A/N: Thanks for your support. It means a lot to me. Happy reading. :)

Chapter-13: Avenging Angel

BPOV

I didn't know what possessed me to ask Edward for a dance that night—maybe it was because he looked unbelievably handsome in the rain, or maybe it was because I wanted to feel his arms around me. Whatever the reason, I asked him for a dance, and being the gentleman he was, he obliged.

Wrapping one of his arms around my waist, he held my hand in his, swaying us in the sounds of our beating hearts and the pitter-patter of the rain hitting the road. It felt easy and utterly peaceful. Then suddenly, something changed. His grip on my tightened—not enough to hurt me, but enough to let me know that he was there with me.

He kept my hand firmly in his and made me twirl a little before pulling me back to his chest in a swift move. A gasp left my lips as I came back to feel his hard muscled chest beneath my fingers. "You know how to dance," I said, surprised.

He let go of my hand and brought his hand up to brush against my cheek. "I know how to do a lot of things, Isabella. I just don't know one thing, and it's driving me insane."

I tried to blink away the rain drops falling on my eyelashes and asked him, "What's that?"

"I don't know how to stay away from you," he whispered to me as he slipped his hand to cup the back of my neck. "And I'm giving up trying."

Before I could make out what he meant, he leaned down to meet my slightly open lips with his. The feeling of his cold lips joining my warm ones was something I never anticipated … and neither was my reaction to his kiss.

My eyes closed on their own accord and I got lost in his kiss. Somehow he managed to walk us toward the side of the building because the next thing I knew, my back was pressed against the wall and he was kissing me like he wanted to consume me.

And in that moment, I wanted to be consumed by him.

Slowly, I traced his lip with the tip of my tongue which made him groan and break our kiss. He dropped his forehead on mine. I opened my eyes to find his eyes trained on me. His hands rested on the wall, on either side of my head, trapping me in between them. And for a change, I didn't mind being trapped—not when it was in his arms.

"What I wouldn't give to know what you're thinking right now."

His voice sounded just as winded as I felt and I couldn't help but let my fingers run through the back of his head, playing with the damp hair there. "I thought you said you could read my face?"

"I can," he responded. "But finer details do matter some times."

The feel of his body against mine coupled with the wet clothes from the rain made a traitorous shiver run down my body. I tried to play it off, but he caught the movement. "Shit! You're cold, aren't you?"

I didn't want the agitated look on his face. So, putting a hand on his face, I said in a calm voice, "So are you, Edward."

"You can warm me up though … unlike …" he trailed off and took my hand in his. "Come on. I need to take you home."

We walked back to the car in silence, and when he went to open my door for me to get in I stopped him with a hand on his arm. "My dress is soaked through. I don't want to ruin your seats."

"You're more important than the seats. Get in." That got me. I never thought a guy could be sweet while putting up a rude façade, but then again, I had never met Edward before. He was different than everyone else … special than others—to me, at least.

~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

When we reached my home this time, he didn't wait for me to clue him in. Instead, he jumped out of the car and came over to open my door. He even walked me to my door. Stepping into the porch, I smiled at him. "I knew there was a gentleman hiding somewhere in there," I said teasingly.

He quickly pulled my face to his and kissed me before giving me a lopsided grin. "Still think that I'm a gentleman?"

Yes, I do. You're a gentleman trying to act like a bad boy, I thought to myself before answering him. "You're a mix between a gentleman and a bad boy. Perfect combo if you ask me."

He chuckled. "Get inside, Bella."

The sound of my name rolling off his tongue so easily made me smile. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

His lips pulled upwards in a smile at that. "I don't think I can stay away, baby. Good night."

"Good night," I repeated as I made my way into the house. With my head so full of him, it was indeed going to be a good night.

EPOV

I waited until she got inside and I could see the lights coming on in her house before going back to my car. Putting it in gear, I got out of her driveway and was on my way back to Port Angeles.

The thing with being able to read minds: it can be both a blessing and a curse. It was a curse when you caught snippets of insults being hurled at your girl by a slutty waitress as you tried to keep from growling at the bitch.

However, it can be a blessing because it would let you know if the said slutty waitress was planning on hurting your girl. I had gotten out of some pretty tough situations in my hundred and fourteen years of existence, but this was one of the toughest I had to face.

The moment in the rain was ruined when I heard that bitch thinking about my girl. She must've hidden in the shadows, thinking that she could avoid detection. But the moment her thoughts resonated in my mind, I wanted to rip her head off for even thinking of hurting Bella.

I was shocked by my own response to hearing her plans. I never thought the idea of losing someone could bring such intense reactions out of me. I might have used my speed to move Bella out of the open road and away from the on-lookers eyes. I didn't regret what happened next … not even a little bit … until she licked my lips. I would've loved to kiss her with abandon, but I had to reign in the monster in me—the soulless creature that had wanted to tear into her throat the night we met.

I had yet to figure out if she was my singer or simply my mate before I could kiss her like that … wherever I wanted to. She was so trusting in the way she kissed me that I couldn't risk her. I was never going to risk her life. That's why I had to take care of the crazy woman who dared to look in her way.

Figuring that I was far enough away from Bella's house, I got out of the car and hid it in the trees lining the road before starting to run. Running was the way I could clear my mind, and I needed a clear mind to do what I needed to do. I had never sought out humans to kill them before. It had always been because I needed to feed and they just happened to stumble on my way.

That's not what's gonna happen today though. No, today, I was going to hunt down the woman and find out what she knew.

As I kept running toward the place I saw in her mind when she thought of going back to her hotel, my mind kept thinking about what I had heard before.

She said she had employers. So there must be some assholes who are watching Bella.

I had no idea why anyone would need to keep an eye on her though. Granted that she was extraordinary in her trust and beauty, but she wasn't hiding anything. She had shared about her childhood with me when I asked. So that left only one explanation: something was being hidden from her, and they needed to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't figure it out.

Question was, who were they?

I remembered hearing the woman think that her employers were worried by my presence around Bella. Does that mean they want her alone and scared? Well that's not gonna happen. I'm not leaving her side … not until I know that she's safe.

~*~*~*RoALS*~*~*~

Sitting on the tree branch with my back resting against the trunk, I wished I could have something to punch a hole through. The sight before me was infuriating. There, in a cozy little bed slept the horrible creature who had thought those vile things about my Bella while I was going crazy with worry for her safety.

Well, it's time to remedy the situation.

Climbing in her room through the window seemed like a child's play as I dropped down inside the room without making a sound. She was fast asleep without knowing that I was there. It was time to unleash the monster within me.

Careful to not make a sound, I walked up to her bed and laid a hand on her mouth. Her eyes snapped open and there was a moment of shock before recognition set in along with confusion.

She made an attempt at talking so I removed my hand. I needed to hear what she had to say before ending her miserable life anyway. "You're the guy from the restaurant."

Rolling my eyes, I snapped at her. "No shit, genius. What clued you in?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"I think it's time I got some answers from you. I prefer to be the one asking the questions anyway."

"Answers to what?" She looked confused. Maybe I needed to jog her memory a little.

I decided to start with the most basic question. "Who is watching Isabella?"

Her eyes widened for a moment before she tried to mask it with indifference. "Who the hell is Isabella?"

"Don't fuck with me," I said to her. "Tell me who's the asshole paying you to look into her."

What the hell? How does he know that?

The confusion coloring her thoughts made me smile inwardly. Confusion is good. This will make her spill the beans.

"I know more than you think," I said again, making her eyes widen further. "Tell me who he is and I might let you live."

She looked down at my empty hands and then back up at my face. "You don't have a gun. You won't kill me. You're just a boy …"

Before she could finish the thought, my hand was on her neck grasping it and applying just the right amount of pressure to hurt her and yet keep her alive. I dragged her to the wall and slammed her body against it, getting into her face. "Think again, you cougar. I'm anything but just a boy. I can kill you with just a flick of my arm."

She blinked and then cried out in pain when I increased the pressure on her neck just a little bit. "Tell me," I yelled.

"I don't know who he is," she replied as a tear drop rolled down her cheek. "I've never seen him."

I didn't believe that slut. Not even for a second. "You said he was your employer. How can you work for him and not know who the fuck he is?"

"I'm telling you the truth. Please," she said, her face starting to turn red with the blood circulation being blocked out. "I swear I don't know him. We communicate through a PO box. Whenever he needs anything done, he drops the information on the PO box and then sends me a message. After the work is done, he drops the money off there. That's how we've worked all these years."

"What's the number?"

"749."

I shook my head. "No, I meant the number that he uses to send you the message."

"It's a burner phone. I don't know the number."

I held my other hand up to her. "Give me your phone then. I need to see the messages he sent you."

"I'm sorry, but you won't find anything," she answered miserably. "I delete each message as soon as I read it. It's the protocol."

My mind was running double time to process all this information, wondering how I could find out more about the low life who was looking into Bella.

When I didn't say anything for a long minute, she begged me again, "Please let me go. I promise I won't do anything to your girlfriend."

"Quiet," I hissed at her. "What was your assignment about her?"

"I just had to watch her … make sure she stayed out of trouble and …" she trailed off, and I tightened my hold on her neck once more.

"And?" I prompted.

"I was supposed to make sure she didn't have anyone to look out for her," she continued. "He, my employer, got agitated when I let him know about seeing her with you. He wanted her to be alone."

I sneered at her. "Well, too bad for your scumbag of an employer that I'm not leaving her alone. She's mine and no one's gonna take her away from me." A feeling of irrational anger gripped me at the thought of someone taking my Bella away from me.

Fuck no!

"I understand," she whispered. "Now please, let me go. I've told you all I knew." I could tell by reading her thoughts that she was telling the truth. But the fact remained that she had insulted my girl. She had threatened her and now, she had to pay.

"Have you told him about what you saw tonight yet?" I asked softly.

"No, I told him about when I saw her with you at the book shop she works in. I promise I won't tell him about you."

I nodded in agreement. "I know you won't," I said, and then leaned down to put my face very close to her jugular. But before I could let my teeth touch her skin, I remembered how sickening her thoughts were regarding Bella.

No, I didn't want any part of this vile creature inside me. So instead of biting her and draining her of her blood, I moved my fingers a little—fingers that were still wrapped around her neck.

The satisfying sound of her neck breaking was like fucking music to my ears. I never thought how easy it would've been to snap a human's neck … like breaking a tree branch in half. Very gratifying ... especially when that human was threatening my human.

Bella was my human, and I intended to do whatever the hell it took to keep my human safe.

A/N: So ... thoughts? Share them with me and leave a review.

Song rec for this chapter: Demons by Imagine Dragons

Thank you for reading.

See you next week.

Take care.

Ann