Summary: Isabella lived a perfect life with her husband until the abuse started. With the death of her mother, she may have just been given life changing gift: a way out. But with it comes a whole new world that she may not be ready to face. Maybe with the help of her green-eyed savior. Mafia, Crime, Abuse, Hurt/Comfort.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Stephanie Meyers owns characters but the plot is of my original work.

Enjoy!

Chapter 21: Start Part 2

I was staying at the FSC Tower when the storm hit New York. It was just a few days shy of the New Year's ball, but I needed to take care of a lot of paperwork before officially signing off for the rest of the year. After three hours of non-stop meetings, I bid my secretary goodbye. I headed to the elevator to grab some food at the Italian restaurant downstairs.

As I waited, the lights flickered. I busied myself with replying to a text that Emmett had sent me earlier. It seemed that Rosalie had a false alarm today. She was a little overdue with her pregnancy, but to be honest, I think she's holding off for as long as she can so she doesn't miss the party. Then my thoughts once again strayed to things that weren't healthy for me. Luckily, Emmett responded, and I blinked out of my daze.

Bro, I'm starting to think you're right. -Emmett

The elevator dinged, and I blindly entered.

I laughed and replied.

Of course, I'm always right. –Edward

When I looked up from my phone screen, I felt her first before I saw her. Being around her, there was always an electric current present. It was either my body warning me to stay away or that…I don't know. I didn't have any explanation for this feeling.

"Fuck," I cursed.

Then, everything happened all at once. I tried to open my mouth to say something else, but instead, the elevator rattled. A piercing noise came from above, and the cart shook harder. From my peripheral vision, I saw Bella slam against the wall and fall to the ground. At the same time, I saw dust coming down from the ceiling. Acting on instinct, I covered her tiny body with mine. She was so soft, so small between my arms, and so warm. She felt so delicate but also so right—as if my arms were made for her. I felt dust particles falling on my skin, and I looked at the ceiling to make sure nothing heavy was going to fall. Luckily, the vibrations in the cabin didn't break anything apart.

The other thing I noticed about Bella was her scent.

Her head was tucked under me, and I could smell her hair. During the most inappropriate time to lust after a woman, I took a deep sniff of her strawberry scented shampoo. No, not strawberry… maybe freesias. Or both?

All of this happened in a span of thirty seconds. When it ended, I regretfully pried my body away from hers and made sure she was okay. As suspected, the elevator broke down when the power went out. Considering I work here and the fact that I practically grew up running around these halls, elevator malfunctions have happened before. Somehow, I think that this is fate giving me another chance with Bella and I took it. I apologized to her like a real man, and I explained everything to her.

The one thing I noticed was that although Bella was open and friendly, she obviously had a very dark secret. She had the ability to seem like such an open book, yet at the same time, she was hiding a huge part of herself not just from me, but maybe even the rest of the family. Every piece falling into place, and I was starting to understand why Uncle Charlie did what he did. Why everything suddenly revolved around her.

We were stuck in the elevator for a couple hours, and during this time, Bella fell asleep. For once, I was thankful that New York was in the middle of a severe snowstorm. I hoped that we'd just stay here for a little longer, so that I could spend more time with her. But of course, the maintenance crew eventually came and rescued us.

I told Uncle Charlie I was leaving to take care of more paperwork and he patted me gently on the shoulder. My hunger became the least of my worries, and I locked myself in my hotel room for the rest of the night. I couldn't believe how easily she weaseled her way into my life. I hated that she was constantly running through my mind…that she controlled me without even knowing it.

I knew that the only appropriate opportunity I had to see her again was at the New Year's Eve party. Shamefully, I didn't want to make it obvious to her that I wanted her. Jasper was right; something about Bella just screamed purity, and I couldn't ever imagine anyone harming such a soul.

"Rose, take it easy," Emmett pulled me from my thoughts as I watched him carefully guide her down the stairs. She, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine but the adoration at her husband's care was evident on her face.

"I expect you'll be on your best behavior tonight, Edward," Alice said as she came up behind me. She stood in front of me and helped to adjust my tie.

"When am I not?" I joked.

She gave me a knowing look before moving onto Jasper to fix his tie.

"Shame Bella won't be with us tonight," she said.

My head snapped to face her, but I composed myself before asking, "Why not?"

She shrugged her shoulder. I narrowed my eyes and looked at Emmett who happened to hear this part of our conversation. As her big brothers, we knew when Alice was lying or trying to keep something from us.

"What do you mean?" Emmett asked as he mimicked her shoulder shrug.

"I don't know," she said sweetly and focused more on Jasper's tie. His lips twitched, and I knew for sure that fucker knew why.

"Well, I hope Bella will be fine," Rose said.

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Really?" I scoffed. "I doubt you think that, ice princess."

She lifted her chin indignantly and glared at me. "I was just about to tell you where Bella was tonight," she said smugly.

"I don't care where she is tonight," I lied.

"Oh please," Rose laughed ruefully. "We all know about your boner for Bella."

My eyes snapped to Jasper and Emmett, and they shook their heads in response.

"Don't look at me," Jasper said. Emmett nodded in agreement.

"No one told me," Rose said as she calmly rubbed her stomach. "I can see it. You don't make it a secret. It's obvious on your face."

"Whatever," I huffed and left the room.

I have been in a constant state of wanting to be with her and staying away from her. My mind couldn't make a decision, and so I ran outside for a stress reliever. I bent over the railing and smoked one, then two, and then three cigarettes. When the glass door behind me slid open, I turned around and saw Charlie. I internally groaned because not five seconds ago, I was thinking about undressing his daughter.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

Charlie was gentle when it came to us Cullen kids. He was ruthless when it came to business, but he always had a gentle nature when it came to family. It seems redundant to say it or even think about it, but Charlie valued family more than anything. Money, business, and guns didn't matter to him if his family was in danger.

"Just been cooling off at home," I said. I pointed at my bruised face and held up my bandaged arm to prove what I said was true.

He nodded his head. "You know how I feel about you and Jacob," he said. "I understand you both are grown ups and can handle personal business on your own. But when it comes in the way of business, dangerous business, it matters because someone can get hurt."

"I respect your decision always, Uncle," I started. "But a lot happened between Jacob and I that's way beyond repair. We've mutually agreed to stay out of each other's way from then on out. He doesn't like me as much as I don't like him. Don't get me wrong, in the end, Jacob and I are still on the same team. We both want to protect this family, but we have too much history together."

Uncle Charlie sighed but he nodded his head again. "I just wish you boys would work it out," he said. "It's been three years."

"I don't think there's enough time in the world to heal what happened," I said.

"All right," he conceded.

"What happened to Sam anyway?" I asked.

"As you know, my daughter lives with me now. I've assigned Sam as head of her security team along with a couple of the other guys," he explained. "I'm afraid you'll see Jacob more often than not. He's back as head of my security detail."

"You sent him to shadow Bella, huh?" I guessed.

He nodded. "She was in a foreign country for months," he said as a matter of fact. "Bella chewed me out for that bit already. But did she really expect me to let her loose just like that? I already lost her mother …I'm not about to lose the one thing that keeps me alive."

X

I told Charlie I wasn't feeling a public appearance tonight with my current condition and I headed to my car to call Sam. It didn't feel right that Bella was spending New Year's Eve alone, no matter what her reasons were. In an hour, the party would start, and no one should spend a night like this alone.

"Mr. Cullen," Sam answered. His voice sounded strained.

"Where is your security team tonight?" I asked.

He seemed to hesitate before answering. "We're currently searching for Ms. Swan."

My blood turned cold.

"What the hell does that mean, Sam?"

"She was at the bookstore for hours. We did a couple of rounds around the perimeter, and when we came back, her car was gone. I just spoke to her," he explained. "But the phone call dropped. She's in danger…men were following her."

My foot instinctively pressed harder on the gas pedal as I hopped on the highway. "Where the hell are you?" I growled into the phone.

"Hewlett Harbor," he said. "She's on foot, and we're on the move."

"You better hope you find her," I said and hung up.

Without any regards to traffic laws, I weaved between cars and pushed my car faster than I've ever driven. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the fear running through my body knowing that Bell could get hurt ... She couldn't matter this much to me.

Could she?

Does she?

Does she really matter this much? Without knowing anything about her beyond the fact that she's running away from her past and that she's Charlie's daughter? Or that I've pissed her off more than I should have and that I was only forced to apologize because we got stuck together in an elevator? That my whole family apparently loves her already yet at the same time, she's as much of a stranger to us than the next person. Or was that just to me?

The thirty-minute drive from my parent's house to Hewlett was cut down to ten minutes. I turned down every street I could find. Even drove past the bookstore she was probably at all day; drove past tall buildings and an empty parking garage. I didn't stop until, from the corner of my eye, I saw dark figures down a wide alley.

I put the car in reverse, and my tires squealed as I drove closer. My high beams blinded the men surrounding the small shivering figure enough that they moved away from her. With my heart pounding heavily in my chest, I got out of the car and patted my gun in my holster. My vision turned red when I found Bella pushed to the ground, bleeding

Everything happened fast.

I was outnumbered once again and then someone was dead. I focused my attention instead on Bella, knowing that her security team had arrived and would take care of everything else. I walked toward her and cradled her tiny face in my hands. She was shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself as she stared off into space.

It took me a second to get her to focus on me. I don't think she was completely coherent, but when she saw me, recognition flashed in her eyes, and she latched onto me. A sigh of relief escaped my body, thanking whatever god was out there that she was safe.

X

"Isabella doesn't want to kill him," Uncle Charlie said as he stood in front of Royce King's limp body. "I'll respect her wishes and so will all of you." He eyed Jasper, Emmett, Sam, Jacob, and me. "That doesn't mean he'll be let off easy. He'll wish he was dead."

Emmett rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Uncle Charlie wanted to make life hell for Royce, considering the gravity of his actions, he deserved it.

"Emmett, not you," Uncle said, which earned a groan from Emmett. "Go home to Rosalie. She's due very soon and you getting bloodied won't be good."

He sighed, slumping his shoulder, but followed orders.

As much as I wanted to join in on the festivities, I had to leave. Personally, I didn't have the self-control not to kill Royce. An overwhelming amount of emotion ran through my body—most of which I've only experienced once before in my life. I wanted to stay away from Bella because this wasn't healthy anymore.

Bella is too pure…and so fragile. After finding out the story of her past, knowing she was hurt so badly before, I couldn't guarantee I wouldn't do the same. What if I can't give Bella what she wants? What if I hurt her more than James?

James…

If I ever get my hands on that slimy bottom feeder, I wouldn't be able to decide if I would give him a slow painful death or a quick snap of his neck. No, a slow painful death but even that wouldn't surpass the pain he must have put Bella through. Although she spared me the details, knowing he was an abusive husband was enough to paint a pretty gruesome picture. I've never wanted to kill anyone in my entire life more than I wanted to kill James. It's taking so much control to stay put and not hop on the next plane to Chicago.

If I did that, Bella wouldn't be safe. It would out her and would put her in more danger than she already is. At this moment, the only thing I can do is protect her from afar. I would stay away from her but still be near her. Even though that didn't make sense in my brain.

I was glad to see Bella at the hospital before I left for my trip to Greece. It was the usual check-up one of us made periodically throughout the year. To scope out Uncle Charlie's property and meet up with the employees we had stationed there. I used to love traveling back and forth, but after a while, you get tired of the same thing over and over again.

Now, I had a reason to stay home.

I never knew what was going to come out next from Bella's mouth. She was just so witty and interesting and not superficial. Everything about her was so genuine, and this is just coming from the five or six times I've spoken directly to her. Her spunk fueled me. I could only imagine if I had the opportunity to get to know her. If life weren't so complicated, I would have pursued her—there's no doubt about it.

I spent a week in Greece, and I was glad for the space between us. It helped clear my head for a while. With all the emotions running through me and not knowing how to take care of them, I was beyond exhausted. I stayed an extra day to look around the bars in town and took a woman back with me to my hotel. After she had left, an overwhelming sense of guilt and emptiness weighed heavily on my heart.

I felt like I was cheating.

When I arrived back home, I was ordered to go to my parent's house for a family dinner to see baby Bellie. Emmett told me to call her that despite what Rosalie said. I loved to annoy the shit out of her, so I told Emmett that Bellie was perfect. I arrived earlier than expected but due to time zones, my sleeping pattern was out of whack. I greeted my mother before telling her I was going to nap throughout most of the day.

I woke up five hours later from the sounds coming from downstairs. When I checked the clock, dinner was going to start in an hour. I made sure to remind myself to thank Esme for letting me sleep in just a little bit more. I hopped in the shower and got dressed as quickly as I could. I didn't even bother fixing my hair and just shook out the dampness. I grabbed my phone off the bedside table and headed out the door.

One second I was rubbing the sleep out of my eye and the next, my body crashed against something soft and warm. I reached out my arms instinctively to catch her before she touched the ground. Then time stopped still, and I marveled at how perfect she felt in my arms. I thought back to the elevator and how her presence felt so inviting. As if I waited my whole life to cherish this woman.

I held onto her for too long. I stared into her eyes too intensely, and I must have made her feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, her body was flush against mine, and when she wiggled, her leg rubbed against my groin. Her fucking leg gave me a boner and I felt like a puny high school kid all over again. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply hoping to make the straining in my pants disappear. But her scent aroused me further. She wiggled again, and I begged her to stop moving.

Then she was gone from my arms.

And I turned back to my room and jacked off for the next fifteen minutes.

X

Something in Bella changed after our run-in at my parent's house. She didn't look at me for the rest of that night, and I was sure it was because she felt me. I smacked myself because that was the last thing she needed right now ... a man drooling after her. Not with the pressing matters on hand anyway.

In fact, it wasn't just that night that she stayed away from me. I hovered around my parent's house the next day hoping she would come by and I even visited my sister's studio, considering they were best friends. But she vanished. I should've been grateful that she made it easier to stay away, but it didn't satisfy the aching in my heart.

Why did I miss someone who meant nothing to me?

Was she nothing?

Could I really call Bella that?

Luckily, I was busy with work yet again. Throughout the whole week, I was able to keep thoughts of Bella at bay. I was stationed at home for the most part, and I stopped trying to run into her. On one of those days, Jasper and I cornered Jun, Huan's twin brother, in the city and paid him a lesson. I never really liked that Chang's anyway—they were manipulative and money hungry. Uncle Charlie made it clear he didn't want to do business with them anymore. This morning, I had a meeting with Charlie, and towards the end of our conversation, his assistant came in the room.

"Mr. Swan, I'm so sorry to interrupt," she apologized. "He's downstairs again."

Uncle Charlie's face darkened, and I swear he growled, "Call security and have him escorted out. I'll make arrangements to take care of it by tonight," he said.

"Yes, Mr. Swan," she said and left the room quickly.

"What happened?" I asked.

He held up a hand for me to wait as he pressed his ear against in phone. A second later, someone answered, and Uncle Charlie said, "Jenks, draft a restraining order for James Witherdale. I want this expedited—no later than tomorrow morning." He waited for a response, and then slammed his phone down on the desk.

My vision clouded as I said, "James is here?" He nodded. When I jumped out of my seat, Uncle Charlie commanded me to sit back down. I looked at him in disbelief. "James is downstairs, and we aren't doing anything about it? Uncle Charlie, Bella told me."

"As much I was want to wrap my hands around that motherfucker's neck," he said. "We can't. James is a solid figure in the community, and he has connections too. If we stir up something, it can open up a new can of worms. Until I figure out how to take care of James without making new enemies, he's untouchable."

"But a restraining order isn't stirring up something?"

"The restraining order will only detail the fact that we've pulled out of Witherdale Industries and James is bombarding our building. Nothing will tie back to Bella because to the public eye, the separation of the two companies was based purely on business purposes. Keep in mind that James doesn't know Bella is alive," he said. "For now, Bella is safe."

"For now," I repeated.

When I left after our meeting, I had an overwhelming need to see Bella. To make sure she was okay but it was better off that she wasn't anywhere near me right now. I can't imagine what I'd say or do after finding out that James is within proximity of her. I went down the elevator and into the parking lot. When I drove out of the garage, I made the mistake of looking around for James. Sure enough, I was just in time to see him get thrown out of the building. I parked the car on the street and got out. My feet moved without thinking, and before I knew it, I was within arm's reach of the man I hated the most in the world.

"Laurent," he growled into the phone. "Figure out a way for me to get into FSC." Then he waited for a response before saying, "I don't care what it takes. Get me into Charlie Swan's office. Now!" James turned around and saw me standing beside him. "What are you looking at?" he seethed.

I studied every inch of his face, the color of his eyes, and ugly way his blond hair covered his forehead. I bore my eyes into his, communicated the pure hatred I had for him, and then relaxed into a fake smile. "Nothing, man," I said. "Just going to work." I pointed in the building.

He glared at me once more before storming down the street.

If only he knew who I was.

If only he knew the things I did.

If only I could do something.

X

I went home later that day and decided to work out. As I left the house, I ran into Bella. My breath hitched when I saw her condition. I hadn't thought about the consequences it might have on her with James in town. Somehow, she had grown thinner, and she had dark circles under her eyes.

"What happened to you?" I asked, trying so hard to keep my temper leveled.

I wanted to find James and murder him the moment I saw how bad Bella's health deteriorated. Nothing would make her feel any safer than knowing James was taken care of—whether he was behind bars or six feet under.

"Never mind," I growled and bolted out of the room.

I didn't end up working out and instead visited Jasper at his house. He sensed that something was wrong but knew better than to ask. I just sat next to him in his living room and watched television like a normal person. It had been a while since I did something as simple as watch TV and it helped stray my thoughts. When I went home, it was dark and my parents were already in bed. I rummaged around for something to eat before an ear-piercing cry shattered my heart.

I dropped whatever I was doing and went up the stairs two at a time. I followed the sound of her whimpers down the hall until I was standing outside her door. I knocked and called out to her, but she didn't answer to me.

"No!" she screamed once again.

I couldn't breathe. What if James was in there? I twisted the knob and breathed a sigh of relief when it was unlocked. When I entered the room, I found her writhing in bed. As I got closer, her face was twisted in pain and tears streamed down her face. I grabbed her shoulder gently, to wake her from her sleep.

"Bella," I whispered. "Please."

Her beautiful brown eyes opened, and she reached out and pulled me close to her. The sobs that wracked through her tiny body broke me. The way she clung onto me wasn't enough to bring her closer to me. I realized then that I'd always want this. I'll always want Bella in my arms—it was the only way I knew for sure she was safe.

"I'm tired of staying away from you," I told her.

Her tiny hands were still wrapped tightly around my arm and as she fell deeper into her slumber, the harder I fell for her too.

This chapter has been edited by SunflowerFran. Thank You!

4/13/2018