Chapter 8 – # 108 - Pulling an all-nighter
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# 108
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Your blood sings to me,
your smell gets to me like heroin.
I just had to get a taste of you.
It's been so long…
Note # 108 was written on a Ziploc bag with a permanent marker. Inside the bag was Edward's missing toothbrush.
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Edwards studio apartment…
Time:19.10
"Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?" Alice asked, with her coat slung over her shoulder. "I hate the idea of leaving you alone like this."
"It'll be fine, I'll be fine," Edward insisted not taking his eyes off the hockey game he was watching on the TV. "Go, have fun Alice, I'll speak with you in the morning!"
Not for the first time, he silently thanked Jasper for arranging to take Alice out for a night of dining and dancing. Edward craved some alone time. He craved it like a drowning man craves oxygen.
The last 72 hours had passed in a haze of "coping" and "getting by". He had successfully managed to avoid making any definite decisions about his future yet he felt considerably calmer than in a long time. There was something oddly therapeutic about packing your life into cardboard boxes. About half of his stuff and most furniture had already gone into storage. The rest of his belongings; his bed, his flat-screen tv, his computer and musical instrument would stay in his apartment until he decided where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.
Emmett kept insisting he had a room to spare and Alice kept pestering him to let her give the FBI the green light they were waiting for.
Edward knew that he was merely putting off the inevitable, but he just didn't want to get into anything unless it was on his own terms.
He needed another night to sleep on it and he was going to do it in his own apartment. Stalker or no stalker, nothing beats sleeping in your own bed. Sure, there were packing boxes everywhere, but there were also 12 ice cubes and one bottle of Chivas Regal, he'd get by just fine…
"Alice, I'll be fine," Edward repeated, a little more forcefully this time.
"Well, if you're sure," Alice still hesitated, lingering in the doorway
"I'm sure. It's just for one night. Come on, I'll walk you out," he pushed himself out of the bed and took her arm, gently pulling her towards the front door.
"Geez, I'm going, I'm going. No need to get physical."
"Say hello to Jasper from me and thank him again for letting me borrow the dog."
"I can assure you that Jazz and I are VERY happy to be dog-free for the weekend. Whoo hoo! Don't let that puppy face fool you, Bentley demands more attention than a sugar-filled five year old."
Before Edward had a chance to reply, there was a loud thumping noise and a bark indicating that the dog knew he was being talked about. The maze of packing boxes was slowing him down somewhat but fact remained; Bentley the Rottweiler had more energy than a red bull factory.
He was an excellent watchdog, but a lousy guard dog. He would make all kinds of noise if there was something unknown in his territory, but all he really wanted to do was to play. Bentley would lick any intruder to death before ever thinking about biting them. He was good company on a night like this though and Edward didn't mind keeping the dog around as it gave him a sense of security to know that he wasn't completely alone.
Once his well-meaning but slightly smothering sister had been escorted out the door Edward poured himself another shot of whiskey and settled back onto his bed to watch the rest of hockey game.
He yawned. The whiskey and the beating rain on the windows were already making him sleepy. He closed his eyes for a bit and almost instantly felt himself drift off. How long he had been asleep he did not know, but he was suddenly awakened by the impact of something heavy landing on his stomach. His head shot up and his heart leapt into his throat.
It was the dog, of course… who else could it be… with a strange looking object dangling out of his mouth. It looked like a stuffed animal of some sort. Oh well, at least it wasn't some dead animal this time, like in the dog park the other day…
Edward sat up slowly, causing the Bentley to jump off of him onto the bed. The dog was panting and wagging his tail, eager to show off his new toy.
His brown doggy eyes looked at Edward as if he was expecting some kind of praise for a job well done.
Lookie, lookie, uncle Eddie I brought you a present!.
Edward grabbed the item before it fell on the floor and turned to Bentley to scratch behind his ears.
"Good boy! Whatcha got for me?"
He looked at the object in his hand. He examined it carefully. It wasn't a toy… It was roll of gauze bandage… USED gauze bandage… There were red patches…bloodstains…
"F*ck!"
Edward quickly dropped it on the bedside table, as though it had burned him. After recovering from his initial shock however he quickly realized the stains were nothing but red ink. Red ink forming letters and words. He unrolled the gauze and read the message word by word.
'I heard you are moving? Don't think I wont follow.
Stop running away or someone will be paying in blood.
That stupid dog you borrowed maybe! He's too friendly for his own good.
I bet if I fed him arsenic he'd still be wagging his tail!'
Edward felt his heart drop. A sense of panic surged through him. Bentley nudged his leg with his nose and made a questioning noise. He patted the dog absently as he continued to stare at the message. Maybe if he stared long and hard enough, it might magically disappear.
Finally snapping out of his daze, he pulled the dog into his lap and pressed him tightly to his chest.
"Don't worry, Bentley. I'm not letting you out of my sight. Let's find the phone and call for backup, okay?"
And so the decision was made….
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FBI headquarters
Time: 20:46
"I'm not sure I'm following, Chief," Bella looked at her boss with an expression of uncertainty. "You are seriously suggesting putting the dog in a safe house?"
"What I suggest is that you clear out the apartment so that Yorkie and the forensic team can collect and secure evidence as soon as possible, before it's destroyed, altered, or otherwise compromised."
It was Friday and it was late. Any other office building in town would be more or less deserted once the clockstruck five on a Fridayafternoon, but not the FBI headquarters. It wasn't unusual for agents to get called in after hours.Being constantly on call came with the territory of working for the bureau.
This time it was a situation with the Cullen case that had warranted an emergency meeting. Another incident of breaking and entering had occurred and another threat had been made, only this time the threat had been aimed at the family pet.
Bella wasn't a dog person and didn't quite understand the urgency of the matter or why it couldn't wait until the following morning, but Jenks showed no sign of being anything but dead serious in his demands.
"Time is ticking…"
"Alright, alright, Cullen and the dog need to be relocated and kept under surveillance," Bella heard herself agree to, while groaning inwardly. She was going to have to pull an all-nighter.
It had been a long day and Bella was tired. She had not gotten much sleep the night before. There was just too much on her mind to get much rest at the moment.
"I'd switch with you, but as you know I'm allergic to dogs," Eric Yorkie said, smiling innocently.
"Of course you are," Bella replied, with ill-concealed skepticism. "I already said I'll do it. This is my case and I'll handle it."
"Good, I'll make sure you get the information you need," Jenks nodded and rose from his chair. "Cullen and his dog will be checking into a downtown hotel. It's a small, secluded place not far his apartment. You'll meet up with him there and keep an eye on him over night."
"Anything else?"
"This is basic stuff, really. Just keep them safe and lay low, that's all. Oh, and make sure no one sees the two of you checking in at the hotel together. We can't have it look like two lovers sneaking off for some secret rendezvous."
She refrained from rolling her eyes, but just barely. "I can handle this."
"Good, because I have a cocktail party to attend to tonight and I don't want any further interruptions, is that clear?"
"Crystal clear!," Bella and Eric responded in unison as they watched Jenks grab his hat and his coat and head of towards the elevator.
"Allergies, my ass," Bella hissed between clenched teeth.
"Oh, shush. You love animals, don't you? All girls do," Eric replied sweetly and scurried off to fetch his car keys.
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Time: 22.03
As promised, Bella was waiting for him in the shadows outside the staff entrance of the hotel. She wore a blond wig and a maid's uniform with the hotel emblem embroiled on the left breast pocket.
He wouldn't have recognized her had he not received instructions as to what to look out for.
The first thing Edward noticed as he came closer was her legs... They were endless. Her black knee length skirt showed off her well-toned, nylon-sheathed calves to their best advantage.
The second thing he noticed was that she was still wearing her wedding ring.
For the millionth time he wondered what in the name of common sense had possessed him to agree to this arrangement. Then Bentley nudged his leg with his nose and made a whimpering noise as if to remind him of the seriousness of the situation.
He really didn't have much of a choice… The letters, the phone calls and the threats… FBI protection might be the only way to get to the bottom of this mess, but could he trust this woman? And more importantly could he trust himself around this woman. Emmett had not been far off in his assessment of the situation.
Clenching his teeth, he fought the childish urge to turn around and leave. It was too late now anyway. Bentley's whimper had turned into full blown barking, alerting Special agent Swan of their arrival.
Her greeting was short and to the point. "Hurry up, there's a room waiting for us".
Not a 'hello' or a 'how are you holding up?' or anything.
"Wait! A room, as in one room? I'll have my own hotel room, thank you very much," Edward protested with a frown.
"Nope, sorry! No can do." she shook her head, and, to her credit, she actually did look sorry. "I've got my orders. You've got yourself a roommate whether you like it or not."
"Oh great, this ought to be interesting," Edward grumbled.
"It's just for a few hours. I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Well excuse me for being difficult but I've just had my home broken into…I'm still a bit traumatized in case you haven't noticed…"
"Duly noted, but for future references; I'm not a mind reader, you've got to tell me if something is bothering you."
"There are a lot of things bothering me. For starters the dog didn't make a sound, meaning that whoever it was breaking int-…," he started, but was silenced by a firm shove of an elbow in the small of his back.
"Ouch!"
"Not here… We really should get inside."
He nodded. "Of course, lead the way, oh great leader… bellhop… maid… person." He smirked at his own word-play. "I like your eh… work attire, by the way. You should hold on to that. It looks…. well, nice."
"Oh, shut up. You act like you've never seen me in a skirt before," she retorted, quickly ushering him inside the building.
"Geez, I just said it looks nice. A man can look, can't he?"
"Uh uh, not on my shift he can't. And if I catch you staring at my legs like that again I might just have to hurt you. Have I made myself clear Cullen?"
"YES SIR MRS SIR YES SIR!," Edward muttered between clenched teeth, silently cursing Alice and Rosie and their brilliant ideas.
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AN: Thanks for all the reviews and alerts on this story.
My life is kind of crazy busy right now with exams, coursework and my full time job.
So for the next month or so I'll only update when I get...say... 10 reviews. Two for each hour I was working on this story this past week. Hope you all find that fair :) Let me give you something to look forward to, there is a lemon (sort of) coming up in chapter 10...