Of course, I do. What do you propose we do? We can't just let her go play outside or anything."

I gave him a look because that wasn't the best idea even when we didn't have people looking for us.

"Alice gave us that activity kit and the basement here is finished. We can go get that and have her play in the basement like we set up the playroom for her at your house."

"Okay, I'll go get her stuff and leave the telling her what is going on to you."

"Oh, thanks." I went to look Katiya and found her talking Emmett's ear off and shyly playing with her hair. I smiled, thinking someone might have a crush. "Hey, khoroshen'kaya devochka".," I said to her, grabbing her attention. Edward and Emmett both stopped.

"What was that?" Edward asked.

"She called me pretty girl in Russian." Katiya explained.

"You speak Russian?" Emmett asked.

"No, I looked it up. What's up, guys?"

Edward shook his head behind Katiya. I shrugged it off and pulled Katiya closer to me and crouched down to her level. "Edward, Emmett, and I need to talk so we can make sure we are all safe and we can stay that way. I don't want you to get bored so Edward is gonna go get that activity kit Alice brought for you, and you can play downstairs. How's that sound?"

"Do I have to shut the door?" she asked, almost scared.

"No, of course not."

She looked relieved. She smiled and nodded. I wondered what that was about. I thought back on several different interactions with her and she seemed to always want the door open when she was in a room by herself. She'd just recently let me or Edward close the door when she went to bed but we usually left it open just a crack. I smiled back at her and swept her hair behind her neck.

"Will you braid my hair, Bella?"

"Of course." I went and got a ponytail holder from my toiletry bag and did a quick braid. She followed Edward downstairs, talking his ear off. He smirked and laughed at some joke she told him. I checked Emmett with my elbow and motioned for him to follow me to the dining room table where we sat down, and I asked him about Rosalie.

"She sounded really unsure when I called her last night, like I was punking her or something. Then she called me back this morning and asked me what I wanted from her. I told her that I wanted whatever she was comfortable with. She said she'd think about it and call me back," he said.

"She told me that you called. I told her basically to follow her heart," I explained, simply.

Emmett nodded and Edward walked into the dining room and sat down.

"You left the door open, right?" I asked him, remembering promising her she didn't have to shut it.

"Yeah, of course. So, Emmett, what's this news?" Edward asked.

"Well, I looked into hospital and ER records to see if this guy you got into a gunfight with at your house tried to get medical help, and I didn't find anything that matched any injuries he had."

"So, you actually hit the guy?" I asked, still not knowing the full story of what had happened that day.

"Of course, I did, Bella."

"Did you see him?" I asked, hopeful

"No, fucker was smart and was wearing a mask," he snarled.

"So, since you were doing some work for the Seattle PD the only people who had access to your personal info would be the head of HR, and the chief of police. Now, neither of them hold a record for criminal activity, but there have been some complaints filed against the chief and some suspicious activity. I can't confirm that activity yet because there's no official investigation, but I asked around. Anonymously, of course, but he's my number one suspect. Do you think Katiya would be able to pick the bad cop out of the two if I showed her pictures?" Emmett asked me.

"Yeah, she probably can. She said she saw him," I answered.

"Yeah, that's only if he's the only dirty cop there. If he's the chief of police, he has people under him he's either leaning on or who are as dirty as him." Edward interjected.

"Yeah, you're right, but at least then we'll know if it was someone else carrying out his orders," Emmett added.

I sighed; this was just like something out of a bad action movie. "Did you find out anything about the two guys she identified?"

Emmett looked at me and Edward. He blew out a breath. "This is where shit gets sticky, Bella. If you're going to be here for this conversation, I need to know that you're going to be able to see this through to the end," Emmett explained.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"He means that what we talked about this morning is a real possibility," Edward told me.

"Fucking WITSEC? Edward, I told you I can't do that."

"Well, then you're going to have to make a decision. I can make the state take over Katiya's care and she'll have to go into witness protection, but that means she won't see you again." Emmett told me.

"Oh, fuck you, Emmett! I helped her when she had no one else. You can't just walk in here and say that you're going to place her with the state, and then say fuck you to someone who'll actually treat her with some decency," I yelled.

"Bella, I don't want to, but I can't continue this conversation with you and leave your life and hers in danger," Emmett explained.

"Edward, tell him he can't do this."

"It's a possibility, Bella. I can't tell him how to do his job."

"It could be temporary, if the problem is eradicated, but there's the possibility it won't be. I can't say for sure," Emmett tried to reassure me.

I sat there, completely stunned. I didn't know what to say. My family, my job, my life, my friends, Edward. It could all be gone. I looked it up. Yes, Edward would help protect me through the trial and everything else, but once I got a new identity, he wouldn't know that information. I thought back to when I told Katiya we wouldn't be separated and how much I was starting to fall in love with that little girl, and my mind was made up. "Fine, I promise I'll see this to the end. Even if it means witness protection, temporary or permanent. I told her we wouldn't be separated."

Emmett and Edward looked at each other, and Edward nodded. "The two men Katiya identified have criminal records a mile long, but looking into their associates and businesses, they have some heavy mob ties," Emmett answered.

"Fuck!" I hissed.

"That's not all, Bella," Edward added.

"I looked into the parents, like you told me, Edward. They weren't her biological parents. She was adopted, but I can't find a lot of information on that. We found that her adoptive parents have mob ties too."

"So, what does that mean?"

"I don't know. This is gonna take more looking into. At this moment, the guys Katiya identified just have associates who are connected to the mob, as well as her adoptive parents. I'm gonna need more to actually tie them to the mafia. Plus, this could all trace back to Russia, and we don't have the best history with them, so I don't know how much I can find out," Emmett said.

"But how can a seven-year-old girl have anything to do with the mafia?" I asked.

"I don't know. As I said, there's still a lot I don't know and I gotta go through channels to find out."

"How safe are we where we are, Emmett?" I asked.

"The way this works, Bella, is we wait until there's a threat, and then we move, quickly. Given this news though, Emmett and I think it's not a good idea for you to go anywhere in public. Do you have a grocery list?" Edward answered for him.

I wanted to pout like a petulant child, but I knew there was logic they were working with; didn't mean I liked it. I went and grabbed the list I made, and I added what I wanted to get Katiya for her birthday and the ingredients for a homemade cake. I gave Emmett the list and he smiled at me, his dimpled grin seeming so out of place with the emotions swirling inside me. I gave him a half-smile. He and Edward talked in the hall for a few minutes, but I heard nothing they said. I got up and stomped off toward the bedroom, passing Edward and Emmett, paying them no attention. I heard Edward call my name, but I ignored him. I slammed the door to our room and started pacing. I had moved from disbelief to anger, and it felt better. It gave me more of a sense of control. Edward came into the room, and he looked angry too. Oh, yay.

"I called your name."

"I didn't feel like talking," I said.

"Why are you acting so childish?"

"Childish? Oh, fuck you and your superiority bullshit, Edward. You don't know shit about me and how I cope," I yelled at him.

He flinched when I said fuck you, but he remained eerily calm, which fueled my rage even more. "This is not proving your maturity to me."

I scoffed. "You really are so condescending."

"Because I have to be. You can't lose your shit, Bella. This is the mafia; do you know what these types of people do, how far they are willing to go, especially if they know that girl could expose them. She saw them kill people. They don't give a shit that she's seven. Plus, we don't even know what type of mafia we're dealing with," Edward explained.

"I'm scared, okay? I'm scared shitless. I'm just a nurse from Seattle. I was born in fucking Forks, Washington. I don't know how to deal with this shit and take care of a seven-year-old girl."

"Well, when you put it that way," he said smiling.

"Do not try to make me smile or laugh. This is serious."

He sighed and pulled me into a hug. "I know, Bella." He kissed the top of my head. "You know I won't let anything happen to you or Katiya. You two are my number one priority. You've just got to get a better poker face; Katiya can't know all this. She is fucking smart for a seven-year-old, but she won't understand this."

"How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Calm me down and talk me off the ledge."

He pulled back a little to look me in the face. "I've been doing this a long time, Bella, but as I told you before, I'm too close to this. I couldn't deal with something happening to you, and that little girl is worming her way inside too."

I laughed. "Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me. Just make it go away for a few minutes and kiss me."

His lips were on mine and it was so different from the last time in his kitchen. This was sweet and deep, instead of hungry and rushed. I fisted his T-shirt in my hands and pulled him with me as I walked backward to the bed. I was about to pull him down on the bed with me, but he stopped me.

"Bella, Katiya is still out there, by herself. If you still feel this way when she goes to bed, I'm more than happy to oblige, but we have a responsibility to her."

I bit my lip and nodded. I knew that, obviously. I let go of his T-shirt, smoothing it out. He smiled at me and put his arm around my shoulder as we walked out of the room to find Katiya.

A/N: There we are. Some answers, so many more questions. That will be a common occurrence in this story. How do we feel? Leave me your love, questions, thoughts, suggestions. I enjoy constructive criticism, but hateful vitriol will be deleted and not thought about again, so nice try but just no. I research, have a beta, and a few prereaders. There have been enough eyes on it that anything someone wants to pick on has been addressed. Ok. Love you all and you are amazing!