Author Note: I do not own Twilight
Hello! Here is a Saturday update since I had technical issues Thursday and couldn't upload Thursday's chapter till Friday. I wanted to make sure you guys got all 5 chapter updates this week! This chapter is the longest by far. See you guys Monday!
Chapter 7
EPOV
The scalding hot water poured down my back but I welcomed it. I had scrubbed off all traces of that fucker Steve. He was an idiot to think he could steal from me and get away with it. They wouldn't find the his body, because there wasn't anything left. I had pulled all of his teeth out, crushed them, and then proceeded to cut up up his body into pieces. After dousing it with gasoline and burning him to a crisp, I dumped the remains in the river. Good luck getting DNA or dental from that. Someone would come looking for him eventually but they wouldn't find anything.
After getting cleaned up, I was now at the club doing work that was actually legal. I had put the club on the back burner since I was trying be with Bella and Liam more often. I also had been digging into the Volturi trying to get answers for Bella. I spent all day finally getting the books straight for the club and handling all the other business shit. I poured myself a glass of whiskey. I was no closer to answers for Bella. I rubbed my hands over my face in frustration. I decided to take my father's advice and call Jasper.
After two rings, "Hello"
"Jaz, I need you at the club to talk to you about some sensitive information."
"Okay, I can be there in 15. Emmett is with me and I got to drop him off."
"Bring him too. You both need to be filled in "
"Alright we can be there in 5 then"
I finished my glass of whiskey and was working on a second when they came barreling in. Well Emmett came barreling in.
"Hey Eddie" Edward boomed.
"If you want to keep your tongue don't call me that."
Jasper was his usual quiet self.
"So what did you need to talk to us about man?" Emmett said while plopping in a chair. Jasper followed but was a lot more quieter.
"We need to discuss Bella."
"Oh" They both said at the same time.
I filled them in as calmly as I could. It helped I had a little alcohol in my system.
"Damn. She's been through been hell." For once Emmett was serious.
"So how do want to precede?" Jasper said getting right down to business.
"I want to know who the son of the bitches are that put Bella through that mess. I know it was the Volturi, but I want confirmation of who exactly. Then I want to kill the mother fuckers myself." I was out for blood. I would make them suffer for days.
"Okay" Jasper said. He was a pro at getting information.
"Emmett have security keep an eye out for the Volturi or any associates. Now that Bella is claimed by me they may retaliate." I had to I claimed her. I didn't own in but in the eyes of the mafia families I did.
"You got it bro"
"And another thing and this is for both of you. DO NOT tell Rosalie or Alice about Bella's past. She will tell them in her own time."
"Yeah if she ever sees them. Just so you Alice is bursting at the seams to meet Bella. I don't know how much longer I can keep her at bay."
"Don't introduce them until I give the okay. I'm trying to ease Bella into this. I don't want to keep bombarding her."
"Look who is turning into a softy." Emmett said with a smirk that I would have loved to smack off.
"Coming from the guy who's wife has him the the balls."
That shut him up.
"Okay the both of you get the hell out of here and to it. I have places to be."
I was eager to see Bella.
BPOV
I was on the floor playing trucks with Liam. I had a lot more time play with him since we were in this room all day and every day. I knew I could be shown around to the parts outside of the room. They had offered before and I declined, but I knew if I asked they would still show me around. Maybe I was being stubborn by staying in the room. I just felt it was the only thing I had control over. My life had been turned upside. Truth be told it had been turned upside down for awhile now. I just didn't know all the complicated shit I had been involved in. So here I was in Liam's room sitting on the floor playing firetrucks. I didn't mind but all this extra time gave me time to think. To remember all the bad stuff that happened and how pissed I was all over again. I felt like I haven't had control over my life for while, before the whole situation with Edward.
I then heard a knock on my door. I was pretty sure I knew who it was.
"Come in."
Sure enough it was Edward. "Hey"
"Hey" I said giving him a weak smile. Liam perked up. He enjoyed Edward visiting. Edward talked to him and even got down on the floor and played with him once. I was surprised. Who knew mobsters could be gentle creatures when they wanted to?
"Day go ok?" Edward asked
"Yeah" but I knew I wasn't convincing. My emotions were showing through.
"Bella, I think it would good if you let me show you around the place, outside of this room." Crap it's like he heard my previous inner monologue.
"I don't know..."
"Bella it's not healthy for you to be in this room day in and day out. It's also not healthy for
Liam" He had me there. I would always put Liam's well being first. I knew I was going to have to leave the room soon, but I was putting it off as long as possible. I justified it by telling myself I was keeping Liam and myself in here for our safety. But I knew we needed to go out of the room. I knew I was safe with Edward. I was going to take the plunge.
"Okay" was all I said.
I went to pick up Liam, "Liam let's go exploring," He started clapping his hands. He was clearly excited.
Edward opened the door and I took a deep breath and followed him out.
with Liam on my hip.
We were in a hallway and instead of going into the rooms closest Edward lead me down the hall. Once he stopped I realized we were now in the living room. It was spacious. It had a wrap around couch with a large entertainment center. There was table in the middle and additional chairs in the far corners. We walked deeper in and I noticed there was a little area that was too itself like an alcove. I looked closer and noticed it was play area. Liam caught sight of the toys and was squirming to get down. I let him and he ran over and started pulling out toys. I felt myself smiling. I was happy that Liam was happy. Also Edward or someone had taken the time to have a play area set up for him in the main area. Liam's things weren't just confined to his room. He would be able to play in the living room like a real home. Edward noticed my expression which in turn made him happy.
"You like so far?"
I nodded. "It was very considerate of you to put a play area in here. Liam is also clearly enjoying it. "
"I wanted him to feel at home. He should be able to play throughout."
We then headed to an area not to far away. The kitchen. You could still see the living room which is very convenient when you have a child. It wasn't quite an open floor plan. You still had a good view of other areas but had some privacy. The kitchen was nice! Top of the line appliances and lots of counter space.
"You should have everything you need. If there is something you can't find, food or kitchen appliance just let the staff know." He then pulled out a phone. He held it out to me and a contact with phone number was on the screen. "Just call that number for anything you need. This is the guard's number. My number along with Esme and Carlisle's is in there also." He
then handed the phone. He was actually trusting me with a phone.
"So your not worried I won't call 911 or anyone else saying I have been kidnapped." I said trying to keep my tone light.
He actually chuckled. "Bella we both know if you were going to try to leave you would have tried by now." He was right. But I still detected worry in his eyes. Was he afraid I would try to make a break for it?
"Let's get Liam and I'll show you the rest"
We had a clear view of Liam playing with his new found toys.
We walked over and I picked up Liam. "Down" he yelled. I settled with letting him keep a toy in his hand and me hold his other hand and he walk along side of us.
Edward lead me down the hallway.
"That's the guest bathroom but we don't need to go in there. We continued. We passed Liam's room and two room across. One room was the room I had woken up in when I first arrived. We continued until we were down the hall. He lead me into the room to the right.
"Laundry machine and dryer, cleaning supplies, and a bunch of other household stuff."
It was a decent sized room. There was strange furnace looking thing in the far corner but there was no fire.
"What is that?" I asked
Edward seemed to get uncomfortable. "It's a burner so when I need to dispose of my clothes, documents, and anything else that could cause issues." Oh...it makes sense but I kind of regretted asking.
I turned to leave the room and Edward followed suit and lead me to room next door. He pulled out a card key to open the door.
"This is my office." We stepped in. There was desk with computer, file cabinets, books shelves. There also looked like was a safe and other cabinets that looked locked.
Edward then handed me a card key and I gave him a confused look.
.
"If something were to happen go in this room. No one has a key but me and now you. There is several guns and weapons. I can give keys to the cabinets there stored in if you want."
I was surprised. He was trusting me with a lot! He was trusting that I wouldn't run or turn on him.
We made our way back down the hall and Edward stopped at the door that was across from Liam's room. Oh god. That has got to be a bedroom. Our bedroom...
"Before we finish our tour I wanted to fill you in on few other things. There will be guards in the building. We are on the floor second from the top. My parents are floor above us in the Penthouse Suite. My brothers with their wives and kids are on the two floors below us"
"You all live in the same building?"
"Yes, but they all have other houses too. This building is in the city and makes it easier for work. Their homes are in a more secluded location." It made sense. To live in the city when majority of your work was in the city especially when they worked at God knows what hours sometimes.
"Do you have another house?"
"No, I've waited to get an additional place until I was married." Oh...
I didn't respond because I wasn't sure how to.
"The guards and other help live in the building also. There is a floor with a large kitchen and dining area which we use for guests. There is an on-call cook also. So if you ever don't have time to cook or want something special prepared just call down. The number is in your phone. There are additional floors that everyone in the family has access to that I'll show you at another time. That key card gets you to the additional floors. You also need it to get back on our floor to our apartment." I didn't miss that he said our apartment
"I would prefer for you to stay in the apartment for now. There is plenty of time to see the rest of the building. You also run the risk of seeing the family members you haven't meet yet. I would prefer to be there when introductions are meet. Some are little..." Oh great that can't be good.
"A little what?"
"A little eager to meet you. And take time to get used to" He said cautiously.
"When will I meet them?" I said nervously
"When ever you're ready. Also I wanted to let you know that two guards will be out in the hallway in between the door and the elevator. I'll introduce you in a little while. They're here to keep you safe when I'm gone."
"Okay" was I all I say or come up with for that matter. It was a lot to take in. Also it seemed Edward was very trusting of me...
"There is one more room left on the tour. Well two but you have already been in one and I'm sure you don't want to go back in there." He was referring to the room I had woken up in. And he was right I didn't want to go back in there. That just left one room which would be...
Oh shit.
He opened the room to the bedroom
"Our room" was all he said as we stepped in.
I tried to keep my breathing under control. I knew I could trust Edward but it was still nerve wracking.
Inside the room was a huge king sized bed that looked really comfy. There were two end tables on either side of the bed. There were also two opposing dressers. Two doors were on opposing sides of the room.. My guess was that one was a closet and the other the bathroom. Liam held my hand the entire time I looked around. He was taking in the new scenery as well. Edward lead me to one of the doors.
"Our closet" Edward said.
It was huge walk in closet. I saw both men and women's clothing.
"Alice stocked it for you along with your dresser." He pointed to one of the dressers that I had seen before we walked into the closet.
"Who is Alice?" I asked.
"My sister-in-law"
"Oh" Yep me with the words.
We then made our way over the the other side of the room. He opened the other door and lead me into the bathroom. There was two sinks and both a shower and tub. A fucking huge tub. Two people could fit in there... My heart started to pound.
"Are you okay?" Edward gave me curious look.
"Yeah just taking it all in." I didn't sound convincing.
"Let's go back into the living room. I'm sure Liam would like to play with his new toys some more.
"Good idea."
Once in the living room, Liam got down and started playing.
I was soaking it all in. The place was beautiful. Everything Liam and I needed. Edward had given me keys and phone, trusting me with them. Edward had been patient. Hell he took the time to show me around when Esme or the guards could have. But he did it, because it was our place. I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I don't know why I was freaking out. Edward hadn't been pressuring me to do anything sexual. Hell the let me stay cooped up Liam's and didn't drag me out like some people would have.
So why was I acting like this?
Edward broke me out of my thoughts.
"Bella are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm just..." I couldn't finish my sentence.
"Bella I don't think you're okay. Did I do something to upset you?."
I looked up into his eyes. They were full of care and compassion. How could this man be a mobster?
"It's not you Edward I swear. You have been extremely patient and understanding. Way more then I ever expected. I've been cooped up in the room and you haven't forced me to leave or pressured me. You just pointed out that I couldn't stay in there which is honestly what I needed to hear. It's just before you showed up this evening I was thinking about everything. And how fucked up my life is. And it was before I meet you, I just didn't realized how fucked up it was. I didn't realize that I was already caught up in this mafia word. I feel like I haven't had control for awhile. I'm pissed at the Volturri. I'm pissed about everything that happened to me before Liam was
born. I've never really let out my frustration about it." I was out of breath then and realized I had been rambling. I was also on the verge of tears because of the the pent up anger and frustration.
Edward just stared at me for a good five seconds. He then pulled out his phone and started calling someone.
"Could you come down and stay with Liam for a little while?" What was he up to?
"Ok thank you" he said said to whoever was on the phone and hung up.
"Who was that?" I asked
"Esme. She is going to watch Liam while we handle something." WHAT!
Edward must have seen my expression
"It's not what you think." he assured me.
Esme was there in 5 minutes.
"I'll take good care of him." She assured me.
I didn't object to any of it. It was Esme watching Liam and I trusted Edward and I was curious at this point. We stepped out into the hall and then into the elevator. We went down I don't know how many floors and stepped out into another hallway. Edward then used his card key to open a door.
"Where are going?" I asked
"You'll see. Just trust me." I took his hand and he lead me into the room
