I am sooooooooooooooo sorry for how late I am uploading this story. My life is crazy hectic and I'm just low on motivation to do anything. Thank you to all those who have continued to read and review. I hope you like this chapter! As always, I sadly don't own Twilight and all that jazz. I'll see you at the bottom!
I hear a second gunshot, another person cry out, and feel the weight of a body fall on top of me. I pause, listening for anything else. All I hear is a man's voice mumbling in a foreign language and a grunt in pain above me. I push the person off me and grab my gun, ready to defend myself. I see one of the perps on the ground holding his shoulder. I jump up and kick his gun away from him. I swiftly kick him in the side and he cries out in pain. As he does so, he rolls over on his side. I grab his right arm and fight for control of the left. Once I have both of his arms pinned, I zip tie them together. I stand, kicking him once more and grab my phone.
"Sam, Quil, and Embry. Two men down. Get here now." I bark into the phone and walk back over to my men.
Paul was still out like a light and Jacob was clutching the side of his chest. I quickly strip out of my shirt and help him sit up, pressing it into the wound.
"You are so stupid Jacob." I mumble, applying more pressure to the wound, blood covering my hands.
"It's my job Bell. I can't let you die." He coughs out, his eyes glassy as he looks at me. I hear the door near us fling open.
"Bella?!" Sam yells.
"Over here!" I call and shortly after that, the three of them show up.
"Fuck what happened here?" Embry asks, taking in the scene.
"Quil and Embry you take Paul to the van first. Sam help me with Jacob. Once you two are done, take that asswipe over there to the club. Keep him alive. I need answers." I order and they all immediately react.
Sam comes over to me and squats down. "How you want to do this boss?" He asks softly, looking at me with sadness filling his eyes.
"Let's see if he can walk. If not we carry him." I say and we both try to help him stand.
"Fuckkkk" Jacob cries out in agony as we move him to stand. I look at Sam and nod. We brace ourselves and lift Jake with our arms around his back and under his knees. I struggle to hold his form but push through the pain, walking to the van.
"Damn Jake you need a fucking diet." I grumble and Sam laughs, agreeing with me. I feel Jake tug at my ponytail and glare at him.
"Don't tease me. I took a bullet for you." He mumbles and starts to close his eyes.
"No you don't. Wake up!" I yell and we set him down on the back of the van. We scoot him back so he is next to Paul.
"Sam you drive. I'll keep the pressure on the wound and make the call." He nods and we hop in the van. The car with the other two pulls out and we follow them.
"You got to stay awake Jake." I say softly and I move so I am sitting next to him. I pull out my phone and dial my father's number. It rings for a second before he answers.
"Swan." He barks out.
"Call Dr. Banner and wake Seth. We have two men down, one hit." I call out and Jake groans at the pressure.
"Fuck!" Charlie yells. "ETA?" He asks and I can hear him running down the hall. I look out the window.
"20 at the most. Have someone ready as soon as we get there. Jacob has lost a lot of blood." I hang up and look at my dear friend. I tear up and wipe m face, probably smearing his blood across my cheeks.
"You are going to be okay Jake. You can't leave me like this." I hold his with my free one and look into his dark eyes.
It's quiet for the rest of the ride besides my occasional sniffle of tears and his groans in pain. We breeze through security and pull into the garage. Once the vehicle is parked the back door flies open. Seth and my father are there with a gurney. I help them shift Jacob onto the stretcher and rush into the house with Seth while Sam and my Dad get Paul out.
"What happened?" Seth asks as we rush to the medical faculty we have in the house.
"We thought it was all over and I was checking on Paul. Some guy was hiding and tried to take me out but Jake stepped in front of me." I saw with tears in my eyes. I don't even notice all the Cullens watching us rush past them. We get into the operating room and move him to the operation table.
"I can't do much till Banner is here. He's about 5 minutes out. I can prep him for surgery though." Seth says and hands me a knife. "Get his shirt off while I get him hooked up to an IV. "
I cut open Jacob's shirt and pull it from his body as much as I can without hurting him. I see Seth sterilizing Jake's arm before entering needle into it.
'Fuck." Jake hisses and I grab his other hand, squeezing it softly.
"You would complain about a needle while being shot." I chuckle and brush the hair from his face, trying to calm both him and myself.
Seth continues to set things up while barking out instructions to me. Eventually Dr. Banner walks in and Seth fills him in while I am ushered out of the room.
I slide down the wall by the door and pull my phone out, dialing the person I was dreading talking to. It rang a few times before a tired feminine voice answers.
"Hello?" She says, clearly been awaken from deep sleep.
"Ness it's Bella." I say softly, a single tear running down my cheek. I hear ruffling as she sits up.
"Bella what's wrong? Why are you calling so late?" I hear the fear and confusion in her voice.
"I'm so sorry Ness but Jake was shot. He's in surgery now, but he lost a lot of blood." I hear her sob on the other side and it breaks my heart. Another tear slips down my cheeks and I lean my head on my knees.
"I'll have someone come get you. I don't know when he will get out of surgery but I know he will want to see you." I say softly.
It's silent besides her sniffs and I hear a quiet "Okay. I'll pack a bag."
"I'll call your father in the morning and explain the situation. I'll make sure you get some time off. I'll see you in a little bit." I hang up the phone and sit there for a while, my mind replaying the night.
"Boss" Sam says softly. I look up at him and see the sadness in his eyes. "Charlie wants a rundown of tonight."
I nod and take his outreached hand to help me off the floor. I hold my emotions together and walk back towards the living room to fill in my Dad.
As I walk into the room, I see the Cullen's are awake and sitting in the living room with my father. The ladies are speaking to each other while the man are speaking with my father. My father notices my arrival to the room and stands.
"Bella what happened?' He says softly and walks over to me, taking my hands in his. My father has never been a very affectionate man, but he can read me like a book.
"It was a normal patrol. Everything seemed fine but then we were ambushed. Jake and I were fine until we found Paul knocked out. That is when someone tried to shoot me, Jake jumped in front of me, taking the bullet. We thought everyone was down. This one guy was hiding and we have him locked up now. I just don't understand. It's like someone knew we were going to be there and who was going. Why would someone want to kill me? No one knows who I am except..." I trailed off and looked over at the Cullens.
A switch flipped in my brain.
"YOU! It was one of your fucking men wasn't it Cullen!? Where you hoping to take me out and destroy my family? Did you think that you could swoop in and take over once I was gone? Fuck am I really that terrible of an arranged bride that you want to fucking murder me," I scream as stalk towards Edward. Edward looks at me in shock, confusion written across his face.
"I'm going to fucking kill you." Before I can swing at him, two large arms wrap around me, holding me down.
"Let me fucking go Sam!" I scream and struggle to get out his arms.
"Isabella ti controlla! Che tipo di capo sei?!" (Isabella control yourself. What kind of Boss are you?) My father shouts. I glare at him and growl as I'm continue to be held down.
"Sorry your friend was hurt but my family had nothing to do with it. I was told today we were coming here and would never but a hit like that on another family, especially a women. But what the fuck are you talking about arranged bride. I'm not marrying anyone." Edward states and looks between my father and his. His voice is hard. I can tell he is pissed but he keeps his emotions controlled, while I'm a raging lunatic.
Sam's grip loosens and I throw an elbow into his sides. He groans and I'm able to get out of his hold.
"If he dies, someone will pay." I snarl and stalk out of the room. I get up to my room and slam the door, locking it up tight. I scream and throw a lamp across the room. As it shatters, I look at the broken glass. The anger I feel shifts to sadness and I break down in tears.
Jake didn't deserve this. He was a good man. My best friend. He wanted more than to die because some punk wanted to kill me. I wasn't worth it. He's already bought a ring and was going to propose to Ness. Poor Ness. The one female friend I have will despise me for the rest of my life.
As I sobbed on the floor by the door, I hear a quiet knock.
"Go away!" I scream.
"Isabella please let me in." I hear Esme call softly. "I just want to help you get cleaned up."
I look down and see I'm still shirtless and bloody. I move to flip the lock on the door, still sitting on the ground. I curl into a ball and wait for her to come in. I heard the door open and close softly and her crouch down next to me.
"I'm so sorry about Jacob" She says and runs her hands through my hair. I flinch at the contact at first but slowly become comfortable with her touch.
"How about we get you cleaned up and then to bed? It is still quiet early in the morning and when Jacob wakes up he is going to need his friend." I look up at her and see pure love and compassion in her eyes.
I nod and slowly get up off the floor. We walk to the bathroom and she starts the shower for me.
"I would normally recommend a bath but I think we need you clean before you relax." She says and looks at the dried blood covering my arms and chest. "Where are your towels love?" She ask.
"Right there." I say pointing to the closet in my bathroom.
"Well you get in and I'll lay out your towels. I'll be in your room if you need any help love." She says and steps out to give me some privacy.
I slip off my clothes and walk into my shower. I stand under the spray, feeling numb. I see the water is tainted red. I grabbed my soap and scrubbed my skin to the point it was almost raw. I quickly washed my hair and rinsed it.
I turned off the water and stepped out, seeing two fluffy towels on the counter. I wrapped one around my head and one around my body. I walked out of the bathroom to get a change of clothes and saw Esme sitting at the foot of my bed.
"You are still here?" I ask and walk into my clothes. I slip on a pair of black shorts and one of Jake's old shirts I stole. I walk back into my room and sit at my vanity.
"Of course dear. I said I would wait for you to get out. Now how about I braid your hair and then you get some sleep." She says and grabs my brush, starting to run it though my hair.
I sit in silence as she starts to braid my hair. I don't really know how to respond.
"You have such beautiful long hair Isabella." Esme says almost to herself.
"Thank you." I pause. "My mom loved long hair and always made sure my hair was perfect. She would braid it every night before bed when I was a kid."
I see her smile sadly at me, remembering that I my mother has been gone for a while now.
"Well she is right. Long hair is beautiful. I was so sad when Alice cut her hair, but it suits her. The boys call her a pixie because of it and her height." She giggles and wraps a hairband around the end of the braid. "There you are love. All done. Now let's get you into bed." I stand and walk over to my bed, getting into it.
"Goodnight Isabella." She says once I am under the covers.
"Goodnight." I reply back and she turns to leave my room.
"Esme" I call. She turns to look at me, hand on the doorknob. "Thank you."
"You are more than welcome love. I'll see you in the morning." She smiles and leaves the room, turning out the light.
I close my eyes and fall into restless sleep, dreaming of my mother and gunshots.
So what do you all think! We see Bella's soft side. I'm thinking on doing Edward's POV next chapter. What do we think about that? Please please please show me some love (or hate if this chapter is terrible). I will see you on the next one!