2brown-eyes reads!
Mistakes are mine!
The steady hum of the air being forced into your body fills the room, giving me something other than my rage to cling to. The beep, beep, beep soothes. Order among the chaos that reigns outside this room.
Plans being formed, information being gathered, money being spent.
I sit in the chair next to the bed, elbows on knees, head bowed. "This is all so fucked up." The tears have left me depleted and empty, my throat raspy and sore. "I wish you could tell me what happened. I'm not mad, I swear. I know you did the best you could."
Nothing.
No movement.
No words.
Not even a flicker of life.
My chest burns, rage and regret a raging inferno inside me. I'm pissed that I didn't see this coming, irate that I wasn't there to stop it, and dying inside knowing that it's far from over. People I thought of as family are dead, and I barely care.
Alice is gone.
Bella … I gasp for air as my throat closes in on me.
Sobs break free and the rip in my heart throbs with each shudder. I didn't tell her that I love her. It was so stupid of me to put off her feelings, to pretend they weren't real, and now I may never get the chance.
"Son." My father's voice echoes in my mind, his hand on my shoulder pulling me back into my bleak reality. "We're ready to attack." I jump up, fury burning through my limbs, but he grips my shoulders, keeping me in place. "I need to know you can do this."
"There isn't a fucking chance I let you go without me," I snarl, pissed that he's acting like I'm some kind of basket case. And maybe I am, but my reflexes work on instinct. Murder courses through my veins. There's no way he jumps into the fire without me. "Alice needs you and everyone you can gather."
"We don't just go for Alice, son." My own determined stare reflects back at me. "Bella is family too."
Anguish wells inside me, but I bury it so deep I'll have to dig it out later to reexamine if this doesn't work out. "I'm going after Bella," I say, squaring my shoulders for a fight. "If this proves nothing else, it's that I can't trust anyone but myself with her safety."
"You'd be dead if you'd been there," my father says, squeezing my shoulder. "They were well prepared."
"Any word on how they knew?" I ask, that one puzzle piece eluding me.
"Not yet."
"When this is done, that becomes priority number one."
My father smirks, and it's the cold smirk of the boss of the Cullen Mafia. "We won't stop until every stone has been overturned." He juts his chin toward the bed. "Say your goodbyes so we can get everyone together and make our move."
I turn to the man in the bed, my trusted friend and closest ally. Pain and anger tear through me at the sight of him so incapacitated.
Possibly permanently.
I go to his side, gently taking his hand in mine. Wires run everywhere, and the steady rushing of air reminds me that he'd be dead if it weren't for the life-saving machines. "I'm going to get her," I rasp, hoping and praying he can hear my voice. "I need you to be okay, so she won't blame herself. You hear me, Seth? You'd better be awake when I bring her through this door." The faintest of moves catches me off guard, and I wonder if it happened at all. "I felt that," I say with a low chuckle. "And I'm going to hold you to it."
"Let's go, son." My father grasps my shoulder and guides me down the hall to the ICU waiting room. The space is packed with associates; wall-to-wall armed men ready to give their lives to defend this family.
"Edward." My siblings rush me, a range of expressions from worry to pure unadulterated hate mar their faces.
"I'm with you," Garrett declares, clapping me on the shoulder.
"Same," Jake says, nodding. "We work together like a well-oiled machine."
"Let them know I love them." Angela's on the verge of tears, but she's trying to show strength.
I pull her into my arms, and she buries her face in my shirt, sobs wracking her body. "It's okay, Ang," I soothe, eyeing my brothers over her head. "We'll get them back."
"I know." She sniffles into my shirt, trying to gather herself. "I'm just worried about all of you. What if I lose another sibling?"
My brothers move in, and we cocoon our baby sister in a tight embrace between us. "There will be loss of life on both sides," Garrett says, rubbing her back. "But you won't be losing any family members."
She lifts her head, teary eyes on Garrett. "Can you really make a promise like that?"
"He can," Jake says, grabbing her attention. "We have a solid plan."
"But they're expecting you."
"And that's why we're going to give them exactly what they want." Garrett smirks at my frown. "And while that war rages, your brothers are going to sneak in and grab our sisters."
I tilt my head, impressed by this plan. It allows me to go in after my wife while Charles gets exactly what he's prepared for right at their front gate. It does leave me concerned for our father, but he has guards who will jump in front of a bullet to protect him.
"Sounds like a solid plan," I say, nodding once before focusing on Angela. "I need you to make sure food is prepared and that Stitch is waiting. I don't know what condition they'll be in when we return."
Angela's lip quivers, but she gives a solemn nod. "I promise Edward."
I pull her into my arms. "Love you, sis."
She moves from me to Jake and from him to Garrett and then to our father before slipping out of the room to go and sit at Seth's side while we go over the plan. The more the boss lays out, the more impressed I become. Not only is he going in at the gate, but he's broken off a second team to strike from the side, so the Swans think that attack is the backup, when in reality, it's only another diversion.
The real infiltration will be my brothers, me, and Leah sneaking in the back corner gate that Bella originally left from. We know the layout of the house, and by the time we make it inside, someone from our team should've already tortured the locations of the girls from some insipid guard.
"What about the Denalis?" I tap where my father has them assembled. "What time does their flight arrive?"
He picks up the map, rolls it up, and passes it to James, his longtime Consigliere. "We hit two hours before their arrival, and I have another team, albeit a small one, casing the runway. My plan is to be back there in time to capture Eleazar and kill the others."
"And if that isn't possible?" Eleazar Denali cannot escape.
"Then we lie in wait outside the Swan compound."
"What if they get wind of the attack and don't come?" Bella will never be safe as long as Eleazar still lives.
"Then we'll put out a hit," Carlisle Cullen says simply. "He cannot be allowed to live."
"He can't," I reply. "But I also can't leave him for someone else. If he doesn't die today, I'll personally see to his demise."
"Son." My father's tone is hesitant. "Think of Bella and how much she's going to need you after we rescue her."
"I am." My teeth grind in annoyance. "I know my wife, and what she wants is the men who made her life a living hell punished for their crimes. Have him captured instead."
He nods once. "I'll take that compromise."
My mind whirs as we leave the hospital and head to a warehouse on the river where we'll arm up and head out. I'm not a praying man, but today I do. I send a silent plea into the universe that my wife and sister are alive and remain that way through the storm to come.
I pray that, tonight, Bella's back by my side and Alice is safely tucked away in the ivory tower that is Cullen Corp.
I pray there's no new harm inflicted.
I pray she knows I'm coming for her.
I pray that she knows I love her.
Yep, I've written 2 more chapters since I saw you last!
I could've held this until tmr, but that seems crueler than the two cliffies that are coming for you next :D
At ch 40, I have one more thing to wrap up before these characters are done, so my guess is maybe 43 or 44 ch total.
See you next week :)