A/N... You guys seemed to like the cave. In fact, a few of you asked for a Mercward for your own birthday. Hee Hee... Yeah, totally get that. ;) Some of you would take a Camaro as a second choice, though.
I wanted to thank all of you for your reviews and PM's. They mean a lot, even when we don't necessarily see eye to eye. If you're upset with the characters, then I must be doing something right for you to be so emotionally involved. And for that, I owe all of you a tremendous thank you. So... 'MOOCHES as Bethy would say.
Okay, let's see if we can get Jordan safely to the house, and see if the guys decide to rob a bank. LOL
I guess I should rate this N for just Mercward naughtiness. And H for his in charge hotness... So get to it. I'll see you at the bottom.
CHAPTER 17
BELLA
I opened the refrigerator, grabbed a soda, and slammed the door, leaning back against the counter to take a drink. Glaring toward the office, I took another long drink.
"You look...pleased," Esme muttered sarcastically, taking a seat at the counter.
I shook my head and finished off my drink, tossing the can into the garbage. "Cocky fools," I growled, facing her. "We've got two options about that damn bank. We could go in soft, with fake paperwork, and just...walk out with what we need. Or the A-Team in there goes in like it's the next great big heist after business hours. Either would work..."
"But?" she prompted, raising an eyebrow at me.
"I can't go..." I pouted, scoffing at her chuckle. "Edward absolutely won't budge."
"Perhaps its because it's highly illegal?" she suggested, but her calm demeanor was irritating, not because she was trying to keep me calm, but because it was fucking working. "If something happens, Bella, then you have to be able to be here. For the team. For the kids."
I groaned, shaking my head, but I knew she was right. "Maybe that's why I want to go..."
"To watch Edward's back?" she suggested.
"Yeah," I sighed in defeat. "If this goes wrong, he'll be in so much trouble. And I don't know if I could handle that."
"So you help make sure...from here...that nothing goes wrong," she stated, sitting up straight. "If it were my choice," she continued, getting up from her stool and walking to me to set her hands on my shoulders, "then I'd say an after hours situation would be better. You have more control. A soft entry would mean witnesses – bank employees, customers, security."
I nodded in acknowledgment that I'd heard her, still unable sometimes to mesh the woman that was my mother for all intents and purposes with the woman whose brother was a member of the CIA, whose husband used to run a mercenary team, and who had extensive knowledge of black ops.
"A night job," I whispered, locking eyes with her. "Alice could hack the security system – both video surveillance and alarms. Mickey would need plenty of time to open the place up. We'd need—"
"Someone outside, someone at the doors, and someone with Mickey inside the deposit box vault," my favorite smooth, velvet voice added from across the dining room.
Esme and I turned to look at him. Edward looked angry, but worried at the same time as he ran a hand through his hair.
"We'd also need every last one of you on info," he added, urging me to understand without actually bringing up the slight disagreement we'd just had.
"You," I practically sneered, pointing at him. "You will not mess up. You will listen to every word I say over that radio, Edward. This is a freaking federal offense if you're caught. Understand me?" A cocky as hell smirk crawled up his face, and before he could open his mouth to speak, I pointed to him again. "Oh, no. Do not get all smug right now. It's not the time." I glanced up at the wall clock, only to glare back at him. "You have less than thirty minutes to be in there and on point to listen to Alec pick up Jordan. Then you only have six hours to put together a plan to get inside this bank, grab the contents of that deposit box, and get back out. It had better be flawless, Mr. Cullen. So don't get cocky. Because I don't want to have to explain to the kids why their daddy isn't coming home for seven-to-ten years. Hmm?"
The pompous gleam in his eyes dissipated in a heartbeat as he nodded fervently, looking eerily close to Sammy when he gazed up at me with a slightly tilted head and through his long eyelashes. And that only caused Esme to snicker softly at my side, because yeah, he totally knew what he was doing.
Groaning, I rolled my eyes. "You're so shameless," I snorted, shaking my head. I took in a long, deep breath, letting it out slowly. "So who are you taking with you, besides Mickey?" I asked him, pointing to the counter.
Edward sat down, leaning his elbows on the marble top, and rubbed his face roughly. "Jasper, Kurt, Dad, and myself."
"Why Kurt?" Esme asked, sitting next to him.
"Because Alice needs him underground to hook up some sort of routing thing to the bank's computer system. She's got a blueprint that shows him exactly where to go. She's teaching him right now what to do," he answered, looking up to me. "Apparently, we have to hardwire our way into the security system before we can go anywhere near the building."
"What about a blackout?" I asked.
"She's doing that, too," he said, nodding once. "We're to blow a transformer on the grid."
"This just gets better and better," I muttered, and glared at Edward when he chuckled.
"Stop, love," he soothed me, pulling me between his legs and cupping my face. "All I want is to get this done and come home to you. My goal is to be back before sunrise."
"And Wes can't do anything?" I whined, because if this shit went wrong, I was going to be looking at my husband through bars for a long time.
"No, sweetness," he sighed, kissing my forehead. "I promise you that we'll be safe. The very first sign of the whole thing not going to plan, and I'm packing us up and bringing us back."
"I can't tell you no," I muttered, "because we need that info. And you have to protect Mickey, baby. That's not an option."
"I know," he growled, sitting up straighter and shaking his head. "Believe me, if I didn't need her so badly inside that bank, she would be sitting next to you here. She'll be absolutely nowhere near the transformer explosion."
"Okay," I sighed, finally conceding, because I didn't really have a choice.
In order for all aspects of our major plan to work, the little shit had to get finished first. We needed to pull Jordan Nichols off the grid to shake Preston to his very foundation. Unfortunately, we were all saddened that Robert Reynolds had been taken, and there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it, because we had no fucking clue where Preston was laying low. Next, we needed all the evidence we could get on both Raulsons, despite Ike's death, because it was the final and major plan that absolutely had to work.
Edward and I were going to lure Preston to us. We weren't sure where or when, but I was to pose as Kyra, Alice was going to leak where I was and when, and we hoped that it would bring the asshole straight to us. I was absolutely certain that Preston would be unable to resist not only a chance to get to Kyra, but to have at one of the last men in her life. It was a win-win for him.
"Flawless," I growled through gritted teeth, looking up at him.
"Yes, ma'am," he grunted, kissing my lips quickly.
"Fine," I groaned, rolling my eyes. "Let's get set up. Alec should be nearing Jordan's house by now." As Edward slid gracefully off of the stool, I turned to Esme. "You might want to go get Kyra. She's going to want to hear this. It'll make her feel better, I think."
Esme nodded, smiling, and kissed my cheek. "You're probably right. And she refused any meds to help calm her down."
Edward and I both nodded, because we understood. Kyra had been an absolute mess when she had walked into the office a few hours ago. She'd realized that Preston was hunting down her exes, that Edward was one of them, as was Jordan Nichols. That had sent her into a tailspin of emotions. She'd sobbed, begged, and pleaded with Edward to help Jordan, and his resolve had finally cracked when the news reported Ike's death.
We weren't too concerned about Ryan Peters or Kyra's ex-husband, Roger, because Preston would actually have to fly to get to them, and he was flagged at the airport, but the rest were within driving distance for him.
"And it's good of you to go get this Jordan," she told Edward, who shrugged.
Running a hand through his hair, he muttered, "It was one thing when Ike was missing. This...Reynolds and now Nichols aren't guilty of anything other than dating Kyra at some point. No innocent blood should be spilled. There's too much of that already."
I wrinkled my nose, because I knew he meant Molly Parsons, who we were still clueless as to what had truly happened to her. Ike's death was no big deal to Edward, because he was a pig. Molly's and possibly Robert Reynolds'...that was a different story. Neither had done anything wrong, except maybe knowing the wrong people.
Esme nodded and walked away, heading upstairs to Kyra's room.
"Is it too late to go back to the cave on the beach?" Edward mumbled wryly, which caused me to giggle and turn to face him.
"I'm afraid so, stud," I teased him, snaking my arms up around his neck.
"Walkin' okay there, sweetness?" he purred, leaning down to my ear to leave a long, slow, wet kiss.
"Barely," I answered honestly with a slight snort to my laugh, because I was deliciously achy. Everywhere. The type of sore that made me moan every time I sat down, stood up, took a step, but I didn't moan because it hurt; I moaned because with every sweet twinge my muscles made, my mind would remember why they were aching – every grip, every thrust, every sweet orgasm that seemed to have lasted for hours.
Edward's smug as hell grin reappeared against the skin of my neck. "Mmm, good. I like it when you can feel me for days."
"Mmm...me, too, baby," I sighed contentedly, nuzzling his scruffy jaw. "Though the hickey on my upper thigh will stick around for a bit as a reminder..."
"That's not the only one," he chuckled sexily, cupping my ass and giving it a good squeeze to make his point.
"You put one on my ass?" I squeaked, gaping up at him as he nodded slowly, licking his lips.
His laugh was deep and sexy and completely unapologetic. He shrugged a shoulder, leaning closer to me. "I don't call it your sweet ass for nothin', baby." he purred, dragging his lips up my throat, over my chin, to brush across my lips. "Sweeter than any fucking dessert."
I shook my head, smirking up at him. "Yes, well... have you checked your back today, handsome? Looks like a map of the New York subway system," I giggled, shrugging a shoulder, because...yeah, I didn't have any shame, either.
Edward's grin crept up his face slowly, and he chuckled once. "Nice, baby," he huffed, rolling his eyes. "We're even, then?"
"For now," I laughed, my head falling back. I felt his lips meet my neck again as he laughed with me, and any and all tension that came with our disagreement evaporated instantly.
"Come, love. Let's go guide Alec through this shit," he murmured softly, pressing one more kiss to my neck.
"'Kay," I sighed, glancing past him to see Kyra and Esme walking our way.
Even though the former's eyes were still a little puffy and red, she looked calmer. She was looking at Edward like he was Superman in the flesh. I had to smile at her for that, because he kinda was a superhero – to his kids, to his friends, and definitely to me. And I knew for a fact that his resolve had melted away to go get Jordan simply because he saw the unadulterated and pure sympathy that had been written all over my face. I knew what Kyra was feeling. The man she loved was being threatened, and despite how much she'd done to protect him, it was possible he could get hurt anyway. I was so fucking lucky that Edward was trained and tough and able to defend himself in just about every scenario; Jordan wasn't.
Cassie told us, after Kyra had been led upstairs by Esme, that he was an outdoorsy kind of guy, that he liked to work out at a boxing gym, but he wasn't trained. He couldn't assess a situation and see the danger for what it truly was. He couldn't disappear in the blink of an eye, or move so softly that he didn't make a sound, or even use his surroundings to his advantage in order to hide, fight, or escape. Edward could, and he would if he had to, in order to survive. And the rest of our crew was no different.
Kyra knew all of that, and the knowledge of Edward's abilities helped calm her. But it didn't make her any less nervous for Jordan, because when you loved someone – even someone you've pushed away – nothing could happen to them. Nothing.
"Hey," I sighed, pulling away from Edward's embrace. "We're about to go listen to Alec's team. They should be just about there. You ready to listen in?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she said, nodding and rubbing her face, and I could see her hands shaking.
"Relax, Kyra," I told her, walking her to the office door, with Esme and Edward following us. "Alec's really good, and Eleazar... He and Felix are CIA and former Navy Seals. Unless Jordan greets them at the door with a canon, they'll be fine."
That got her to crack a smile, and she nodded once.
"This is the easier of the tasks on the To-Do List today," I stated, narrowing my eyes on my husband.
"Hush, Bella," he chuckled, shaking his head as we all entered the office.
Makenna was the first to say something. "Bells! Wes said to call him as soon as we have Jordan. That way he can let the local authorities know that he's been taken into protective custody."
"Got it." I nodded, tugging on a headset. "Alice, pull up Alec's camera for me," I told her, barely getting the words out before she spun a computer around. "Do we know for sure that Jordan is home?"
"Yes," Cassie answered, holding up her phone. "Rose had me call him, check in for the video we were supposed to be making," she stated, flinching when Kyra gasped.
"Jordan was directing that? Cassie, how come you didn't tell me?" she squeaked, her face tinging pink.
"I wanted to surprise you. You need to tell him the truth," Cassie replied with an unapologetic tone, shrugging a shoulder.
"Yeah, but—" Kyra started to argue, but Esme placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Now isn't the time, Kyra, but at some point, you'll have to accept the fact that she's right. This Jordan will be under this roof by this evening," she told her softly.
Kyra just nodded, but didn't say anything back. She turned her attention to me and Edward.
"Give me a com link, sweetness," he ordered, and I tossed one to him. He tucked it swiftly in his ear, studying the large screen that displayed Alec's camera. "Alec, status."
"We've arrived on point, and we're just about to take the front door," Alec stated, and via his camera, we saw him stalking up to the front door, telling Emmett and Felix to cover the back. They split from him, running along either side of the house toward the back yard. Eleazar came to stand by Alec's side, keeping an eye on their surroundings. "Ed, is Kyra in the room? We made need her to confirm to this guy that she's the one sending us. We have no real authority."
Edward glanced up to me, and then to Kyra. "Kyra, we have to tell this guy that you sent us. We aren't the police, so he may want to hear it from you. Are you willing to do that?"
Kyra nodded vehemently. "Anything...just get him out of there."
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, touching the earpiece. "Alec, you're good to go. Take it easy, yeah? We're about to blindside this guy."
"Easy!" Alec scoffed, before ringing the doorbell. "Like I'm a caveman. I'm not Emmett."
The whole room and the voices over the radio chuckled, except for Emmett.
"You know, I truly feel the love, you asses!" he growled, but I knew Em well enough to know that he took offense to nothing. He knew that he was a harsh personality. He'd rather go into a room like hellfire than to be subtle. It was why he hated playing man-slut to catch a cheater. "I'm smooth. Right, Rosie?"
Edward and I laughed at her eye roll and slow head shake as she lied smoothly over the radio. "Sure, babe. Whatever you say."
Whether it was the light banter or the fact that our team was simply that close to Jordan, Kyra relaxed just a touch, because her giggle was soft and sweet. But every woman in the room blinked twice when Jordan Nichols opened his front door.
"Hello, biceps," Makenna murmured in a sing-song voice, but we all heard her, causing another chuckle.
Jordan was damned good looking. He stood in his doorway with a white towel around his neck, but he was sweaty, only wearing what looked to be a pair of basketball shorts. He was...cut. Everywhere. He wasn't one of those giant, steroid-looking guys. He was lean, fit, defined, with smooth skin, strong arms, and abs you could've scrubbed clothes on, not to mention I could swear I could see a bit of ink peeking out of the waistband of his shorts right at his hip. But his face was stunning – deep, soulful brown eyes, full lips, a strong Roman nose, and a sharp jaw line. Topping it all off was dark, sweaty hair that fell over his forehead as he stared curiously back at Alec.
My eyebrows shot up high, and I spun a look to Kyra, almost giving her a fist bump, but Rose verbally did it for me.
"Oh, damn," Rose laughed softly, shaking her head. "Way to go, Kyra."
I jumped when a deep, smooth voice growled low in my ear so that only I heard him. "You wanna stop ogling our target, Mrs. Cullen?"
I grinned, because he knew me better than that, and he was totally giving me shit. "Just doing my job, Edward," I sang innocently. "He ain't got nothin' on you, baby," I drawled the utter truth, giving my husband an appraising glance.
"Mmhm, I should hope not," he huffed dramatically, causing me to giggle, because it was cute when he got all jealous and shit, especially when he knew it all meant nothing. If a woman in a bikini had answered the door, the boys would have had no shame in staring, and we all knew it. It had happened before on a cheating case a few months back, and I'd thought the girls and I would die laughing at them, because they'd been frozen stunned for just a moment when the "other woman" had answered her door in what could barely be considered a bathing suit.
Edward snorted, smirking down at me and nudging me with his elbow to look over at Kyra. She was biting her thumbnail, looking up at the screen nervously as Alec began to introduce himself.
"Jordan Nichols? The name is Alec. I'm with Gravity Protection," he stated firmly, holding out his hand. "It's been requested of us by Kyra Bailey to take you to her. It seems there has been a threat made against you."
"Kyra?" he asked, shaking his head slowly, before rubbing his face with the towel around his neck. "And what threat?"
"Miss Bailey would like to explain that to you herself," Alec answered smoothly, "so if you'll just come with us..."
"Whoa, hang on... Go with you where?" Jordan bristled, pulling the towel from his shoulder and tossing it somewhere just inside the front door. "I'm not going anywhere."
Edward snatched his phone out of his pocket, touching the screen swiftly. "Alec, I'm putting Kyra on the phone for him. We need him to cooperate. Now."
"Sir," Alec replied over the radio, but answered his phone, handing it over to Jordan without even putting the thing to his ear. "It's for you."
Edward handed Kyra his phone. "You've got to convince him to come, or we can't do this. If I take him by force, that's kidnapping. Got me?"
"He's mad at me, Edward," she whispered back.
"He doesn't know the truth, Kyra. You can't fault him for that, but tell him you'll explain it when he gets here," he stated, shrugging a shoulder.
Tentatively, she put the phone up to her ear. "Jordan?"
"Kyra? What's going on?" he asked her, almost gruffly. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Sort of?" she said, but it came out sounding like a question. "Listen, I need you to do what they tell you. I'll explain everything when you get here, but there are some threats being made against me...and against some of the people I know."
"Does this have something to do with Ike? Is what they're saying in the media true? Did he really..." Jordan started out that series of questions with a rough tone, but the cut-off query sounded concerned. His face seemed to pale at the mere thought.
"Yes," she said, a sob catching in her throat. "Jordan, please. Just...come. Okay? I promise to explain it all, but for now, you've got to trust me."
"That's a little hard to do, babe, considering what you've done to me," he sighed, shaking his head.
Edward reached for the phone, but before Kyra could hand it over, Eleazar finally spoke up, causing all of us to turn our attention to the monitor.
"Hey, son? Whatever is between you and Miss Bailey is none of our concern, but if you've been watching the news, you'll know that Ike Raulson turned up fried to a crisp. You wanna be next?" he growled, finally losing his patience. "You can hash it all out with her when we get you where we're going."
Jordan winced at El's candor, but he rubbed his face with his hand. "I have a feeling I'm going to regret this," he groaned, rolling his eyes. "Do I have time for a shower?"
"I'm afraid not," Alec answered him. "You can pack a simple bag, but we've got to get you out of here. Pack warmly."
Jordan paused for a fraction of a second, but nodded solemnly and spun in the doorway, leaving it open for Alec to follow. It didn't take long, but once he'd packed a quick bag, locked up his house, and loaded up in the car, Alec checked back in with Edward.
"Kid, we're heading back. We'll see you in a few hours," he stated over the radio.
"Ten-four, and watch your six. The last thing I fucking need is to have the media camped outside the front gates," Edward stated firmly, running a hand through his hair.
"Sir," Alec grunted, and the communication over the radio ended.
"Come, Kyra," Esme said softly, leading her toward the door. "You can help me get a room ready for Jordan."
Once they were gone from the room, Rose muttered, "He agreed awfully quick. I'm not sure I'd have just given in. I mean, aren't they...broken up?"
"He cares about her," Cassie piped up softly from the end of the table, "and he's been bailing her out of trouble for awhile. I'm not sure I can count how many times that he's dropped everything just to pick her up when she's been too drunk to drive, or when she needed something done at the house, or even when she needed an escort to an event, even after they weren't officially together." She sighed, setting her elbows on the table and dropping her chin in her hands. "I just don't know how he's going to take hearing the truth about why she did some of the things she did."
"If he's worth a shit, then he'll listen...and his opinion of her won't change," Edward growled, tugging the com link from his ear and tossing it onto the table. "Jazz, Mick, we have plans to make," he ordered, kissing my head roughly before snatching up the blueprints of the bank. "Don't forget to call Wes, sweetness. He needs to know where we stand," he murmured softly, his voice a little gentler.
"Yeah, sure," I told him, my heart swelling with my love for him, because he was damn well going to judge Jordan on how he reacted to Kyra. If the guy reacted negatively, then it was possible that my Edward would knock him the fuck out. Not because of anything to do with Kyra, but because it would say a lot about Jordan's true feelings for the girl and his character.
Suddenly, I wanted to kiss Edward stupid, but I couldn't when Mack walked up with her phone.
"Yeah, baby. Miss you, too. Here's Bells," she said, handing over the phone.
"Wes," I sighed, shaking my head to clear it. "We have Jordan Nichols in our possession."
"Good, good," he muttered, giving orders to someone in his presence. "Bells, we've gotten all the lab shit back. You ready?"
"Yeah, hit me," I gushed, rushing to my computer so I could take notes.
"First, the blood inside the Raulson home came back to Molly Parsons. We know this because her grandfather was smart enough to give us a sample way back then."
"Aw, damn," I groaned, shaking my head as I typed. "Keep going."
"Second...the Ike Raulson murder. According to the ME, he was brutally tortured before he was burned. And he was still alive when the fire started. I can't say for sure if it was Preston or not, but that's awfully personal for a random attack. There were no fingerprints in that car. It seems someone wanted to truly teach Ike a lesson. Though with Preston on the run, I can safely and publicly call him the person of interest in this case."
"Okay." I winced at the violence that Preston was capable of, because that meant what Eleazar had said was true; Ike was the dominant personality, and now his son has asserted his own dominance. Permanently. Though deep down, I wasn't sad one damn bit.
"Next...that safety deposit box. Do I wanna know what you're planning?" he asked, chuckling a bit.
"Nope," I laughed. "Trust me."
"Okay," he snorted. "Not that I blame you. It pisses me off that I can't get in it myself. I didn't legally obtain the key, so I can't legally search the bank deposit box. Even though Ike is dead and Preston is MIA, the only way to get into his bank deposit box is if you're family and can hand over a death certificate. So...do what you do. I know nothing. And be fucking careful."
"Thanks, Wes," I sighed. "Anything else?"
"Yup, last thing. I'm not stupid, and my girlfriend has all but said so, but... You're planning something to catch this asshole, aren't you?"
"We are, though we haven't really firmly planned anything, per se. Why?" I hedged, looking up at Mack, who was shrugging a shoulder at me.
"We want in. We want to help you, and then make the arrest when you do it. Is Ed willing to work together?" he asked.
"I'm sure he would be," I stated, sitting back in my chair and locking eyes with Edward from across the room. "Wes, we're trying to get you everything you need. Every bit of evidence. We don't mind sharing. All that we've obtained is merely because we were trying to take the best course of action to keep Kyra safe – preventive action. Anything we have is yours."
"Thanks, Bella," he said. "Listen, I've got to run. We've got a few witnesses to talk to."
"Hey, Wes. If you come across anyone that may have a clue about where Preston may lay low, let us know, yeah? I've searched high and low and can't come up with a single place they owned or rented or even borrowed from a damn friend. I'd be willing to bet it's well hidden, hard to access, and that if we find it, we'll find Molly Parsons' body, not to mention possibly find Robert Reynolds."
"I hear ya, B," he groaned. "We're on the same page, I see. You guys will know when I do. I'm sure Kyra is worried."
"She is. She's also feeling guilty that all this is her fault. It's taking all we have to convince her otherwise."
We ended the call after he told me that Benny would be joining back up with the investigation as early as the next day, and I rubbed my temple, studying my screen. I turned to Alice, suddenly weary and nervous about the mission Edward was about to undertake.
"They won't set foot inside that bank until you're sure that security is ours to control, right?" I asked her, but she was already nodding as she worked on some sort of equipment she was getting ready for Kurt to take. It was some sort of router type thing with wires and clips and a small antenna.
"Once Kurt hooks this up inside the control panel underneath the bank, I can access the security system, turn off the alarm without alerting the monitoring company, and then replace the video feed with a false loop," she rambled, grinning at me when I snorted.
"Okay, trusting you," I muttered lightly, rolling my eyes, because sometimes, I never understood a word she said. Standing up, I snatched up the box of cameras we were going to put on Edward and his team and turned to Rose. "While they plan, we'll get their things ready," I told her. "The last thing we need is to go black during this shit."
She sighed, picking up a camera and shaking her head. "Yeah, we're definitely gonna need every angle this time..."
~oOo~
EDWARD
"Hold it, right there," I called out, holding up my hand so that my dad could see me in the rear view mirror of the SUV. I opened up the back door, grabbing our equipment and setting it inside.
"Have we got everything?" he asked, snatching up the last bag at my feet and setting it in.
"I think so," I said, yanking off my baseball cap and running my fingers through my hair, only to tug it back on. "Mickey needs more shit than we do, but she's packed it all in there," I told him, pointing to the bag on the far right. "Kurt's stuff that Alice has put together and the charges you'll need to take out that transformer," I continued, pointing to the appropriate bags. "We're good."
"Armed?" he asked, taking his gun from its shoulder holster and checking the clip.
"Hand weapons only. The last thing we need is to get fucking caught with automatic weapons. Hell, they'll charge us with terrorism," I grunted, rolling my eyes at his chuckle.
"You really think El would let them?" he laughed, slapping a hand down onto my shoulder and giving it a squeeze.
I grinned and shrugged a shoulder as we walked back inside the house. "No, but you never know... And I'm not sure he's forgiven me for Kenny Porter," I snorted.
Kenny Porter had been involved in the kidnapping of my wife and daughter. He'd been in Eleazar's custody all the way up to his trial, sentencing to Guantanamo Bay, and his transport. He'd never made it out of the country. I'd made sure that he'd paid for ever laying a fucking finger on my family.
Dad laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "He's forgiven you for Kenny, but not for slipping past his watch. He's still not sure how you did it."
"Good," I grunted, grinning when my dad laughed that much harder.
We came to a stop once we were inside the kitchen, because you could cut the tension with a fucking knife. Jordan Nichols was having a rapid, but very quiet conversation with Gator at the table. Cassie was urging Kyra to eat, but she kept giving worried glances toward the dining room.
"He's an asshole if he doesn't listen to her," my dad muttered, his eyes taking in the situation.
"Yeah, I said the same thing," I sighed. "The next few days should be fun," I grunted sarcastically.
He grinned up at me, slapping my shoulder again. "Go get ready. I want to be on the road in ten minutes. I think Bella was getting the kids ready for bed."
I nodded, walking upstairs to hear my favorite sound in the world – the sound of my kids and my wife laughing. I pushed open the door and smiled as I took in the sight of my girl sitting in the middle of the bed with Sammy on her lap, his back to her front, and Bethy beside her, underneath her arm. They were reading a book together.
"Daddy," Sammy chirped, opening and closing one hand, while the other braced on his mother's leg.
"Do you really hafta weave, Daddy?" Bethy asked, sounding pitiful and sad, and if anything could keep me in that fucking room, it would be the adorable little pout that took over her face.
"I'm afraid so, little sweetness," I said, falling down onto the bed on Bella's other side. "I'll be here when you wake up in the morning."
Bella shot me a sharp, pointed look, but she didn't say a word in front of the kids. I knew it was for promising that I'd be there, but there wasn't fucking anything that would keep me from them. I hadn't been lying to her earlier. If the entry into the bank didn't feel right, if it wasn't fucking perfect, then I damn well wasn't going in. Period. End of fucking story. Be damned if I was going to jeopardize the life I had with my family for whatever was in that fucking bank box. No fucking way. Nothing about this case was worth that. We'd get Preston Raulson some other way.
"I promise," I growled, my eyes on Bella, but I opened my arms when Bethy scrambled down from the bed and clambered up onto my lap. Turning to my daughter, I asked, "Is it bedtime, little sergeant?"
"Yes, sir," she sighed, placing her tiny hands on either side of my face. "You're prickly, Daddy," she giggled, which just caused Sammy to reach up and touch, too, and my wife to chuckle.
"Mom calls it scruffy," I teased, shooting Bella a wink, and she rolled her eyes and shook her head. Turning back to my kids, I told them, "Love you."
"Love you, Daddy," they chanted back.
"Beds, soldiers," I grunted, but grinned when Bethy wriggled down from the bed.
She dove under the covers of the other bed, pulling them up and waiting for me. I scooped Sammy up and stood, tugging back his covers and tucking him in.
"Safe," my boy whispered, grabbing either side of my face as I leaned in to kiss his forehead.
"Always," I vowed to him in a whisper. "Sleep, pal."
Leaving him to get his kisses and goodnights from Bella, I turned to Bethy, telling her the same when she told me to be safe. When Bella and I had turned out the light, shut the door, and stepped out into the hallway, she rounded on me.
"You can't promise them that, Edward," she whispered harshly, shaking her head.
"I can. And I will. I'm not stepping inside that bank unless it's completely under our control," I hissed back. "Nothing inside that box is worth it, love."
She pursed her lips at me, letting out a deep sigh. "Fair enough, baby. I just... I'm worried."
"I-I t-trust y-you t-to t-take c-care o-of m-me," I sputtered softly, shrugging a shoulder. "Constant communication," I whispered the reminder I'd been giving for years.
"Okay," she conceded, though I was pretty sure she wasn't going to be happy until my ass was back here by morning. "Let's go get you geared up."
"No." I grunted, pulling her roughly to me.
Slipping my hands into her hair at the base of her skull, I brought her lips to mine. My kiss was my vow, my turning over my heart to her for safekeeping until I came back, because I had to in these situations. I had no choice but to tone down the husband and father in me in order to concentrate on the job at hand. I had to release the cold, level-headed soldier inside of me, making sure every step, every move that we made tonight was calculated, smart, and safe.
My wife's sweet whimper pushed out softly against my cheek as she placed her hands on either side of my face. I didn't stop kissing her. With deep swirls of my tongue against hers, I spun her, pressing her into the wall, but my girl smiled against my lips.
Pressing my forehead to hers, I panted, "What?"
"If you're trying to kiss me senseless, Edward, it's too late. I can barely remember my name from the cave still," she snickered sexily, brushing her lips across mine.
Grinning smugly, because I damn well couldn't help it, I kissed her lips, her forehead, and finally, the sweet little tip of her nose. "Mrs. Isabella Cullen," I purred, stroking her cheekbones with my thumbs. "Got it?"
She giggled and nodded, finally relaxing just a bit. "Yes, sir, got it. Gear, baby. Come on."
She linked our fingers together, and I brought the back of her hand up to my lips as she led me downstairs toward the office. That one last kiss allowed me to settle into work mode as I inhaled deeply the sweet scent of her soft skin, letting my breath push out against her knuckles. By the time she was attaching the camera to my kevlar vest, I was ready to get this shit started.
And over with.
~oOo~
"Did that asshole Jordan really just go into his room and shut the door?" Mickey asked as she, Jasper, and I waited for Kurt to check in once he was in place and for my dad to let us know when the transformer was ready to be taken out of commission.
"He did," I muttered, shrugging a shoulder. "Perhaps he needs a lesson in manners," I growled, rolling my eyes at their chuckles.
I glanced around us, shaking my head at the suburban hell we were stuck in. It was strip malls, grocery stores, and chain restaurants. It was a small community just outside of L.A. Ike's residence was about five minutes from where we were parked, which was behind a strip mall. I looked along the back of the building toward the bank to which we were aiming. We at least had the cover of darkness where we were until my dad killed the power grid.
We'd discussed having Alice kill the whole grid remotely, but because the transformer was several blocks away, we decided that the small explosion Dad was setting off would pull the attention away from where we were and what we were about to do, especially since rain was about to roll in.
Kurt huffed a noise over the radio, and I glanced over to the laptop on Mickey's lap as we watched his camera. He was navigating an underground passage.
"No offense, guys," he finally said honestly, "but you guys are some scary fuckers at first meeting."
Jasper cracked the fuck up from the back seat as Mickey and I joined him, but sighed as he sat forward. "Kid's got a point. We are a little...overwhelming."
I grinned, glancing around again to make sure that we were still unnoticed, and remembered meeting Kurt for the first time. He'd been scared shitless, but Bella had been the only thing stopping me from treating him just like all the other assholes that had been involved in hers and Bethy's kidnapping. However, the kid was cool. He was level headed and tended to give us that one opinion that no one else had considered. Like he'd just done.
"Hell yes, you're fucking overwhelming," he grunted, and another look to the computer let me know that he was still running. "We're all intense and busy. We speak our own fucking language. And I'm sure it didn't help him that we all walk around the damn house armed."
I sighed. "Maybe you're right," I conceded, rubbing my face roughly.
"We did show up at the guy's house, tell him his ex needs him to pack a bag and blindly trust her, and then drop him someplace that's unfamiliar," Jasper snickered, smacking my shoulder lightly with the back of his hand.
"That someplace then looked like a commune with so many people in it," Mickey added with a chuckle. "You know, someone should sit down with him...explain everything." She grinned when I snapped my gaze to hers. "Okay, maybe not everything, but at least why he's there."
"I give it til morning," my dad finally piped up. "If he's still acting up, I fucking guarantee you that Bella says something to him."
"And it won't be pretty," we all said at the same time.
"Hush. All of you," Bella giggled over the radio, and I could just imagine her beautiful eyes rolling at the conversation. "Jordan needed a minute to get his head together. I'm sure he and Kyra will talk in the morning. It is late, you know. Not everyone can think straight at three o'clock in the morning, much less deal with what we've just pulled him into."
"Yes, ma'am," I sighed in defeat, because she was right, but I was still saving my opinion on the asshole until I'd actually had a chance to talk to him.
Another glance to the computer – this time, to my dad's view – let me know that he'd arrived to his target. He scaled the fence of the small electric station, hopping down silently to the other side.
"We don't need much, Dad," I reminded him. "Just enough to look like a surge."
"Yeah, the weather's helping with that," he grunted, stalking around a few metal structures until he found the one he needed. "Those clouds rolling in will make this look like lightning struck."
As if on cue, thunder rolled, rumbling long, low, and deep. He was right; the weather was definitely on our fucking side tonight. Not only would it aide in the transformer situation, but it would help in keeping us hidden in case someone happened to drive by.
"I'm on point," Kurt panted as he stood in front of a wall of indescribable wires, electric boxes, and routing equipment. He set his bag down, opened it, and pulled out the contraption that Alice had put together.
"Okay, okay, okay," Alice piped up over the radio. "Kurt, you remember what to do?"
"Yeah, pixie, got it," he said, taking out a knife, fumbling with a few wires, and cutting the plastic wrappings off of two of them in half-inch sections. "I'm hooking up now," he stated, clipping two wires from Alice's invention to the two wires he'd stripped. "It's on. Test it, Alice."
"On it, on it, on it," she said, and we could hear her typing like a fiend.
She'd admitted just before we left that this little mission was going to be touchy. She had to go in through the "back door" of the bank's computer system in order to not be detected, replace the live feed of the security video with a recorded loop, disable the alarm, and then replace all of it once we were done.
"Okay, I'm in. Give me...two minutes. You guys might as well get into position, Edward. Carlisle, stand by, because as soon as I get the recorded video I need, then you are free to blow the transformer."
"Ten-four," he grunted, smashing a wad of plastic explosive into place and securing a detonator to it. He did it in four places, but located pretty close together, finally scaling back over the fence to give himself some safe distance. "On your mark, Alice."
"Let's go," I ordered Jasper and Mickey, opening my door. "Sweetness, you're our eyes now..."
"I've got you, baby. Make your way to the end of the building and hold your position," she commanded.
Mickey closed the computer, leaving it on the seat of the SUV, and Jasper exited through the back door, all of us meeting at the back of the vehicle. After Mickey had grabbed her bag, we hugged the shadows of the strip mall, dodging dumpsters, recycle bins, and empty boxes.
"Perfect," Alice muttered, most likely to herself. "Kurt, hide that box somewhere in there and go ahead and join the rest of the team."
"Okay," he replied. "Ed, I'm heading your way."
"We'll wait for Dad to join us, and then we'll go in. Alice, you're the voice of God...we're yours to command," I told her, smiling when her giggle met my ears.
"I always assumed she was a woman," Alice laughed, which caused Jasper to snort and roll his eyes. "Okay, Carlisle. In three...two...one... Blow it."
Kurt joined us, panting heavily about the same time that a loud pop shattered the silence of the night. The hum of street lamps, the sound of running A/C units, and the surrounding light all dissipated in the blink of an eye.
"Security system is now mine," Alice stated ominously. "That bank, however, is all yours, Edward. Do that sweet thing that y'all do," she sang.
"You're beautiful, Alice. Have I told you lately?" I chuckled, looking up to see my dad double timing it our way, sticking to the same shadows we had.
"Never enough, Edward. It's never enough," she laughed, and we all chuckled with her. "Go...and don't forget to go in through the roof."
"Ma'am," I grunted, turning to my team. "Kurt, take the edge of the building outside, stick to the shadows, but watch out for any cars. Jasper, I need you on that front door once we're inside. And Dad, you'll stay on the ground at the back. If this goes badly, we can take out the witnesses, but that is the very fucking last thing I need to happen. I'm with Mick in that vault. On me."
"Sir," they all grunted, and we took off toward the bank.
Kurt split from us, skulking along the bank's back wall, turning to the right to take the far side of the building in order to watch the parking lot. Jasper, Mickey, my dad, and I stopped at the dumpster. Scrambling up on top, Dad and Jasper helped Mick to join me.
Turning her to face me, I said, "Easy does it. Got me?" I whispered to her, and she nodded silently. "I'm gonna lift you up there, so grab the edge and pull yourself over. I will catch you if you think you can't do this."
"Sure, Ed, but I'm okay. I'm pregnant, not helpless," she muttered with a wink my way, turning around in front of me.
Grasping her by the waist, I lifted her, making sure that she had a decent hold on the roof's edge.
Once she was safely above me, she called, "I'm good."
"Good," I said, jumping, grabbing the edge, and pulling myself up and over. "Mickey, start the lock on that hatchway. Jazz, you're next."
Jasper jumped, pulling himself up the same way I did. With a silent wave to my dad, we took off to the roof's hatch, all three of us pulling on gloves. Fat raindrops plopped down on and around us as the weather finally decided to open up. Just before Mickey cracked open the hatch, I placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her, and Kurt checked in.
"Well, the power company just drove by. About three trucks just hauled ass toward that power station," he muttered. "They'll be calling that shit in soon."
"Ten-four," I said, but stopped everyone before going down the ladder into the bank, because this was it. "We're clear, yeah?" I verified. "We're about to go in."
"You are completely clear, Edward," Bella answered in my ear. "The security monitoring company only sees what we're allowing them to see. The power didn't kill the battery backup system, but it doesn't matter. Alice has put some sort of false signal out there so they can't tell anything has been altered. Opening that hatch won't affect anything, because she's disabled the sensors."
"Was that English?" I teased. "You're starting to sound like her." The sweet, sexy sound of my wife's laughter met my ears, and I shook my head to clear it. "Okay, sweetness, our lives – and freedom – are in your hands. We're going in."
After a nod from me to Mick, she opened the hatch, and we froze for a fraction of a second, waiting, listening, and holding our fucking breath for an alarm that never came. My eyebrows shot up, and my respect for those girls just increased again.
"Okay, go, go, go," I hissed, making sure Mickey had her bag of equipment before she swung her leg down to the first rung of the ladder, scurrying down to the bank floor. Jasper and I followed right behind her.
"Front," I breathed to Jasper, jerking my chin toward the bank's lobby, and he nodded, jogging to the very front of the building, dropping low behind a chair. "Mick, show us what you got, wild child," I told her, pointing toward the back of the teller windows.
According to Alice's blueprints, the security deposit boxes were in a room just outside the bank's main vault. We weren't cracking the damn vault – though, I had no doubt that Mickey could probably fucking do it – but we did have a heavily locked steel gate to break into before we could get anywhere near the boxes.
Mickey assessed the gate, gazing from the very large, very heavy lock up to the top of the gate, where there was another lock.
"Two locks...one electronic," she muttered, shaking her head and setting her bag down. "That top one will have to be cranked open. It's a default mechanism for power outages."
"Convenient," I snorted, glancing around. "My team, check in."
"Clear, son. In fact, there's no movement at all," my dad answered immediately.
"Same here, Edward," Kurt added.
"Quiet, quiet," Jasper tsked. "I don't like it, but it seems that the power outage is keeping us protected. Hell, most of these people are probably still sleeping."
"Sleep? What the hell is that?" Mickey snorted, already hard at work on the lock. "No offense to any of you boys, but I'd kill to be in my pajamas right about now."
I grinned, nudging her back with my knee as she knelt in front of me. "The Spiderman ones? Or Tazmanian Devil?"
"Taz, pretty boy," she chuckled, tilting her head as she studied the lock. "I've had the Taz ones the longest, so they are super soft. Not everyone wants to sleep in boxer shorts..." she teased, bracing herself when the groans echoed over the radio.
"Don't knock the boxers," Bella laughed. "You don't hear Edward complaining, do you?"
"Never, baby," I chuckled, shaking my head, because yeah, I loved that my girl insisted on wearing my shit – something that she'd done since the very fucking beginning – and it was damn sexy. I didn't give a shit what fashion magazines babbled on about.
A loud clank echoed through the dark and quiet bank, and I looked down to see that Mickey had cracked the first lock. She ran off to grab a chair, standing on it to tackle the next one, only this time, it didn't quite take so long, because she knew what she needed to do to get it open.
Once she was out of the way, I tugged open the door, reached into my pocket, and handed her the key.
"This'll be tricky," she whispered, taking the key and walking to the box. "These boxes require both the customer's key and the bank employee's key in order to get inside. I may have to pick the top lock..."
"Hang on," I told her, darting to a small desk off to the side. Yanking open every drawer, I finally found a small set of keys. "What about these?" I asked, tossing them to her across the room.
She caught them deftly, grinning. "You know...you really are more than just pretty face."
She laughed harder when I flipped her off. "Just...get that shit and let's go," I sighed, smirking at the chuckles in my ear.
With two quick turns of the keys, Ike Raulson's safety deposit box opened freely. Mickey pulled the thing out, setting it on a nearby table. Both of us peered inside at the same time she slowly lifted the lid.
Inside were four video tapes, a manila envelope, and a small box. Mickey snatched up the tapes and tucked them into her bag. I picked up the envelope, turning it over in my hands.
"Go ahead, Edward," Bella ordered.
I opened it up, dumping its contents onto the table. A map, some legal papers, and some keys fell out in front of me. My eyebrows rose high, and I shot a quick glance to Mickey.
"Well, I'll be damned," I sighed, picking up the paperwork. "Oh, sweetness, I think we found that property you've been looking for. And I know why you couldn't find it."
"Why?" she gasped, and even though she wasn't with me, I could practically feel her looking over my shoulder.
"Because he put that shit in another name," I stated, shaking my head.
"Whose name?" she asked.
"Gloria Hawthorne."
"Gloria, Gloria, Gloria," Alice chanted softly. "I know that name. Not an ex-wife. Not one of his kids. Who the hell was she?" she muttered to herself, but I knew Alice well enough to know that she was flipping through the intelligence on the Raulsons at the speed of light. "Hawthorne... Here she is! Oh...it was Preston's nanny. She died when Preston turned sixteen. We didn't even think to look through her, because she was barely a blip on the radar."
"Perhaps Ike knew that," I sighed, tucking everything back into the envelope and handing it over to Mickey.
"Empty that damn box, Edward," Bella commanded, and I nodded, even though she probably couldn't see me. "I want all of it."
"Yes, ma'am," I said, reaching in the bank box to grab the last item inside. It was about the size of a box of candy. "Since we're lookin' at this shit..." I opened the box, and the silence seemed to ring in my ears.
Photo after photo of girls were inside, all taken with one of those old-school Polaroids that spat the shit out instantly. It wasn't just Kyra, Layla, or Jen Jones. It was what had to have been fifty women. I even saw Molly Parsons' picture in there. And it wasn't just the presence of the pictures, but how they were taken. Every last motherfucking picture had been taken in the room next door to Preston's at Ike's home. Every girl was passed out or asleep in the middle of messed up sheets, wearing torn clothes or no clothes at all. Some girls had bruises, some had bleeding cuts on their faces, but every last one of them looked...assaulted.
"Oh, hell no," Mickey breathed as she looked with me. "Oh, I really hope Preston worked his dad over. Repeatedly. With a serrated knife. A dull one." She huffed a long, frustrated breath through her nose. "Otherwise, the fucking asshole got off way too fucking easy."
"No shit," I growled, slapping the lid back down on the box and handing it and the envelope over to her. She tucked it quickly into her bag as I snapped, "Let's lock this place back down."
"Like now!" Jasper suddenly added, his voice barely showing a touch of nerves. "We've got police patrolling the streets. They're shining lights into storefronts. Let's move!"
"Kurt, Dad...get to the car and out of that parking lot. Come pick us up. Leave the lights off!" I ordered, helping Mickey lock the box back, put the keys back in the drawer, and pull the gate to the safety deposit box room back closed. It automatically clicked back into place.
"Got it," my dad grunted.
Bolting around the teller windows again, we met Jasper at the bottom of the roof access stairs. Without a sound, we both lifted Mickey so she could grab ahold of the rung and scramble back up. We were all on the roof in no time.
"Guys, down!" Kurt ordered.
I didn't know where the fuck he was, but we obeyed him instantly, falling to our stomachs on that rooftop.
His voice changed to barely a whisper. "One single patrol car, one cop inside. He's using his spotlight to check the back, the front doors, and the dumpster."
"Dad?" I breathed.
"I'm already to the car. Kurt, don't move," he panted. "I see you're held down at the edge of the strip mall. As soon as the cop clears out, I'll pick you up."
"Sir," Kurt answered.
I could faintly hear the sound of tires on the wet asphalt, the smooth engine of the cruiser, and the echo of the police radio. But I also heard it pull away.
"Okay, go, go, go!" Kurt chanted, "but be careful. He's only at the doughnut shop next door."
I snorted, rolling my eyes, not even sure why that thought was funny, or maybe it just seemed fucking cliché. "J, you first. I'll lower Mick to you. Okay?"
"Yeah, Ed. No prob," he grunted, slipping back down to the top of the dumpster. He immediately turned to face up to me. "Okay, nice and slow."
"Come, wild child," I urged her, waving her close. "Give me your hands."
Carefully, I lowered Mickey down to Jasper, who took her by the waist and wrapped her up, setting her down next to him. I sat down on the edge, pushing myself off, mindful of how I landed, because my old knee injury was nothing to fuck around with and I couldn't afford to tear old scar tissue. I landed most of my weight on my stronger leg on the top of the garbage bin, and again when I hit the asphalt.
The SUV rushed up in front of us, and all three of us dove inside, slamming doors behind us.
"Let's get the fuck out of here," I panted, wiping the sweat from my face after tugging off my gloves. "I think we're pushing our fucking luck right about now."
My dad was on the main street in no time, headlights back on, but still maintaining a normal speed. As we cruised down the main thoroughfare, we could see several cops now out on patrol, the power crew now working on the transformer, and the sky finally opened up to full, fat, heavy drops of rain.
"Bella? Love, we're out. We're clear. We'll see you in a few hours," I told her, finally relaxing when my dad merged onto the freeway.
"Good," she sighed in relief. "See you soon. Be safe."
"Always," I sighed, letting my head fall back to the headrest.
"Alice, you can set all the shit back to normal," Mickey stated.
"Oh damn, what about that router, Alice?" Kurt gasped.
"Don't sweat it. Until someone goes down there for maintenance, no one will notice it. And probably not even then, because you tucked it away pretty well," Alice told him.
Jasper grinned, slapping Kurt's shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Nice, buddy."
Alice's typing met all of our ears as we rode down the highway in silence, waiting for her final word.
"The security alarm is back up, the video is live again, and the monitoring company is none the wiser. Drive safely, guys."
A collective breath seemed to escape all of us at one time.
"Ten-four, pixie," I told her, tugging off my baseball cap and running a hand through my sweaty hair. "We're off the radio, so we'll see you soon." I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as a small smile crept up my face, despite the fucked up shit we'd found inside that bank. "Oh, yeah, and sweetness?"
"Yes, Edward?"
"I want that sweet ass in my boxers by the time I pull in, baby." I snickered along with everyone else, flipping off Mickey, who was in hysterics.
My favorite giggle met my ears again. "Yes, Edward."
A/N... Okay, so Jordan is safe at the house, and the safety deposit box is now empty. Coming up we'll really get a chance to meet Jordan and take a look at some of that evidence they just found.
I'm going to pimp a story for you... You absolutely have to take a peek at my beta's new AU/vamp story. Full Circle is amazing. I've had the extreme privilege of being a pre-reader on this one, and I can't tell you how much I love it. It's such a different look on the New Moon era. You can find it in my favorites list, or under JenRar.
So that being said...HUGE thanks to her for her help on this chapter. Another big thank you to GooberLou, who thought Mercward's lack of verbal filter in this chapter was hilarious. And another big hug and smooch to MedusaInNY for her help on my blog.
The next chapter is off to the beta, so Sunday is looking good for the next posting. Please let me hear you. :) Until next time... Later. :)