A/N: Let us know your thoughts:)

EPOV

"EC. EC. EC," Marcus repeated, making a tsking sound and shaking his head at me. I tried to stand but was boxed in the chair.

Fuck! If only I could reach my Glock.

"You could have had me fooled. When Caius brought me the photos of the two of youse, I didn't want to believe it. You've been like family to us. Like a fucking son," he said through gritted teeth. Marcus' hand cupped my shoulder and squeezed it hard.

"You think you're so fucking tough because you're fucking the Cigno princess's cooz?" he asked, mockingly, putting his other hand on my shoulder to squeeze them both. His fingertips crept slowly along my collarbone until they reached my neck. "You make me sick. How fucking desperate! Was she the only pussy you could find in Bay Ridge?" he taunted, baiting me while slowly wrapping his hands around my throat. Marcus knew damn well I wasn't going to try anything risky. Not here. Not where all his little cronies were on standby.

Marcus tightened his grip, slowly cutting off my air supply as he pressed down, and I closed my eyes, trying to conserve the little oxygen I had left. If this was the end, I was going to go with dignity.

"Now you want to be a man of honor? Not a word, right? How obedient of you. I used to say jump, and you'd say how high. I never had to worry about you. You straightened out the paper issue we had with the yak down on Avenue S. You clipped anybody I told you. You didn't cower to those Russians in Little Odessa. Nothing got in the way of your loyalty. Nothing but what's between Isabella Cigno's legs. Interesting. Maybe I should get myself a taste. See what all the fuss is about. Yeah, I could do that before I put a hit on her and make you live without her. Before I make you suffer. Maybe you need to watch her die. If that doesn't do it, there's always Liz. How is dear sweet Nonna doing?" Marcus tightened his grip, blocking my airway until I was choking, sputtering silent pleas while my eyes bulged. He continued until I saw nothing but a sliver of light. And then… and then, he released me.

I doubled over, coughing and throwing up bile.

"Oh, get it together. You look fucking pathetic. Like a weak sack of shit. Love has made you soft." Marcus laughed as he walked to retrieve his suit jacket from the back of his chair. Once it was situated, he returned to his perch on the edge of his desk, his cold calculating stare fixed on me.

"You know, EC. I don't want to kill you. I really don't." He pushed off the desk and circled the chair I was sitting in as I desperately tried to catch my breath. "That's why I want to give you the chance to prove that you can still be an asset to the organization. An opportunity to show me that the old EC is still alive and kicking. That you haven't gone limp-dick completely," Marcus offered, looking at his phone.

"What?" I choked out, wiping the corner of my mouth. I straightened myself in the chair as much as possible, trying not to look any weaker than I already did.

"You're going to go back to Alistair, Agent Scavone, or should I say Blondie–that's what you like to call him, right?" Marcus asked, already knowing the answer. "You're going to make a deal. Tell him you're going to be his little bitch and trade our information. After gathering intel on what he has and reporting it back to me, you're gonna kill the fucker."

My mouth gaped slightly, unable to control or filter myself, so I nodded as Marcus continued expressing his disdain. "I've warned you time and time again. I know everything. I truly thought that you would have realized this, bagging so many throughout the years, but I guess even you needed to learn the hard way."

"I'm–" I started, "Ow." A stapler was thrown at my head. That was gonna leave a mark.

"You don't get to fucking speak. You greaseball motherfucker," he shouted, veins bulging.

Maybe the fucker would have a heart attack and save us all some misery. Unfortunately life wasn't a fucking movie. And this wasn't gonna be taken lightly. I'd be better off being fucking pinched by the pigs. By Blondie.

"Your girlfriend can join her father if you keep this shit up. Better start following directions," the shitbag warned. God, how I wanted to kill him.

"Bella's father is dead?" I whispered. Holy fuck! I needed to get the hell out of here.

Crack! Marcus backhanded me across the face. "I told you not to fucking speak."

I nodded, showing him I understood. I needed to get out of here and check on Bella. If Marcus was threatening her with a hit, Caius was probably on his way to hurt her. Or worse. Way worse.

Not only was her well being in danger, her father was dead. Her only remaining parent was gone. I needed to bounce out of here and fast.

Almost like a prayer being answered, Marcus said, "EC, you better call your FBI buddy ASAP. Now get the fuck out of here. Next time, it's a bullet between the eyes. And wear your fucking suit, you slob!" he called from his desk as I bolted from the room.

I hobbled out of the room, still unbalanced from being choked. I pulled out my phone and tried calling Bella.

"The number you have reached is no longer in service." Fuck! I threw the phone onto the passenger seat as I climbed into the driver's side and floored my whip.

I had to get to her. If I knew Marcus, he already had people waiting for his signal to kill Bella. Considering how unhinged he was, I wouldn't put it past him to have someone inside her house.

I ran three red lights, trying to get on the Belt. Fucking Brooklyn traffic. What, was everyone and their mother out for a fucking drive?

I honked the horn, not that it was going to make any difference with these mamalukes. But it made me feel slightly better.

Once the light turned green, I cut off two cars who weren't moving fast enough for my liking. Jersey fuckers, I swear to god they don't know their ass from their elbow.

Bella's house was two blocks away, and of course, there was a crossing guard with her stupid freaking stop sign waving it like she was cool or some shit. There weren't even any kids coming.

"Ahhhh." I screamed to the empty car, punching the steering wheel, getting a death glare from this old broad.

Finally, I was able to cut across to Bella's street. Her crib was currently on lockdown because of Charlie's attack, but as usual the Cigno shitbirds failed to secure two exit points, at least.

Parking around the corner, I put on a baseball cap that I kept in the car for some tailing business, and I jogged up the block. I stopped so I could take a moment to scope out how to get in there easiest. Seemed like history would repeat itself and I was gonna have to go up to her window.

Hopping the fence on the east end, I distracted the shitbirds by shooting in the opposite direction. They'd be busy for a while trying to find me.

I climbed the tree and then hoisted myself on the vines, and with a final jump, I was in. Thank god Bella loved fresh air because her window was open.

"Edward." She gasped, rising from her bed.

BPOV

I inhaled deeply. I would have never expected Edward to just show up at the perfect time. Then again, that was what he did. Just having escaped from the stifling atmosphere downstairs, I was trying not to think. Edward and I stood staring at each other. While sometimes I resented my father for his constant teaching of not showing emotions and being weak in the face of the enemy, I also was glad that he gave me the ability to "turn it off." The last twenty-four hours had been so emotionally trying because things had been coming at me from all sides. Edward's confession, Jasper trying to push boundaries, the reconciliation with Rose, and the hope of my dad and I fixing what had been broken.

I let out a choked sob. We wouldn't be able to repair our relationship because he was dead. "My dad is dead," I said, trying to stem the flow of tears.

Before I could even process what was happening, I was gathered into Edward's arms. I was surrounded by his familiar scent and the warmth of his body. Sighing in relief, I forgot all the shit that was between us at the moment and just let him comfort me. He kissed the top of my head and murmured soothing words, rubbing his hands up and down my back, along my arms, and over my sides.

"It was meant for me," I mumbled.

Edward pulled back minutely to look at my expression. His eyebrows were raised in question. I shook my head, trying to get the visual of my dad climbing into my vehicle out of my head.

I swallowed. "The bomb in my SUV, it was meant for me. My dad went to move it because I did a shitty job parking it, and then he… I should be the one dead now." I wasn't suicidal or thinking of offing myself, but I almost wished that it had been me. Life was so damn tiring, and I just wanted a break. A way to find some relief. "I wish it had been me," I whispered.

Edward's hands stopped at my hips and his grip tightened. He shook his head violently. The range of emotions that played out across his face was impressive. Shock, anger, agony, grief, and then sadness. It was exactly how I felt. Before he could say anything in response, I buried my face in his chest. I just needed to extend this moment for a little longer, soaking up all the comfort from him that I could. My emotions had been cycling between anger and sadness since last night. Losing my last living parent was something that I hadn't thought I'd have to deal with at such a young age. I moved away from him. He sat on my bed as I continued to stand and started pacing.

"I know that you work for them, Edward, but I fucking hate these Volturi assholes. They took both of my parents from me."

"I'm sorry," Edward said softly.

"This whole fucking lifestyle is something I despise. I hated being born into this life, never able to escape it, but after I lost my mom, I just wanted out. I didn't want to be a Cigno anymore. I have dealt with so much death that it has changed something fundamental in me." I knew that was one reason why I didn't trust easily. This was easier to talk about with Edward than Rose because he had probably seen more bad shit than me.

"I know, Bella. It does change something in you, but that doesn't make it wrong." He pulled out his cigarettes and lit one right then and there.

Secondhand smoke, gross.

"Well how did you deal with it? I mean, you actually kill people, so how do you cope? I dealt with death by not letting people in. Not trusting anyone," I asked him. I really was interested in hearing his answer.

Edward exhaled, blowing the smoke into the room. "You don't ever really cope, Bella. You just push it aside. It's always there. It becomes a part of you. We all have parts of us we don't share. Parts we can't. Your pain has become a part of you. But you managed, and that was how you were able to let me in. You pushed the rest aside. I don't mean to sound heartless, and it's probably not healthy, but I don't fucking know. I'm not a shrink." He threaded his fingers through his hair like he did when he was nervous.

I appreciated his honesty. He didn't give me some flowery speech about how one day the pain would go away and how time heals all wounds or some shit. Grief never went away; it just became part of who you were. It was there, every fucking day, and it was just another thing to deal with. "Well at least you're honest. I will give you that," I murmured.

"I've always been honest with you. I'll always be honest with you," he muttered, puffing more of his cigarette. "It's probably the only guarantee I can offer you at this point."

I nodded. We both were silent as I was lost in my own head. In my own thoughts. I know that at times I wished my dad dead, because I would give anything to have my mom back, but I never seriously thought that I would be here at twenty-one, deciding what casket to use to bury the parts of my dad that were still whole. Rose said that she would deal with that stuff if I didn't want to.

"God only knows what is going to happen now, because we are without a boss. Daddy had a will, but that was for everything that was legal. I have no idea who is supposed to take over, and the Volturi would love to seize this opportunity to make sure we can't recover," I told Edward. Even though I wasn't a fan of this life, it would still suck to see everything fall down around us.

"You can't worry about that shit right now. We've got bigger things to worry about Bella. The Volturi–Marcus–is after us. Well, you specifically. They want you dead as a warning to me. I fell out of line. Marcus is pissed, and now with Blondie being a fucking Fed, shit has hit the fan. Aro's dead since he was working with the fucking pigs," Edward ranted, seeming like he was going off the rails.

I held my hands up in a wait gesture. "Whoa, wait a minute. Who's a Fed? Alistair—Blondie?" I asked. What the fuck was going on? Had I slipped into the bizarro world or something?

Edward nodded, throwing his hands up. "Thank you! Yes, that stunad fucker is a Fed. Can you fucking imagine? And now he's threatening me with jail and shit if I'm not his fucking bitch. And he's calling me Eddie," he whined, pouting a little.

Edward did hate to be called Eddie. "If that dick puts you in jail, I might have fun trying to use him as target practice. This is bad. What are we gonna do? From what I can guess from other mob bosses—Marcus doesn't make idle threats. Even though the detective told me that they can't officially confirm that it was the Volturi, the bomb had identical components to past bombings, so it looks like they already tried to come for me." I was trying not to panic, but I had never been in a dire situation like this.

"Yeah." He shook his head. "Fucking Caius and his bombs. We're fucked either way, but you've gotta come back to my place. I have a better chance at keeping you safe there."

I shook my head because we had already done this dance. "I left your house for a reason, Edward."

"I know and I get it. I really do, Bella. But you didn't let me explain. We still need to talk about that too, but for now, I have to know you're okay. You have to be safe."

I sighed because he seemed sincere. Regardless of all the crap surrounding us, he still cared. Nodding, I agreed. "Okay, but I'm staying in your spare bedroom."

"No you can sleep in my room. I haven't been able to sleep in there since you left anyways." He reached for me to sit next to him.

My heart clenched to hear that because looking at him now, he was struggling. He looked like hell, even though he was still handsome to me. He looked like he was running on very little sleep and a strong wind could knock him over. It was subtle but I could still see it. "Okay. Before we go to your place and settle for the night, we need to go somewhere to get me a new gun. I'm leaving my piece with Rose. And where the hell is your suit? I rarely see you in jeans," I asked, finally noticing what was so off about him.

"Good. I have a few extra pieces at my place. You can have one of them for the time being." He grabbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. "I haven't been myself lately."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him in question.

He extinguished his cigarette on my nightstand, as I cringed. "It means I fucking miss you and haven't been right in the head since you left."

There he went with the candid answers. It was throwing me for a loop because as much as I hated all this shit I knew how he felt. "I miss you too, Edward."

"Can you promise we will talk about us?" I nodded. "Let's get out of here."

"I gotta go tell my sister something and you need to get out of here without anyone seeing you. I'll meet you around the corner."

Edward sighed and nodded, climbing out of the window, and I braced myself to lie my ass off.