A/N: Sorry I got writer's block, holiday was coming up, my dog isn't doing well and of course the Eclipse movie came out, so I was way late getting this out.

I'd like to welcome my new reader's and I want to thank my fic and twitter friend tg10781 for recommending my story on her story An Angel Closes Her Eyes. Love you and your story.

We are getting down to the last chapters so please leave a review.

I had a hard time with this chapter so please leave me some love.

**Tissue Warning**

Chapter 21 Tick Tock

∞Edward/Anthony∞

A few weeks passed and I was completely exhausted. Aro had finally admitted that he didn't want me around to play music, but to be his own physician. I wasn't totally surprised because the FBI had warned me that he liked to find people that interested him in order to add them to his employee list. I spent time after time patching up people that they had beaten; supposedly they had done wrong with Aro and his business.

I hardly ever saw Mike after that night of seeing him almost beaten to death, but each time I did the bruises were slowly disappearing from his face and cuts were healing. One thing that both Izzy and I noticed and were becoming more aggravated with was that he was never seen with his family; which made it harder for us to be able to get them away from harm's way. Plus, the FBI wanted me to get as close to Aro so that they would be able to bring him down successfully.

One other person that we had not seen was Bree's older brother, Riley. Even though no one mentioned him, we assumed the worse and had to push it away from our minds that he was probably dead.

Aro had me sign paperwork stating that I was not allowed to disclose any information to anyone and that even included Izzy. Knowing that we were here undercover I did not care about that written agreement and disclosed every piece of information to her every chance I got. In all honesty I did not feel like I had lied because I had signed my undercover name and not the name I had legally. Still in Aro's eyes it would look as if I betrayed him and there was no doubt in my mind if he ever figured out that I had told Izzy he wouldn't hesitate to kill me.

Not only did I attend to his battered and almost dead employees, I had taken it upon myself to visit Alice whenever I knew Aro wasn't around. We, the FBI, Izzy and I, thought it would be best to keep Alice's pregnancy a secret, but we weren't quite sure how long we would be able to cover up her morning sickness. Also Alice swore to herself, Jasper and on the life of her child that she would do everything possible to try and prevent Aro from wanting to inflict harm on her in anyway.

For Alice's sake I even was able to get the FBI to get prenatal vitamins for her. Anytime we needed anything that was hard to come by the FBI would meet us on the weekend in the Caesar Forum shops and they would discreetly pass Izzy or I a package of whatever we needed.

Izzy and I had actually settled quite well into our undercover routines. Everything around us was becoming like second nature. We both were able to actually pick out the FBI agents that lingered around us, though their faces changed a lot we still could spot them. Agent Black was not one of the regulars. He had told us that it was hard for him to do major undercover work because since he was so large and tan he felt that he would stick out like a sore thumb. I agreed because I could always spot him quickly and he did in fact did look out of place and drew attention.

When I wasn't constantly playing doctor, yes I say playing because everything that I did for Aro was an act; I was spending time with Izzy. We would spend a lot of our time outside of our suite trying to play as if we were just merely on an extended vacation. Little did she know that I did not feel that way because of the work I was doing.

Izzy also was doing better with the whole fact that her parents were gone. She had expressed to me that everything seemed like a nightmare and she couldn't believe that her parents were dead. She knew it would become more of a reality if she ever made it back to Forks and actually witness the home that her and her parents had resided it burnt down to nothing.

Things were slowly starting to get to me and little did I know on the day that marked our two months of being in Las Vegas would break me.

It was four o'clock am and I just felt like I had fallen asleep, when my phone started ringing. Knowing all too well who it was I answered it quickly so I wouldn't have to wake up Izzy, whom which had her left arm draped across my bare stomach holding me tight.

"Yes, Aro?" I whispered.

"James is picking you up right now. Bring all your stuff as usual," Aro said sounding a little more frantic than usual.

"Why does he have to pick me up? I believe I can make it up to your suite by myself," I was becoming a little more irritated and my voice was getting louder, unfortunately waking up Izzy.

"Anthony, I don't have time for questions and I am not in my suite. Just be ready, James should be there shortly," Aro vaguely explained and then hung up without another word. I rubbed the sleep from my face and looked down at Izzy.

Her eyes were the familiar chocolate brown that I loved to see every morning before she had to put her contacts back in. I reached down and cupped her cheek, she smiled softly and then I pulled her to me placing a sweet lingering kiss on her soft lips.

I pulled back gazing, soaking her all in. "I have to go, Love. Aro needs me. It's just after four why don't you go back to sleep and I will call you later after I am done." She nodded and looked upon me with concern and love in her eyes.

She knew that all this was getting to me and she wished that she was able to intervene and help, but she knew that Aro didn't need her like he needed me. I needed her though. She was my rock because she had endured more than anyone I have ever known, yet she was here and stronger than ever. She made me want to be strong. Made me feel that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to.

I crawled out of bed as Izzy snuggled back into my pillow and closed her eyes. She hadn't said anything to me, but I knew by the way she looked at me that she loved me. How I wished I was able to crawl back into that bed with her and sleep all day, but I had a job to take care. It was one more step into Aro's sick and twisted business. I knew that he had really started to trust me, if he hadn't fully already.

Some days I really wanted to bust through his door, with my gun, and say, "Surprise!" And then shoot him down and get the Newton's and Alice the hell out, but I knew that wasn't the best way to go about it. The FBI wanted to take Aro down as well as the rest of his sadistic employees.

I was brought out of my reverie by a loud pounding on the door. I was completely dressed by the time I made it to the door and had my medical bag in hand.

I swung the door open quickly and looked at James expectantly.

"Let's go," James ordered me and then he turned on his heels stalking quickly to the elevator. I was right behind him.

The doors closed to the elevator and then I asked, "Where we heading?"

"Aro's club, Treasure's," he spit out.

I didn't need to ask what type of club it was because I already knew that it was a high up gentleman's club. I had never been there and never had the desire to go, but I had heard James and Aro talk about the business that goes on there. The one thing for sure I didn't know was why I was needed there and that really worried me.

When we pulled up to Treasure's it was no surprise to me that the whole place was dead, no cars and no people lingering outside.

James and I stepped out of the car and I followed him in through the back of the building.

The place was classy and it had a soft yet sharp appeal to it. I could see how people, men, would be drawn to this place. It was comfortable and inviting.

James ushered me into Aro's office where I saw him sitting in his chair behind his desk. His posture was straight, but it was turned facing the corner. He never acknowledged me and never took his eyes away from the corner as I walked in. My eyes made it to the corner where he was apparently drawn to and what I saw ripped at my soul.

There sat a woman curled up in a fetal position covered in blood and bruises. She wore a white silk spaghetti strapped dress; it too was covered in blood. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her legs, her head was on her knees and her dark chestnut hair fell around her legs.

"Fix her!" Aro demanded, not once taking his eyes off her. His voice must have startled her because she looked up and met my eyes. Once I looked at her I gasped. Her features were similar to my Love, my Bella. Her eyes were the same chocolate brown, her hair was the same as Bella's natural hair color and she had a tiny frame like Bella's. The only two things that made her significantly different than Bella, was that she had olive colored skin and she of course was not Bella, but it was still disturbing to see.

Without a word I rushed to her side, leaving James standing in the doorway. Kneeling down I picked her up and moved her to Aro's red shag carpet in front of his desk. I laid her down so that I could assess her injuries. When I got a closer look at her face she had obviously been crying. Her mascara streaked down her face and she had a bruise and a cut in the corner of her mouth and another one above her right eye.

I looked into her eyes and she looked back into mine and then she raised her hand to my cheek touching it softly.

"Please, help me?" she pleaded and my heart clenched.

"I plan to," I answered. "What's your name?"

"None of you business, Doctor, just fix her. Don't ask any question!" Aro seethed.

Doing as Aro instructed I slid her dress up until it bunched just below her breasts. She had a large black bruise that spanned across her stomach. I couldn't find a wound that was bleeding and became apparent to me that all the blood on her body was not her own.

As I was pulling the blood pressure cuff out of my bag her body started to convulse and she had foam coming out of her mouth. I hurried and turned her to the side so she wouldn't choke on her own saliva

"We need to get her to the hospital!" I yelled at Aro.

"No, I am not taking her to the hospital, that is why I have you. I expect you to be able to fix her!" Aro yelled back.

"Aro, there is only so much I can do. I don't have the proper medicines to fix her. My medical bag isn't a damn magic hat; I can't pull a hospital out of it. I am not a miracle worker!" I was beyond livid as I pulled her body into my lap. I pushed the hair away from her face and supported her neck with my arm. Does he not get it?

"What good are you then?" I didn't answer.

"She clearly has something going on internally. If we don't get her there now she is going to die!"

"I don't care!"

"She's a human being, damn it, you can't just let her die!"

"She's a stupid crack-whore. I am not letting her die, you are?" I winced as he posted the blame on me.

And just like that she was gone. I held her tight to me and I stared at her eyes noticing there was nothing there anymore, no fight and no light.

"James, roll her up in the rug and take her to the dump!" Aro demanded.

James came over and tried to take her from my arms, but they wouldn't loosen and I didn't want them to. I wanted to go scream to the authorities and get these freaks locked up.

"Let her go or so help me I will beat you and then I will go beat Izzy," he said through clenched teeth, which made me snap out of it and loosen my hold on the lifeless body.

When I looked up I saw Aro standing over me. He had scratch marks across his face and his fists were bloody which indicated that he was the one who beat her and that it was his blood that was all over her body.

James pried her body away from my arms then I stood up and walked out of the club. I didn't look back nor did I say a word. I walked down the road heading back to the Bellagio and back to my Love feeling completely lost and defeated.

∞Bella/Izzy∞

I don't think I have ever felt so lazy and useless in my entire life. My days consisted of sleeping in, watching television, shopping or I meandered the Strip. Trust me I wasn't the shopping kind, not until I came to Vegas and became someone else. Plus, what else was there to do when Anthony was not around. I absolutely hated it when he wasn't with me.

It wasn't the fact of not having him here with me, but it was what he had to do while he was gone. I was starting to see a change in him and it was a negative one to say the least. Every time he came back from 'saving' some life that was clearly beaten directly, or indirectly by Aro there seemed to be a piece of him missing.

He tried not to show it, but as we walked along side by side he disclosed the information regarding who he had 'saved'. I believed and knew that there were parts of his stories that he was leaving out just to protect me. I hated that part because since I wasn't there I wanted to be able to feel what he felt, see what he saw and witnessed what he witnessed, but that wasn't a possibility at all. I tried not to feel guilty about it, but I would always know in the back of my mind that it was my fault that he was going through all of this.

So whenever he was around I wanted to do my best to be happy, therefore making him happy. As more time passed it was harder to get him out of the funk that he was in when he came back to me. He was always there for me and being my rock, so I knew now that I needed to be his.

I was completely deep in thought and worried about Anthony that I realized I had missed the show that I had paid for on pay-per-view. I just shrugged my shoulders knowing that I would probably have time later to watch it. Turning off the television I placed the remote back onto the coffee table and I then laid down on the couch and before I knew it sleep took over.

I was startled awake by a cold feeling on my leg. I sat straight up and saw that Anthony was on the other side of the couch staring at me with a blank expression with his hand on my leg.

"Hey, how long have you been here?" I asked as I was rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

Nothing.

"Um, how long have you been here?" I asked again thinking maybe I wasn't loud enough the first time.

Still nothing.

"Anthony?"

"Don't call me that," he said with clenched teeth. What the heck was going on?

"What's going on?" I asked trying to cut to the chase.

"I just don't want you calling me that," he flatly stated. The look in his eyes was starting to really freak me out.

"All right, I won't. So what do you want me to call you then?"

"Anything, but that."

"What happened to you?" I was growing increasingly worried and scared. His hand was still on my calf and I noticed his gripped seemed to be getting tighter.

"Babe. Is it all right if I call you that?" He nodded.

"Okay then, so babe can you tell me what happened?"

"You know I can't disclose any information that I get from Aro." I knew that wasn't really true and I also knew that he always disclosed information to me when we were outside of our suite.

His grip tightened even more. "Babe, um, you are really starting to hurt my leg." I kept my voice calm because I didn't want to alert him or say something to make him snap. Although I wished he would snap out of the freaky way he was looking at me.

He looked down at his hand finally breaking his gaze from mine and removed his hand slowly then placed it in his lap.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"It's all right. Do you want to go for a walk?" I asked and he fully knew that I wanted him to tell me what truly had happened. He nodded in understanding and I stood up and headed slowly towards the bedroom.

"That's great. Let me get my shoes and then we will leave. Why don't we go get something for lunch since I think we both missed breakfast." He nodded again and his face when into a frown.

We ended up catching a cab to the nearest IHOP. He didn't talk the whole way there and it started to feel a little uncomfortable.

Once we were seated we ordered our lunch. We both opted for pancakes with blueberry syrup, even though it was lunch I knew it was a comfort food and that it would make us feel somewhat better.

After eating half of our food I was feeling brave and concerned, so I broke the silence.

"I think you need to tell me what's going on. You are starting to scare me. I have never seen you this way and I am increasingly getting worried about you," I stated truthfully.

Anthony slowly placed his fork down on his plate and raised his face to look at me.

"Sorry, I know I tell you everything and I know it is important, but I don't know if I want to tell you what happened today." I could tell he was torn. He didn't want to tell me, but knew he had to because we weren't going to keep secrets from one another.

"You need to stop trying to protect me. I am the one that has put you in this position. If you didn't know me you wouldn't be here. Instead you would be back home…" He raised his hand to stop me.

"Stop! Even though I hated and felt disgusted with myself today I would never in a million years wish that I was not here with you. Yes, of course, I would rather be somewhere else with you than here in this completely freaked up situation, but I can't be. I am here with you because I love you and I don't want you to go through this all by yourself."

"So, if that's the case, tell me what happened today."

He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, then sighed. He began to tell me about his morning. As he neared the end I noticed that we were holding each other's hands across the table and we both had tears streaming down our faces.

"The worst part of all of it was that she looked like you, the old you. And I realized that it could have been you. He was just so cold and heartless. He was literally throwing her away like a piece of trash. And he didn't want to take her to the hospital. He was blaming her death on me. I'm not stupid I know that it was not my fault, but at the time he made me feel as though it was. I couldn't save her," he explained.

"No, no it most definitely was not your fault. He is a very sick, sick man. Please don't blame yourself for his actions. Please don't blame yourself for her death." I tightened my hand around his.

"I will try, but Love we have to get them out of there."

"I know, babe, we just need to give it a little more time."

∞Ω∞

Just so you know I have never been to Treasure's and never plan on it. I am not 100% sure exactly what goes on there, but you all can guess or Google it if you want. All I know is that I thought it would be fitting for this part of the story and I didn't want to pick a sleazy place because Aro is classier than that.