SM OWNS ALL THINGS TWILIGHT.
AN; What did I learn from the last chapter?
Most but not all of you liked Adam and Evie, the flashbacks and the multiple POV's. Apologies to those who didn't or who found them confusing. I cut down in this chapter. As for A/E being too well spoken…I blame all the Disney films were the kids are like 40 year old midgets lol. You all loved that Rose is finally pregnant…so do I…due date next chapter. Oh yeah and Charles Platt is an evil piece of scum who must suffer and hopefully die…well read on my friends. M RATED DARK IMPLIED THEMES
DEMETRI POV
Carlisle managed to swallow a sob as he heard his daughter's words.
"Sweetheart it won't be long…Daddy loves you…" he ground out.
"Love you…owww…" Evie's rely was cut off by a shriek of pain and tears as it sounded like she was yanked away from the phone.
"EVIE!"Carlisle and Esme cried in unison.
"CHARLES! CHARLES! DON'T HURT HER!" Esme screamed down the phone. I could hear through my ear piece that was connected to the recording equipment on the phone, muffled angry voices and was that a woman in the background? We knew that Platt must have some sort of accomplice, but it was taking forever to check his phone calls and visitor records from the prison and the hospital.
"She's not hurt…just a whiny little brat…So three hours…clock's ticking doc and even at the speed you like to drive, it'll take a while to get here." Platt sneered. Okay so I already knew that Platt had had someone watching the Cullen's for awhile, but they must have been watching real close to find out or even see that Carlisle liked to drive fast.
"Oh and sorry to disappoint you Doc…you won't be playing the hero this time. Esme's going to make the drop not you." Platt sang happily.
"FUCK YOU PLATT! Do you think I'm letting MY WIFE! Anywhere near you!" Carlisle snarled. Shit! Shit! I knew Carlisle must be going through all sorts of hell, but we had to play along with Platt for now, not piss him off. There was an angry snarl from Platt before another loud shriek from Evie echoed in the silence that followed the phone being slammed down.
Esme looked stunned for a minute before she sprung up from her seat on the bed.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" she shrieked. "You know he likes to play games…fuck with your head…why did you rise to it?" Esme demanded.
Carlisle was sitting on the end of the bed, his head in his hands. He was visibly shaking and when he looked up, he looked crushed, horrified at what he had done, what he had heard.
"I'm sorry…I'M SORRY." He exploded springing up. "But I won't…CAN'T let him hurt you…Esme…I won't survive if something happens to you as well." He sobbed as he ran his hands frantically through his hair, gave Esme a look full of too many emotions to count and then stormed from the room. Esme collapsed back onto the bed sobbing, but I had a feeling that Carlisle needed me more at that moment.
ES POV
I knew I should have gone after Carlisle, but I couldn't get the sound of Evies terrified scream out of my head. I knew better than anyone what Charles could do when he was angry and when he felt that his power, his control was being questioned. Add to that how bad his mental state must have become during his time in prison and I was now truly terrified for my baby.
Suddenly, my work cell phone was ringing. With an irritated huff, I snatched it up off the nightstand.
"Esme Cullen." I snapped. They would tell me later that the call lasted for three minutes and forty five seconds. I couldn't remember, all I would remember from that call were the terrified screams of my little girl.
DEMETRI POV
"That twisted sonofabitch is going to die anyway for what he's done to my sister. But threatening my mom…that just means that he's going to really suffer before he does." Emmett said. His voice was low and controlled, which made it all the more menacing.
"Em…we don't know exactly what he has planned yet…all he's said is that he wants Esme to deliver the money." I reasoned.
"That's a load of shit Demetri and you know it!" Jasper exploded surprising us all. "I'll bet that all this isn't really about him wanting money to escape the country at all…he took Evie to hurt Esme, get her right where he wants her and then take her back…once and for all." He trailed off. He was right.
" My people are checking out the site of the club now…easy fellas." I said holding up my hands as they all began to tense. "Just a little surveillance, nothing close enough to spook the douche if he's there."
I was standing in the cavernous Cullen garage with Emmett, Jasper and Edward where I had just filled them all in on Platt's call and demand. I had seen horrible things in my job, acts of calculated evil and destruction. But I had always managed to detach myself, keep the required professional, emotional distance…until now. Platt had made it personal when he had not only tried to kill me, but had also tried to kill Charlie Swan, a man I had become very close to over the last four years whilst trying to destroy the happiness of Esme and Carlisle, two people who you just had to look at as a couple and later with "hurricane Evie", to know that they were meant to be…deserved the happiness they had fought so hard for.
Charles Platt had pleaded no contest to the charges of corporate negligence and negligent homicide filed against him after the collapse of the I-DENT club, but during the wait for his trial regarding the murder of Bree and the attempted murder of myself, Charlie and Esme, the cunning bastard had convinced a judge that he was "unfit to plead due to mental disease or defect." The sonofabitch was psychotically evil, but he wasn't crazy. The judge and the doctor's however had fallen for his act, especially when he had become mute and required force feeding following a rapid weight loss of nearly 150 pounds. Platt had got himself out of jail and into a mental facility for assessment where, it appeared money didn't just talk, it screamed as loud as some of the disturbed patients.
"OH! OH God baby…just like that…Fuck…I'm…I'm so clossse." I moaned as I reached out for Lydia's pert little tits as they jiggled invitingly near whilst she rode me.
Suddenly, Lydia's cute little mewls and my moans were replaced with the sound of the Godfather theme. My phone was ringing.
"Ignore it." I almost pleaded as she began to slow down.
She carried on for a few more seconds, before coming to a stop.
"I can't…it's too distracting." She pouted.
With a growl, I stretched out a hand to the nightstand and snatched up my phone.
"WHAT?" I yelled.
"Demetri…it's Charlie…Charlie Swan." Came the gruff, embarrassed voice on the other end. I took a deep breath, I liked Charlie Swan, a lot, I had enjoyed several fishing trips and football games with him…but…
"Charlie…I'm kinda busy right now." I ground out.
"I know…sorry…Evie Cullen had been snatched." He said gruffly. I could hear the emotion catching in his voice.
"Shit." I hissed, swatting away Lydia's hand which was now scratching along my chest and attempting to tweak my nipple.
"Platt took her."
"WHAT THE FUCK?" I exploded "Charlie are you sure? He's in the loony bin…"
"He just called Carlisle and Esme and from the description Adam gave the police…"
"Charlie…let me make a few calls and I'll call you straight back…sonofabitch!" I said quickly. After twenty minutes of pouting, screaming and the breaking of a vase my mother had given me, Lydia left and I got on the phone. My new job on an FBI task force meant that I had quite a bit of power now over the local police and I fully intended to use it.
It turned out, that whilst Platt had been in prison he had been both physically and sexually assaulted on numerous occasions. His chest was a mass of varying degrees of burns from where he had been "napalmed". This was the process prisoners used of adding sugar to scalding hot water and hurling it, usually over the face of another prisoner. The added sugar meant that the burnt skin practically dissolved and took a long time if ever to heal. It was on one of his trips to a burns clinic that he had managed to escape, knocking out a doctor and strolling past his guard wearing a white coat. A search of his cell had found almost a shrine to Esme, chillingly Carlisle and Evie's faces had been either scored through, or cut out of the pictures all together.
"Demetri… dude are you listening?" Emmett demanded.
"Sorry…what was that?" I said, shaking my head trying to clear it of the images that Platt had put there.
"What are your people doing to try and safeguard Esme and Evie?" Edward asked.
"Well, the SWAT boys are checking out the blue prints for the area as we speak, they are looking at several different scenarios. But because the building site is so damn large and high…we are also checking on Platt's known associates…he kept himself to himself in prison, but he had to have had some sort of help and in the second phone call just now…I swear I could hear a woman's voice in the background". There were angry hisses at this, which made me even gladder that I hadn't told them about Evie's tears and screaming. There were thirty plus years of an age gap between these men and that little girl but it didn't seem to matter. She was their baby sister and I could see by the grim set of their faces, they would do…risk anything to get her home safely whilst also protecting the woman they classed as their mother. Charlie Swan had said something to me once about the Cullen's the night we had met in the hospital after Platt's first visit. "You hurt a Cullen and boy, you'd better be prepared to spend the rest of your life running and looking over your shoulder, because they have perfect memories and won't stop looking for you till they find you and make you suffer double the amount of pain." I had thought it was the pain medication talking.
But as I glanced round at the three men in front of me, there were no visible signs of blood lust, no shouting, no screaming, just a cold determination that was all the more chilling. I held up a hand and made a quick call.
"Yeah it's Demetri…tell me we finally know the name of who Platt has been writing to and calling from prison…" I snapped.
After a brief conversation, I snapped the phone shut.
" We finally have a handle on who Platt might have had helping him…it's a doctor at the burns clinic a Siobhan O'Reilly…" at that second, my phone bleeped letting me know the picture I had requested had come through.
"Gimme that." Emmett said snatching my phone. Casting a glance at them, I saw all three had turned even paler than they had been if that were possible. "It's her." Emmett whispered.
"Who, who is she?" I demanded. "We've got people on the way to pick her up…it seems it was her car Platt stole and we think, he's been staying…"
"Too long…it'll all take too damn long. You think Platt is nuts…Siobhan…FUCK!" Mild mannered Jasper exploded again. He was practically pulling out his hair.
"She didn't." came a whisper behind us. It was Esme holding a phone to her ear. She had obviously heard what we had said.
Edward merely nodded. We could hear an angry buzzing coming through the phone.
"Alice…" Esme whispered gripping the phone so tightly, her knuckles turned white. The buzzing got louder and more persistent. "Siobhan…helped him..."
I was convinced that all of Seattle and Washington heard the shriek of "THAT BITCH IS GOING TO DIE!" that came down the phone from Alice.
A POV
"THAT BITCH IS GOING TO DIE!" I screamed once Esme's words had sunk in. I was shaking so much my phone fell from my hand.
"Alice…Alice what is it?"Rose demanded.
I turned to look at Rose and even opened my mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Rose was pale and visibly shaking. Shit! pull yourself together Alice! You don't want her going into premature labour on top of everything else, especially not on your new Egyptian cotton covered couch!
"Siobhan was helping Platt." I finally managed to whisper. Rose was silent for a moment, her hand instinctively rubbing across her swollen abdomen. Then a hard, frightening look crossed her beautiful if slightly swollen face as she took my shaking hands in hers
"She will suffer…BUT NOT NOW."
"Rose!"
"Alice…Carlisle and Esme need us now, they are barely holding it together as it is…there is a good chance that that over protective, hit first ask questions later husband of mine is going to get himself in trouble…yours too…the last thing they need is for you to get into trouble as well. Fuck it Alice…I need you…"she said her voice catching with emotion. I knew she was right, but I felt so helpless and so damn angry that that twisted bitch had yet again caused this family pain. "She has put Carlisle and Esme through the worst pain a parent can suffer. I want to have full use of my limbs when we rip that bitch apart and send her back to the emerald isle in little fucking pieces." Rose growled.
"Okay Mamma bear…easy…" I laughed. "Apparently, Carlisle and Esme are on their way here…Esme's going to wait with us whilst Carlisle gets the money from the bank."
Rose nodded. "What did Evie actually say again? It's just all happened so fast…that I'm not sure I took everything in."
"Esme said she was okay…scared but okay…she said she could be brave a bit longer because she knew that Carlisle was coming to rescue her like he had Esme."
Rose let out a small sob as we both collapsed back against the couch and carried on waiting.
Aro's stroke may have limited his mobility, but his mind was as sharp, if not sharper than it had ever been. He had pulled strings and as Edward and I found out later been to visit Charles Platt in prison. The visit had resulted in him having a very special present to give Evie for her birthday, Esme's divorce papers plus the deeds to a house and a small construction firm that Platt had legally put in Esme's name.
Despite my protests, they had insisted on a small ceremony at home in the garden. The only concession Esme did allow me, was the honour of designing her wedding dress, ivory satin with a cowl neck. It was simple, chic…it was my mom. I still got a thrill every time I got to call her that, but it was nothing compared to the feeling I had when she would take me in her arms and just hold me. After all this time, I finally felt the love, safety and security that Dad, my brothers or even Bella and Rose could not give me. And surprisingly that hadn't changed with the birth of my little sister, who all the family…mom included insisted on calling "my mini me." There were similarities I'll grant you… she had exceptional taste,from the age of two, she could pick out and destroy my most expensive clothes and makeup whilst playing dress up! But she never sat still and was so LOUD! Jazz and I needed a week to recover after babysitting the little devil.
The weekend of the wedding, Jazz and I had arrived earlier than we had expected so I offered to go and pick up Evie from pre-school. As was usual, she greeted me with a loud ALICE! That had me blushing and looking for somewhere to hide. But her excitement had dimmed pretty quickly, which had surprised me considering she was getting to do one of her favourite things, riding in my Porsche, in her booster seat, wearing a pair of my oversized shades whilst singing along to the radio. I like everyone else who noticed her mood had put it down to tiredness or excitement about the wedding. But later that night when it was my turn to go and check on her, I had heard her crying.
"Evie…" I had said quietly, moving further into her room. She suddenly stilled.
"I'm asleep." She said her eyes screwed tightly closed.
I sat down on the end of her little bed. I was in two minds whether or not to call Esme…I'm not exactly known for my skills with children.
"Did you have a bad dream…do you want me to call mom or Dad?"
"No!" she said quickly, her eyes snapping open.
"What is it Evie…you can tell me."
"It's bad…"
Okay, I was worried she was upset, but what could be so bad to a four year old?
"Well, that's what big sister's are for. To tell all your secret's the good and the bad too." I said softly stroking her leg. She sniffled for a moment before sitting up against the pillows.
"Britney Newton said that Daddy wasn't really my Daddy." She sniffled.
"Little bit…just like her mother." I hissed. Evie whimpered slightly.
"Sorry sweetie…can we have a snuggle?"
Evie nodded and I moved so I was lying on my side and she was cuddling into me.
"Britney Newton doesn't know what she's talking about. Of course Daddy is your Daddy."
"But Mommy and him, there not married like other mommy's and daddy's…she said mommy was married to someone else and he's really my daddy."
I couldn't help the strangled cry that escaped me.
"Evie, honey." I said stroking her hair from her face. "Mommy was married to someone else but that was a long time ago and he was a very nasty man…he didn't treat her very nicely…but…" I said quickly as her eyes widened and she started to breathe fast. "mommy was really, really brave and she ran away from the bad man. Daddy found her…"
"In the woods? Like in my story?" Evie asked breathlessly, I noticed the story book on the table.
"No…not in the woods, but in the little cottage on the beach near Grandpa Charlie's and Grandma Sue's. And from the first moment they saw each other, they fell in love." I said. I was getting carried away a bit, but it was the truth…sort of and it was taking the worried frown off Evie's face.
"What about the bad man?" Evie demanded.
"Well…he came back and tried to get Mommy back, but he and Daddy had a big fight…"
"With Swords"?
"Something like that."
"Did Daddy get hurt"?
"Nope…not a scratch…cause he was too strong and quick for the bad man."
"Daddy didn't kill him?"
"No honey…Daddy is a doctor, they're not allowed to kill people. When the fight was over, Grandpa Charlie, Edward, Emmett and uncle Jazz came and put him in a special prison forever and ever. And then Daddy bought Mommy back here to live…"
"And they all lived happily ever after!" Evie giggled. I laughed and gave her a little tickle.
"Well they were very happy…but then Mommy found out she was going to have a baby…I wonder who that was?" I teased.
"That was me"! Evie giggled again. It really was a beautiful sound.
"Oh yeah that's right…Emmett and Edward and I got a new little sister who we love very much…even when she is a little vampire and won't go to sleep."
"And were Mommy and Daddy happy when they had me?" she asked quietly.
"Are you kidding me? They were happier than they have ever been when their little Princess was born…especially Daddy. He wanted to wait so that we could have a big party to show everyone how very much he loves Mommy and you." I said, hoping that she couldn't hear the emotion catching in my voice. It didn't take long after that for her to fall asleep. I carefully got up and headed out of the room, only to come face to face with Dad. Judging by the soft look on his face and the tears shining in his eyes, he had heard at least some of what I said.
"Rescuing the damsel in distress, sword fights…" he chuckled softly.
"Every little girl thinks their Dad's are hero's…"
"What do the big girls think?"
"Oh, they know that their Dad's aren't perfect, but that just makes this big girl love her Daddy all the more."
And then just for a few moments, I let myself be a little girl again and loose myself in the comfort that only a hug from your Dad could give you.
I just hoped that my love, prayers and hopes would be enough to help Dad give this story the happy ending I so desperately wanted it to have.
SUE/CHARLIE POV
"And don't you even think of asking if you can go and help." I said firmly to Charlie as we turned on to the Cullen's driveway.
"Nag me woman…grown…man… police chief…15 years" Charlie growled.
"A grown man who has a daughter and a grandson, who needs him. Not to mention a wife who is pretty fond of him." Charlie looked over at me and patted my hand.
As we approached the main house we saw Demetri and the boys heading for the cars. Whilst Charlie peeled off towards them, I headed into the house. Carlisle was in the lounge on the phone.
"Esme."? I called.
She came out of the kitchen with Bella. Esme looked pale and tired but there was a calmness about her, which frightened me for some reason. It broke only for a few moments when she let out a strangled cry and launched herself into my arms.
"God Sue…I need this to be over…I need her back." She groaned.
"And it will be…very soon honey…you just need to be strong a little longer." I said giving her a squeeze. "Now go get your little girl and bring her home where she belongs." I said firmly, trying to get my own emotions under control as I pulled away from her. She nodded and the detached calm seemed to fall over again.
"Bella, could you give me and Sue a minute." Esme asked quietly. Bella looked at me, she was as worried as I was but she left.
"Sue…thank you…for everything…" Esme said quietly.
"Esme…" she was scaring me now. She quickly filled me in on Charles demand for her to be the one that delivered the money. I tried to tell her that it may not mean that Charles wanted to hurt her, but I knew deep down she was probably right. She had told me during our long, intimate chats that she had always feared Charles making one last attempt to get at her. And if I was honest so had I. I loved this woman as if she was my own daughter.
I was the only sister to seven brothers and after my mother died had been little more than a servant to them and my father, whilst also trying to hold down a job at a diner. It was what was expected of the very few women there were in my Irish Catholic family. I had met Harry Clearwater when he and Charlie Swan were beat cops in Seattle and regulars at the diner. With his exotic russet skin, dark hair and large almond eyes, I had found Harry wildly attractive. Not that I had had much chance to do anything about it, he was twelve years older than me and either one of my brothers or my father were always around. That didn't stop Harry, he used to time his and Charlie's food breaks to coincide with mine. I had always wanted to travel, experience new places, new cultures and Harry's Quileute heritage seemed as good a place as any, although I wasn't overly fond of how the women of the tribe were expected to "know their place and their duties." And by this time, I was madly in love with Harry and pregnant. Who says it can't happen the first time you do it? My family disowned me for nearly ten years, but I was happy with Harry and baby Seth and my place on the reservation even if it meant being surrounded by men all the time. Harry and I were never blessed with more children and I never got the little girl I had always wanted. I had imagined her to have a curtain of dark hair, russet skin and almond eyes, but she actually had caramel curls a peaches and cream complexion and hazel eyes.
With Esme and Evie I got the best of both worlds. Evie although she was classed by everyone as my granddaughter allowed me to have a little girl, whilst Esme, my beautiful, kind, loving, vulnerable Esme gave me the close confidant and support of an older daughter. Aro as well as negotiating Esme's divorce had also obtained as a settlement a house and a small construction company that Charles- "Bastard if I got my hands on you for five minutes, I would scratch your eyes out and leave you staked out in the middle of the forest for the wolves that roamed the area" Platt had stupidly put in her name. Esme had sold the house and expanded the construction company. She was so nervous, especially as most of the men had worked for Platt, but she had proved to them that she was a firm, but fair boss who knew what she was talking about. Esme only worked part time on special projects, her main job was raising the little girl we all adored and loving the man, the mention of whose name would cause her to beam with happiness. The rest of the time CULLEN CONSTRUCTION was run by Billy Black and me.
The thought of losing my little girls was too much to bare. Esme was nearly six inches taller than me, but I pulled her too me fiercely. Esme hugged me tightly. She was shaking and desperately holding back what felt like a scream in her chest judging by her pounding heart.
" Please Sue…If something happens to me… to Evie, please try and keep an eye on Carlisle the children. I've left letters in the top drawer of my dresser. Just quick notes…so please…please try and tell them what I've told you…how much I loved them."
"ESME STOP PLEASE." I was almost pleading.
But there was an eerily calm smile on her face as she squeezed my shoulder and whispered " I love you." Before hurrying away . I was not an over religious person, in fact I classed myself as not so much a lapsed Catholic, more a collapsed Catholic, but as I watched her walk away, I began praying harder than I had ever done.
CHARLIE POV
The boys didn't speak, they didn't have to. It was written all over their faces.
"So, just how bad are things?" I said grimly.
They quickly filled me in and it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dropped down my spine. I hadn't always been a cop in a hick town like Forks I had served eight years in down town Seattle involved in some big cases and a hostage situation in a bank.
"Well do what you have to knowing that everything will be okay here…but Edward…I hope you remember what I told you would happen to you if you upset or left my Bells again."
"Yes Sir…Chief Swan." Edward mumbled, suddenly looking not like the confident, successful doctor, but the lanky, awkward sixteen year old I had met all those years ago.
"Charlie."
I spun round to face Carlisle. The man was devastated, but determined. It wasn't like me, but all I could think of to do at that moment was hug him. He was as shocked as I was for a moment, but then hugged me back fiercely.
.
SIOBHAN POV
"Sweetheart…it won't be long…Daddy loves you." I had heard Carlisle say. The love and agonizing pain in his voice had hit me with the force of a punch to the stomach. What the hell was I doing?
"Love you…" the child had begun to say before Charles had yanked her by the hair away from the phone causing her to cry out and burst into tears.
"EVIE"! Carlisle and Esme were practically screaming down the phone. I remonstrated with Charles but only received a slap for my trouble. I hated Esme for what she had with Carlisle, the way he looked at her. There was so much love and wonder. It was if he couldn't believe that she actually was there with him, that she actually loved him and found him as attractive as he did her. And fair play to Esme, she did love him. I had been the biggest bitch imaginable at the hospital after Carlisle's accident. Some of it had been fear about what had happened to the man I thought I loved, but most of it had been about revenge for their little stunt at the charity auction and for just being together. But Esme had waited, she had taken everything I had thrown at her until she had literally been dragged from the hospital kicking and screaming. It hadn't occurred to me that my actions might have hurt Carlisle as well, but literally as soon as she had left the hospital he had started to react. He was in a medically induced coma, but his vitals had started to become erratic. It was almost as if he were in physical pain, something that shouldn't have been possible due to his medication. Then there were the nightmares. Eleazar would not let me on his floor when Carlisle was moved, but I snuck down one night to witness Carlisle thrashing about and screaming for Esme.
I had hurried over to him and tried to calm him.
"Where is she…where's Esme…ESME help me I…can't breathe." He had ground out. We had given him something to relax him, but not knock him totally out, but he fought against it, only calming when I had reassured his still sleeping mind that she was on her way.
I had gone home to Ireland to lick my wounds and missed the trial of the people responsible for the club collapse. So when I had returned to Seattle and began working in the burns clinic, I had no idea who Charles Platt was. He was just a prisoner with severe burns. He had been sexually attacked in prison as well as physically. He had been transferred to a mental hospital, but when I met him, he was charming, flirty, understanding…I was lonely, pathetic and still in love with a man who was never really mine to begin with. So, when he had told me about Esme, how she left him, what she was "really like" according to him, put the idea in my head that if he got Esme out of the way, I could be there for Carlisle.
As I watched him begin to lose his temper with Carlisle, who had jumped to defend his wife, I had spent months in varying wigs hanging round Forks taking pictures for Charles. I had even snuck into the wedding. Watching the two of them on the dance floor again for their first dance as man and wife had broken my heart. They were practically glowing with happiness, love and desire for each other, their bodies moved with the ease of being made for each other. I knew that no matter what Charles did to Esme physically including kill her, nothing and nobody would ever be able to touch the love they share.
I may not be able to do much to protect Esme I thought, but I could at least for Carlisle's sake try and protect their little girl before it really was too late. I heard Charles strangled yell and I could see that he was about to throw the glass in his hand right at Evie who was where he had flung her a few minutes ago, on the couch. I made a grab for her and yanked her over the back of the sofa by the arm, but I wasn't quite quick enough and the glass grazed her head causing her to scream.
"Carlisle , fucking, Cullen…who the fuck does he think he is?" Charles raged.
I was holding Evie in my arms now. She was as stiff as a board and she usually tried to wriggle away from me, but she was shocked and in pain. From my quick look at her, I didn't think she had a concussion from the glass hitting her. But its chipped edge had hit her on the side of the head, leaving a small but deep cut. After hearing Charles' words she spoke.
"Carlisle Cullen is my Daddy and he's going to kick your ass." She huffed.
Oh for the love of God! Whilst I admired her spirit, I really wished she hadn't said that. It had taken days of pleading for me to persuade him to let me dump the girl after he had done whatever the hell he planned to do to Esme at the building sight. I didn't like her and although I knew it was pathetic, I knew I never would. But I did not want her death on my conscience and now I was thinking more clearly and was also sober, I knew that Esme's death and most probably where this was heading. Sure hadn't he been saying for months that she was his wife, his property and that he'd rather see her dead than with Carlisle. Charles had worked out, what seemed like a pretty good, safe way in and out of the building site and had a chance to do as he said he would and meet me in Mexico with the money. But whether he took his chance to run or stayed and played his sick little version of Romeo and Juliet dying with his wife, I wouldn't know until the police told me. Because if I managed to do what I hoped I could do for the child I would not be sunning myself on a beach in Mexico this time next week, I would be staring at the sky through the bars of a prison cell. Jesus! Television really is fictional, because on CSI or SVU criminal intent they always managed to locate the criminals accomplice a lot faster than it was taking the Seattle PD to find me.
Charles was silent for a long moment, Evie I could see in the mirror behind Charles was frightened, her little body was shaking and not just with the shock of her head wound and if I was right about the small patch of warm wetness spreading across my hand, she had wet herself. But she was defiant, her chin held up. Suddenly he was laughing, his strange high pitched laugh making both Evie and I jump.
"You're as defiant and stupid as your mother."
"My mommy isn't stupid! She builds buildings and you have to be really smart for that!" Evie chimed in.
"Enough child! Charles she's in shock…tired, in pain…I need to see too her head." I said quickly turning to head into the bedroom of the flea bitten little apartment we were renting. Charles gave us a sneering look before dismissing us with a wave of his hand. But at the door of the bedroom, I heard him speak.
"Well luckily for me…it doesn't take many smarts to know how to push a button."
ES POV
I had just over an hour before I had to meet Charles at the new location, but when Alice had called, I could not ignore her. I really did love her as if she were my own daughter and I hoped I had managed to tell her that without tipping her off that something else was wrong. I also prayed that Rose and those two precious babies she was carrying, would not suffer too greatly.
Carlisle had taken two million from the five, Aro had bought with him complete with armed guard the day before and placed it in the boot of the Mercedes in the garage. I had been on my way to remove it when I had walked in on the boy's conversation. Siobhan had hated me so much, that she had conspired with Charles in his plans to snatch Evie after, according to what I had managed to force out of Demetri, stalking us for months. Alice had been hysterical with anger and part of me was glad to know, that if something did happen to me and Evie, Alice, Rose and Bella would take care of the bitch.
I was starting to panic. I had to get hold of that money, but the boys were deep in conversation, then all of them had descended on me to hug me and reassure me that they would not let Charles harm me or Evie. As I lost myself in their embraces, I was so desperate to say something, to tell Emmett where Charles was going to be. I wanted so much for Charles to know real fear and as frightening as Carlisle could be, I knew that Emmett could be downright feral when the red mist descended.
Say something Esme! I was screaming to myself. She's there sister, they have a right to know…to help. But every voice in my head was drowned out by the screams, terrified, agonized, pitiful screams and Charles words. "One sign of the doc or cops and she's gone." And he would do it as well, I knew he would. Thankfully, Bella had then called everyone into the kitchen for a quick snack. Nobody was eating properly and it was going to be a long day. I picked at my sandwich, more for my darling little Adam's sake than anything. If I could find a way, I would make Charles pay for what the way he had made that wonderful, sensitive boy suffer.
Escaping after ten minutes but still with Bella glued to my hip I had run into Sue. I had almost blurted something out then, but the cries of "Please Stop…please…I want my mommy." Echoing round my head strangled the words in my throat. Sue Swan was the mother I always wanted and it killed me to lie to her, to possible put her through so much pain, but I had to think of my baby and stopping the pain that that sadistic bastard was causing her.
Finally, I found Carlisle in the lounge on the phone giving Aro an update. He looked devastated, but determined. My kind, loving, compassionate Carlisle. My friend, my confidante, my lover, my protector, my heart, my soul…my everything. Would he ever forgive me? I moved to the fireplace, where our wedding photo now took pride of place. It was a candid black and white shot. He was looking at me with such adoration…such love. I furiously began to try and wipe away the tears that were spilling down my cheeks.
"The happiest day of my life." He said softly behind me.
"Don't ever let Evie hear you say that. You've convinced her that the day she was born is the happiest day of your life." I chuckled tearfully. Carlisle was so close it felt like he was surrounding me. I could feel the heat from his body, smell his scent of musk, clean linen and honey, almost taste his lips which were so close to my ear.
"Well it was…in a way…but marrying you…saying the words in front of our friends and family…proclaiming to the heavens that you Esme Cullen were now my wife, my friend, my partner, my protector, my lover…my home…it completed me." His voice was low, rough and full of emotion. I could not hold back the sob that escaped me as I spun round and roughly claimed his mouth with my own. I slipped one hand round his waist, pressing myself as close to him as I could, whilst the other tangled in his hair.
"I love you so much…forgive me…please forgive me…" I sobbed round the edge of our kiss.
"Love you too…nothing to forgive…" he mumbled. For a moment I lost myself in our kiss. His tounge traced my lips asking for access which I readily gave. When I said what I was about to say, Carlisle could hate me, so I just wanted, needed to show him how much I loved him. I let our tounges duel for a moment, greedily trying to commit to memory his taste, before I pulled away.
"Carlisle…Charles isn't going to be at the club in Seattle…" I stammered. It took Carlisle a minute to take in what I was saying.
"What?"
"He called me, after you left the room…oh god Carlisle…" I groaned, fisting the front of his sweater as the horrors of what I had heard overwhelmed me and I sunk to my knees.
"Esme…Esme…what are you talking about…what's going on?" he demanded in a panic as he dropped to his knees with me.
"She's talking about this." I heard Demetri say softly from the doorway.
C POV
"She's talking about this?" Demetri said holding up a small digital tape recorder. In a daze I helped Esme to the sofa.
"Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on?" I demanded again. Esme was still clinging to me begging her to forgive her and saying that she didn't mean a word of what she said. What the fuck was going on.
"Yes, but not here…we have to hurry."
Bella and Sue arrived at that moment and came to sit down next to Esme.
"I'm sorry…I didn't know what to do… I didn't mean a word…not a word…love only you…so much" Esme groaned she collapsed almost wailing onto Sue. I was confused, angry and now terrified. I raced after Demetri toward the garage where the boys were. Charlie was down at Bella and Edward's house with Adam. Demetri opened the door to the Mercedes. I sat long ways in the driver's seat as everyone gathered round.
"Platt called Esme on her work cell phone just after we left the room. My colleague Bill only just saw that there was something on the trace from it. The sonofabitch is somewhere in Port Angeles."
"What the fuck!"
"Where? Let's go…"
"We only know a vague location, he's using pay as you go cell phones making one call and then tossing them. They are bastards to trace accurately. Our best bet is to wait for him to turn up at his meeting with Esme."
"What did he say to her? And why wouldn't she tell me…anyone."
"Carlisle…" Demetri began, he looked deathly pale and he was visibly shaking.
"Don't be too hard on her. She wasn't thinking rationally…she was thinking with her heart…much be torn in even more pieces than it was before. What she heard must be a mother and father's worst nightmare."
"Play the damn tape." I whispered. My heart was clenching painfully in my chest. What had that sick bastard done to my baby?
"NOOOOO NOOOO…OHHHH JESUUUUS NOOOO PLEEEEASE!" I screamed as the tape started. I shifted slightly in my seat and began pounding the hell out of the steering wheel. Emmett had punched the wall he was leaning against as he doubled over to wretch. Edward was almost convulsing with shock and Jasper was holding his head, shaking it furiously as if trying to clear it of the horror was listening to. The opening screams were replaced then by Esme hysterically begging Platt to stop what he was doing. The thickness of the walls upstairs, the fact we were spread across the house and outside, plus the fact that Esme was obviously trying to bite back her screams meant that she had been all alone listening to that.
"Now I've got your attention, we can speak properly." Platt said.
"Ch…arles…no more…please don't hurt her anymore…she's a little girl…" Esme sobbed brokenly.
"She's not my kid."
No you son of a bitch, she's mine. You kicked yours to death.
"No…but she's mine. Pleease Charles…if you ever felt anything for me…no more…" Esme pleaded.
"Feel anything for you. Esme I love you…you're my wife…MY WIFE! What you have with the doc…it means nothing…say it Esme…tell me that what you have with Dr, McFucker has nothing…"
"No…"
The screaming started again.
"It…means…nothing…"
"Say that you're my wife." Platt sang. The bastard was loving every minute of this.
"I'm you're wife…" Esme sobbed, her voice was flat.
"Tell me that you love me AND ONLY ME."
"I…love you…only you." Esme ground out. The anguish in her voice was so raw it was painful to listen to. This must have been what she meant by she didn't mean a word of what she said and that she loved only me. Hearing her say those words to that bastard tore at my heart, but I knew where it mattered that she didn't mean it. I knew how much Esme loved me and how much I loved her. The brave wonderful woman was doing what she had to do to try and help our baby.
"You're a terrible liar Esme…always have been. But I know it must be hard with everyone around you…so how about you meet me with the ransom and then you can try and convince me again. Do a good job and you will get your brat back…don't…"
"We're just about to leave for Seattle now…to get the money."
"Esme…Esme…Esme…you have the money in the house."
"Did Siobhan tell you that?" Esme snarled. I know baby, I know. I thought to myself. I still couldn't believe that the twisted bitch would go to such extremes. But I knew that even if the legal system didn't punish her as much as I would like, my daughters would. And I would gladly hold their coats whilst they did it.
Platt laughed.
"Are you jealous?"
"Maybe." Esme said. It sounded as if she had almost vomited the word out, but Platt was so surprised by her answer he didn't notice. Esme spent the rest of the call talking Platt down, reassuring him and making him promise not to touch Evie anymore. It turned my stomach to hear, but I understood and was proud of her for what she had done. The tape stopped and after a long moment of silence, Demetri got on the phone quickly followed by Emmett and Edward. We didn't have much time before Esme was scheduled to meet Platt.
But with a groan I dropped my head in my hands as the contents of that tape came back to me. "You're hurting me…please stop…please…I'll tell my Daddy…please stop." Oh Evie baby, I'm so sorry, Alice had made her believe that I was some hero that could come riding to her rescue, but I was too late, nothing I could do would be able to pull her from the horror story she was living.
On rubbery legs I got out of the car. The boys were all staring at me, pale faced and horrified. I looked towards Demetri.
"Demetri, you might not want to stick around to hear what I have to say to my sons." I said quietly. I stumbled slightly only for Emmett to reach out a big arm to steady me. Demetri stayed where he was.
"And Jasper, you should know by now that I consider you my son. Boys, you know I would never put you in danger or risk your future happiness. But…I need a favour. My main concern will be getting Esme and Evie away from that bastard safely. So…if I can't get near enough to him and any of you can…" I cast another look at Demetri. He was a good man and good at his job I didn't want him to risk everything for our sake. "Take the bastard out." I growled.
Edward had called Billy Black and he and the boys on the reservation were scouring the area surrounding the cliffs where Platt had arranged to meet Esme. Demetri had called for the back up that was heading to Seattle. Emmett had unlocked his hunting rifle from the cabinet. He was a marksman in the army and if he had a chance of a shot at Platt he was going to take it. And although I knew that he would not stop at a disabling shot, I no longer cared. Jasper and Bella were going to drive my Mercedes towards Seattle, before doubling back, just incase Platt had anyone other than Siobhan watching us. The cars windows were tinted, but at a distance the two of them could pass for Esme and I in terms of build and colouring.
I was alone in the garage, the others heading in convoy down the drive when Esme came to stand in the doorway. She was pale and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
"Come here." I said softly from my position leaning against the hood of Edward's Volvo. She walked towards me stopping a little distance from me. I reached out, taking her face in my hands, my thumbs rubbing away the tears on her cheeks. She looked so frightened, so haunted, but there was so much love and still after everything hope.
"My Esme…my beautiful brave Esme…"
"I didn't mean a word…love only you…" she gasped. "He's hurt her Carlisle…he's hurt our baby…" she sobbed.
"I know. But what we have to concentrate on…is getting her home…so we can begin to help her…help us heal." I whispered. "I can't do that alone…please…please…" I began, unable to say the words. I shut my eyes.
"Carlisle…Carlisle look at me." Esme said sharply. I opened my eyes and she pulled back a little from me. "I swear to you, I will fight to keep Evie, keep myself safe with every ounce of strength I have…but…if…"
I was whimpering.
"If…anything happens to me…I need you to know how much I love you, how happy you have made me…and that when your time comes, I'll be waiting under the tree on our island."
"Can't…oh Esme…can't lose you…I'll follow you…"
"You dare! Carlisle Cullen, if our baby makes it safely through this and you leave her alone…I'll go to hell just to spite you!" Esme spat suddenly. I huffed a tearful laugh as I pulled her into my arms holding her as close to me as humanly possible, which was still not close enough and claimed her mouth desperately. Please God, Please…please…please…don't take my girls from me…please.
ES POV
I had always known that this would happen. Not Evie being kidnapped. No, even I didn't think that the bastard would do this, although maybe I should have, she was the perfect way to get me where he wanted me, on my knees begging for mercy. I always knew that Charles would never stop, in prison or not until he got me back. I was his property, a prize in the fucked up, twisted game he called his life and Charles Platt didn't like to lose. And when it came to playing against Carlisle who was everything he wasn't the only way he knew how to play was dirty.
I was terrified as I saw the cliffs of La Push come into view. I did not want to die and there was a part of me, getting larger by the minute that knew that that was probably what was going to happen. But if giving my life meant that my beautiful girl could keep hers, damaged as it may well be thanks to him, I would do it gladly. I had left a scribbled note and my wedding and engagement rings at home for Evie. I hope she would understand how much I loved her. I hoped all of my children and grandchildren would understand. I hoped my Carlisle would know.
Calls as we had been driving informed us that Emmett was in position on a small ledge opposite where Charles and I were due to meet. Apparently as long as Charles didn't look straight out he wouldn't see Emmett through his small amount of cover. Carlisle gripped my hand tightly as I let out a sob.
My baby was hurt, terrified. I knew how terrifying Charles could be looming over you and I knew how rough he could be…the thought of her being alone, her little body wracked with pain. Would she? Could she ever forgive us?
Carlisle gave me a brief kiss that was so full of love and support that it almost took my breath away.
"I'm going to make sure that Evie knows that she doesn't have to look at story books or me to see what a hero looks like…and whatever she thinks of me…I don't hold a candle to you…your strength, your courage." Carlisle whispered as we stood foreheads touching, both desperately trying to gain as much comfort and strength from each other whilst we still could.
I smiled. Alice, Carlisle and later Evie with big, dramatic embellishments had told me the story they had told her to explain why Carlisle and I weren't married. "I don't feel brave…I'm terrified." I whispered.
"Real hero's always are."
Carlisle left me, walking backwards, allowing me as much as himself a final chance to see each other. He and Billy Black were going to be on a ledge above me. The police back up from Seattle was literally only ten minutes away. I just had to keep Charles talking and keep Evie safe till then.
I was convinced that Charles would hear my heart pounding against my ribs. I could see him standing towards the edge of the cliff holding a small figure. My breath caught in my throat. Oh baby hang on…Mommy's coming. I was almost there. The path was steep and who knew two million dollars was so heavy? Charles was coming into sharper focus. My distance vision wasn't great without my glasses. Suddenly, the almost deafening sound of a cell phone ringing seemed to echo off the cliffs. Spooked, Charles spun round and looked right down the barrel of Emmett's rifle, the sight of which was sparking in the weak sunshine.
I wasn't close enough! No! No!
"You really do have to learn the hard way don't you Esme?" Charles yelled. Three things seemed to happen at once then. Charles moved, meaning that the shot Emmett let off grazed Charles' arm rather than doing any major damage. Charles dropped the figure in his arms. And I, sped towards him screaming and cursing at the top of my lungs. His snide laugh was replaced with shock and then terror as he realized that he was falling. I had taken him off guard as I ran at him and we were now both falling over the edge of the cliff. My life didn't flash before my eyes, I just had brief moment of feeling great pleasure that if I had to die, I had taken the bastard with me.
Hitting the water knocked the air out of my lungs, but I was still conscious. Charles landed seconds after me. I was looking around frantically for Evie. She was small, but she should still be here…she wasn't. My lungs were burning as they fought for air. I kicked for the surface, only to find myself being dragged back down by Charles whose was practically using me as a ladder to reach the surface. I had forgotten he couldn't swim. I tried to fight him off, but he was too strong and it wasn't long before lights began exploding behind my eyes and I felt myself slipping away. Evie and Carlisle's faces floating before me. In the few seconds before I was swallowed by the darkness, I prayed that they would not stop looking till they found Evie and…we could be buried together.
C POV
I had literally just seen my life flash before my eyes. First my baby was gone. And then with screams and curses my Esme went flying over the edge of the cliff with Charles Platt. I was so stunned, it wasn't until I saw the two large splashes as they hit the water that I could scream for Esme.
"Carlisle c'mon…CARLISLE!" Billy Black screamed grabbing my arm. I couldn't move.
"Come up…Come up…please…" I muttered. Edward had decided to wait in Charlie's motor boat. He didn't know why, he just felt the need and I knew I would never question him again. He raced forward, it took him a few minutes but he stopped at one spot and the next thing I knew, he was in the water.
I spun round to see Demetri leading the SWAT team and other cops towards me. "You're too fucking late." I snarled racing past them.
Reaching the beach, Billy and I saw Edward fighting with a flailing Platt. We kicked off our shoes and raced into the surf. Billy went to help Edward, I began diving looking for my wife and child. It was on my second dive I saw her…Evie…I raced forward scooping up…a life size doll they used in children's clothes stores wearing Evie's coat. I screamed in frustration as I hurled it away. My muscles and lungs were screaming but I dived again and saw Esme floating like a fallen angel.
"Esme…please baby…don't leave me…please…" I begged as I stumbled up the beach carrying her bridal style. She wasn't breathing, her lips blue and her leg hanging at an odd angle. I layed her down.
"Breathe Esme…breathe dammit." I begged as I began CPR. Nothing. I could hear Edward, Charles and Billy and a newly arrived Jasper behind me with Platt.
"Esme…you promised me you'd fight…FIGHT!" I screamed. They were the longest two minutes of my life, but she gave a cough and wretched some water. She was still unconscious and far from out of the woods, but she was breathing.
"Edward…watch over Esme…" I barked as I headed to Platt. He was cut and bruised and coughing up water. I straddled his chest but pulled him up by the shirt.
"WHERE IS SHE? WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?" I screamed.
"What?" Jasper demanded.
"THIS SICK BASTARD…IT WAS A DUMMY…WHERE IS SHE?"
Platt despite his limited breathing began to laugh maniacally. I hit him and kept pounding on him whilst all the while demanding to know where Evie was. They say mentally ill people can develop increased strength and it seemed Platt had it, because I was turning his face into a bloody pulp, but he kept laughing.
"DAD…DAD ENOUGH…EVIE'S SAFE!"
It took me a minute to realize that Emmett was the one that was bodily pulling me off Platt and what he was saying. I fought against his firm grip, he let me go and I spun round.
"That was my phone that went off…Siobhan got a fit of conscience…she dropped her off at a fire station…the guys there recognized her from the fliers that we've handed out…she's on her way to the hospital now…she's scared…dehydrated…hungry…Dad…one of the girls on the EMT rigs asked her if Platt had touched her…she said no. Siobhan backed her up…it was a tape he got from one of the pervs he met. " Emmett said. It felt like the air had been punched from my stomach. My legs gave way and I began to wretch. She was safe…Evie was safe…safe and not harmed. I began to crawl across the sand towards Esme. She was still unconscious, but I heard Edward say something about her breathing being steady.
"Esme…sweetheart…did you hear that…she's safe…Evie's safe…he didn't hurt her…" I ground out, smoothing her wet hair from her face. My head dropped to my chest and I began to weep, God couldn't be so cruel as to give me one back and take the other.
ES POV
My head was pounding, my lungs burning and my leg was agony. But they were all forgotten when I opened my eyes to see Carlisle asleep in a recliner by my bed, with Evie cuddled on his lap, her little hand fisting the scrub top he was wearing. My breath hitched loudly causing Evie to stir. Her big blue eyes were looking right at me.
"Evie…baby is that you…or am I dreaming?" I whispered.
I then heard the most beautiful sound. She was giggling, her freshly washed curls bouncing.
"Silly mommy…it's me…"
"Come here baby…" I said holding out my arms, I wouldn't believe it till I felt her in my arms. I tried to sit up, but my leg wouldn't let me. I hissed with pain.
"Mommy you can't move…you're leg is broken…it's in a tractor to make it better." Evie said in her best doctor voice. I laid back down, my eyes never leaving Evie.
"What happened?"
"You broke it kicking the ass of the bad man who took me away." Evie said with a certain amount of awe in her voice. Suddenly everything came rushing back, hitting me like the water I'd hit.
"Daddy…DADDY!" Evie said, pulling on Carlisle's top. His eyes snapped open.
"What is it baby what's wrong?" he demanded panicked.
"Mommy's awake." Evie said pointing at me. Carlisle turned to look at me. Relief, pain and breathtaking love and tenderness in his eyes.
"Thank god." He whispered.
He picked Evie up and came to sit on the side of the bed. She flung her arms round my neck and although my chest complained, I hugged her fiercely taking breaths of her scent, her hair, relishing the feel of her little body. Carlisle had one hand on her back the entire time, feeling like I did that we had to constantly feel her, to believe that she was really back with us.
"Oh…my beautiful…brave girl…Daddy and I missed you so much." I breathed.
"I missed you too…a lot…" she said into my neck. Her little voice was cracking with emotion.
"Oh sweetie…we're so sorry…we promise…you're safe now…nobody will…your safe now baby…Evie…creepy guy…he didn't touch you anywhere he shouldn't did he…anywhere private?" I asked quietly. Carlisle was shaking his head, but I needed to hear her say it.
" NO! Why does everyone keep asking me that?The creepy guy…he was always shouting and threw me on the sofa…he pulled my hair…really hard…and he threw a glass at my head see." Evie sniffled sitting up, she held up her fringe and pointed at her forehead which had a small wound held together with steri strips. Carlisle saw the look on my face and squeezed my hand.
I reached forward and kissed the little wound.
"I'm sorry baby…so sorry…" I said.
"Why? You kicked his ass…didn't she Em?" Evie said. I looked up to see Emmett standing at the bottom of the bed. He looked exhausted.
"She certainly did squirt…Mom took him down…Dad finished him off." Emmett said. I looked at Carlisle. He shook his head.
"But he is really gone?" Evie queried, keeping tight hold of me and Carlisle.
"Squirt…would I lie to you? He's gone and he'll never bother us again…he's learnt the hard way what happens when you fuck with a Cullen."
"EMMETT!" Carlisle and I snapped. Emmett looked sheepish and Evie giggled again.
"Getting me into trouble." He growled at Evie.
"Well Emmett has to get home to Aunty Rose…"
"How is she?" I asked.
"Relieved and still very pregnant and crabby."
Evie needed the bathroom, she didn't want to leave me but I saw the way she was wriggling. I reminded her I couldn't go anywhere with my leg in a tractor and she went with Carlisle.
"Emmett…please tell me you didn't do anything stupid. Rose and the babies need you."
"I know that." He huffed. "I don't know…you throw the guy off a cliff…Dad pounds his face into a hamburger."
"He didn't." I gasped.
"Hell yeah…I didn't know the old man had it in him." Emmett said seriously. "Carlisle he didn't." I whispered
"NO! He wanted too...Charles Platt will soon be burning in the fires of hell where he belongs…but not at the hand of any of us. Mom…would I lie to you?" he said, his face innocent…but there was something in his eyes that made me shiver.
CHARLES POV
Women…all useless…untrustworthy bitches. They had ruined everything. But I had made Esme pay…hearing her scream like that when I had played that tape had almost made me hard. Then seeing her face when I had dropped that dummy…in the thirty seconds before the crazy bitch had taken us both of the cliff. Someone had shot me, maybe I could sue…the good doctor's face when he knew it was a dummy…that'll teach him to steal what's mine. I chuckled to myself, but winced as my battered face began to throb.
A sudden vicious kick to the bed behind me caused me to fall from my side onto my back. The doctor's son…the big oaf I think they called Emmett was looming over me.
"You're not allowed in here."
There were supposed to be police guards outside my room.
"Well it's amazing what you can do when you have friends in the right places…you have friends in prison don't you Platt…I bet they can't wait to welcome you back…in their own special ways. Maybe some of your friends will beat you bad enough so you can stay in the prison hospital drinking food through a straw for the rest of your miserable life." He sneered.
I whimpered.
"No…don't fancy that? Well maybe you're right…maybe being on the perv wing is better…you'll make lots of friends there…like the one you got your tape from…I'm sure they'll have lots of questions for you…ask you what it felt like terrorizing my little sister. But I think they'll be a bit disappointed when you have to admit that you didn't touch her…but you never know…they might be kind enough to demonstrate what they would have liked you to do… not that you mind…no I heard you like being someone's bitch…just think Platt…" he thrust his face close to mine. "All those years you've got in prison…just think how many new friends you're going to make…"
I tried to make a grab for the alarm cord. He didn't take his eyes off me, just reached back an arm and ripped it from the wall.
"Esme is my wife." I stammered.
"WRONG! MY MOTHER'S NAME IS ESME CULLEN…SAY IT." He roared in my face. I refused but he grabbed my throbbing jaw and began to move it with his hand.
"ES…ME…CUL…LEN." I mumbled. He let go and slapped my bruised raw face.
"See…that wasn't so hard. Does that hurt? He asked suddenly flicking the tube in my chest. I had broken three ribs, one of which had punctured my lung.
"YESSS." I hissed.
"Good. I saw quite a few of these in Afghanistan…some of our poor boys…young boys that are a million times the sniveling excuse for a man you are. One time…a boy had one of these but, he was getting better…they thought he was going to make it…then they had to evacuate the hospital…bombing raid. His line got all kinked up…caused an air bubble…by the time they noticed in all the confusion…poor bastard was gone…an air bubble in the line…went straight to his heart. At least it was quick though…relatively painless."
His hand hovered over the line in my chest.
"Yeah…it don't take much to cause one…especially in one of these lines…it being so close to the heart and lungs…a kink a twist and a really sharp squeeze and poof…gone."
A nurse came in at that moment and told him he had two minutes to leave.
"Well nice seeing ya Charles…make sure you write and let me know if you do find Mister Right this time…I'll be sure to send a gift…nice diamond studded choker perhaps with the word BITCH written in crystals." He said from the door before leaving.
All night his words haunted me. I couldn't go back to prison, the violence, the pain, the fear…the not knowing when the next beating or worse…sexual assault would come. What was it he said? I thought as I took the plastic line in my chest in my hand…a twist and a really sharp twist.
AN: So, there you have the demise of Charles Platt. Believe it or believe it not, I did put so thought in this chapter. I'm truly sorry to anyone who thinks I was wrong to kill him. He was just so evil and I did try to show that he suffered in prison as well like some of you wanted. I wanted him to die, but either as a result of his own actions, or as he showed because he was such a coward, he couldn't face the consequences for those actions. Sorry if you thought I went too far, or was too subtle or not violent enough. Emmett was involved because that was what so many of you asked for, but I didn't want him to touch him and get in trouble…not with the twins on the way ( next chapter) Hope the rescue was okay and not too over the top, I wanted to get Esme jumping from a cliff and her broken leg in somewhere. Evie will bounce back as will C/E. If I haven't put you all off, I have a few fluffy…only slightly dramatic chapters planned. Go on hit the button…pleeease. Just don't shout too loudly…feeling a little delicate.