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"What the fuck is that?" Edward demanded.
I rubbed my face in irritation. "That's my fucking alarm. I have an appointment in an hour that I have to get to," I responded harshly. If I was lucky, he wouldn't pistol whip my ass for getting loud.
"What kind of appointment?" Edward asked.
"A new client meeting, and no, I'm not telling you who or where," I answered snidely. I was already as good as dead, so curbing my tone didn't seem necessary at this point.
He narrowed his eyes at me before turning to his brothers and my sisters. "You two, get up. Jasper, open the fucking safe," he instructed the three of them.
"Fuck you," Rosalie spat, refusing to move.
"I'll volunteer for that," Emmett replied giddily.
"Rose, please," I begged. "Just get up." I tried pleading with my eyes. I needed them to cooperate for their own safety.
Rosalie glared before removing herself. I motioned for them to come to me, making sure they kept their hands visible at all times. Slowly, I began to stand, though with my aching knee, it was unnecessarily difficult. Emmett and Edward watched them warily as Jasper pushed the couch to the side and crouched down to the safe. He didn't know the code, but this was the Cullen Borgata and safe cracking was probably in their DNA.
I moved the slightest bit away from Edward, needing to talk to my sisters quickly and quietly.
"Listen to me carefully," I began in a whisper. "This company goes to the both of you equally when I'm gone. If you don't want it, break it up, don't sell it whole. Trust your instincts when it comes to buyers. If you can't find anyone you trust, burn the fucking thing down and collect the insurance on the building. Lastly, don't believe a fucking thing Jacob tells you about being left anything in my will. Everything I own goes to the both of you. My will is ironclad and cannot be contested."
Both girls were crying and shaking their heads as I spoke.
"Why are you telling us this?" Rosalie rasped. Rose always presented herself as this ice cold witch, but she could be extremely emotional, especially when it came to family.
I smiled ruefully, fighting tears that I refused to cry in front of my murderer. "I want the two of you to be prepared. Just know that I love you both so much, and I'm so proud of you," I continued in a whisper, kissing them both on the forehead. "Don't stop them, and don't go after them," I warned, referring to the Cullen brothers that stormed my office. "You won't win."
"Got it," Jasper called as he reached his hand in for the first stack of money. It didn't matter that they were getting their dues and then some–they were going to kill me.
A throat clearing sounded behind me. I stood straighter and inched my way back closer to Edward.
"I think we're almost done here," Edward said gleefully. "Only one more matter. Get over here," he instructed me, motioning with his gun before pressing it against my temple.
I closed my eyes, hoping it would be quick and painless.
..ooOOoo..
The first time I ever saw Edward was years ago, about a year and a half before Mike came into the picture. I saw him sitting alone in a coffee shop in New York, casually dressed in jeans and a sweater. He was much younger and less put together, but still beyond explicably handsome. His hair was everywhere and his face was scruffy. He held a book in his hand that I couldn't make out from where I was standing waiting for my coffee order.
At my young age, all I needed was a cute guy–that was gold in my book. When my coffee was ready, I sat at a distant table and sipped the hot liquid slowly, watching him with rapt attention. I didn't like to remember what happened after that, but sometimes it just crept up.
Needless to say, he obviously didn't remember me or our encounter at all.
"Isabella," Edward shouted, snapping his fingers in front of my face. "Focus," he demanded. It was that voice. A tone which demanded the need for obedience and compliance that made me realize that I couldn't die. At least not yet.
"Mr. Cullen, please," I pleaded. "I know that I'm already as good as dead, but please, give me just one week. I have something I need to take care of before you off me. One week and you can shoot me, choke me, poison me, whatever. I won't fight you; I'll be your most compliant target ever."
"Are you fucking stupid, Bella?" Rosalie replied harshly through her tears. "Who the hell asks for a week instead of their life? And what's so important anyway?"
"Yes, Isabella, what is so important that you need a week to complete?" Edward asked.
"Nothing. Just …" I looked over at my sisters. I didn't want to talk about this in front of them. It was hard on me, and I knew it would be even harder on them.
"You're asking me to kill you later and not now. I think I deserve a reason–a good reason." He cocked the gun for emphasis and held it to my temple.
I tore my eyes from my saddened sisters and lowered them to the floor. Shame, guilt, and anger washed over me like a tidal wave, and I feared that the emotions were too strong for me to ever really let surface.
"I need to kill Jacob Black before I die," I confessed.
"What!" Rose and Alice asked in unison.
"Why does that name sound familiar?" Jasper asked.
"Jacob Black is a member of the Wolf Pack. A bunch of clowns if you ask me," Emmett answered. "Posers would probably describe them better," he scoffed.
"What does Jacob Black have to do with you?" Edward asked.
"Jacob is my fiancé," I mumbled. Emmett and Jasper both laughed but tried covering it up with coughs. "I think … No, I know he had something to do with the death our father," I finished, looking back at the girls sympathetically. Or rather ashamed would more aptly describe what I was feeling. I resigned myself to the notion long ago, but I knew that bit of information had to be a tough blow to the two of them.
"I fucking knew it!" Alice screeched. She bypassed Jasper and Emmett, who were both holding them at gun point. She pushed them aside, and amazingly, they didn't say or do anything to stop her. She stood right in front of me with her finger in my face. "I told you! I fucking told you that he was a piece of shit, and you ignored me; told me I didn't know what I was talking about." Without warning, she lifted her hand, delivering a stinging slap across my face. I saw Rosalie advancing but held my hand out to stop her. I deserved all of this.
"Jacob may have killed Daddy, or at the very least had something to do with it, but I hold you responsible," she spat. I watched her angrily walk away, grabbing her purse on the way out. Rosalie looked conflicted. She didn't know whether to leave with her twin or stay with her sister, who was more than likely was about to die.
"Go with her," I instructed, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Take care of her."
Like Alice, Rose pushed past the gunmen and gave me a tight squeeze. "I love you," she whispered.
"I love you, too. I'm so sorry I did this to our family," I apologized. "Go now." With a kiss to the top of her head, I turned her around to head out the door.
We all watched as Rosalie walked out of my office, closing the door behind her. It was pretty surprising that Jasper or Emmett didn't try to stop them.
"Wow," Jasper said, followed with a whistle. "And here I thought our family had over-the-top problems."
I ignored his comment and kept my eyes casted down.
"You know, Isabella," Edward began, "I think the cruelest thing I can do to you is let you live the rest of your life knowing that your sister isn't likely to ever forgive you. Those were some harsh words she spewed."
I kept my head down, fighting the hardest battle ever–not crying in front of the three brothers. Edward was probably right on point. Alice was never going to forgive me, and she and Rose were the only two people I had in this world.
"But," he continued, "I'm a fair man. I'll take the money and let you live. You hurt yourself more than I ever could. However, let me make myself extremely clear." He grabbed my chin, making me flinch with both the pain of the gun burn and his abruptness, and made me look into his deadly eyes. "If you, or whoever, fuck with me again, you, your family, and everyone in this building will be unrecognizable after I'm done. Understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Cullen. Thank you." Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if living was worth it at this point. If I didn't have my family, I had nothing.
"Good. One more thing before we go. Carlisle wants a gun, a Fabbri, and wants it in two month's time," he said casually while shoving his gun back in his waistband. I stared wide-eyed at him.
"Does Mr. Cullen understand what he's asking for?" I asked, surprised. Maybe Charles could get it in two months' time, maybe, but I didn't know how I was going to be able to pull it off.
"Are you saying that my father doesn't know about guns or what he wants? I'm going to take that as a personal insult," Edward sneered.
"Not at all, Mr. Cullen," I backtracked. "It's just that … well, not only is that an expensive shotgun, but it's damn near handmade, and there's a waiting list. I don't know if I can get it in two months. My dad had connections that I'm not sure extended to me."
"You should already know that money isn't an issue, and I should be insulted, yet again, Isabella. Regardless of the situation, he wants it when he wants it. If it's not delivered in that time, you deal with him. It's out of my hands."
All three brothers walked out of my office seconds later. Jasper gave me a sympathetic smile that I tried to appreciate, but it was hard when they strolled out with a couple million dollars of my money.
I threw myself on the sofa that was never put back in place. How had my life gone to complete hell in less than twelve hours? My day wasn't even done as I still had that meeting to get to. Thankfully, the contract was already in place. All I had to do was collect my money and set up a time and place. The whole thing should take no more than ten minutes. In and out as quickly as possible.
Even after that, though, I still had to deal with getting the shotgun for Carlisle, track down Alec, and generate a plan to kill Jacob without making myself look suspicious. I didn't plan on eradicating Jacob until we were married, but obviously, I could no longer wait for that.
A huge part of me wanted to call Alice and see how she was doing, but I knew that it wasn't an option at this point. I needed to let her come to me when she was ready. If I even attempted to reach out to her, I would make the whole situation so much worse.
With a heavy heart and head, I pulled myself up from the couch, hoping that nothing else went wrong as I limped out of my office.