Thank you for the amazing feedback. As always, I'm forever grateful for Frannie who makes my words readable.
It took me a moment to grasp that Edward was headed toward potential danger like a raging bull. I ran after him, stumbling a lot since my balance wasn't the best after all the blasts I'd been exposed to.
His garage seemed to have contained the explosion without damaging the house above. This place was like a real bunker.
Edward was standing near the wreck of the Humvee, his fists curled at his sides, his shoulders shaking as he looked around. For a second, I thought he was crying, but then I realized he was too angry to keep himself composed.
Slowly, he walked to a safe near the elevator, punching in a code. He picked the box from inside and slammed it against the nearest metal table.
I held my breath as I approached, curious about the contents. New identity so he could flee the country? Guns? Money?
He checked his watch, spitting another curse.
He picked up a clear evidence bag and held it in front of him. It held a pregnancy test, which showed whoever had taken it was with child.
"Son of a bitch!" He slapped his hand against the metal table, making me jump.
He fished his cell phone from a secret pocket of his suit and started pacing. "Pick up, pick up, pick up," he growled. "Are you at work?" he barked as soon as his call must have connected. "There's no time. I hacked into the morning news to show something. Stop that from happening." Edward slammed his foot to the floor, making me lean against the table because he looked scary as fuck at that moment. "Just do it, Seth. I'll buy you all the comic books, merch, and collectibles in the world. And save that footage for me on a thumb drive."
Once he ended the call, Edward spun around to look at me curiously, as if he didn't expect me to still be there. "Call your friend. We need to get to your place. Fast."
I called Jake, promising to explain everything when he came to get us.
Edward opened another safe, pulled out a large duffle bag, and threw it over his shoulder. "Emergency items," he explained, taking the pregnancy test bag and nudging me back into the front yard.
"What's that…I mean…why it is so important to deviate from your plan," I stumbled over my words.
"I didn't get to check the results on the stick. I just picked it from the dumpster then started running from my friends." He pointed behind him to the carbonized bodies. "When I got home, Jasper wanted an interview with me for his paper, so I put the evidence in the safe. Then I forgot about it," he admitted.
"Who's the girl?" I felt bile rising in my throat. "Who did you get pregnant?"
He shot me an amused look. "I haven't touched another woman since we got engaged, Isabella." He shook the pregnancy test in the bag. "It has to do with Volturi and the things Dingo saw. I'm going to bury Carlisle alive with this."
I cupped my mouth, feeling like throwing up. "You mean…your uncle got Volturi's daughter pregnant?" It sounded alien and denigrating and so wrong.
His eyes narrowed on the horizon, which was slowly turning pink, showing the beginning of a new day. "I have an inkling…her daddy is in the known."
"I'm trying not to vomit because that will be evidence," I choked out.
His eyes saddened as they turned to me. He rubbed a hand over my back, walking me to what once was a nice set of gates. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault your only living relative is a pedophile and so corrupt no one can save him."
He stood stoically, holding me against his chest while we waited for Jake. He came with the Caddy, for which I was grateful, or Edward wouldn't have fit in the back of Jake's tiny Volkswagen Rabbit.
He didn't even move from the wheel, so Edward threw his bag in the trunk before joining me in the back. Jake glared at me through the rearview mirror before turning the car around and heading to my house.
I wrapped my arms around one of Edward's and pressed my cheek against his shoulder. His suit wasn't the most comfortable pillow, but the wariness hit me hard.
Next time I opened my eyes, I was in my bed under the blanket. I blinked awake, trying to make sense of what was happening.
I spotted Edward in the chair by my closet. He had my laptop on his knees as he typed furiously. I wondered if he ever slept. It looked like he hadn't done it in a while.
His bloodshot eyes found mine through his fringed lashes and above the lid of my laptop. A small smile danced on his lips. "Good afternoon."
I yawned, sitting up and stretching my arms above my head. "What time is it?"
"Two in the afternoon." He placed the laptop on the chair and came to me. "I have a plan. If we follow it carefully…we might win this war."
I couldn't focus on his words when he was so close. He was wearing only his boxer briefs, and he'd showered because he smelled of my strawberries shower gel. But his presence in my room, with a knee on my bed, leaning into my personal space, was distracting.
Edward pinched my chin, lowering his head, so we were at eye level. "Let's win this, baby. Then we'll have time for anything you want."
I whimpered because he knew how to fuck with my head.
"So, what's the plan?" I leaned away, trying to focus on the subject at hand. Subtly, I checked myself under the blanket, surprised to find I was wearing panties and a tank top. "Who dressed me?"
"Me," he said softly. "You're hurt. You didn't tell me the assholes got your leg."
"There was no time," I mumbled. I'd even forgotten about it because the bullet grazing my thigh had been nothing compared to what happened afterward.
"I wrapped the wound; let me know if it hurts." He straightened up, and I noticed more new bruises from when they'd shot at him.
I couldn't believe this was my life. I had started this journey without knowing where it would lead. At some point along the way, I even stopped seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. But since I'd met Edward, his vigilante persona, the faith in my cause had been reinstalled, and since I'd discovered who he really was…every piece of the dominos had fallen to show us the correct path to bring justice to this city.
"Your friends are worried. First, your guard dog attempted to kick me out, then Blondie hit me with a ladle in the head for hurting you, and Hulk attempted to break my ribs when he found me tending to your wound."
"Shit. They are…protective."
"I'm not going anywhere," he said sternly. "I understand how I involved you in my mess, and now I have to protect you."
"I can take care of myself."
"I know that, Kitty. You were phenomenal with the whip and the nunchaku."
"The whip," I shouted, sitting up on my knees at the foot of the bed. I punched his shoulder, and it felt like I'd hit a wall. "Ow."
Edward snorted, taking my hand in both his, shaking his head. "You should know better than to attempt to hit me. I never got the chance to test it, but I knew what it could do…in theory."
"I'm marrying a nutjob."
His smile widened. "We'll be an awesome team."
"We already are," I whispered, feeling my traitorous blush covering my cheeks.
"We are." He kissed my lips. "Let's show your friends you're still alive and grab a bite before it's back to business. Until…the election party."
I groaned because that had slipped my mind. "What are you going to wear tonight?" I asked over my shoulder on my way to the bathroom.
"My suit."
I spun around, stunned.
He laughed loudly, throwing his head back. "My formal suit." He pointed to a black three-piece hanging on the open door of my closet. A white dress shirt and a slim black tie were hanging next to it.
"Oh."
"Silly girl."
I rolled my eyes, slamming the door after me. As I sat on the toilet, I inspected the bandage he'd wrapped around my wound. I was impressed how it didn't hurt anymore because such accidents stung like hell for days. He must have the good stuff in his duffle bag, I decided.
When I returned to my bedroom, Edward was wearing washed-out jeans and a black T-shirt. I put on yoga pants and opened the door, waiting for him to join me.
"Do your friends know about your extracurricular activities?" he asked lowly.
"Yeah, it's not like I can hide from them."
I grabbed the railing with both hands when I was too confident about having no pain in my leg. To go down the stairs, I used other muscles, or they stretched differently because it felt like my wound was burning.
Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulders, watching me concerned before he scooped me in his arms. I didn't have the heart to scold him because I was trying not to scream in pain.
He deposited me on the sofa, pulling my yoga pants down and kneeling at my side, untying the bandage. I squeezed my eyes shut after a glance at the now bleeding gash.
"What did you do in the bathroom?" he muttered.
"I peed," I hissed.
"You tore open the suture."
I was in too much pain to let it sink in that he'd operated on me. It must have been one hell of a graze.
"Don't move." He rushed up the stairs while I took deep breaths, trying not to faint at the scent of my own blood.
Emmett must have heard the ruckus because he came to inspect what was happening. He stood in the doorway, staring at me in shock.
"I'm fine," I managed to grunt out. "I had worse."
Edward knocked into him, pushing him out of the way when he returned. A small medical bag was placed on the sofa as he started working on the wound. He explained how he'd taken First Aid classes from an army doctor. It explained why he knew exactly what to do in such a situation.
"Did you have to…patch yourself up often?" I asked softly.
"Way too often in the beginning, until I figured out the equipment I needed to become invincible."
"Ow," I cried out, trying not to look at what he was doing.
"Sorry." A few minutes later, he had my wound bandaged again and my pants up.
"Rosie will be impressed with his medical knowledge," Emmett commented.
I huffed, getting up carefully. "I'm mad at all of you."
"What did we do, B?" Emmett hovered close as I limped to the kitchen. I could hear Edward not far behind us.
"You attacked Edward."
"Rosie told me to check on what he was doing when he took you to your room. I found him undressing you."
Edward huffed loudly, throwing himself in one of the chairs. "I was too shocked to see you bleeding to pay attention to him attacking me from the back like a coward."
"Oh, lookie who's alive," Rose said cheerfully, joining us.
"New rule," I said loudly, leaning into Edward's side, keeping a hand on his shoulder. "If any one of you lays a hand on him, you'll have to deal with me."
"Or any other object," Edward added, amused, reminding me he'd mentioned how Rose had used a ladle as her weapon.
"Care to explain what's going on? Cullen is the freak you spend your nights with on the streets?" Emmett asked, folding his arms across his chest. He looked more intimidating than ever, with his menacing look and bulging muscles.
"It's a long story. We just unmasked each other the other day," I explained.
"Speak for yourself, Kitty." Edward wound his arms around my waist, palming my ass.
I combed my hands through his hair, unable to keep a smile from my face. "Anyway, we're a real team now. If you still want to be in the know…you better forget about everything you believed about Edward. He's not that person."
"Do tell us…who he is," Rose demanded, scowling at Edward as if he was the dirt on her shoes.
It wasn't my story to tell, and there was no time for such a conversation. "Just…please, believe me on this, Rose."
"Oh, for fuck's sake! Why is he still here?" Jake groaned as he came into the kitchen.
I held Edward down when he leaned forward, ready to jump on Jacob again. "I had enough fighting to last me a lifetime. Can we talk like mature people?" I begged them.
Rose offered all of us soup. When she placed the bowl in front of Edward, she muttered about skipping the arsenic just this time.
I chose to ignore the big elephant in the room, who was sitting right next to me, eating like he hadn't had a decent meal in years. The thought that he hadn't been cared for properly tugged at my heart.
"Is my dress for tonight ready?" I looked at Rose across the table.
"You're actually going to attend the party?" Emmett gasped.
"We have to be there," Edward said between mouthfuls of soup and bread. "It will definitely be interesting."
I chewed on my bottom lip. My stomach did weird flips, and I felt hollow on the inside. I knew exactly what we needed to do, but it was scary.
Rose kept demanding why Edward had to drag me there because we could fake a migraine. Jake was as opposed as her, which was the first time they were on the same page about something. And Emmett, the ever-perceptive guy, had his eyes on me.
"B…" he said carefully, covering my hand, which was squeezing a slice of bread. "Is it that time Charlie was anticipating? Should we reactive Smashfist and Rosebud?"
Rose stopped arguing with Edward and turned to look at me with wide eyes. She wasn't young anymore, and neither was Emmett. I didn't want to get them involved in my war, but they had more intel than me…than Edward. We were too young to know the depths of the system.
"Are you kidding me?" Jake cried out. "What the fuck did you get into? What did he get you into?" His eyes narrowed on Edward.
My dad had told Jake about Emmett and Rose's background after Emmett had beaten a reporter to a pulp for snapping a picture of a malfunction in my attire to a school event.
"Just say the word, honey," Rose said softly. "I still got my kicks."
I winced but nodded.
"What is this?" Edward hissed into my ear after the others resumed eating.
"Later," I whispered.
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