A/N:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot.

I'm baaack! lol.

Sorry for the long wait. Got no excuse, so I won't start blabbing shit.

Thank you to Thaigher lillie and Skyebella98 for checking this amidst their busy schedules. Love love to you guys.

I'm a stubborn bitch, though, and had to tweak this some, so any mistakes found here are all mine.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER NINETEEN

EPOV

The smell of alcohol permeated throughout the whole room and I frowned, remembering why I was here.

The bar was full of drunken men, either trying to drown in their sorrow or get laid. Some unknown song was blaring through some speakers and a couple of people were dancing slowly and sloppily on the small dance floor. This scene was ordinary when you were in a local dingy bar like I was now, a very small and dark bar in Wenatchee.

I took a long drag of my cigarette, exhaling white smoke through my nostrils, as I stared hazily at the back of the man who was a person of interest to me. Vicky was trying to seduce him, but from the way he was ignoring her, she looked to be failing majorly. She discreetly caught my eye and communicated her frustration. I just gave my standard nod, and she knew what to do.

She stayed where she was and would try harder.

Vicky had been stalking this Snake person for a couple of weeks now. His sudden change of scenery from that bar in Bellevue to here made us suspicious. That was why we were here - to try and find out if there was a reason for the shift, and maybe have another shot at seducing him as well. We had been looking for some ways to make him more amiable…or more receptive and open to Vicky's questioning. We had already enticed him with booze and the best grade coke from Europe, but that didn't work. Whoever hired him, paid him well. But it would be a matter of time before we got him. I would make sure of that. I was sure he had no inkling that he was being monitored. He didn't even have any idea Vicky was in the mob; he thought she was just a stripper interested in him. The biggest fucking problem was we didn't know what his sexual preference was and it was starting to annoy me. It would be a useful tool against him; especially since I needed some answers he was the only one who could give. As per my instructions, there would be no torturing, no killing because we needed him alive.

It was taking too fucking long to crack this shithead, and I was becoming impatient. This Snake was a nuisance, an itch I needed to scratch. Two days ago I came to a decision to go check on him myself since I was already headed to Seattle for another important matter. Emmett.

I wanted to man up to him about the hit I had called. Even if it happened a couple of years back, I needed to come clean with him for Bella. If I wanted my relationship with her to last, this couldn't be kept a secret any longer. I knew she loved me but she also love Emmett. The way she freaked out the week before when she learned I had planned to kill her brother precipitated my decision to talk about it with him.

A waitress appeared next to me as I continued to stare at the bar where Snake and Vicky sat. They had been talking for over an hour and nothing was happening. It was irritating the hell out of me. Snake was just ignoring the blatant advances and flirting glances Vicky was sending his way. If I didn't see for myself that he wasn't responding to her the way we wanted, I wouldn't have believed it. Victoria was one stunning woman and it would be hard to resist her.

The waitress, who had been trying to catch my attention, moved in front of me and blocked my view. I almost growled in irritation. As I raised my eyes, her flirtatious smile was already plastered on her aging face. Her fake boobs were threatening to spill over the plunging neckline of her shirt and her bleached blond hair was conspicuous amidst the dim lights. I wondered if she truly knew what she looked like. Instead of scowling, I morphed my expression into one of faked interest. Ordering another glass of scotch, I tried to dazzle her with my smile. It wouldn't hurt to have a back-up plan of some sorts, and a desperate waitress was always a good person to have as a 'friend'. I guess I did a good job at impressing her because her eyes were twinkling mischievously. I paid her a compliment, a little lie about how pretty she was. The looks she gave me said she believed me. Poor woman. When she was satisfied with my false attention, she quickly left for my drink and I sighed in relief. I lit another cigarette and resumed observing the two people I was most interested in. They were now close together in a tight embrace. Vicky was kissing Snake's neck and was grinding her body against his. I thought we were making progress when he suddenly pushed her away and staggered towards the exit, leaving Vicky frustrated and me really pissed off.

Dammit, what does the fucker need? I slammed my fist on the bar table as I growled, rattling the glasses on top of it. I gritted my teeth in anger, as I pinched the bridge of my nose. I could feel the eyes of some of the patrons on me, and I shrugged it off. I didn't care whether someone recognized me or not. I was always prepared for battle. Even though I had only brought two men with me, they were enough to keep me safe.

Raising my eyes from my clenched fist, I saw Vicky looking at me then nodded her head towards the backdoor. When I gave her a nod as confirmation, she strutted towards the exit confidently. She swayed her hips exaggeratedly, knowing full well the effect it had on the men who had been silently observing her the whole time she was perched on the bar stool. The way she moved was sexy as hell and nobody would have suspected she was gay. She did act as if she wanted cock instead of pussy. Damn, tease. She was really good at her job, and that was why she did most of the important works.

It was time for me to leave. I knocked back the scotch in my hand before leaving a couple of bills on the table. Marcus, who was standing nearby, was right behind me.

Vicky was leaning against the SUV as she lit a cigarette, cupping the stick with her hand so she could light it properly.

"Boss, he seems such a fucking prude," Vicky whined before pulling a long drag from the stick.

"What the hell is the problem? Goddammit, we've been trying to make him talk. It's been like what...two months? And we still haven't got shit!"

I was balling my fists, trying to control the anger that was building inside me. Snake was the only thing we had that was connected to Charlie's death. I had promised Bella I would help find her father's killer and that was what I would do. The only problem was, we were nowhere near cracking the surface of his goddamn death. I was fucking frustrated to say the least.

"Don't worry, Boss," Vicky assured me as she puffed on her cigarette. She looked so goddamn relaxed it was pissing me off. But instead of taking out my anger on her, I took a long deep breath to settle myself. "We'll get him the next time," she said so softly, but the confidence laced in her words wasn't lost to me. I was sure she intended to keep that promise. She always did, and there was no reason to doubt her. However, her assurance alone didn't comfort me in anyway. "I just have to find what his weakness is." She winked at me and I scowled.

"Why don't we just kill him?" she said so nonchalantly. I didn't know if she was just trying to act stupid, or whether she was really dumb and I had never realized it. I thought I had made it clear with her the reasons we needed Snake alive. But just as I thought her stupid, I quickly squashed that idea because Vicky was a lot of things, but she was certainly not dimwitted. However, she was definitely acting like a fucking airhead now and it fueled my anger again.

"No. He is the only thing we have right now that links us to Charlie's death," I said, gritting my teeth in annoyance.

"I bet I could get him to tell me what I needed to know. Just give me a few hours and a secure area," she said confidently. "I promise you, Boss. I'll have all the information you need after I'm finished punishing him."

"Fuck! Didn't you hear me?" I hissed at her and she frowned. "No one's going touch him! I couldn't risk torturing him. It would-"

"Boss, I can-"

"I said, NO! All the touching I want for him is sexual! Or anything that doesn't involve him getting hurt…yet. Do you understand?" I snapped angrily, as I stared at her for confirmation she understood what I wanted. "You find how we can get him alone…in bed with a woman…or man."

"Yes, boss." She was smiling now and I couldn't help wonder what the hell was going through that wicked mind of hers. We heard some commotion from afar, and we all turned to check what it was.

"Shit, we have to get outta here." I slid in the SUV Marcus drove and Vicky did the same.

"I promise you Edward, he'll be eating out of the palm of my hand the next time I see him."

I scowled at no one in particular. If I had my way, I really wanted to just kill the fucker. He was really being an annoyance to me. However, I couldn't risk torturing him in the event he might get killed in the process, leaving us with no details whatsoever. It was too risky to get information through that because Snake looked like the person that couldn't outlive torturing. I wouldn't risk it. That was why we were taking the long route…bribing him with women, alcohol, and drugs without him knowing what we were really up to.

"Fucking shit!" I growled, and everyone in the car became quiet. This Snake should talk the next time we have him or somebody would pay.

Just then my phone started ringing, momentarily distracting me from my anger.

"This better be good, J," I hissed against the speaker. "I'm not in the mood…"

"Edward, something happened in Seattle…"

xxxxxxxxxx

"Fuck! What the hell happened, J?" I asked agitated, as I readied myself for the three-hour drive from Wenatchee to Seattle.

My plan had been to visit Emmett first, but I was informed that Snake was already in Wenatchee and might leave soon so I had to change plans. Instead of going straight to Seattle, I had come here in the hopes we would have more luck in cracking the motherfucker's resolve.

"I'm really not sure yet. But it's bad, Edward. Hell, they have people dead," he said, his disbelief was evident in his tone. "Shit!"

"Are Emmett and Rosalie okay?" I asked. My heart started racing because I needed to know how they were. If something bad happened to them, I knew Bella would be devastated, and I couldn't have that. She was my world and in order for my life to be okay, hers should be, too.

"Emmett wasn't there but Rose was. She's hurt but I'm not sure yet what her condition is," he informed sadly. Before I could respond, I heard him make instructions to some of his men and I knew I had to let him go do what he needed to do. He came back on the phone panting. "Don't worry, Edward, I'm on my way. I'll be in their house in half an hour." He was already in the city for some shit we needed to help Emmett with. Thank God for that!

"Dammit, nobody tell Isabella about this yet. Not until I arrive there," I said seriously. He didn't answer. "Did you hear me, Jasper? I fucking said…"

"Yes, I heard you man," he interrupted quickly. His voice had an edge to it and I guessed this affected him in some way. "But Edward, do you think that's a good idea?"

"I gave an instruction," I growled, pissed he was questioning me. "You fucking follow!" I cut him before he was able to respond and hung up the phone.

Jasper had given me just enough so I have some kind of idea what had happened in the Swan's house. The Swan's big mansion in Seattle was bombed half an hour ago, and the damage was severe. I wasn't sure how much just yet. There was another security breach and I was sure this was an inside job. Jasper informed me that many of Emmett's men were injured, if not killed. Rosalie was hurt as well. That was another big problem. I was sure Emmett would want to retaliate because surely I would if it was Bella injured.

I had a feeling this time around the Volturi's had something to do with it but I had to check the scene before I could conclude. Something inside kept nagging at me that Jacob had something to do with this in some way. I was rarely wrong about my gut feeling and it was a very useful tool in my planning. I was almost always correct that once I felt it, I usually acted on it. However, I couldn't even touch one fucking hair of Jacob, mainly because of Bella. He was still a friend to her, and I couldn't risk my Bella's wrath just in case I was wrong. I was fairly certain he was involved in this somehow. I just needed to prove it, and that was the reason I was keeping Snake alive.

xxxxxxxxxx

I was searching through the rubble that was the foyer of their main house. It was littered with blocks of blasted walls. The Swans lost a third of their men in this attack.

From the look of the house, you could see that there would be fatalities. One of them was Rosalie. No, she wasn't dead; however, she was in the intensive care unit and was still unconscious. She had been in her room when all this happened. Though the southern part of the house, which was where her room was located, was far from where the bomb detonated, it was still too strong that she had been thrown back towards the wall of her room. The impact of her body to the solid brick wall might have been hard since it caused some head trauma, which was why she was still unconscious. I was uncertain of what other injuries she had but I was hoping it wasn't severe.

As I stepped carefully on the littered debris of the blast, I saw some policemen searching the area and shouting for me not to enter the secured police line. I had momentarily ignored them to make a quick inspection. Just when I was about to walk back where I came from, an arm pulled me back hard. I turned around to check who the fuck had the audacity to touch me. It was some rookie cop. I knew from the look he gave me that he was fairly new in the force. He quickly stepped away from me when he saw my expression, quickly realizing his mistake.

It was a good thing he had the sense to get away from me just before Marcus appeared. He had a menacing look that could scare anyone. I shook my head to signal that I didn't want him to touch the officer.

"Marky, let it go," I said, my voice loud making him snap his murderous gaze away from the now obviously shaken officer. "Where the hell is Jasper, anyway? He was supposed to be here."

"Garrett said he's in the hospital. Checking on Rosalie," he said, his head turning to inspect the officer again. I followed his gaze and saw that a few of the policemen were now looking at us. I was sure that the rookie said something to them to make them curious about us. Some just stared as if they were disinterested, but some had scowls plastered on their faces. I was certain that half of the men standing there would be on Emmett's payroll, but I didn't have the time to decipher who they were. I needed to go look for Jasper.

"Boss, what will we do about Bella?" Marcus asked and nodded his head towards some people with cameras that looked to be reporters.

"Shit!" I growled, knowing this would be all over the news, if it weren't already. Bella would know. I slid inside the SUV and motioned for them to bring me wherever Jasper was.

Vicky was behind the wheel and I knew we would be at our destination in half the time it would normally take us. She was a fucking devil on the road.

"Did you call Seth?" I addressed Marcus, who was sitting beside me. I had instructed earlier he informed Seth about what happened here, but specifically told them not to tell Bella just yet. I would deal with the ramifications of my actions later.

"Yes Boss," he answered as he shifted his body, maybe to find a more comfortable position. "I talked to him an hour ago. He said they were on their way to the airport. I'm sure they're in the air right now."

"Did he tell Bella?"

"No, Boss. I checked and Bella doesn't know. She was just informed that we were giving a surprise party for you." I looked at him incredulously and he shrugged his shoulders. That was the lamest fucking excuse ever. I didn't even have an occasion to have a surprise party for.

"Seth's kinda a bad liar, but at least it worked this time. Bella believed it." His shoulders were shaking and I knew he found something funny about the situation. It was a weak excuse but if it did the job, it was fine with me. I had no problem with whatever they told Bella to make her ride that plane, as long as, she didn't know yet.

I had just promised myself that I would be honest with her always. But this time, I would have to regress yet again. If she knew about this without me there with her, I was scared she would do something reckless. She was hot-tempered and irrational when she was angry, so I couldn't risk letting her know until she was here with me. I knew I was screwing things up again. This lying would get me in a whole new trouble with her, but I would take that any day than let her endanger herself.

When we arrived at the hospital, everything was in chaos. Jasper was trying to pacify Emmett the best way he could - by giving him something alcoholic to drink. I was intrigued how they got the alcohol inside this facility, but I wouldn't get it past Jasper to have bribed someone for it. The surprising thing was the staff seemed oblivious of the drink being passed around Emmett and Jasper. Emmett was pacing, and he looked wrecked. I could sympathize because I once experienced that pain when Bella was in that car crash. I could see his knuckles becoming white from the strain of clenching his fists, and I was afraid he would punch anyone who would get close.

He caught my gaze and I took it as an invitation to go near him. He was furious and I couldn't blame him.

"Shit, Edward!" he yelled, as he slumped his body back to the aluminum seat. "They touched my Rosie, goddammit! If something happened to her…Fuck!"

"Chill out, man. She'll be alright," I reassured him falsely, as I sat next to him. I didn't even know how Rosalie was faring but I felt I owed him to say something. For every body's sake - Emmett, Bella and in turn, me – I hoped she would be okay. "I assure you we'll fucking get those motherfuckers who did this."

He didn't respond, just put his hands on his face and sobbed. I felt his pain but I didn't know what to do, so I just stayed there with him.

It was funny how things could turn out. I came to Washington to talk to Emmett and tell him the truth on the hit I had called. I wanted to clear things with him without Bella in the vicinity. I knew Emmett had a temper and I wasn't sure how he would deal with what I had to say. I thought it was better if we settled it between the two of us. I was still determined to resolve this issue with him when the time was good. Just not now.

As I sat there, contemplating on what would happen when Bella arrived, I saw Emmett balled his fist and punched the metal chair beside him. I offered to call the nurse but he declined and just returned to mumbling and cursing. Somebody came to talk to him the same time Jasper appeared in front of me. He glanced momentarily towards Emmett before motioning for me to go with him.

"Jesus Edward," he hissed as he pulled me away from Emmett. "I think he's losing it." His voice said, as he found Emmett's distress very straining. Jasper was stressed and I was certainly alerted by his reaction. "I was there when he came back from the hospital to check on his men." He was shaking his head as if he wanted to dispel what it was on his mind.

"J, we'll deal with Emmett later," I said, trying to remain cool and collected. "So what have you got?"

He looked at me cautiously. "I talked to Benjamin, remember him?" He stopped enough to check that I indeed remembered who was responsible for the security in the Swan's home. "He's an expert on high grade explosives. He's young, but he's some kind of a genius," he said in awe. "Anyway, he's guessing the bomb that exploded had some Semtex on it, though he isn't sure until the lab reports from where he sent them return."

"Dammit! I knew it, I goddamn knew it!" The Volturi's usual ammo was to use Semtex since the key ingredients, HMX and RDX that comprised this explosive, were amongst the most powerful used in militaries today. I could only guess where they got it. "We have to act fast before the fucking V's could think of something more."

"That was why I need to go back to Chicago, Edward." I was nodding my head furiously as I silently planned.

"J, you have to leave now. Wait for me there. I'll follow as soon as I get this mess settled here." He gave me a salute and got his phone out, quickly ignoring me as he started giving orders. I didn't wait for him because he knew what he needed to do.

I also started calling people, giving them instructions after instructions, which made me feel a little better. All I needed to do was wait for Bella to arrive.

I was prepping myself on what her reaction would be. I knew she would be pissed at me, but she would get over it. I hoped she would, or I would be a dead man. I would certainly know when she arrived in a couple of hours.

The time went by so fast, the next thing I knew I was staring at Bella's brown eyes. My excitement on seeing her quickly changed into agitation because she was looking at me with something more than anger. I knew she would be pissed but I wasn't expecting the hate. Her face was full of hatred and I couldn't understand why. This wasn't what I had expected from her and it fucking worried me.

In my attempt to comfort her, I tried to pull her to me but she jerked away. My heart started racing because I knew this wasn't good. Before I knew it, I felt a sting on my face and realized that she had slapped me.

"What the hell?" I asked, surprised at what she just did.

"Stay away from me, Edward," she hissed as she started walking. She called me Edward. That was not a good sign. I tried to grab her arm but once again she jerked it away. "You fucking lied to me! I hate you!"

I knew I lied by omission but I didn't really understand the hate she was showing right now. It wasn't as if what happened to Rosalie was my fault. "Babygirl, I didn't tell you because-"

"Stop!" she yelled so loud, her voice resonated through the hallway. I knew we were now attracting the attention of people in the hospital, so I grabbed her arm forcefully, ignoring her protests as I pulled her to one corner.

"Dammit, Bella! What's your deal?" I was becoming irritated with her, but the murderous scowl she was throwing my way was stressing me. I didn't want to lose her just because of that simple fucking lie. "I needed to know what happened here before I informed you. I knew you'd freak out."

"Just for the fucking record, I'm pissed at you not only because you didn't tell me the truth earlier…" she said through gritted teeth as she started jabbing on my chest with her fingers "…but because you didn't hold up to your promise!"

"What are you talking about?" My agitation was increasing as the minutes passed. It didn't help that I couldn't understand what she was yapping about.

"Remember, I asked you to take care of my family before I married you? Huh?" she hissed, as her nose flared in anger. "You specifically promised to protect Emmett and Rose! But what the fuck happened? Rose is in the hospital!" She was shrieking now, and I was afraid we would be thrown out of the hospital. "You promised! You fucking promised!"

I tried to put my arms around her but she pushed me away angrily as she panted, her eyes furiously staring at me. "Get away! You fucking liar, I hate you!" She started walking but stopped then turned to me. My heart almost stopped with what she said next.

"Just hope nothing bad will happen to Rose, or I'll never ever forgive you, Edward. I swear!" With that she left me there staring after her in confusion. I raised my hand to my hair and pulled the strands in frustration.

"Fuck!" Bella was fucking crazy!

Okay, leave some love people. You know you want to. *waggles eyebrow* - (Tygs, if you see this...I just had to borrow your fave expression. Lmao).