A/N: Waves white flag before coming out of hiding place. Well, there was a huge response to last chapter. I wish I could answer all your questions without spoiling everything. I'm a person who believes in warnings only if it is needed, but it's not needed. Big thanks to my lovely prereaders: BitterHarpy, Maplestyle, AGoodWitch, and LaMoMo. Thank you to Alice's White Rabbit for her awesome beta skills. Thank you so much to all the people reading, recing, and reviewing. You make me so happy. Anyways, off you go. Go on, it's ok, you know you want to.
BPOV
There was a sickening crunching sound and a muffled scream on the line. "Now, do I have your attention?"
I gasped. "Emmett!" I said, my mind struggling to process this development.
"Ah, is that the lovely Bella? I'm so looking forward to meeting her," Mikhail said with his deep Russian accent. Even though it was only through the speakerphone of Edward's phone, the smarmy charm rolling off his lips and my friend basically being held hostage slammed into my brain, and I was running to the bathroom to throw up my dinner. I hated this helplessness that had settled in my stomach. I dry heaved and that's when I lost it. "Fuck!" I yelled, punching the closest thing to me, which happened to be the wall. Luckily, I didn't put much weight behind it, so I didn't break my hand.
I pulled out the burner phone Edward had given me, and I did the only thing I could think of.
"Hello?"
"Marcus! Oh, God. Emmett is being tortured and probably held hostage. You've gotta help him," I said in a rush. I couldn't keep the tears at bay anymore.
"What? Okay, Bella. I need you to calm down and tell me the whole story."
I took in a deep breath and told him everything about the call. "It's got to be Mikhail. Who else would it be?"
"Mikhail is Katiya's dad, yes? What else did he say?"
"I don't know. I called you before I could hear any other part of the conversation."
"Son of a bitch!" Edward roared from the other room, something hitting a wall and crashing. I wondered if he had thrown his phone, meaning the phone call with Mikhail was over.
"Let me talk to Edward."
I made my way cautiously to the living room where Edward was pacing and tugging on his hair. "Edward, it's Marcus. He wants to talk to you."
Edward gestured for me to give him the phone. The look on his face brought me up short. It was raw fury. He was so beyond angry. This was worse than the detached Edward. My Edward was gone, and it made my tears come back. I handed him the phone and covered my mouth with my hand, rushing out of the room.
I know Edward was going to blame himself for what happened to Emmett, and he had been responsible for colleagues who had gotten injured or killed. It was something that he shared with me when we'd started getting closer in McCall. Seeing Edward like that had actually scared me. I threaded my fingers in my hair and bowed my head. Edward told me that scary was coming, but I had no idea this was even in the realm of reality. I know Mikhail called for one thing—Katiya—but I'd be damned if he got her. I had promised her that we would stick together. I took in several deep breaths to get the tears to cease and get the panic to loosen its hold. I walked back out to the front room to find Edward still on the phone.
"No, Marcus! Now isn't the time to play it safe and give it time. Mikhail is expecting an answer soon, and he has Emmett right now. If you think I'm gonna let this sick fuck continue to torture him then you're losing your damn mind!"
I could hear Marcus yell at him from across the room, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. Nor did I want to. I could see it—Edward was a ticking time bomb, and the aftermath of his blow up would be intense. Edward was shaking his head back and forth before he spoke.
"No, I have trackers that are undetectable," he said before he went back to listening.
"Well, so does sitting on this and hoping that you get to him before he decides to kill him," he said and went back to listening.
Sitting here trying to decode his one-sided conversation was driving me crazy, but I bit the bullet and dutifully sat there. Finally, when he hung up with Marcus, I sat and waited for an explanation. When one never came, I realized that I was going to have to pull this information out of him.
"What's going on?"
"Look, Bella, you're not law enforcement, so I'm not gonna run everything by you like before. You're just a witness, and this isn't the kiddie table anymore."
I saw red. I walked over to him and got up in his face. "I get your best friend is in danger, so I will let that go. If you ever talk to me like that again, I will drop you to your knees, Edward. You wanna do this alone, whatever, but you're making a mistake," I said, my voice as hard as steel.
I turned to walk away, and Edward grabbed my wrist. I turned toward him and what I saw broke my heart. The anger there was raw and intense. "I told you before emotions cloud your judgment, and that's when mistakes are made. Well, Emmett paid for that mistake. I can't … I can't afford to feel or be emotional. Mikhail wants Katiya in exchange for Emmett, and I'm the only one who can make that call. I told you we shouldn't get attached."
"You—What? You can't possibly be thinking of handing Katiya over. Other than the fact that any reason he wants her back is a bad one, but it's unstable over there. You heard what Emmett's contact reported—there's a conflict going on over there between two factions."
"This is why I didn't want to discuss this," he said, devoid of any emotion. No emotion, no facial expressions, nothing.
"Fuck! Stop doing that. I don't care what your issues are anymore if you're going to act like this. I get it. You're emotionless, obviously, when you can't tell someone you love them back when they say it to you, but you aren't making an exchange like you're getting a sweater back that someone borrowed. She's a human, and she's a little kid. God, what is wrong with you! This is not the Edward I know!"
"And how are you going to stop me. I'm the lead on this. I have a plan."
"I'll ask Marcus to reassign you. I'm not confident in your ability to make a good judgement call right now." We stared at each other, waiting for the other to cave and stop this stupid standoff. I was trying to get him to really think this through. He touted being emotionless and logical, but he was being emotional because he loved Emmett, but he also loved Katiya, and I knew he was trying to save them both himself, and that's when mistakes were made. "You're trying to save them both yourself and that just isn't going to work. You're being emotional right now, and this course will get someone killed."
"So, what am I supposed to do?"
I opened my mouth to answer him but was interrupted by Katiya screaming. We both made our way to the stairs, and I put my hand on his chest, stopping him. "No, you're not going up there."
He looked at me like I had slapped him again. "Bella ..."
"No! You were ready to trade her over to her dad. Anything you say to her will be a lie, and I don't want to punch you in front of her. You're staying down here," I said and turned to go upstairs to help Katiya. When I rushed into her bedroom, she was huddled in the covers, crying. I came over to the bed and gathered her into my arms. "Hey, what's wrong, khoroshen'kaya devochka," I asked and heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
"My papa got to me and took me away from you. I cried and screamed for you and Edward to help me, but you guys just watched as he took me away," she said in a small voice. I heard footsteps in the hall.
"Hey, I won't let him take you away from us. I will fight tooth and nail with anyone who tries to take you," I said fiercely. I knew Edward was outside the door, listening. "I may not win, but I will try like hell, Katiya. I love you. You're sem'ya, and even though I didn't give birth to you, I still see you as my doch'."
She started crying harder, but it didn't seem like sad tears. "Bella, the only moms I had are dead, but I see you as my mom. You're all I have."
I pulled her closer to me and kissed the top of her head. She snuggled into my chest, and I held her until she stopped crying. I started singing to her, and she smiled at me, falling asleep quickly after. I quietly crept out of her room after tucking her back in. Edward was waiting in the hall. He was leaning against the wall, and when I stepped out of Katiya's room, he stood up. I huffed and just walked right past him, completely ignoring him. I walked downstairs and went into the kitchen so I could put away the leftover dessert we had after dinner. Edward followed me. After I did that, I started to wash the dishes and load them in the dishwasher, still not uttering a word.
"Bella, talk to me."
"I have nothing to say. You don't want to run things by me anymore, remember."
He stopped my hand from grabbing the next dish and turned me to face him. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm trying to save them both myself, and that's not how this works. I'm not used to this. In all my other cases, the other people were just witnesses. This entire case you and I have worked together, and some of the things we found were at your suggestions," he said, coming over to me and wrapping his arms around me. He dropped to his knees, his head near my stomach, hiding his eyes. "I just can't get this one wrong. It's Emmett, my best friend, and it's Katiya, who is the closest thing I'll probably ever have to a daughter. I'm so sorry. Tell me what to do."
I cradled his head in my hands and gently made him look at me. "I forgive you. You just can't lose your shit on me. We do this together, got me?" He nodded and had tears falling from his eyes. I made him stand up and wrapped my arms around his neck. "We fight for both of them. Has Marcus mobilized anyone to find Emmett and Mikhail?"
He shook his head. "No, he was waiting on word from me."
"Then call him and tell him to get moving. Can't he ping his cell phone?"
"Yes. Burner phones only protect name anonymity. If you know someone has one and the number, then you can find them using towers and GPS, etcetera. Marcus will be able to bypass the court order and trace it."
"Then what about the phone Mikhail called you on?"
"I kind of already broke it by throwing it at the wall and stepping on it. There's no GPS now." I nodded and gave him my burner phone. He took it, dialed the phone, and walked out of the kitchen because he always paced when he was on the phone. I finished the dishes and tidying the kitchen. I sat on the counter for the breakfast bar/island just looking out the window I was facing and thought about my family.
I was still the only one who knew where they were, and they were closer than they had been since May. We were in Williams, Arizona, and my parents were in Phoenix. At least I hoped so. There was a possibility they had moved again, and I would find clues when I went looking for them. We were about a week away from the 4th of July, and I could already say that this year wouldn't be like the past years for this holiday.
When I was younger, my parents usually had a huge BBQ with the entire neighborhood. Slip and slides were set up, and in the evening when we were stuffed and sunburnt, Rose and I would climb onto the roof to watch the fireworks. Since I had returned to Washington two years ago, I was too wrapped up in James to join them in Forks. After I kicked him out of my house, I spent the day drinking with Rose, Alice, and Jasper. This year, I had been looking forward to going to Forks for the weekend and enjoying the BBQ and convincing my pregnant sister that climbing on the roof was a bad idea. I smiled at the argument we would get into over that, and I knew I would win because my dad and mom wouldn't let their seven-month pregnant daughter climb to the roof.
We would be lucky if Katiya, Edward, and I were even all together for 4th of July. I had a feeling that Edward was probably leaving again to go help with the effort to save Emmett. Maybe not though because it would leave Katiya and I alone, and he wasn't comfortable with that either. We may even have to move again if Mikhail got our location. All I could do was wait until Edward got done on the phone. I was so zoned out thinking that I didn't know Edward was in the room until I felt his hands on my thigh and he was kissing me.
I moaned and pulled away to look at his face. I saw my Edward, the adorable smile, desire burning in his eyes. I smiled back at him and pulled his mouth to mine. He kissed me again and moved to deepen the kiss. His hands slid under the leg of my shorts and skimmed around to grip my ass, pulling my body closer to his. I felt his arousal, and I swiveled my hips to grind into him. He growled and kissed down the column of my neck. He nipped and bit my neck lightly, sending tingles straight to my core.
"God, I just want to devour you," he said, his voice gravely.
I moaned at his words, always incredibly turned on by the things he said sometimes. This wouldn't be the first time we had sex since our first time in Salem, but having sex on the kitchen counter would be a new thing. At that thought, I finally realized what was going on and where we were. Often times, I lost my head, and all rational thought left my head when he touched me. I gently pushed his chest. "What are we doing, Edward?"
He sighed. "Marcus told us to sit tight. They're going to find Emmett. He was looking before I called because it wasn't my call to make, and they have a ping on his phone. The GPS was turned off, so his phone went dark, but they were able to find the last cell phone tower his phone registered to. If they move him, they will be able to see that. Which reminds me. Just a second. I'll be right back." He left the kitchen without a word, and I was a little mystified by his sudden mood changes. He came back into the kitchen carrying a little box that was the size of an earring case. It surprised me when he actually pulled earrings out. "These may look like earrings, but there are GPS chips inside them. I want you to wear them 24/7, no exceptions. I have one to attach to Katiya's necklace in the morning. This is in case something happens. Chaos has finally arrived in the country, so we need to be prepared."
"Aren't you worried that the enemy side will be able to pick up these GPS sensors."
"They wouldn't know about them, and the signal is encrypted. They can't track them. Only Marcus' tech genius can do it."
I nodded and took the earrings, putting them in my ears. "So, can I claim this is the first time you gave me jewelry?" I asked, teasing.
He smiled and cradled my head in his hands. "I do love you, Bella. I'm sorry I didn't say anything when you said it. I've been closed off for a long time, and while I was always attracted to you, I never expected for you to own my heart so easily."
I kissed him hard because even though I hadn't meant to tell him, especially over the phone, I meant it 100 percent. I pulled away, much too soon. "I love you too. I meant it when I said it, and I still feel it."
He kissed my forehead and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me to him.
"Where are your sensors?"
"Not to be sexist, sweetheart, but they won't snatch me. If they can't get to Katiya, they will take you as a bargaining chip."
"Wow, they sound like jerks," I said, joking again. It was just how I dealt with stuff sometimes. He chuckled and sighed.
"I wouldn't be able to leave you two again so soon, but this sucks, not knowing what is going on. Just sitting here while I could be there, helping."
I chuckled, and he looked at me, questioning. "You realize how ironic that is, right? You just made me sit here on the sidelines while you went and helped Emmett. Then to top it off, I have to get a call from him that he doesn't know what to do because you passed out from blood loss. I'm a nurse, and while working outside the hospital with minimal supplies is tricky, I could have helped you without taking you to a hospital."
We sat down on the couch. It had been a long and stressful day, but neither of us would be able to sleep soundly until we knew that Emmett was safe and okay.
"So, where's Emmett going, once they get him? He obviously can't go back because his and his boss's covers are blown."
"Well, he'll go to the hospital first, obviously. Then, after that, he'll probably come here. We have the room, and it would be safer to have us all in one place than in two separate locations."
"Oh, good. I would worry about him too much being somewhere else."
Edward nodded, and I laid my head on his shoulder, his good one. I was so worried when Emmett had called me, panic evident in his tone. I've never heard the guy more than loud and jovial. When he told me that Edward had passed out and was losing a lot of blood, he sounded like a little boy—he was so scared. He may be an experienced FBI agent, but nothing had prepared him for seeing his best friend bleeding out. I had to push the fact out of my head that it was Edward so I could firmly give him instructions, otherwise the panic would've overtaken me. My first year at Virginia Mason was in the ER, but nothing prepared you for when it was someone you loved.
We talked to each other and even played a couple board games, just to keep from going crazy. Around one A.M., we heard Katiya screaming again, and I imagine that the nightmares were back. Edward stopped me from getting up, laying his hand on my thigh. "Let me get this one, okay?"
I nodded and he got up, bounding up the stairs. I knew he was upset about not being able to comfort her before, and he was making up for it now. I was again struck by the relationship between those two. I know that his talk before of giving Mikhail what he wanted was from a place of fear and pain, but deep down, I don't think he would ever be able to go through with it. He cared too much about Katiya and would be insane until he had her back safely, just like I would as well.
Edward returned downstairs, looking wary. "She's really worried that she's going to get taken and neither of us will be able to stop it."
"It's a rational fear to have, but I would fight like hell to stop it from happening, as I know you would too."
He nodded. We went to the kitchen to make some coffee, and I made some eggs and toast. When you were awake during the night, instead of asleep, you still got hungry. I'd found that out making my way through nursing school. Something with protein was best to keep you from overeating or snacking through the night.
"I just can see you going through a phase where you wanted to be tatted and pierced," Edward said, surprised when I told him that I loved his tatts and piercings because I'd wanted to do the same.
"Well, obviously, I didn't make it past the first tattoo. It hurt, and I don't like needles."
He chuckled. "You're a nurse."
"Just because I'm fine with shoving needles in people doesn't mean that I like being stabbed over and over again with one. Plus, when I do it, most people don't even feel it. I'm that good."
"You could have taught my nurse at the hospital a thing or two. When she jabbed in that IV needle, I almost wanted to hit her. I never would because I don't hit women, but it hurt. She's probably a sadist," he explained. I laughed along with him. "So, what made you take the plunge to get the swans?"
"It was something I saw, and it was perfect. It was a yin and yang kind of thing. Plus, I was kinda the ugly duckling who grew up to be a swan. My childhood was spent getting all banged up because of my two left feet. Plus, everyone has a dark side they keep hidden." I gave Edward a pointed look. "Usually."
"I doubt you have a dark side, Bella. You may have dark thoughts and desires but never a dark side. I have seen some dark things, and that changes you. My dad brought me up with love and routine. When I got in the Navy, it just flipped a switch for me."
I nodded and got up to rinse our plates off. I turned back around to find him right behind me. "Regardless of what made the change, I still love who you are. You're an amazing man. Nothing you tell me could change how I feel about you."
He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by my phone ringing. He picked it up, hit the answer key, and turned it on speaker. "Hello?" he asked, both of us holding our breath.
"Masen, we found Emmett. He's pretty beat up, so we're getting him airlifted to the closest hospital. He wasn't in Portland and he was alone. No Mikhail. His boss is also MIA now. They're both in the wind."
"Shit," Edward said. "At least Emmett's okay."
"That's not all, Masen. They know where you are. We forgot that they could ping the last tower you registered to like we did with Emmett. I have no idea how big of a head start they have, but odds are they're on their way."
"What do we do, Marcus?"
"Get the girl and run."
Just then the screams started up again upstairs, but this time, they were screams for help.
Translation:
khoroshen'kaya devochka- pretty girl
sem'ya- family
doch'- daughter
A/N: Remember when I said the next few chapters end in cliffies? Yeah, I wasn't lying. How are we feeling? Let me know what you think, and I will see you in probably a week instead of two. Later lovelies.
