Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the plot.

To Skyebella98, thank you for going over this. I appreciate all the help, girl. ;)

To people still reading, reviewing, lurking...thank you! This wouldn't have been fun without you, guys...seriously! =)

Here it is...another chapter, another crazy ride.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

EPOV

Bang!

The sound of the gun going off resonated throughout the whole hotel room we were staying in.

I was too shocked to move. Bella was pointing my gun in my direction, and she looked pissed. She was the only one who could dare pull the trigger at me, and I would be okay with it. If I wasn't in awe of what she did, I would have been angry. My wife is fucking crazy!

"You shot me."

"No, I shot the wall beside you." Yes, she was right and there was a hole on said wall of the room.

"That's beside the point, Babygirl."

"I told you I would shoot if you stand in my way!" Bella was furious, the gun still in her shaking hands. She had removed it from me when I had informed her she wasn't allowed to go anywhere, not when her intention was to go after Jacob. She had seen the video of Snake's confession, and she was determined to talk to the fucker and extract some kind of revenge for what she did to her family.

"No, Baby. You're not going anywhere." My voice was calm, but there was no denying I was dead serious. I would do everything she would ask of me, but not something that could put her in danger. Going to Black would no doubt be a stupid thing for her to do, especially since we knew he was capable of harming her.

"I will shoot again if you don't get away from that door!" Bella was angrier now; her face was red and her nostrils were flaring.

"No." Whatever happened, she wouldn't be stepping out of this room. She didn't intimidate me with her use of the gun. With or without the weapon, I could make her stay and she knew it.

"Dammit, Mase. Get out of my way so I can kill that scumbag!"

"No, you're not, Sweetheart. Jake's not gonna die from your hands. Not today, not ever, Babe."

I didn't want her hands to be tainted with someone's blood. She would be guilty at one point, and I didn't want that. Even if she came from a mob family, my wife wasn't as tough as she wanted me to believe. She had a good heart, and no argument from her would make that fact go away.

She was just so stubborn, and this stubbornness gets her into trouble most of the time. Especially in situations like these, strapping her onto something would be great…and sometimes I wanted to give into the urge. If only I could. If only there were no repercussions on tying her down so she wouldn't harm herself by doing things irrationally.

All I wanted was to protect her, just like Charlie and Emmett did all those years. But she was making it hard for me to do that simple thing. Now I understood why her father and brother were so adamant to tell her about their lifestyle. It was hard to tame Isabella, and fuck if I wasn't trying my best!

She advanced toward me looking like a fiery kitten.

"Bella," I warned. She clearly wasn't listening to the tone of my voice, and continued to move forward with a scowl on her face. I took a few steps and grabbed her waist firmly.

"Masen, let me go!" she shrieked as she struggled against me, her hand still on my gun. I tried to reach for the weapon, afraid it would accidentally fire.

"No, Babygirl. You know you won't be going anywhere, so just stop struggling." I successfully extricated the gun, dropping it on the floor and kicked it as far away from us as I could.

"No!" Bella was still struggling and kicking, too obstinate to give up her attempt of removing my arms around her. I was stronger than her, making her efforts futile. I wasn't letting her go, and she should know that by now.

"Are you ready to give up, Baby?" I felt her stomp on my foot, but it wasn't too hard so it didn't hurt much. I was about to comment on it when the door was suddenly yanked open. I turned to see Marcus, looking all worried and fierce. He was holding his gun, his stance ready for some kind of threat. However, when he saw Bella and me in our little embrace, his face broke into a crooked grin.

"Sorry, Boss. I was just checking what that gunshot was all about." I gave him a nod, understanding his protectiveness. Before he left the room, I saw him survey the room, checking everything. He needed to be sure there was nothing to be worried about. I knew what he did because that was what I was used to with him. He was one meticulous bodyguard, and I was grateful I had him.

It was a few seconds later when I realized Bella wasn't resisting me anymore. Instead, she was slumped against my chest, holding onto my shirt for support. She wasn't crying, but she was shaking.

"My poor baby!" I thought to myself. She had been through so much.

I lifted her bridal style to our bed, and carefully laid her down. I engulfed her in my arms, comforting her the best way I knew how.

She seemed to be receptive of my touch now, unlike earlier when she hated me for being the bearer of bad news.

We faced each other, my hand wrapped around her waist while the other one caressed her cheek.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. She closed her eyes, and I saw a tear fall. My heart constricted at the thought of her hurting because of Black. I was really going to fuck that dipshit up!

"I never thought Jacob could do that to my family." Her voice was raw, and I heard her sniffle. I rubbed her back and just allowed her to cry. It would better for her after she shed a few tears for that motherfucker, even if he didn't deserve it.

The sound of her cries was what surrounded us for a few minutes. Thankfully, she finally stopped, and I was relieved.

"I should have never doubted your instinct, Mase. You were right all along," she admitted. She placed her palm on my face, and I leaned forward to kiss it.

"Well, I should remind you about this moment the next time you doubt me," I teased. She giggled and smacked my arm.

The sound of her laughter warmed my heart. Thank God she was smiling again.

"Please don't cry for him again, Babygirl. I'll make him pay, I fucking swear!"

"You better. I'll never forgive you if you don't get revenge for Charlie's death."

"But I think it'll be better if I leave it to your brother to mess him up. It would be best that way, I guess."

"Did you tell Emmet?"

"Not yet."

"Why?" Bella quickly sat up, looking agitated again. I reluctantly raised myself from my comfortable position of holding her and sat up. I sighed, running my hand through my hair. There was this tiny information about her brother and his shooting in New York that I hadn't mentioned just yet.

"There's something else, Bella." I saw her narrow her eyes at me. This was harder than I thought it would be. I should have just allowed her to finish watching the video until the end where Snake admitted that Jake had something to do with Emmett's shooting three years ago.

"What the hell is it, Mase? Tell me!"

"Jake was also involved in your brother's shooting in New York." Her face registered the shock of this new information, and I had somewhat thought she wouldn't believe me. The anger returned in her eyes, and I knew she would again insist on looking for Black.

"Shit! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Bella stood from where she was sitting, and reached for my hand. The urgency in her alerted me on what she planned next, which left me stuck in bed, contemplating on how to stop her. I realized she had started tugging me toward the door, looking impatiently all of a sudden.

"Mase, we have to go. We need to tell Em now!"

Her expression was so comical; I wanted to laugh at her. But I was sure I would regret making fun of her, especially when she was already so riled up. Instead, I shut my mouth and followed her like a fucking puppy.

I was so pussy-whipped I wasn't even ashamed of it.

xxxxxxxxxxx

I threw a towel at an almost naked Emmett. He was just in his boxers, all bloody and sweaty from the exertion of ramming his fists against Amun's brother, Andre.

He wiped the blood from his knuckles with the towel I gave him, before he gathered his shirt and pants on the chair at the side of the room. The air was thick with tension, and I saw Emmett's men waiting for his next move. While he dressed, I saw Amun waiting for some kind of confirmation from Emmett that he could get inside the room his boss had just left to check on his brother. Once Emmett gave him a nod, Amun quickly went inside, looking relieved.

It was not his fault his stupid brother thought it was a good idea to sell off some information he had gotten from Amun about the Swan mansion to Jacob. Since Amun was one of the heads of securities in the mansion, Andre had thought any privy information was free for him to use however way he pleased. He had sold a little of the mansion's floor plan, allowing the Volturi to strategically place the bomb inside the house. It would only be a matter of time before he would be disposed of. I had a pretty good idea what would be an appropriate punishment for him, but I didn't want to assume Emmett had the same idea as I did. If it had happened to me, that Andre would have wished I just removed his fucking eyes.

The whole room was stuffy, and I was getting agitated doing nothing but wait for Emmett's ass to finish. My irritation was peaking, and it had everything to do with Bella's brother intentionally taking his time and pissing me off. But instead of getting myself in trouble with Bella by starting an argument with Emmett, I just lit a cigarette. I needed to calm myself, and smoking would definitely help.

After a few puffs, the nicotine was working its magic and I was less irritated with the slow moving Emmett. I leaned on the wall and decided to just observe my brother-in-law. By now he was dressed, and it took a lot of my self-control not to shout, "Thank God!"

I had to say that Emmett looked more composed and relaxed after his smacking session with Andre. It was clear he released some of the anger and the frustration brought about by the news of Black, which he learned about just a few hours ago. His face looked a little more at peace, and he seemed to be his cocky self around me. Hopefully, he would be more in control when he faced his sister back at the hospital. We had left Bella with Rose to deal with this situation; a treachery that left Rose in the hospital.

The news of Jacob and Andre's betrayal was delivered to Emmett within a few minutes apart of each other. Saying he went berserk was an understatement.

It was a good thing there were no more traces of the lunacy I had seen in his eyes earlier. I needed him to be in his right mind. We had lots of planning to do, especially where that Jacob Black was involved.

I was smoking like a chimney, but I needed to keep myself busy while Emmett finished instructing his men. After his conversation with Sam, he walked toward me and gave me a grin. A conspiring wiggle of his eyebrows followed, as if something happened between us. Maybe something did. He eyed my cigarette so I offered him one, like an offer of friendship. He took one, and somehow it felt like he understood what I was giving, and had accepted.

I knew Emmett didn't like me. He hated my guts even after I married Bella. He couldn't forgive me for my hand in Bella overdosing on coke during that time in New York. I understood his hate, but it didn't mean I liked it. I didn't like being around him because his arrogance and contempt angered me. However, I made a promise to Bella earlier that I would go with her brother and make sure he didn't do anything stupid. I had reluctantly agreed, knowing it wasn't for Emmett's sake I was doing this, but for Bella. Emmett could take care of himself; he was the Mob boss of his unit for God's sake. I used my head this time and didn't say anything to my wife. I knew she would have been pissed if I didn't follow her request.

Something good came out of my afternoon after all. At least now, Emmett and I were much more than civil to one another, all because I went with him to deal with his shit.

"Did you fucking see what I did to his jaw? I'm sure it would be broken. Goddamn kid!" Emmett chuckled and talked to me as if we were best friends.

"You should have just pulled the trigger on him." My voice was flat, like I was bored. Well, I was bored. I wanted to get out of this place and talk about what we were going to do about Black. We still had to gather Bella and Jasper in order for us to get the business of scheming against that asshole, but I knew my wife wouldn't be so keen on the idea of being excluded to the planning part. Black was a dead man walking as of this second.

"That wouldn't have been fun. Stupid motherfucker! If it wasn't for Amun, he would have been dead." I frowned, realizing what he meant. Andre would still live to see another day, and that bothered me.

"Do you think that's a good idea, Swan?" I didn't want to meddle in his affairs, but I couldn't help ask the soundness of his plan. If it were me, Andre would have been chopped up somewhere, or buried six feet under. But he wasn't asking me for advice, and I wouldn't be giving him any. It would only end in us going back to where we were before.

"Of fucking course. Andre is just stupid, but he's really smart." I wasn't sure whether he knew he contradicted himself. Ironically, contradictions and all, I got what he was saying. "I have a good feeling about that kid. I just needed to teach him a lesson…something to serve as a reminder for him in the future, especially so he would not mess with me. Do you get my drift, asshole?"

I wanted to roll my eyes at his apparent trusting nature, or might as well call it as it is -his stupidity. If Bella trusted his judgment, then so should I.

"Yes."

I slid beside him inside his Mercedes. It was a wonder how we could both fit at the back of the car, seeing he was the size of a wrestler, but we did.

I was about to tease him about his behemoth size, when my phone chimed a message.

"Not again," I groaned like a fucking child. I wanted to slam the phone on something hard. I wasn't really in the mood for another guessing game, but since I had no new leads as to who was making these anonymous messages to me, I couldn't do anything about it.

"Give that to me," I heard Emmett say. Before I could even protest, he had pried the phone away from my hand and was checking out the message.

"Hmmm…seems to me someone is out to get you, man." He returned my phone, and I couldn't help but glance at the message once again.

I will break ur neck. That I am sure. U will die soon, u shit!

"We need to go to Benjamin. He will know what to do with that." Emmett smiled at me, looking as if he knew something I didn't. Maybe he did, and for the first time I felt like I could depend on him for help.

If Benjamin could find out who this motherfucker was, I would be a happy son of a bitch.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

"Here you go." Benjamin showed me the laptop and pointed at something. I tried to decipher what the lines and the graphics meant, but I was at a lost. Still my eyes were glued to the screen, and eventually I found something on the monitor that held the information I needed. It was an address of some sort, but the name of the town Forks piqued my interest. Benjamin explained that the pre-paid number that kept on sending me messages came from this particular area. That bit of data made my heart accelerate with excitement.

Goddamn! I finally got you, you fucking fuckwad! I knew it wasn't concrete but Jacob came from Forks and this was not a coincidence.

"You're a fucking genius, Benj!" I clapped him on the back, and he looked proud of himself like he should be. I had some people who had worked to find the information he just gave me, but had failed. It was no wonder Emmett loved this kid. He was not only a whiz on anything electronic, he was also fiercely loyal; and that was the reason he was put in-charge of the security of the mansion together with Amun. It was just an unlucky thing that someone close to them, like Andre, unknowingly put them all in danger.

"Emmett's lucky to have you. The FBI could surely use your expertise, Benj. The people on that bureau are all stupid, you know."

"I wouldn't want to be there, Mr. Cullen." He gave me a sheepish grin, and I chuckled. Benjamin looked young, naive and inexperienced, but the glint of mischievousness I saw in his eyes showed he was nothing of what I mentioned. Just like everyone I knew in the mob, he had an evil streak in him.

"Good to know, Kid. I don't want to be on your bad side," I teased. He looked shy all of a sudden, his hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't put any ideas in his head, Cullen. My unit is better off with him on my side."

I gave Emmett the finger, and he laughed. This easy camaraderie between Bella's brother and I shocked me, but I wouldn't want to change it. For Bella, I would try to remain friends with Emmett. It would be good for everyone involved especially since I planned to be with my beautiful, crazy wife for a very long time.

I know I have been a fail on updates. I'm writing an original fiction, which my friend asked me to, and it's taking time away from me writing fanfic.

Anyway, I'm still here...just taking a little longer to finish. But don't fret, I promise to finish this story before November ends. (definitely before 2012 arrives.)

So, that being clear, please send me some love.

Thanks my lovely peeps. =)