AN: Just a quick FYI, from the last chap to this one is about a month or so. I didn't really specify, but it's not the week she initially gave herself to take care of Jacob. Enjoy.
The odd turn my relationship with Edward took was surreal. I thought our contact would be nonexistent until the Jacob deed was done. Lord knows that was the case with Alice. Our relationship hadn't gotten better, but not necessarily worse, either.
She spent a lot of time with Jasper. So much so that she moved her stuff out of her bedroom and into Jasper's home. It was too soon but I was in no place to say anything. Besides, she was going back to school soon. A school whose tuition was being paid by me, but it wasn't something I would stop doing because of an argument. She was my sister, and I loved her despite how much she hated me.
Edward, on the other hand, I spoke to almost daily. Mostly via text. It started as quick status updates on the Jacob situation. Status updates turned into inquiries about my work schedule, and somehow, that transformed into him asking me for advice that I'm sure he didn't need. Eventually the "professional" texts become passing "hellos" and "what's up?" It was those texts that brought a smile to my face that I had to hide when Jacob was around. Only once had he asked me about my grinning at the screen. I was able to easily brush off his curiosity, answering that it was Rosalie.
Over the past month, I could confidently say that Edward and I had become friends. I even moved on to actually calling him by his name.
I hid in the bathroom with the guise of taking a shower. I turned the water on and made some noise as to not alert Jacob that I was doing anything but washing.
"Hey," Edward's husky voice greeted me on the other end. I couldn't deny that I was craving this man like a druggie. We had only been together that one time, but it was enough to have me addicted. I couldn't speak for Edward, but I hadn't been with anyone since out encounter. I didn't want anyone else but him. I wasn't naïve enough to allow myself to believe that he had remained celibate since our tryst.
"Hi," I said almost shyly. This coy and hesitant person wasn't me, but he made me so unsure.
"What's up, babe?" It hadn't slipped my notice that about two weeks ago he had begun with the terms of endearment-mostly babe and sweetheart. I hadn't called him on it because, for one, I wasn't sure if he had realized it himself that he was doing it and, frankly, I loved it. It made me smile every time. I reined in my smile because I just knew that he would be able to tell I was grinning like a fool. Somewhere along the line, he had turned me into a crushing teenager all over again instead of the hardened killer I was trained to be.
"So, uh, Jacob has a meeting tonight. If you're not doing anything, do you want to come over?" This was the first time I had invited him over, and the first time I would be seeing him since the last time.
"Like a date?" he teased.
"Uh …" Was I being too forward? I didn't even know if he had a girlfriend, though I doubted it. I didn't even know if Edward dated, and if he did, if those girls were expected to have certain attributes. Probably. "No. Unless you want it to be." I heard him chuckle on the other end.
"Sure. What time?"
"Eight thirty-ish?" It was already 7:15, and Jake should have been on his way out already. His meetings usually started at eight and usually ran about two to three hours, and Jacob rarely came back after. Edward had more than enough time to get here without playing it close.
"All right. I have some shit to do before then, but I should be good to go. Oh, yeah, Carlisle wants to know the status of his gun delivery."
"Another day. There was a hold up in California that delayed it a few hours. I talked to some people and had it placed on a private charter. It's possible that it will arrive only a few hours behind schedule, but to play it safe, tell him twenty-four hours." The whole thing only cost me another ten thousand. I wish I could say that never again would I do this for Carlisle Cullen-strictly because of business and financial reasons-but you didn't say no to him. You ask "how high" when he asks you to jump.
"Okay." I heard the disappointment in his voice, and it hurt more than it should. The gun should have been here in less than twelve hours, but that wasn't going to happen. I hadn't exactly missed Carlisle's deadline, but the delivery date and time were off, and that was just as bad.
"So, um … I guess I'll see you later?" I wasn't sure if he was still willing to come over. He was disappointed in me and, most certainty, didn't want to be the one to inform Carlisle of the new development. "Unless you don't want to anymore. It's cool if you don't."
Please let him still want to.
"No … yeah, I'm still coming. I have to go now, though. I'll call you when I get there."
"Great. I'll see you later." I hung up with a sigh. I had to bite the bullet, metaphorically speaking, and make the call that Edward didn't want to make. Rightfully, it was my call to make anyway.
I turned off the water, all pretenses of showering gone and unimportant. I didn't have to browse my extensive contact list to find the number I needed and almost never dialed.
"Carlisle Cullen," he answered professionally.
"Mr. Cullen, hello. This is Isabella Swan. How are you tonight?" I was beating around the bush. I really didn't want to make this call, but I couldn't leave it for Edward to make.
"That depends, Ms. Swan, on what this phone call is about." His voice was still calm. Not necessarily cold, but definitely calculated.
"Right. I'm calling to inform you that our estimated time and date of delivery won't be met." To this man, it didn't matter if you stressed the word "estimated". He expected it on the date and time he was told. "There was a situation in California. When the plane landed to refuel, customs wanted to do a search. We had to call in a private charter to fly it the rest of the way, but the route changed for security reasons. It set us back a few hours."
"Why wasn't it shipped via boat like usual?" I didn't want to correct him that they weren't always shipped to me by boat.
"Because it would have added another three, four days, and this was a rush order, if you will," I explained.
"So when should I expect my gun, Ms. Swan?" His voice took on a hard edge, making me so damn grateful he wasn't in front of me.
I swallowed hard. "About eighteen to twenty-four hours."
"We'll be in touch." The line went dead.
Fuck. Me.
There was a knock on the door startling me from commiserating.
"You done in there? I gotta take a piss," Jacob hollered. I rolled my eyes and got off the toilet seat.
"All yours," I replied sarcastically, passing him in the doorway. I heard him say something, but ignored him. Instead, I went into the bedroom to send Edward a text telling him I had spoken with his father. I pushed the phone under the pillow when I heard Jacob enter the room.
"Why didn't you take your shower? You were in there long enough."
"I had to place a call to Carlisle Cullen regarding an order; it took longer than I anticipated." Ever since Charles death, I only ever gave Jacob vague answers. Nothing I did concerned him, be it business or personal.
"The Cullens, huh?"
"Yup." I went into the walk-in closet to change into sleep clothes. "Shouldn't you have left already? Your thing starts in twenty minutes." Basically, he needed to get the fuck on the road already.
He walked up behind me and put his arms around my waist. It took everything in me not to shudder at his touch and fling his body off of me. That certainly wasn't the way you were supposed to treat your fiancé. He was very touchy-feely right now.
"I have a few minutes before I have to leave. Want to fool around?" he whispered in my ear.
I distracted myself from his grip. "Sorry. Headache." I made a show of going to the bathroom and grabbing two aspirins. I went to the kitchen where he already had a glass of juice waiting. "Thanks." I popped the pills and downed all the juice. "I'm gonna go rest."
Once in the room, I reached under the pillow for the phone. Grabbing it too quickly, I dropped it on the floor. I bent to pick it, but was hit with a strong wave a vertigo on the way up. I sat still a minute, waiting for it to pass. However, it only worsened. Not only was I dizzy, but the room was spinning, and my vision was starting to blur. I rubbed my eyes in an effort to get them to focus.
Something wasn't right. Something definitely wasn't right. I stood from the bed hoping it would do something to help. With my phone in hand, I tried dialing Rosalie. Fuck, I'd even try to Alice if I could get a hold of her. My fingers glided over the screen, but I just couldn't get anything I was looking at to make sense or stay still.
"Which Cullen are you fucking, Bella?" I dropped the phone at Jacob's harsh voice.
With my fuzzy vision and foggy thoughts, it was all so clear. Jacob never cut it this close to missing his meeting. It was already five to eight, he should have been long gone by now. The dizziness wasn't abating, but the adrenaline was helping, if only slightly.
"What the fuck did you do to me?" I asked, staggering across the room. I tried to level my thoughts, hoping my training would kick in.
"Rohypnol," he laughed. "A pretty powerful dosage." His smile vanished instantly. "All the texts, quiet phone calls. Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?"
"Fuck you, Jake. I don't owe you shit. You fucking owe me for killing my father, you scumbag." My words were slurred, but he clearly understood.
"That's where you're wrong, Bella. I just ordered it."
"What the hell did he ever do to you?" I tried making my way back toward the nightstand for the pistol attached there. "He treated you like a fucking son." Bracing myself against the table, I slid my hand on the side of it to find nothing but smooth surface.
"It's not there," Jake said before cocking said gun. "It wasn't personal, Bella."
"You … " My mind was fuzzy, making coherent sentences harder and harder. "My father."
"I didn't want to kill him, I just wanted his business." He began walking toward me. "Do you realize what the Wolf Pack could become if we had that business with its reputation? We'd be bigger, more feared than your precious fucking Cullens."
Jake had to know that it wouldn't have been his upon my father's death. It was a stupid call on his part. Even upon my death, he'd never get near it. I'd torch the warehouse myself before I ever let him step foot inside.
"Did you think I didn't know about your little affair with Edward?" He laughed maniacally. "Truthfully, I don't give a shit who you fuck. What I do care about, though, is you making me look like a chump. That, my darling, is why you have to die."
Jacob closed the distance between us, my pistol leading the way. Jacob's problem, though, was that he knew shit about guns and even less on how to use them properly. He was a horrible shot-slow and unsteady. However, my problem was that the world around me was fading. I didn't have the focus or energy to overtake him.
I found and gripped the handle of the knife that was still hidden under the mattress. I didn't have the strength to kill him, but I could possible slow him down. Hiding the knife as much as possible, I began getting up to stand.
"Is that my stubborn girl coming out to play?" he taunted. "Don't want to die sitting down? I can respect that."
When he was only an arm's length away, as quickly as I could, I raised my heavy arm and lunged my weight at Jacob. I had been aiming for his heart, but my aim and depth perception were out of whack. I had managed to catch him in the side of his throat. It wasn't a kill blow, but it caused him to drop the gun none the less.
"Fuck!" he roared in pain. With my dimming view, I could see the thick red liquid spill down his neck.
Knowing that, at this point, I only had minutes before I completely blacked out, I crawled across the bed to get to the door. Grabbing the gun or knife wasn't an option. None of them would help me in the long run anyway.
It felt like I was trying to cross the Dead Sea with a body made of lead. I was drowning, and there was no hope of a floatation device. At the end of the hallway, right before the front door, I felt my body sinking to the floor. I was going to die here at the hands of my father's killer. At the hands of my fiancé.
With the diminutive amount of energy I had left, and leaning heavily on the wall, I was a couple of feet from the door. As I went to reach for the handle, the door swung open violently from the other side, causing my feet to falter.
In front of me was a disheveled and heavily panting Edward. His breathing was ragged as his chest rose and fell quickly. His eyes were wide and frantic, taking in the scene around him. Never had I been so relieved to see a cold-blooded killer in front of me.
I stumbled toward him at the same time that he lurched at me.
"Fucking bitch," I heard Jake yell as his feet pounded toward me. I turned to see how close he was. A lot closer than I had anticipated. He held the gun in the air, but his aim shifted as he noticed unwanted guest.
Pure adrenaline. That was the only thing that I had left, and even that was fading. With all the strength I could conjure, I leaped in front of Edward to shield him from the shot that was initially meant for me until Jacob saw the intruder. The shot rang out, blocking out every other noise in the world.
Searing pain, a piercing scream, and a guttural roar were the only things that I remembered before the drug took its full effect.