SECRETS AND SPIES

Chapter Twenty-Eight

James

There are moments in your life when you can truly say 'life doesn't get much better than this'. Right now is the total opposite. My life, my business, my sanity, are imploding and I have no idea what is going to happen next. Everything that could go wrong has gone wrong and I only have myself to blame.

Li's helicopter has landed and I've nothing to give him. Carlisle has managed to kill himself without producing the device, and I can't pay back the investment money Li gave me; most of it has already gone. Laurent, who I trusted, has allegedly screwed me over. In a word or two words, I'm fucked.

My only option now is to go down the path Bella suggested and cooperate with the police in the hope I'll be able to plea bargain my way out of a life sentence. If a military unit is in the woods, I'll remind them when they arrive that I'm a civilian now so I'll surrender to this Yorkie guy and no-one else. I estimate I've got three minutes before Li walks through the door to demand what I promised. I'll have to stall him until either the cops or the army turn up which will be difficult, but this is my only chance.

One thing I'm not doing is telling Laurent my plan. He sourced the John Doe in the car; I can easily pin that on him. He'll have to explain away half a million dollars to the cops as well, which should be interesting. They already know he broke into Carlisle's house to clean out the basement which is fortunate. This could mean I could make out this was all his idea and put everything down to him. He's already done jail time so that's another plus in my favor. I spend most of my time in Atlanta so I'll claim Laurent has been running the show here and I've only just discovered what was going on. Self-preservation is my only way out of this. I just hope Yorkie picks up my call and believes my version of events. I punch in the number Bella gave me and hold my breath.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Detective Yorkie, this is James Hunter. Bella Swan gave me your number and told me you're waiting to hear from her. I need to report a serious crime. I've discovered that one of my associates is using my security company as a front for illegal activities. There's a deal about to go down so you need to get here fast."

"Okay, Mr Hunter. Sit tight. I'll get on to the right people. I saw a helicopter overhead a few minutes ago. Is that anything to do with you?"

"Yes. It's just landed. The passenger I believe is a man called Li. He may already be a person of interest to the security services. There's a good chance he may be armed."

"Thanks for the heads-up, Sir. Leave it with me. We'll be with you as soon as possible."

Yorkie hangs up and I sigh with relief. He sounded convinced so it's my word against Laurent's now. I may not be believed in Court, but anything is worth a try.

I look out towards the helicopter pad to see whether anyone has exited. The rotors are still spinning and the door hasn't opened yet which gives me time to speak to Bella to tell her I've come clean with Yorkie. Laurent and Drew have disappeared so now's the perfect opportunity as long as I'm quick. As I'm sprinting along the corridor to the room where Bella and Edward are being held, I can hear shouting coming from the basement. Victoria is probably berating that idiot, George, for allowing Carlisle to top himself but I'm not going down there to interfere.

I unlock the door with the key and try the handle but the door doesn't move. It's as though a person or something heavy is pushing against it. After shoving the door hard with my shoulder it opens a crack. Instantly I catch the scent of the forest and cool air, which tells me without looking that the windows are open and that Bella and Edward must have got out. I don't bother pushing the door any further. Holy shit! What more can go wrong tonight?

As the implications of Bella and Edward escaping to tell their tale hits home, Laurent runs up from the basement at the same time as Li and two of his minders appear at the end of the corridor. Li's face and posture look menacing as do his minders who are both carrying small semi-automatic rifles. I can't stop myself from shuddering with fear.

Before I have a chance to speak to either Laurent or Li, I hear a single gunshot coming from outside, followed by two more shots and lots of yelling. From this I guess Drew has caused tonight's body-count to rise to three. How the hell is killing Bella and Edward going to be explained away to Yorkie and whoever grabbed my security detail, I've no idea. I'll probably be dead before any of them gets here anyway.

"James," Laurent whispers.

"What!" I reply angrily.

"Carlisle isn't dead. He tried to electrocute himself but Victoria's done CPR on him and managed to get his heart going again. He's in really bad shape though. Tell Li he's had an accident in the lab and that he might be okay to fly in an hour."

I want to strangle Laurent, but holy crap! Carlisle's alive and I've just thrown the deal away and called the cops. An hour? I doubt whether I've got five minutes before the cops or the military turn up. Now Carlisle will be able to tell whoever gets here first what's been going on. What the hell am I going to do now? Bullshitting my way out of this is going to be impossible.

Yorkie

"Colonel … this is … yeah, sorry you know who this is. I've just had an interesting call from James Hunter."

Edward

When we were caught by the soldiers in the trees, if the guy holding on to my arm had put a bullet in my head my only regret would've been not having the chance to cuddle Mitzi again. My whole world crashed when I heard the guy yelling that dad had killed himself. I've been on autopilot ever since; just doing what Bella says. I can't remember getting out of the room. I know I must have climbed through the window as my right palm is pouring blood. I do remember Bella screaming at me to run and being bathed in light as shots were fired at us. Now, I'm in the forest surrounded by armed men and I've never felt so wretched. Finding out like that, that my dad is definitely dead, will tear me apart when I finally give in to my emotions. At the moment I'm numb to my grief. What's worse though is that at this precise moment I feel like a complete failure.

I still can't get my head around the fact that dad really had been alive all the time and that physically I was so close to him. I should've been able to sense he was in the villa but I didn't. The situation reminds me of the final act of Romeo and Juliet. Romeo killed himself because he was unaware that Juliet would wake from her death-like sleep just a few minutes later. If dad had only known rescue was not far away he'd still be alive now.

The soldiers who grabbed us are from Bella's old unit. They'd been hiding in the trees watching the villa and spotted us running into the woods. Both of us presumed they were Hunter's men until the one who grabbed Bella identified himself as being under 'the Colonel's' command. The relief in Bella's face was obvious and she actually started crying when she recognized the guy who grabbed me. He's talking to someone over a walkie talkie type radio at the moment and considering what's about to go down, he seems very calm. I guess he'll want us to move away from the action before it kicks off and I'm ready to do that, even though I wouldn't be averse to seeing James Hunter blasted to kingdom come.

"You can't stay here," the guy with the radio says confirming my thoughts. "Walk further into the trees. The Command Center is up the hill in a northerly direction. Stay there until we say you can come down again."

"I need to speak to the Colonel urgently," Bella says assertively. "I've important information for him."

"We already know what you want to tell him, Swan. We have an agent inside the building. The Colonel is directing operations from the Command Center so go up there now. You'll only get in the way here."

Bella doesn't look surprised at the news 'the Colonel' has someone on the inside, meaning she either already knew or has guessed who it is. This is news to me of course. Even though I'm relieved to be safe, once again I feel like I've been left in the dark.

The soldier points to my hand and speaks directly to me this time. "There's a medic and a first-aid truck up there. I'd get up there fast before you bleed to death."

I'm expecting Bella to insist that she wants to be part of the final action so I'm surprised she complies without argument. We set off through the trees, which is difficult as night has fallen quickly and it's difficult to see what we're treading on underfoot. As we're walking I notice the scent from these trees is totally different from the forest behind my cabin. There I'm surrounded by sweet-smelling evergreens. This is deciduous woodland. Compared to Colorado forests, it smells … old.

"Are those guys your biker friends?" I ask.

Bella stops walking and turns to face me. "No, but the bikers are under the Colonel's command. When did you work out who they were?"

"Less than half an hour ago, when you were with James. I want you to be straight with me now, Bella. Are you still an agent with special forces?"

"Yes, but it's not what you think. I'll tell you everything soon."

I don't respond but set off walking again. Bella runs up behind me and grabs my arm.

"What? Are you pissed with me again?"

"No, Bella. It's just … if everyone including you had been honest with me from the start, my dad might still be alive. Secrets are wicked things. You've been secretive and so has Yorkie, and before you throw it back in my face I accept I've been secretive too, and dad as well. Why the hell didn't you tell me who you were after dad died the first time or when we came back to San Francisco. My dad's dead, and now I'll never know why the hell he didn't tell me himself what was going on when he had the chance. He could've called me, not left me a fucking note?"

I set off up the hill again but Bella stops me by running in front of me and putting her hand on my chest. Instead of looking pissed with me, she looks hurt.

"I've been kept in the dark too, Edward. Not being able to tell you what little I knew has been agony, even though I'm beginning to suspect what I've been told has been lies too. I've been following orders from the Colonel. I had no alternative - you have to understand that. But I'll tell you now that I've known since the day after the funeral that the body in the car wasn't your dad's. I was bound by orders not to tell you, or to tell you who I was and who I was working for. Remember, Edward, I put it to you first that your dad could still be alive. I didn't want it to be a shock if we found him or found his body after you thought you'd buried him. You'll have to believe me though that the Colonel only told me when you were on the Headlands that he knew for certain your dad was still alive, and that he was working on the assumption your dad was in the villa. Until we heard whoever it was in the corridor shouting that your dad was dead, nobody knew for certain whether he was there or not.

I go to say something as I'm shocked that she knew about the body in the car, but Bella continues, her voice shaking with emotion which makes me feel guilty that I've criticized her, especially as she's risked her life for me.

"Look, Edward, from the moment I walked into your office with my resume, keeping you safe has been my number one priority, and it wasn't just because I was being paid to do it. I really was desperate to tell you who I was and that I was still with Special Forces, but I couldn't. Now that you know I've been bound by military orders, I can tell you my five-year term ends on June 30th which is less than two weeks away. After that I'm free. No more secrets."

The pained expression on her face is enough to convince me she's telling me the truth. I know there's more to her story but now isn't the time to be talking about the finer details of how the CIA, the Army, and the police worked together to try to find and save my dad. But as all the events of the past three weeks flash through my head, I wonder again whether saving my dad has been their number one priority all along. Was catching Hunter and whoever is funding him their primary goal all along? Is this the reason why they have the villa surrounded but haven't attacked yet? If they'd stormed the building as soon as we got there, dad could still be alive.

I can't think straight and my hand is dripping blood. Wounds don't bother me but I am starting to feel light-headed which means my blood pressure could be dropping. Bella is still staring at me waiting for a response and it would be churlish of me to accuse her of working against me after what we've been through. I need to apologize for doubting her but I can't find the right words. Instead, I pull her towards me and kiss her forehead. There are tears in her eyes and I want to kick myself for upsetting her. I owe her so much so have no right to be questioning her loyalty.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm just trying to make sense of everything and I can't. Once this is over we can talk about it, but can I say one thing to you now?"

Bella nods her head as I brush a tear away from her cheek.

"Thank you for all you've done for me. If I live to be a hundred and one, I'll never be able to repay you."

"You're welcome, Edward, but I don't want payment. All I want is for you to …"

"To what?"

"For you to say you care for me; for the real Bella."

I pull her close to me with the hand that isn't bleeding and kiss her passionately. When we break away I look directly into her eyes so she knows when I'm speaking that I'm telling the truth.

"I do care for you, Bella, because it's been obvious to me for a while that I'm falling in love with you. Believe it or not, I even love Combat Barbie Bella."

Bella smiles through her tears and kisses me back. "How about Nurse Barbie Bella? I need to get you bandaged up."

"Hmmm, Nurse Bella, now you're talking."

Bella gets hold of my arm and together we walk through the forest. I've no idea where we're going but the further we get away from the villa the safer I'll feel.

We hear the Command Center before we see it. There're at least five army trucks and two SUVs parked on a track which means there must be a large contingent of soldiers in the forest. As we come out of the trees the first people we spot are eight men in combat gear and an elderly man in a white coat. They're huddled together on the ground and being guarded by one female soldier with an assault rifle. I recognize two of the men from when they ambushed me and Bella earlier.

"Amateurs," Bella scathingly pronounces as we walk past and loud enough so they can hear her.

As we get close to the trucks the door of the first one opens. A stocky man dressed in combats who I would guess is in his late forties or early fifties, jumps out and walks towards us. Now this guy does have a Jack Nicholson vibe so I presume this is the Colonel.

"Sir," Bella says as she stands to attention and salutes him.

"At ease, Swan. Are you okay?"

"Yes and no, Sir. We need patching up. This is Edward Cullen."

"Ah, Mr. Cullen. Good God man, that does look like a bad wound … Johnson!"

A guy who I presume is Johnson jumps out the back of one of the trucks and beckons me to come over. I take it he's the medic so I walk over to get sorted. I wonder if he's got anything in the truck for a broken heart.

Bella

"I'll get my own cut sorted in a minute, Sir. Did you know that Edward's father is dead?"

"We heard something happened. We have someone on the inside."

"Drew?"

The Colonel looks genuinely surprised when I mention his name.

"Is Drew in there?"

"You mean it's not Drew?" I reply incredulously. "Who the hell is our agent then?"

"Victoria Rudolf."

"Victoria! But ... ah! So that's why she swerved the Jeep when Laurent shot at us. Holy shit!"

As the Colonel is saying Victoria's name his radio crackles into life. He jogs back to the truck and I can just make out the message coming through.

"In position, Sir. Confirm Li is inside the building. Do you want us to move in?"

"Yes, but be careful. I have new information. Drew is in there."

"Drew, Sir? Holy Fuck!"

The Colonel replaces the radio and turns to me. "Is Edward okay?"

"What do you think? He's had the shittiest of days. Did you know about the warrant for his arrest?"

"Yes. Sorry about that. It was all for show and we were counting on you getting him away somehow. We spotted two of Li's men in the area. They'd been watching the house so we guessed they'd been instructed to abduct Edward. We would've let Edward go if he'd given himself up which we were 99% sure you wouldn't let happen. The plan was for Li and Hunter to believe the heat was on Edward and not Hunter, which would make it safer for Li to go to the villa to pick up Carlisle. We weren't expecting Yorkie to help you out though. That was a stroke of luck."

"You could've warned me."

"Yes, I could. We needed you to play the part convincingly though."

"I guess I've been playing a part since day one but I've had enough of play-acting now, Sir. I've done my last job for the Service and I'm not changing my mind."

The Colonel smiles at me and turns his attention to his radio. I head for the first aid truck where Edward is pulling all sorts of faces while he's being treated. Before getting there I feel a tap on my shoulder which makes me jump. I turn around to see Yorkie grinning from ear to ear.

"How did you get here?" I ask.

"I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Great, isn't it?"

"No, it isn't great. Edward's dad is dead. Apparently, he's killed himself."

Yorkie's smile disappears instantly and he shakes his head in denial. "That's fucking tragic," he says. "Does Edward know?"

"Yes, he's devastated so go easy."

"Jesus, this is going to be a shitty mess to unpick. Hell, Bella, what've you done to your hand?"

"Our escape wasn't exactly a clean getaway."

As Yorkie and I continue walking towards the First Aid truck where I can see Johnson giving Edward what I presume is a Tetanus shot, the sound of rapid gunfire coming from the direction of the villa tells me this will soon be over.

James

Li's minders have me pinned against the wall and a gun pressed into my neck. Not surprisingly Li hasn't bought my excuse about Carlisle having a terrible accident in the lab, which means I'm unable to produce either the device or the directions on how to build one.

Li has already threatened to cut my balls off and feed them to his Pekinese if I don't give him his money back. Even if I had the money to give him there's no point. I'm sure he plans to kill me anyway. Laurent, the bastard, has dropped me in the shit as well, telling Li Carlisle won't ever cooperate, which has made Li even angrier.

Laurent is in the basement checking on the state of Carlisle. I've no idea what's going on down there but to be honest, there's no reason to keep Carlisle alive now and I guess that's what Laurent is thinking too. Why the hell did I think selling Carlisle's secrets was a good idea in the first place? I must've been fucking mad to believe I could pull this off.

My only hope for survival is that Yorkie has moved quickly after my call. I'll take being captured by the police or whichever military unit is out there now. If Li makes a run for it that's fine; as long as he doesn't take me with him. I don't want to be thrown out of a helicopter without a parachute, especially if they do it over the sea. I'd be shark food in minutes.

The blades of the helicopter haven't stopped rotating while Li has been in the house. I guess the pilot is under orders to be prepared for a quick getaway. The constant whirring should mask the arrival of whoever's in the forest, which could be good for my defense if Li is witnessed threatening me. The cops or the army will have to get past at least two more of Li's men who are on guard between the building and the helicopter which shouldn't be too difficult if there are sharp-shooters in the trees. At least I warned Yorkie Li would be armed.

"Bring Cullen up here," Li orders Laurent who has returned to the office. Laurent disappears again and Li walks over to me. He puts his face so close to mine I can smell what he had for dinner.

"What Cullen offers me, Hunter, will determine whether you live or die. Your life expectancy, how can I put this, is precarious."

I swallow hard even though I'm still hoping that Drew and Victoria will remember their training and put up some sort of fight on my behalf. If there's a gunfight, we can blame Bella and Edward's deaths on Li; claiming they were caught in the crossfire. Carlisle's too. I'm not giving up hope for my own survival until I feel the first bullet.

I can hear someone groaning in the corridor which indicates Carlisle has been dragged up the stairs. As Li turns away from me to greet him, from outside a series of gunshots ring out. At the same time, the helicopter engines roar into life which is followed by more gunshots. One of Li's men patrolling outside appears at the door, yelling something in a foreign language. His arms are in the air and his eyes are wide with shock. He takes only one step into the room where he falls flat on his face and doesn't move. When I look at his body, between his shoulder blades are a group of smoldering burn marks; evidence he's been shot at least three times.

Li's minders let go of me and dive for cover behind my desk. I launch myself at Li who I'm guessing intends to kill me now but he's too quick, even for me. He jumps backward and aims a karate kick at my head. I block him with my arm and grab hold of his foot, wrenching it sideways which knocks him off balance. Before I have a chance to attack him I feel two heavy jolts, followed by the searing heat of a bullet in my shoulder and another in my leg. Presuming I've been shot by Li's men I wait for the bullet which will finish me off and close my eyes. Instead, I hear more gunfire and smashing glass, followed by the sound of heavy running feet. When I dare to look around me the room is full of men and women in military combat gear, some of them pointing guns at me.

"Thank God you're here," I say as I collapse against the wall and then slide with my back to the wall to the floor. "Yorkie knows the whole story. I've been set up," I gasp.

"Just shut it, Hunter," one of the female soldiers says and I can hear the contempt in her voice. "We know what's been going on so don't even try to wriggle your way out of this one. It'll only make things worse for you."

"Which one of you shot me," I ask. "It would be better if you finish me off now."

"I did," a familiar voice says from the corridor. I can't see her, but I recognize her voice straight away and I'm confused.

"Victoria?"

She appears in the room and looks down at me with hate in her eyes.

"Yes, James. It was me. I could've killed you but I want to see you stand trial. You're an evil bastard and a disgrace to the service and everything I thought you stood for. Death would be the easy way out."

"But …"

"I never left the military, James. I'm a plant. So is Bella I'm guessing. I agreed to do this because I didn't believe you'd sink so low. I actually wanted to prove to Colonel Henderson that he was wrong for once, but I was the one who was wrong. I've been watching your every move for the past year and you disgust me. So take a good look around you, James. This is your chance to say goodbye to the outside world. I doubt whether you'll ever see it again."

"Laurent?"

"Laurent's dead. He was shot trying to escape, not by me though. Did you know he stitched you up for the half-million dollars? The Colonel told me the Cartel who you worked for were the guys Laurent offloaded the Miami drugs to before he was jailed. He was just getting the money he lost back. And another thing, the Colonel told me he's sure Laurent told Li about the laboratory in South Africa? He would've shafted you on this job too. Anyway, enough of the small talk, James. We've a man here who needs to be reunited with his son."

I watch Li being bundled out of the room along with his minders who are uninjured. Li is trying to claim he's the victim of a set-up, but if I'm going down I'll ensure Li goes down with me. I still have evidence of the small part I played in the theft of the missile plans and as I've got nothing to lose, I'm going to sing like a fucking canary.

I've already lost a lot of blood and I'm feeling dizzy. My blood pressure must be dropping so I close my eyes and rest. My injuries aren't life-threatening so I'm not worried that I'm going to die. Listening to voices talking above my head I hear that medics are on the way after which I'll be helicoptered out of here to a hospital.

The last thing that registers before I'm hauled away is someone walking past me and then cries of anguish, or is it joy? I hope that Edward has found his father. To be honest, if that's so, I'm relieved.

Edward

My hand has stopped bleeding after Johnson expertly cleaned, taped and bandaged it before turning his attention to Bella's injury. Her hand isn't bleeding as much as mine even though her cut looks just as bad. My palm stings like hell where Johnson sprayed antiseptic on the wound and my arm throbs where he jabbed me with a tetanus shot, but considering what we've been through, we've both been lucky to get away with relatively minor injuries.

Yorkie came over to me while Bella was being treated and said how sorry he was that I'd lost my dad so tragically. I couldn't respond. I'm still in a state of shock.

I've already grieved for dad once. To be truthful, I'm still grieving from when he died the first time. That's a weird thing to say. So the emotions I'm experiencing are not the same as when I got the early-morning call almost three weeks ago. Now, I'm just fucking angry that we were so close to rescuing him and that he was unaware I was probably less than thirty yards away from him. I feel cheated more than anything else.

Yorkie seemed genuinely gutted we weren't in time and told me he felt partially responsible. This is over and above his fury at the police's involvement in a conspiracy to hide the truth from me. He said he felt betrayed by the people he looked up to even though from what I've gleaned from Bella, higher forces than his immediate superiors were in charge of the whole operation. I think when Yorkie calms down, his anger will come from being 'used' rather than betrayed.

Who I'm angry with is a question I can't answer at the moment. Until I find out all there is to know about the involvement of the police, the CIA, and Special Forces, I can't decide where to channel my anger. I believe that time will come, which will probably be when someone is brave enough to give me the reason why I was kept in the dark for so long. Now isn't the time to ask questions. When I'm well enough to think coherently, a room full of Jack Nicholsons is not going to stop me from tearing into whoever decided to do this to me and dad.

I try to blot out the fact that my dad's body is in the villa only a few hundred yards away from where I'm standing and that I'd been so close to him during his final minutes. It's impossible though. While I'm waiting for Bella to be patched up, I think about the repercussions from dad's second death which are going to be seismic when the story gets out, which it inevitably will. There's no way this is going to be covered up as the legal issues concerning dad's first death will be dragged through the highest court in California. If James survives the attack and stands trial, everything will be out in the open, including the 'authorities', whoever they are, allowing a fake funeral to take place.

The gunfire has stopped now. I can hear shouts coming from the direction of the villa and the Colonel is not giving orders over the radio anymore. At least twenty soldiers have already come back to the trucks and are chattering among themselves. They're in a good mood so I can take from this that no-one from their unit has been injured which is a relief. I don't want any more deaths on my conscience tonight.

"What now?" I ask Bella when Johnson has finished with her.

"I'm not sure. I'll have to be de-briefed at some point, only I can't believe the Colonel will want to do that tonight. Your cell phone is in James's office so I'll try and get it back before we leave."

"I want to see dad's body," I say assertively. "I need to know how he died before we leave here."

"Okay," Bella says and kisses me on the cheek. "I'll go see the Colonel. I don't think that's too much to ask."

Bella wanders over to the Colonel's truck where I see a lot of head-nodding happening. Bella beckons me to come so Yorkie and I walk over.

"The Colonel will drive us down there but we have to go now."

"Why the rush?"

"Don't know. Don't argue. Just get in the truck."

I clamber into the front with the Colonel while Bella and Yorkie get in behind. The Colonel switches the radio off and smiles at me. "You feeling okay now?" he asks.

"No. The opposite really. I just need to get this over with. To be truthful, I've never seen a dead body before. I couldn't bear to look at my mother's when she passed, but I was a kid then."

The Colonel doesn't reply. I'm sure he's seen many dead bodies over the years. I'm glad I'm not him.

We set off down the track to a place where we're able to turn around and head back towards the road. As we're driving, I wonder what the neighbors must be thinking. For a few minutes, it sounded like World War Three had started in the forest so there's no way hundreds of people in the immediate area wouldn't have heard what was going on.

As we make our way down the narrow track towards the villa, other than the presence of the helicopter which is now lifeless, at first I can see no evidence of what happened less than fifteen minutes ago until I spot a body close to the building and another one near the trees. I don't say anything to Bella but the second one is definitely Laurent's. I truly hope James has met the same fate as that dreadlocked asshole and is lying in a pool of his own blood. It will save me from killing him.

As we pull up by the doors to James's office, the Colonel turns to me. I'm sure he hasn't read my mind but he answers my question.

"Edward, Hunter is in that room. I guess you want to kill him and I wouldn't blame you for that, just don't, please. He's been shot, but not fatally. Even so, he's not going anywhere anytime soon. I doubt whether he'll see the light of day for the next thirty years, so let the courts deal with him. Understood?"

I nod my head in agreement even though I've no clue how I'm going to walk past him without attacking him verbally or physically.

"Okay, let's go now," the Colonel says and switches off the engine.

My heart is thumping so hard when I get out of the truck, I can feel it against my chest wall. My breath is coming in short shallow gasps. When I walk through the door into James's office, I spot him slumped on the floor with his back to the wall. His shirt and pants are covered in blood and his eyes are closed, although I'm certain he's not asleep or unconscious. If he was a real man he'd look me in the eye. Bastard!

Bella puts her arm through mine and pulls me across the room. As we walk along the corridor towards the basement steps I'm feeling sick with anxiety about what I'm going to see. Did dad hang himself, or shoot himself, or overdose? I've absolutely no idea how he ended his life and I don't think I'm mentally prepared to take in what happened. I'm about two paces from the stairs when I stop dead.

"I can't do it," I say to Bella. "I'm too angry to deal with this now. Let's go."

Before Bella has the chance to answer me, I hear my name being called from the direction of the kitchen. It's a man's voice, but no-one else here knows me well enough to call me Edward. I'm confused. Am I hearing voices, because it sounded like dad's voice, but it couldn't be him? Are my emotions playing tricks on me or is someone playing a joke?

"Edward?"

I walk forward two paces. Bella lets go of my arm and I walk forward another two. My legs feel as though they are going to give way underneath me. Before I reach the kitchen a tall, thin man appears, framed perfectly in the doorway.

It's him. It's my dad. Oh dear God.

I fall into his arms and cling to him, probably much too tightly. I'm sobbing. He's sobbing. I can hear Bella behind me and she's in bits as well. If nothing anywhere near as good happens to me again during my time on Earth, I won't complain. A lifetime of happiness is inside me at this moment.

Relax everyone.

To be fair, most of you didn't believe Carlisle was dead. He did genuinely try to kill himself though and LBJ/George and the guard thought he was dead, but thankfully he didn't succeed. Anyway, I couldn't kill off Carlisle, could I? (Even though I was tempted). It's Christmas - we should all be happy! Wahoooooo!

In the next chapter, you'll find out what has really been going on behind the scenes. Will the Colonel tell Edward the truth now? He certainly deserves to hear it after what he's been through.

Have a great weekend,

Joan x