Dine and Dash

by KittyTylz

Bella gets dared dine&dash but is caught by the restaurants owner, Edward Cullen. He's a 19-year-old dangerously attractive but deadly gangster. The well connected leader of the Shadow Fangs, he also happens to be the enemy of the gang her best friend Jacob belongs to and she's stuck in his territory to avoid a permanent record. AH/AU,Possessward,Torch Awards Peoples Choice Winner

13. Chasing Collision Cars

Authors Note: We're back finally *smiles*. Thank you all for your patience and well wishes. I've loved reading all the opinions, questions and messages that a lot of you have formulated on the characters in this interim. The way everything is interpreted from your point of view is fascinating to read, some are little more on mark with where I'm going than others but regardless it's a pleasure reading what's happening in your head. This chapter is dedicated to my amazing beta JustJJ, I don't think I tire of giving this girl her praise, thank you for taking time in your vacation to help me out with this chapter. Love also to awesomella who is the force behind the Italian ShadowFangward you guys adore, she corrects and translates my messed up attempts to get the sentences right in Italian.

Quick questions/replies: JC? Jared's last name is Cameron. Why does E love B so much even though she's on the other side? He has his story, we'll find out as the story progresses. Does Edward really care about Bella? I don't think he'd refer to her by the specific nicknames he does or go to the lengths he goes to if he didn't *winks*. Why 'mutha' over 'mother'? I love this one *laughs*. You'll notice I only do it for this story, it's intentional, an inside joke. As for hiatus? I am the only one who can put this fic on hiatus because I'm the only one who knows how the chapters are coming along. If they're being written it's pointless going back and forth with a hiatus quote, it'll confuse the hell out of everyone. If at some point I don't foresee myself writing at all I will place a hiatus. Writing is going slower than usual, not nonexistent, because I'm unwell and busy with my new job. This is my hobby and I love and appreciate whoever reads however if you feel the wait is too long thank you for being with me thus far and I wish you well on your readings elsewhere *flowers*. Scared I'll change the dark/immoralness? My characters are messed up due to the side of life they live in, our sense of morals and theirs differs, I've always maintained that they will be messed up but it's for a crimefic, so no don't worry, they remain in their sense as opposed to ours. Why I split some of the MA chapters in two parts on my journal? My chapters are too long for dreamwidth and livejournal hence me splitting them when I update copies. If anyone knows a journal that doesn't limit the posts size please let me know?

I have to send huge kisses to MiaLuthor, MCRshortstackedme, MagicLover94, LuvRPatz4ever, goddess terry, mstre11, bellaedward5 and the rest of you know who you are, because you girls blow my mind *smiles*. To those sticking with me the teaser for 14 should be up next weekend, there'll be a prompt on Twitter when it's up. The pictures of all the other characters are available on my website. Till then here's 13, thanks for your time, love the newly promoted Kat;)

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, quotes, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners and are simply used under 'fair use'. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is written for the legally recognized adult population. According to the e-mail response I received from them, FF doesn't allow gratuitous descriptions of sex and extensive graphic violence.

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Dine and Dash

*~*~* Chapter Thirteen – Chasing Collision Cars *~*~*

'Love is everything it's cracked up to be…It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for.' (Erica Jong)

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Speaking without stammering is difficult to accomplish as I spin to face him. "Da—ad? What? Why? Why?" The words are out in less than a heartbeat. That alone is quite a feat, considering my bloody heart is hammering like a sledge-hammer right this second.

"I know I've been scarce 'round here with this case, and, to be honest Bells, I'm not sure this new one is letting up any time soon with the head way we may have made." Dad sounds apologetic.

But I know him better than that, so no, my father sounds exhausted.

Wondering what's going on, I fight the curious urge I have to run around to him at the mention of this new case. There's an oddly familiar, icy feeling nagging up my spine.

"Dad?" I ask, feigning ignorance for his benefit. He looks like he's aged 10 years in the span of five minutes.

He clears his throat and smiles, back to normal so fast I could have just imagined it all, but I didn't.

"New one?"

He shakes his head dismissively. "Seattle's taken over their case completely now," he says with some relief, I can only imagine the logging of heads that must've taken place at the station with the two departments on one case. "I'm back to my stuff now, a nice lead too if I'm right."

Dad looks thoughtful, mulling over the new case no doubt. I want to breathe a sigh of relief, but I don't, because though dad never discusses work, I can see the visible evidence that something is bothering him. Whatever has his eyes looking tired like this may be another case, but it's something no less treacherous. I feel the paranoia sitting heavy in my stomach. Unconsciously, I take a protective step closer to him, hovering.

He smiles big and wide, unaware of my musings. "So, while I have the time, I may as well come check this place out. My lil' girl's got a job."

I'm abruptly brought back to my current plight and have to think fast. Dad seems to mistake my stress-induced muted state, for simple reluctance due to meager embarrassment while I'm really mentally cursingthe heavens above.

If only I had it that fucking good.

"Now, don't go worrying 'bout your ol' man making you feel uncomfortable in the field, I won't be in uniform." His bushy mustache waggles as he clears his throat and beams a self satisfied smirk at his ingenious plan. "No one will even know I'm there."

I nearly choke.

Oh, bless this oblivious man's soul!

"Dad—" regrouping quickly, I stop my protest. Because with Dad off duty, my tried and tested excuse of, 'no Dad, I can't have everyone gawking at the Police Chief', has been obliterated. Clearing my throat, I put on my most convincing look as I walk towards him. "I'd love for you to come there but I'm not sure if tomorrow's good."

"Really?" Dad raises his brows in his way that tells me Chief Swan is about to make an appearance. "Why is that?"

The uneasiness on my face alone sells my bullshit story, before I make him suspicious. "I'm being dumb, sorry. I'm just self conscious while I'm at work."

You would be too if your dad was the Police Chief contemplating visiting your criminal boyfriend's restaurant, I mentally add in my head.

The mental image of dad changing his La Cotoletta alla Bolognese order to a hasty 'to go' as he cuffs Edward spears through my brain. It's followed up with vivid visuals of Edward in a cell with his cousin, both he and Jasper wearing orange. Holy shit… Crap, crap, crap!

Charlie chuckles and shakes his head. Leaning back in his seat, he gestures with his hands as he passes on his advice, "Nonsense, Bells, there's nothing to be self-conscious about." He smiles encouragingly, going on, "There's no such thing as a small job kiddo. First jobs are small, and while you're a kid, the part time ones are supposed to be fun. You're as confident as they come, I can't wait to see my daughter in action."

Dad punches his fists before him, speaking like I'm a pro wrestler. If this wasn't so serious, I'd be laughing. At times, I swear to God I think Dad assumes I'm his son.

He nods once in agreement to his own statement. "I'm sure you're a wonderful waitress."

My eyes damn near fall out their sockets. Fuck me! Yes, Dad thinks I'm a fucking waitress!

I laugh. I smile. Both like a damn psycho because I've got a mental gun to my head.

Cock. Fire. Bang. Dead.

"Thanks Dad." I clear my throat when it rises in pitch, and smile back at him. "I can't wait either."

The doorbell rings and he rises from the table, rubbing his hands together. He puffs out his chest with pride at the thought of being able to see me on my first job.

"Atta girl," he says with an encouraging smile at me, "You'll see, tomorrow will be fun."

Internally, I groan, but I nod with a smile on my face to him as he goes to fetch the pizzas.

Understatement of the century, Daddy.

~.~.~D&D~.~.~

Two slices practically inhaled, much to the amusement of my father, and I'm racing for my room like I'm playing tag with Satan.

Playing it safe because I'm a hundred percent positive he's out on a job, the first thing I do is fix my settings so that my number is blocked. I know the protocol with the Wolves. Sam's drilled it in my head that if they're using a different number, it's for a reason. I am to never leave a voice message on it, I either speak to them or not at all. Texting is safer, granted they've contacted me first, because with new phones that are virtually empty, they have to pull my number by heart. Too much time has passed since Edward's last text for it to be safe to text him now so I try calling him instead. It goes straight to voicemail so I hang up.

I type out, ~IDK what to do? Dad's coming to Nell' Ombra tomorrow-B and forward it to Edward's personal number. The text sends but I don't get a response. I don't expect one yet either, he's probably only going to see it when he gets back home.

Stuck at my first dead end, I rub at my temples, weighing my options. Sifting out the most viable solutions, I have to act quickly – for all persons involved. Running to the bathroom, I turn the faucet on and begin pacing with my phone practically inside my brain, I'm pressing it so close to my ear.

Our Jacob. Who art in La Push. Silent be thy phone. Thy sister calls! We will be done on earth, and moved swiftly to heaven!

I'm about to give up and go back downstairs when there's a click on the other end.

"Jake!" Elated, I whisper yell into the receiver, clasping it harder in my fist for some reason. "Thank God!"

It's easy to decipher the frantic commotion in the background where ever he is and that makes it difficult for conversation.

"Guys, hold the fuck on!" Jake bellows, trying to kill some of it down, but the boys are in a world of their own and clearly excited. I recognize something's up immediately – either a fight or an 'errand' is on for tonight.

Coming back to the phone, Jake gives me his full attention, fighting to hold the conversation through the adrenaline amped pandemonium in the background.

"Bells, what's up?" He asks.

At my name, I hear a couple of high, in both senses of the word, 'hello baby sis's thrown my way. It's a cheerful chorus that mixes with yells, hoots and laughter in their state of mild intoxication. There must be an errand I decide, because they're not drunk, just wired.

One of the laughing voices doesn't die out like the rest do though. Instead, while the others instantly switch back to whatever it was that had held their interest before my call this one voice seems to get clearer, leaving me to assume the person had moved closer to Jake. There's still too much noise in the background for me to know who it is and, quite honestly at this point, I couldn't care less to ask because there is too much riding on this for us all. Crossing my fingers, I perch myself on the lid of the toilet, my fingers desperate for a cigarette. "I need help."

Jakes voice sobers instantly, "What's wrong?"

The second Jake asks the question, the person with him pipes in, sounding more alert, I hear them ask what's up but Jake doesn't react, ignoring them as he waits for me to respond.

"Dad's going to Nell' Ombra tomorrow." I rush out the words, knowing we've got very little time on our hands to stop an incredibly serious problem.

If Dad goes to Nell' Ombra and he figures out I'm working for Edward Cullen, I know I'm screwed, and I run the risk of him arresting one of the Fangs.

But with regards to both Jake and I, it's a self-explanatory problem. If things go wrong, now that I'm there, the Wolves' names could be brought up. We've had way too many close calls like these where the others who haven't been named as yet could have been linked to the La Push gang. It's bound to happen for them all at some point, we know, but its common sense to prolong the process as long as possible and we've managed to deviate under the craziest of situations.

It is for this reason that I find Jake's next words shocking, to say the least.

"Can't do it," he says with a smack of his lips, in my mind, I can picture the grim line they're set in.

I sit up straighter, despite the fact that I'm alone. "What?" I ask, utterly confused. "Why?"

He doesn't reply immediately. There's a pause, I hear the click of his lighter, and he puffs out an anxious breath as the person in the background says something else. They speak amongst themselves quickly, before he eventually replies.

"C'mon Bells, this could be a great fucking thing."

It's unfathomable to me but Jake sounds genuine. His tone holds loose apprehension swimming in a colossal ocean of hope or relief.

I conclude he must be high.

"Jake, did you hit your head?" I ask blankly.

"No," he deadpans.

"Should I do it for you?" I scoff. I can't believe he's serious right now.

He sniggers appreciatively at my cynicism then sobers up. Whoever is there with him prattles on.

"Think about it, Bells," he says. There's very mild reluctance now. "If you're worried about him getting pissed, I can get ma to talk to him," he offers seriously. Then pulling on the older sibling voice he rarely uses with me, he continues his attempt at reasoning, "but this could be just what we were waiting for… Maybe Chief can get you outta there kid."

I bite into the woolen sleeve of my sweater to muffle my sharp intake of breath. In all my assumptions and worries for the guys, both Fang and Wolf, being hauled away, I'd missed one key issue. Dad could keep me away.

Swallowing thickly, I catch the tail-end of appreciative responses to Jake's words from person B.

There's a pause as he takes another pull of whatever he's smoking, and in that brief moment, I discover that the voice I've been hearing through this conversation was Jared.

" Let it go, I'm not taking her." I hear Jake respond to whatever JC just said, and for a split second there's a glimmer of hope in me, that maybe he's trying to vouch for Jake taking me tomorrow instead, but it burns and dies out quickly when I realize he's actually asking Jake to pick me up right now.

"Where are you going?" I chew on my sweater, mulling over what to do about tomorrow's problem now.

" Nowhere."

" Montesano."

Jake and Jared speak simultaneously.

"You're going tonight?" I accuse and JC barks in triumph.

"Sam called a sec ago," Jake defends like he's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Then remembering his initial point, he speaks again, dismissing the idea, "Whatever. You can't come."

Raising his voice, he speaks at a higher level to Jared in the background. "I'm not picking her up!"

"Why not?!" I yell in response on my side. I can mentally picture Jake trying to juggle both arguments, amusing in any setting other than this 'stranded at home with the promise of Armageddon tomorrow'.

"Pick her up, she hasn't been 'round in ages bro. Collin and Brad will be round too," Jared tells him.

Microscopic traces of excitement bust through the anxiety coursing through my system at that last bit of information; maybe I can get one of the others to help. My mind instantly screams Paul! It's easy to tell Jake's getting frustrated going back and forth between Jared and I.

"Oh c'mon, Jake! I haven't seen them in over a freaking month!" I say, referring to Brady and Collin. It's a given I can only see them when away from home.

"Charlie wanted to spend time with you. He's not going to let you go out now," he responds to me first then Jared, "and I said no," he growls emphatically, protectively.

"Nothing will go wrong," Jared tells him dismissively. "Who could be safer than me?" He asks rhetorically, "I'll have my eye on her the entire time."

Jake grumbles under his breath. "Cameron, one thing goes wrong—" he lets the threat hang in the air.

"—I'm all over it," JC promises smoothly, seriously.

"Not working," Jake responds, shooting down the idea, then he cuts off completely.

It's a garbage conversation to me, because I don't know what's happening in Montesano. Heck I don't even know if he's speaking to me or Jared but there's a new, fiercer commotion in the background that steals their attention away. It sounds heavy and metallic, roaring like a truck. A big one.

"Bell, I gotta go. Sit tight, I promise we'll see you round race time. This one's more work and less play," Jake responds and the call ends as I hear a horn blast in the distance.

I stare at the phone in my hand, wondering what the hell is going on in Montesano tonight that makes Jake that reluctant for me to go with them; in what sounded like a 15 ton eighteen wheeler—

I snort. Whoa! There's a line I never thought I'd use in my life.

My phone buzzes in my palm, the little vibrations dancing through my flesh. I stare down at it and take a quick intake of breath. One text received. I hold onto that breath tightly as I open it. My silent prayer is answered when I recognize Edward's personal number. Putting all my faith in the gang member no one would ever dream I'd be able to trust, I open the text and read words off the screen that make my lungs relax with seven simple words.

~Bring him late as you can, Hood.

Buy some time? I can buy time!

Though it's unsigned and holds a familiarity despite not feeling familiar, I'm finally able to breathe easy again. I turn off the water and stuff my phone into my pocket. I barely step out the bathroom before I'm running down the stairs, feeling like a damn fairy, I'm so damn relieved.

As I near the bottom, I see dad moving towards the front door. The small flash of the blackness it holds beyond its borders makes me shudder involuntarily and my steps quicken on impulse. By the time I reach the bottom, the door closes behind him.

I walk forward anyway, my body having a mind of its own. Stopping at the shut door, my fingers touch the wood lightly until I hear the heavy footfalls of his boots reach the driveway on the other side.

It's dumb and I have no rational reason for it but I stand there until the sound becomes distant. My ears strain to keep hearing it as far as it can, until it's impossible to follow anymore. It's completely crazy, but he's on the other side of this door and I miss him. My own gang instincts start hitting me in waves, telling me to recognize why I'm feeling this way; that I'm missing something important. I go over it repeatedly until I figure it out.

Nightmare.

Maybe it is paranoia – my obsession growing from my dream – but something just doesn't feel right. At the moment, I feel the same colossal trepidation I feel every night when I'm locked in my head, facing my demons that threaten to never let me go.

I stare at the hardwood and remember Renee, cold and venomous, like she'd been this morning. Seeing her, being seen by her for the first time had been completely terrifying! And standing at the door she'd been on the other side of when she spoke to me, the feeling of dread is tenfold stronger.

Reluctantly, I move my hand away, but go no further than back to the foot of the staircase. Seated on the first step, I watch the door, holding false vigil because my body is ready to burst out the door in a sprint after Dad at the drop of a hat if need be.

It's a moot point though, because moments later, the door swings open and Dad does a double take when he sees me perched there with my chin atop my knees.

He chuckles, kind of confused. "Whatcha doing down there kiddo?"

Waiting for you?

"Nothing," I shrug, shaking my head, "What's all that stuff?" I ask, eyeing the bundle of envelopes in his hands.

Aside from the small wrapped package that looks like a delivery out a catalogue, there's an impressive amount of envelopes. I consider another time when he'd walk in with a stack like that. All marked with the same angry red stamp. The thought alone turns my blood bitter in my veins. I force myself to remember that that's over now. It's better now. I never have to see a defeated or stressed look on his face when he walks in with mail these days.

"We managed a nice pile huh?" He quips, his voice sandpapery from the cold outside.

I snigger. It's true, with dad gone on these cases and me on the run between all my places, we haven't checked the mail too often.

Dad dumps the heap on the little table beside the door when his phone starts ringing. The package lands on top. I can read the label now, but I find it odd because I'm the only one who'd order dad something online and I can't recall ordering anything.

Dad eyes me sternly. I'm not sure if it's because I've switched his caller tone for most everyone besides the station and me to I'm Sexy And I Know It, or because he sees the mace he gave me sitting there beside the mail, but it's a look that says ' we're gonna talk about this', and I snort and laugh uncontrollably like I'm high again, because for a lack of a better term… LMFAO.

Aftereffects of me being high? I get cheesy.

I laugh to myself. My laughter dies a little and a cold chill runs up my spine, my eyes flicker to the door again.

I have no time to question it. On autopilot, I stand and usher Dad down the hall to the kitchen when he repeats himself on the phone.

The signal in the kitchen isn't much better so I'm not sure why I do it, but once he's practically out the back door, I feel the pressure in my chest ease a fuckton.

I laugh quietly at his red face and frustrated tickling of his mustache, as he tries to hear the person on the other side of the breaking line.

He leans against the frame of the back door, finally able to hold a normal conversation and from his side of the exchange, I manage to gather the person on the other end speaking frantically is Uncle John and it's about the case.

I sneak my hand into the pizza box and grab a cold slice while I try and eavesdrop about this new case they're on, but then everything goes wrong.

In seconds, my ears ring as if put piercingly on mute, my eardrums feel like they burst as the house rattles around us. A sudden gust pushed around us and I feel heat on my back.

I shriek deafeningly, covering my ears as I'm thrown forward from the force. My scream mixes with Dad's I'm sure, but I can't hear it. I shout for him to get out. He doesn't listen. Maybe he can't hear me too as we both fly, knocked completely off the ground and pushed forward. Dad lands out the door, and my head slams hard against the floor.

I don't know how I stay conscious, but there's a song, a rhyme, a woman's voice in my mind that keeps me awake. I've heard it before and it helps. It's like a lullaby is playing in my head. When I look up again, Dad's stricken face is there. He dives inside again to get to me, covering me with his body like a human shield. Things fly around us in waves and gusts, coming from the hallway. Dad digs his hands into the flesh of my arms and quickly drags me off the floor, shoving me out the door and away from the house. My fingers dig into his, dragging him with me. I refused to let him go, fearful he'll fall behind. From burning eyes, somewhere before us I see dad's phone lying on the floor, screen shattered… or maybe not, the glass could be from the window.

It's only been seconds.

Such fucking vital seconds, I think to myself.

Nimble on our feet, Dad shoves us forward, his arm like a vice. We run until we reach the end of the backyard bordered by the forest line.

"Bells!"

I see the words on his lips. But I hear nothing.

"Are you okay?"

He grabs my forearms, swinging me, shaking me, till I face him. He's speaking, through the same mute state maybe, but I don't pay attention. I'm swung around now and I can see the glow behind him, the flicks of flames deep down at the end of the hallway. It makes the kitchen look radiant in its light. Outside in the darkness, the back door is loose on its hinges and shattered glass from it glitters on the wet ground. My mind ran at a mile a minute, staring at the unexplainable yet undeniable proof before me.

Slowly, sounds start slipping in clearer. I see neighbors rushing out to see what's going on and hear pieces of what must be their chatter. Sirens start forming in the mix too. It sounds distant and faint through the insistent ringing in my head.

I can see dad better now, too. He's sweaty and grimy, and has several tiny cuts on him. He presses his fingers to the side of my neck and while counting, he scans my body quickly. Then he snaps his fingers in front of my face and I know to follow his finger from side to side from his lip movements. The sirens are close now. My ears start getting back into gear, and I grab my father frantically.

"I'm fine! I'm fine!" I yell, "Are you? Dad?"

"It's okay," he says over and over, holding me tight. "Bell, you need to go now."

Dad hands me over to someone and I grab him back, tugging his shirt. No.

He takes my hands and squeezes them reassuringly, before prying them off him. He watches the house with a severe look on his face, the cop in him taking over now that he's satisfied I'm not broken.

Fresh out living my nightmare, I yell, refusing to be moved away. "Let go off me! Get off!" I start shoving at the arms – two pairs of arms – wrapping around me, restraining me as I'm moved to safety.

Dad's got to do his job, I know this, but the rational part of my brain can go fuck itself. I want my dad away from that fucking house.

"Bella, you need to go with them. I'm going to be right there soon," Dad says, as I see people in uniform rush the area.

He slips on his gear as another cop hands it to him. Orders are barked, requests for other departments, and various police codes are called in. Ambulances were requested, fire trucks too and other units, though I'm not sure which ones; people responding urgently to the requests. I absorb every single thing I hear like a sponge.

As we near the front of the house, I see it's already lit up. There are the candy lights from the approaching squad cars, but what worries me is the too bright and orange glow in the front from the flames engulfing our house.

As they pull up, I recognize another cop from a distance, Pire. I know her, but more importantly, I know the team she's on in the force, my eyes never leave her as she works. The area around the house is taped off, the immediate vicinity is evacuated and overtaken by men in uniform as per dad and her orders.

The second I hear the distinctive sound of a fire truck pull up I shove the arms away with renewed force.

He's lying.

"Get off me." My voice feels like it's forcing its way out titanium, my leg aches as I walk. When my neighbor grabs my hand, I yelp from the searing pain that shoots through my wrist. I continue walking, ignoring the arms reaching for me as paramedics, firemen and cops swarm the area. I'm engulfed again and wrapped in a thin, slivery blanket, being moved swiftly towards the ambulance that's just pulled up.

"I'm fine!" I scream, fighting them off and trying to run back toward my dad.

He jogs up to us, motioning for the medics to let go when they try to lead me from the cops who've been holding me back.

"Bells," he says, holding my head, "Look here," His thumbs brush against my face wiping away the sweat and silent cries soothingly, worry still evident in the undertones of his expression. His eyes still scan me for damage, unsatisfied by their earlier assessment. "I'm fine. Dad's fine. These fellas here need to check you while I take care of things here. It's nothing to worry about. I'll be right there soon."

I shake my head vehemently. It is bullshit, we both know it.

He turns stern, speaking firmer. "Bells, you have to go to the hospital. I'll be there soon. Then we gonna get you home. Wait with Billy and Sarah, I'll be there as soon as I can." It's a direct order now, his tone harder than I've heard before. "I need to go!"

"You were there too!" I shout back, understanding his worry, yet knowing he can't for the life of him fathom mine. I knew something was wrong because what? My mother induced nightmare senses where tingling? Who the fuck would believe that? Not even I believe that! I can't exactly tell them I come from a breed of cops and gangsters either. I'm terrified. I don't want him to go back, nor do I want to be alone. "Dad, please, don't go back! You should come with me!"

"Bells…" He restrains himself as he pulls me close. I bury myself in his chest trying to get as close to his heart as possible. I can't hear the thumping through the heavy body armor, but I can feel the violent beating of it against my hands on his back. "I'm here honey," Dad soothes, "You're ok. We're all ok. There's nothing to worry about."

"The house is on fire!" I explode in outrage, pulling my head back but grabbing his jacket so that he's anchored there in some way, however feeble it may be. "There's everything to worry about!" I yell at the top of my lungs, begging him to listen to me, because, fuck me, can he not see the house?! Of course he can. And that's why he wants me away. "It exploded!"

"Dad, you can't go back there. I won't— if we had still been there in the foyer— God help me. If we'd still just been there seconds longer." I shut my eyes tight and shake my head, "I won't let you! You can't! God, Dad, please don't send me away. Come with me."

Dad squeezes me to his chest, rubbing down my back.

"There's nothing wrong, some faulty wiring Bella. We're gonna have this mess cleaned up in no time," I hear behind me. It's followed quickly by, "I got her Chief."

I turn to face Officer Bradley. He doesn't work for me though so I call him Uncle John.

"Bradley, why don't you take her down for me?" Dad directs him, letting go of me.

Uncle John nods but I back away.

That's bullshit. This is all bullshit. They're trained for high risk situations, trained to remain calm, trained to keep the civilians calm. For all I fucking know they're lying to my fucking face right fucking now. Seriously? I'm not a fucking idiot! That wasn't faulty wiring. If any proof aside from the house is required, he should see the specific departments combing the area. Dad's not here as the house owner right now. He's here as the Chief of fucking Police, for a fucking reason. Why is he treating me like an idiot?

"No." I shake my head forcefully, trying to find an excuse to get him away. The house is on fire. There was a blast. If we were any closer, we wouldn't be having this conversation at all. Can he not see he can't stay? "You were in there too. You shouldn't be here. Dad, we'll go together. What if you need treatment too?"

Confirming Uncle John's testament, he replies, "Everything is ok, kiddo."

It's a lie! I want to scream.

"You don't have to stay." I reach out and hold his hand tightly, my voice dying because I know it's futile.

"Yes, I do," He says, and sadly we both know it's true. "Bradley, you got her for me?"

Uncle John puts his bulky arm around my shoulders and tells the medics he'll bring me round.

"I called Billy," he assures Dad over my head.

Dad nods, "Keep my daughter safe."

He brushes his palms up and down my shoulder, and for the first time in my life – probably his life too – the affection isn't awkward; it's powerful. He squeezes my shoulders, his eyes growing watery. "The thought of anything… I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you …" he trails off, shaking his head against the idea. The amount of emotion displayed on his face is overwhelming. His all-consuming fear breaks through to the surface for a significant moment that will forever be burned in my memory. The exact same expression as when he got up off the ground and ran back in, realizing I was still inside. "I love you baby girl."

Tears cloud my vision and close my throat. "I love you too, Dad. Please…" I know he doesn't have a choice, and that the best I can do is be strong for him. So I say, "…be careful…" when what I really want to say is, "…don't go…"

Dad squeezes my shoulders one more time as an ok, before giving them a silent nod to take me away.

~.~.~D&D~.~.~

There's nothing major wrong with me. I have bruises, scrapes and cuts, but that's it. When I'm told this, I have to bite my tongue to stop the 'I told you so'. I didn't even need a blood test, but I was 'offered' one just to be sure. What kind of quack does that? It's not a THC screen, but I decline, remembering the weed in my system and my luck today. It's not needed anyway, I feel fine. He just suggested it because he was running other tests. Fuck me. It's just head scans, thankfully. On the way in, they treated several minor cuts that were visible, but at the hospital I've got to change into a gown while they clean the others.

All I want to do is get out of this damn hospital and go home. Everyone must be losing their minds! Sarah is probably on her last nerve. And Jake, I wonder if he's heard yet? I hope not, that would drive him crazy. He can't leave Sam and the job halfway done without someone getting hurt. I don't think I can handle almost losing two people in one day. Then there's my dad, shit, shit, shit.

Fidgeting, I stare at this door for the umpteenth time, wanting more than anything to see my dad walk through, to see anyone walk through. He's called in but I was in with creepy Doc Shifty Eyes, so I couldn't speak to him directly. The far away part of my mind yearns for Sarah, but when Dad called in the last time he spoke to the doctor and Uncle John explaining their findings at the house and it was then, at the end of what felt like forever, that my head map photos were back and the doc said 'no concussion, she's good to go' and left to his many other patients. Busy, busy, busy man that. Twat. I could've told him that, he does it all for fun, I tell you.

Fuck me. I'm so anxious I'm acting like a child. Maybe it's the pain killers though.

I glance around, wishing someone was here with me again. Maybe just be in the room with me, to tap my knee every time it bounced uncontrollably as I went through the check up.

I have one pleasant thought that I focus on, the young nurse who treated me. It seems so random and inconsequential a thing to focus on, but it was a moment of calm that she projected, a small window of opportunity that she'd offered where I could focus on something redundant and normal.

The nurse who had attended to me as I sat quietly on the cold bed was probably in her mid to late twenties. There were several cuts and scratches on my hands from sliding against the floor that she had been cleaning. The burn on my wrist had been torn open during my dive against the glass covered floor. The cynical side of me wanted to look on the bright side; at least I was covered there, no trace of the burn remained. I'd automatically fisted the other hand though, knowing that I couldn't let anyone see the cut on my palm.

I focused so hard to cover that one up, that I didn't see there's been a deeper gash on my leg. While trying to treat it, the nurse must have seen the gauze situated a little above it at the top of my thigh.

"I have to remove this," she said, gently pulling it off. She had a soft voice.

Paying more attention now, I tilted my head, watching her work apprehensively. I remembered her voice from before when she'd introduced herself, but I couldn't for the life of me recall what her name was right now, because she had told it to me in one of those moments where my knee had been bouncing and I'd been looking at the door.

I nodded at her in approval, knowing there was no escaping it and watched as she removed the gauze and exposed the still red skin around my boyfriend's ink. By then, my heart should have been thumping with fear, but it wasn't.

"My dad doesn't know I have one," I whispered to her. I didn't mean to, but I did. I'd been doing it the entire time, it was like talking through a haze, and with too many images of tonight replaying in my mind, I had too many thoughts to accompany them.

She smiled calmly; it was the first thing I'd said since the doctor left.

"I just want to clean it," she soothed. Her demeanor was professional, but she had a type of calmness, a safe kindness practically radiating off her. She was one of those people who were just born for the profession.

I liked it, appreciated it.

Mechanically, I nodded my head at her and she continued to dab away. She had pale blonde hair, pin straight in a high ponytail. Her blue-grey eyes would follow her hand movements as she worked, and with practiced ease, she'd keep the pressure she applied precise, avoiding making the sting more uncomfortable than it had to be.

I winced as she started cleaning the gash below my tattoo. In that brief moment behind my eyelids, I could see the firemen at the front of my house trying to dose the blaze, while more flickers lit up the inside. I hadn't been able to tell how far in it went, but the porch alone was terrifying to look at, knowing we'd been on the other side of that very door only seconds earlier. Pieces of wood scattered the front yard, the windows were splintered, with flames licking through. Had we just still been there, talking by the staircase… My body shuddered and I opened my eyes just as quickly.

"You're not going to tell him, are you?" I asked, trying to distract myself.

She shook her head, smiling distractedly, "No," she said, concentrating on her task at hand, her eyes never looking away from my thigh. Her words had still been gentle, as she started cleaning the rest of my leg, "that's your personal business."

My response had been immediate, a knee-jerk reaction as she began to tape me up. "Thank you…" The normal conversation felt good, like a life line. I wanted to keep it as long as I could while there was someone here to keep me from staring at the door.

"Jane," she supplied again without offense, standing up. "All done," she beamed mildly.

I didn't get up. She, in turn, remained in the room too. She seemed to know I wasn't ready to move just yet.

From the new distance between us, I noticed the telltale lines of her personality. Medium colored circles under her eyes, no doubt from her long hours at the hospital, but crinkles at the corners, laugh lines, from her pleasantness.

"Sorry," I apologized.

She smiled, shaking her head and blowing out a quiet breath, before sitting back down, "You've been through a lot tonight." Her legs on either side of the chair, her blue scrubs maked a quiet noise due to the friction against the frame. "You're lucky you were that far enough away. Dr. Gerandy would have briefed your dad too. There's absolutely nothing to worry about," she repeats, like she knows I wasn't really paying attention when the doc-shifty had spoken. She's right. "Thankfully, you're good to go. They're just waiting to take you home now."

"They're here?" I asked. Must be why Uncle John went back to the house.

She nodded again, "Just arrived, Ms. Swan."

"Bella."

She smiled gently in acceptance, "Bella."

There was a pause. Nothing to die over, however tonight, the silence was blistering. I could recall the ringing, the not knowing, the heated air on my back, the terror in the atmosphere...

I felt a hand lightly placed on my knee, gently stilling it.

"I got my belly button pierced when I was 14," Jane speaks randomly, a tiny mischief edge to her smile, "my mom hit the roof."

Sensing my hidden distress, it was small talk, like two friends sharing secrets, just trying to calm me down. I smiled at her, breathing through my nose and paying attention to what she was saying, forcing myself to forget for two seconds that this conversation was happening in a hospital room and Jane and I weren't really friends at all.

"There you go," she appraised mildly. "You're handling this very well. You should be very proud." Jane encourages calmly, standing up and gently squeezing my knee, "You ready to go out and see everyone?"

Dressed once again and out the room, even now as the words replay themselves in my head, I don't know if I'm proud. I don't think I am. Pride is the furthest feeling I have right now, because I'm filled with relief that it's over.

It's not difficult juggling all my roles, all the secrets, all the things that are expected of me while still trying to remain sane. It's a life I'm used to, so it comes naturally. This is what's normal for me. I see them standing in the waiting area for me, releasing a huge collective breath as I come into view.

My heart leaps for joy when I see my dad, and my feet fly towards him.

A girl my size cuts across my path from nowhere, head down, leaving me with no time to react, and we collide head on.

Her eyes, at last, look up from her iPhone. The girl appears shocked at the jolt and her gum pops out her mouth. Hastily, she's pulling the ear buds out, her eyes wide open like a Disney character.

"I'm so sorry!" She mutters abashedly. She looks like a pixie, her short, dark, spiky hair flies this way and that as she quickly looks around curiously to where I'm headed, "I wasn't paying attention." She gestures to her phone.

"Don't worry about it."

I offer her a quick smile over my shoulder, running back on track, while she slips her buds back in and watches for a sec, before shrugging and moving off again, bobbing her head to a song playing too loud for such a tiny built person.

Dad's still in uniform, so he must have come straight from the house. I don't care, he's here now. Pushing faster to meet him halfway, his arms open to welcome me as I slam into him, squeezing me to death as I do the same.

When Sarah gets to me next, her eyes are red and puffy. Instinctively, I pull her closer, soaking up her warmth as I offer her the same in return. She kisses all over my face, whispering frantically, her words mixing together unintelligibly. She cries silently in the end, just pulling me closer. She doesn't let go, and neither do I. I rest my head against her shoulder.

Tilting my head to the side blindly, I reach out my hand and grasp Billy's. He wheels himself closer and holds mine tight, squeezing it, and I do the same.

Leah and Rachel are more like Sarah, and they grab onto me at the same time. I hug them close too, and it's like a competition. We keep pulling tighter and tighter until we can't anymore.

"Relax, the doctor said I'm fine," I whisper to them, "You have to trust him. I trust him. He clearly has brilliant eyesight." I wiggle my brows at them. The quip is meant to calm them down and it works.

They snigger, letting me go after an affectionate tug at my hair.

"All those hours as our life sized Barbie paid off in the end, huh?" Lee jokes back, trying to snort through her stuffy nose.

Rach stuffs a ball of tissue in the trash and digs out her phone. "I'm just gonna call Paul real quick." She smiles with watery eyes, smacking a kiss to my cheek. "Don't disappear."

~.~.~D&D~.~.~

The girls are back home after much convincing and Dad's at the station after much reluctance. He's determined to get to the bottom of it now. According to him, once the fire was out they could determine the damage to the house wasn't too bad… just the porch, foyer and a small portion of the hallway, lounge and staircase. I'd looked at him incredulously, wondering if he was hearing what he was saying. He told me there was nothing to worry about, that everything could be repaired and that he'd call someone as soon as they get a proper look at the house tomorrow. Yeah, well, according to the doctor, I was fine. But since the bruises set in, if you see my face, the angry scrapes on my left cheek alone would make you faint; Sarah did. So forgive me if I know the story about the house is crap.

He didn't tell me anything about what's going on or about what happened. I don't need him to though, because whether he voices it to me or not, I know what I'd been contemplating is the truth. Because despite many requests by Billy, he won't be staying with us while the house is being fixed, and despite many requests by me, he won't let me stay with him at the motel, if he's even going to be there in the first place. He's at the station after there was an attempt on his life, because his work followed him home and that's where his daughter was when it happened.

"Nightmares in the garden, a garden full of roses, strawberry kisses, Angel breath whispers, sleep baby, sleep..." I hum to myself. It's the echoing lullaby that kept me conscious when slammed to the floor. I remembered the words as I lay in bed. I'm terrified to go to sleep again, because if I dream that dream tonight, I might go fucking insane.

Sarah's running a fever. She won't say it, but I could feel it in her touch when she brushed back my hair and kissed my forehead while I feigned sleep.

When I heard their room door shut, I was wide awake in mine, desperate for a distraction.

The silence is deafening. As usual, only the trees around us can be heard, comforting at any time other than now.

I spring on the balls of my feet, practically feeling the effects from the explosion again. I try to push it away, but here alone, it's a seemingly difficult task. When I shut my eyes, there's a part of me that whimpers and burns in anger and fright. I remember what was left of the front of the house. That wasn't fucking wiring my mind keeps shouting. That was the past that was knocking on our front door tonight, and the damn thing blew up.

I need to know more before I'm certain, but no one is going to tell me, and the house will still be swarming with feds so I can't go back and take a look without my dad being alerted.

Exhaustion starts setting in and I fight it, trying hard to stay awake. Fear leaks into my bones at what will happen if I fall asleep. I'm too scared to dream tonight.

By force of habit, I tap down my sweats and feel for my cigarettes even though I know they aren't there. I check my phone for the umpteenth time to no avail. The screen's been blank since the blast.

When I can't stop the ringing I remember in my ears from the explosion, I scratch at my arm, my nail digging into one of the cuts through the Band-Aid. I feel it burn at the unwelcomed irritation. Relief slowly seeps through my arm and soothes my nerves until I pull my hand away. I don't even bother with what I've done this time. It's seems so mediocre a thing to worry about on a night like this.

Dressed comfortable for bed makes it harder to fight sleep. My other hand works off my sweats and I shrug and twist into a pair of jeans, allowing my hand to run across my gauzed ink for a second longer than necessary. I take a huge breath, filling my lungs easily until I realize Edward isn't actually there with me.

The silence only seems to get louder with how alone I feel in the dark room, the sound of the trees fades out in totality at the intensity biting at my throat when I remember the heat on my back. Unconsciously my fingers walk themselves back to the Band-aid and begin to scratch again. The scathing burn lasts a second but it's a second that shoots metaphoric Valium through my system.

Fuck me. I've got to get out of the house.

In truth I've got no chance to do it because Jake's the only person I could use as an alibi and until he's back from Montesano I've got to fight sleep, pain and fear simultaneously alone. I slide on my jacket because he's got to come back sometime and I'm determined to be awake no matter what time that is, despite the pain and exhaustion. I set that as my goal to help stay up. I'll ask him if we can go to the beach or something.

Fisting my hair, I get myself in check and walk over to my table. Turning on the light is a stupid idea, because my reaction to the new brightness is instantaneous. I feel the heat on my back again tenfold stronger… terror grips me and my body shakes like I'm back in the house. God, if we'd been any closer…

Fisting my hands round the cord, I rip it from the wall. I couldn't cut the light off fast enough. The lamp lands at my feet, a soft thump on the carpet. I bend to pick it up, when, through the scarce lighting, I spy a box of my books and my hand automatically detours towards it; distraction acquired.

Kneeling to retrieve it from its hiding place, I fold my legs Indian style beneath me and thumb through the first one I touch, moving it around until it's visible in the moonlight. I smile when I recognize it. It's my tattered copy of James and the Giant Peach. Initially it was Jake's but he gave it to me for Christmas eons ago, back when it still looked new. I smile to myself, remembering how glossy the cover used to be. James and I are the same. I snigger, 'Life is my peach'. And I live in it with more dangerous characters than oddball insects, but who said things have to be conventional. They selflessly made a family for a three-year-old who didn't have one, and taught me the most important lesson of all, the true meaning of love. That it's so pure it surpasses blood and reason…

The second I think the words, I feel the air in the room shift.

Startled at first I drop the book, and then scramble to get up when I realize my window is wide open. When my body starts, someone moves fast towards me. I back up but the silhouette hauls my body up off the ground and my heart pounds because I can't believe who it is.

I'm drowned by his smoke and musk scent and the ferocious strength pouring out of his arms as he locks them around me. He holds me even tighter when I whimper into his chest at the happiness flowing through me.

"Why the fuck didn't you call me?" Edward demands, his voice a mixture of absolute relief and unknowable fury.

"I tried," I answer him, still flabbergasted that he's in my room. He'll never cease to amaze me. I take in and let out gasp after gasp. A storm cloud looms over me when I comprehend how dangerous is for him to be here. We're in fucking La Push. "My phone won't let me, the screen is cracked and—"

Edward's lips slam into mine hard, his body forcefully anchors itself to me. I kiss him back, equally brutal.

In stark contrast to his lips that devour me, his hands treat my body like it's precious, breakable. Running his hands slowly and gently from the nape of my neck to the underside of my ass, he picks me up and holds me against him inch for inch. He sucks on air when I gasp, breathing it in and pressing his forehead to mine.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" He says into my mouth, keeping his voice too low for anyone else to know of his presence.

"I'm fine, Edward." I narrow my eyes to see him better.

He sees me easily though and his eyes narrow too, so much better than mine.

He's the first person not to buy it. I gulp.

The moonlight hits his furious jade glare as it rakes over every mark on my face, paying special attention to the scrapes that form a red, angry patch on my cheek. His orbs darken further as it crosses the little bits of skin that's visible to him. By the end, the onyx flecks in his eyes resembling lightning.

"Try that again," he challenges in a scarily hard tone. "I almost fucking believe you," he hisses, "Who told you that? Have you seen a mirror? Fuck it, you're shaking Bella." He softens his tone slightly and when I push him away, he holds on tighter. "Fuck, you're ok now, baby."

I shake my head, repeating what everyone's been saying. "I'm fine. It wasn't anything to worry about."

He watches me, and what he says next completely floors me.

"The fuck— Who are you being a martyr for? You're scared, Bella. That was some heavy shit to deal with. You're allowed to be scared babe," he says, looking me in the eye, calling me on my bullshit.

"I'm not scared." I just say it because he's the only one I can say it to who'll hear the truth behind my lie.

He kisses my temple, arms locked around me, speaking softly and remaining levelheaded even though I see how completely mind fucked he is through his eyes. "I'm here babe. I won't let you go," he promises, "you're safe."

I know I'm saying the absolutely wrong thing to him, but his gang side is caged, angry, and waiting to pounce and for some reason I want him to. "Someone could hear."

"You think I'm fucking concerned about them?" He eyes me skeptically. "Let them fucking hear."

"The Wolves could find out."

My ties with the Wolves are a huge button pusher for him. He's slipping now.

"Fuck 'em." His eyes narrow to slits, threateningly.

"We're too close. You don't know anything about it," I growl at him, pushing him further.

"Then fucking enlighten me, because you're fucking stuck with me," he hisses, his teeth barred in a snarl, "and for some fucking reason it means I'm fucking stuck with muthafucking them."

I stick my chin out defiantly, refusing to answer and he growls menacingly.

"Go. Fuck. Yourself." I hiss.

A smirk forms on his face. It says he'd rather fuck me.

Shaking his head in disbelief, I'm pushed against the bed fast, his body locked to mine as we go down. He's attacking my lips, my senses, and my body so wholly I have no chance of escape. I smother in the feeling of him above me, and the feral protectiveness he's projecting. His hands roam every surface of my body, crawling over my skin, my clothes, taking inventory before unconsciously landing on my heart.

He doesn't say anything.

He kisses me like there's no tomorrow, needing to get closer and closer still.

I moan quietly, feeling him rock hard and throbbing at my pussy as he squeezes my tits. He smells the wetness, his hand travels down, digging into my jeans and pulling it low enough for his fingers to graze my flesh, feel it threateningly, promisingly.

He'd do it too. He's so deranged and wild with fury and uneasiness, he'd fuck me right here like this.

I writhe beneath him, wanting it all. The anchoring, the need, the immeasurable draw we feel, how he needs to know by sight, touch, flesh that I'm with him still safe and sound, after lord knows what the fuck he heard after the blast. Forks must be alive with rumors by now, and come Monday if Mrs. Cope has a say, I'm probably walking into talks of a volcano erupting at my front door. I want to give it all to him because he never lies to me, because he sees through my masks and tells me to feel.

"You came. You can't be here and you came," I whisper into his mouth, fisting his hair, and breathing heavy into his ear, not meaning a word of it. I never want him to leave.

"Where the fuck else would I be? I couldn't even fucking call you. I was losing my fucking mind," He hisses, pissed off. Even in his anger, he's rational for the both of us. Playing the role he plays to safeguard me more than him, he pulls back when I can't. " Fuck me! What are you doing to me?" He cusses venomously, rocking back to his knees. His hand buries in locks of his hair, threatening to tear them out as he's breathes over me heavily, angrily, watching me below him.

I think back to our last moments. He said he'd see me the second he got back, but we'd had that stupid fight too and I regret it now. "I thought you were mad at me?"

"Don't fuck with me." He kisses my bellybutton, knowing exactly what I'm doing. "We don't have time."

With my arms around his neck he stands up again, making my feet dangle from the floor and my face level with his as he wraps his arms around my waist, letting me hold him.

"It's over. You're safe Bella. Go to bed, baby, get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow, aight?" It's a promise. He pushes my hair off my face, wincing at the mark he sees.

"You have to leave?" It's a question when it should be a statement.

"Yeah," he answers, chancing a glance out the window for whomever he has keeping watch.

"Who's outside?"

"James, Cauis, J— fuck, it doesn't matter." He pulls back to read my face. "You going to be fine here?" He nods to me, asking if I want him to stay.

I nod at him.

His eyes harden and he kisses both my eyelids. "Come with me, anima gemella," he orders softly, but with green blazing serious eyes.

It's not safe for him. I can't believe he cut short a run to come to the heart of danger because he knew I was hurt. He's willing to go far if he knows I don't want him to leave. Literally willing to risk anything for me, even his life. I want to say yes, but I can't. If I disappear tonight and don't have Jake as my alibi, it's not the Wolves that will be looking for me, it'll be the cops. He knows that too but he doesn't care, and for the life of me I don't know how I got so lucky.

I run my hands through his hair, forcing myself to hold his gaze. I kiss his eyes like he did mine and let myself drop, making sure I slide down him. A growl rumbles quiet in his chest and he shuts his eyes, locking his fists around my own and interlacing our fingers so I can't go any further.

"Look at you," I say, gazing at the black he dons from head to toe, then out to the window where his guys prowl and wait, "you know so yourself, coming here was dangerous. I can't believe you did that." I kiss his neck hard to darken the mark I left on him at his office a few days back.

"Jacob won't be back for a while," he says through his teeth, having come from Montesano himself. "I'll bring you back if you want. Anything you want, Cappuccinetto."

My heart hammers at my ribcage furiously, trying to beat itself out to him. He's looking at me like he did this morning when he woke me up from my tears and saw the burn on my wrist. Like I'm about to break and he doesn't know how to stop it. It's agitated devotion, wrath burning fierce in him.

"Bella, I see one mark on you that isn't from that blast and you're home with me whether you fucking want it or not. Got it?" he hisses, already knowing my state of mind.

Shit.

I nod at him, promising I won't.

"Home?" I repeat, knowing he's talking about the warehouse.

He doesn't take it back. Unaffected, he just pushes my hair back and connects his lips with mine. "Come here."

He fists my hair in one of his hands, holding me to him as he slows it down till we're merely touching. It's slow and intimate, breathing in each other's breath, savoring each one like we came so close to losing it today.

"You gonna be at Nell Ombra no matter what 'k? I'll see you there," he whispers, pulling back. It's not really a question. He thinks about something then says, "Or call me and I'll come get you," He slips something into my hand, emphasizing how serious he is, his gaze fierce with promise, "from anywhere Bella. I'll never let anything happen to you."

My answer is instant. I nod so fast you'd think my head wasn't attached right to my body. He chuckles a little at my unintentional wide-eyed bobble-head impersonation.

The tips of his fingers brush against the scratches on my cheek. When I wince, he dips down and kisses it softly, his breath cooling it and removing the sting.

"Go to bed baby, it'll hurt less tomorrow. You need to sleep Bella." He watches me intensely, his worried eyes seeing through me. "You got any idea what you almost made me do tonight, Cappuccinetto?"

He doesn't mean for me to actually know, but the fact that he's here gives me a pretty good idea. If he took such a huge risk coming here when he couldn't call me, Lord knows what job he pushed aside to get to me.

Thank God he's a fucking evil genius.

I feel his gun as I run my fingers down his back. Yes, thank God he's always armed too.

"How'd you know?" I ask, leaning into his touch.

He looks at me like I lost my mind. "It's you, Bella. My girl's house blows up the first person people call is my people. Tyler gave me a heads up the second we pulled in with my live cargo."

"He knew I'd be here too, didn't he?" I ask with a small smile. He's got his members trained like bloodhounds. If what I've witnessed from them in a fight is anything to go on, they seem to know exactly what Edward will want them to do and to do it fast. I wonder who the live cargo he went to get must be. Montesano is no man's land, the perfect neutral place for a drop off.

Edward nods once. "Your place is covered in pigs. He kept an eye at the hospital." He rubs the mark at my temple with his thumb, knowing that it's there and eyeing it like it offends him. I miss his smile. The stubble on his chin scratches my lips when I kiss it. "Saw you leave with the mutt's clan."

"Hey!" I swat his chest, pulling back. He chuckles low. I glower at him, not really meaning it right now. Maybe we can fight next week.

The pain killers I took when we got home must be making me harebrained again. And Edward's here to witness it. Great.

Towering above, he looks at me contemplatively for a while. "Fuck, this really is a package fucking deal," he mutters eventually, his face pulled into stone like contempt. His fingers wedge deep into his pockets as he shoots his eyes back to me. "You know you can't have both, right?"

"I know," I whisper down to my feet, nodding, "but they're both so important, Edward. I don't want to give them up until I'm forced to." I look back at him from the safety of my lashes.

"Then don't," he says severely, his gaze shooting past me as he moves back.

My gaze shoots up to his but before I can ask what he means he backs away from me and tears spring to my eyes.

"Edward…"

He puts his finger to his lip, telling me to be quiet. His eyes dart to me and he pecks me quick, sensing my anxiety that he's 'leaving' leaving. He whispers, condescendingly, "The old man's awake, want me to go say hello?"

Huh? I listen closer, wondering what he hears and with the focus I hear the soft padding of the wheel chair as Billy adjusts it so he can get off the bed and onto it.

"No!" I gape at him.

He smirks at me, his shoulders vibrating. "I'm being polite. I'll formally introduce myself and shit."

I bite his collar bone. He groans and kisses me quick and hard.

"See you tomorrow," I say, then remember something that slipped my mind with everything that's been going on, "Tomorrow? The restaurant—"

Edward smirks, his teeth stretching out crookedly as he looks down to me, shaking his head, the embodiment of every reason why people fear the Fangs like they do.

" Don't worry about it."

The way he says it, devilish, knowing and thoughtful gives me an inclination that he has a fear too, that I won't come tomorrow for any number of the reasons working against us and he's not going to let it go. The sinister surety that he exudes tells me what he doesn't voice; Leave the details to him.

"What are you gonna do?" I ask, wondering if Dad will let me work tomorrow or plans to still go with me.

"Roy's covering it." He hooks his fingers into my jeans and pulls me with him as he backs up to the window, leaning his forehead to mine. Both of us reluctant to release our contact until we absolutely have to. He grins at me in amusement, mischief burning in his orbs. "You sent the text to him."

That one sweeps my feet from the ground under me. I couldn't have. I don't have Royce's number. Then I remember what I'm holding in my hand and glance down and see a phone. It's not Edward's usual one. I can practically feel the smirk on his face grow as he watches me put the pieces together.

The message had been signed.

Hood.

I let out a breath of disbelief. It's like a smile I can't seem to help. Even on my shittiest day, around him and now evidently his people, I can't help but be happy, feel lighter, smile.

For the briefest of seconds, more than what I could hope for because by know I'm sure Billy must have managed to slide onto his chair, I'm overwhelmed by the surrealism of it all. His uncle was the one who was trying to save my ass tomorrow if Edward didn't get back in time to figure something out. Sure he was doing it for his nephew and their wellbeing, but he didn't actually have to text me back to curb my own worry.

"Roy has your phone," I say, returning Edward's smile.

Bracing his back against my window frame, we stop and he nods into the crook of my neck. He sucks a line up my neck, following my pulse all the way to my ear. I shudder against him and feel his hands cup my ass in response, pulling me up to him so that my heart lines with his.

His guard is almost completely down when he whispers into the shell of my ear, "Nothing can ever happen to you."

He doesn't know it, but his unpretentious admittance sounds so significant to me, as significant as one's heart altering its very beats to match that of another's, because that's what happens to mine.

He pulls away from me and slips out the window naturally. I hear Billy wheeling himself around in the room, the sound getting closer to their room door.

"You get some sleep. I'll call you later." Edward jumps out lithely and soundlessly lands on his feet. The perfect predator on the prowl as he moves back into command, his violent gaze shoots around the area, the dark proving no hindrance for his trained eyes.

I lean out after him, grasping his phone tight, and press my lips to his. He stops briefly, coming back to me. He stands out my window, and pushes his lips harder to mine, his tongue forces its way into my mouth, curling around mine possessively. Not that he's never experienced far worse cases than this because violence, jail time, and death, is all a part of the lives they lead, but still, his worry for me permeates the air around us. I choke on meaningful words that want to slip out for the gangster who's breaking all his rules for a girl he shouldn't want in the first place.

Caius is in the tree line. He seemingly materializes out of thin air and disappears into the dark as soon as Edward shoots a glance at him; silent orders.

A venomously lethal James emerges from the shadows at the thicket closer to the house, seemingly out of nowhere too, while reaching behind him and slipping something out the back of his jeans. He makes sure to give me a nod and smirk as he dashes by and I smile back at him, a gesture that now seems like second nature.

Then my gaze shifts to someone who, surprisingly enough, is a sight for sore eyes. I smile wide at the live cargo. Jasper.

"No orange!" I mouth, giving him two thumbs up as he mimics James' agile movements and retrieves his own piece out the back of his jeans.

Edward chuckles, watching the naturally dangerous smirk form on his cousin's face.

"Didn't have any matching kicks," Jasper retorts in his easy drawl, as he flies past us into the opaque tree line, following the unmarked path Caius laid out for them in the shadows.

Grinning in amusement, there's a wicked glint in Edward's eyes when I turn mine back to him. He wants to say something, but a sound catches our attention – Billy's room door opening and shutting – so instead, he winks at me with a sinful, crooked smirk, baring his sharp, pearly whites before he's down the very same path, hood over his head and gun carefully slipped out the back of his dark jeans too quick for anyone to follow.

With practiced ease, I expertly slide down the window and move to bed, covering myself to my neckline. Billy moves to the bathroom, but I remain in place even after hearing the flush, then water and the door reopening, until he's back across the hall in their room.

I sit idly for over an hour later fighting fatigue, and dead pain, when the phone lights up.

" I wake you?" He asks, not bothering with mandatory greetings.

"No," I whisper to him. He chuckles, knowing I'm still hiding in my room before sobering.

"Bella, you need to rest. Go to sleep," he says, meaning business despite his usual calmness. "You okay?"

Slowly a smile forms on my lips from hearing the velvet brush my ears with every word he says.

It's easier to lie to him over the phone. "Not yet. I'm fine, promise."

He lets out a heavy breath on the other end and I can hear his clothing ruffle before something is flung against a wall. Hard. I can picture him ripping off the hoodie and hurling it across the room. In my head I can count the angry tendons on his back as they cause his tattoo to ripple.

"You can't sleep, can you?"

I'm taken aback. Sitting up a little as if it's physically possible for me to touch him. "Edward."

"Fuck me," he bites out through another heavy breath. "Where else?"

"Where else what?" I ask.

"Are you hurt?"

"Nowhere. We were actually far from where it happened, the exact opposite end of the house. I swear we only caught the tail end," I say, trying to curb his worry with the bullshit story cooked up for my benefit by everyone, when I can remember everything. It's all too vivid and fresh in my mind; we weren't far away, we were just far enough. "I didn't even need blood work, just some routine checks and scans that came out clear, there's nothing to worry about. The wiring was messed up or something."

I hear him suck in through his teeth, a loaded pause before a venomous growl, "Scans, blood tests, don't mean you're fine inside, Bella. Your reaction is fucked up. There isn't one. That's what's fucking with my head, Bella. You're fucking serious right now. Baby you're not fine, why the fuck do you keep saying it."

"I'm reacting just fine."

"You're not fucking reacting!" he snarls, "You're behaving how you think they need you to."

I chew on my tongue at the bluntness of his words. Was I not reacting like I want to? How the fuck can he know that? No one else seems to think so.

I push aside the fear and when I do, I realize the hypocrisy of it all. I'm certain he doesn't miss it either when I speak again.

"Where are you?" I ask, changing the subject. Chewing hard on my lip to try and stop the feeling of nakedness, I duck my head under the blanket until I'm covered. The dark is safer than the light and if we keep talking I can't hear the blast anymore.

He lets it slide. The tiny pause before his reply tells me it's one of those moments where he's just doing it because he figures I've had a long day, but he won't let it go forever.

"Roy's place."

His answer is short, matching his temper.

"I thought you were going home."

"I thought you were safe," is his witty response. If I can bullshit him, he can bullshit me, so wisely, I shut up. "Had to pick up my phone and get some shit together."

"Do you know what happened?" I ask, referring to my house.

"No," Edward answers, his voice like steel and growing with quiet intensity, " not yet." It's filled with promise, not bothering to hide it from me like everyone else does. " I'll look into it as soon as the feds lay off your place. Got Waylon tryna get me some shit from the cop shop when he's round."

At that I sit up, worried about him. "It's the damn police station for Christ's sake!"

" Where the fuck do you think we got Jazz and Alec from?" He deadpans incredulously, no humor in his voice. " The pigs are child's play. Isabella, lay off." He says it softly, trying to get me to back off but I won't.

"No!" The response is impulsive.

"No?" He responds condescendingly, slipping back into full gang mode. "Cappuccinetto, ya' not getting it are ya?" He chuckles and it's mirthless. I shiver. It's a side of him I can't recognize. He's completely, unapologetically, viciously cold. "Someone fucks with my people I fuck the town over. How far do you think I'm willing to go if someone almost lights up my girl."

"Edward— "

"Fuck it," He cuts me off, abruptly, and his voice could slice through diamond. I hear Royce speak to him in Italian like he had when Edward was choking Riley. I don't know if Edward heeds him this time round too, because if he does, Edward does it by hanging up before he says something that will make this argument worse than it is. "I'll speak to you later."

I stare at the phone, willing it to ring again, but it doesn't. The number he called from is his usual one, so he's got his phone back from Royce. I toy with his spare one in my hand, once, twice, thrice and at the end of the fourth, I decide to just screw it and hit redial.

"I'm sorry."

I'm stunned for a second, wondering who said it, him or me?

"Me too," I repeat, in case I missed it the first time.

I hear him gnaw at his teeth in frustration.

"You almost blew my mind tonight, Bella," he says. His voice is a frustrated quiet. He lets out a defeated, harsh breath as he lowers his walls to me.

Tears well up in my eyes at how utterly truthful he is with me because I have no fucking clue what I did to land him, because he makes me feel so much. I wish I could be the same for him. I know he wants me to be honest about it all.

"I know, baby, and I'm so sorry—"

He lets out a soft breath, an almost chuckle. I can practically see the smirk forming as he rubs his neck, then pushes his fingers through his hair. So easily content with my small admittance of what I feel for him in a simple endearment. He'll never ask for more than what I offer. He'll never ask for anything as long as I'm with him.

"Babe, I have to split 'k?" He says, a lazy edge to his tone despite the hurried walking and paper I hear him shuffling through with Royce.

"Are you mad?" I ask him anxiously, toying with the end of the blanket, practically feeling the adrenaline pouring from him through the phone.

"You question my sanity a lot," he deadpans. Then sniggers with mirth when his condescending comment hits its mark and I'm stunned to momentary silence.

"You're a jerk," I snark back, taking the bait. He's too good at distracting me. We're so easily back to fighting— the way we usually do. The cocky bastard.

"Is ok," he responds coolly.

"Yeah, why's that?" I ask, hearing Royce's voice followed by keys being tossed. Edward must've caught them because they sound close to the speaker when they hit his palm.

"I'm your jerk," He answers smoothly. I want to jump through the phone and attack him in far too fun ways.

I laugh for the first time in what feels like hours and feel the tension slip on both ends.

"Keep doing that, piccola," he says, his voice a silent storm seeking comfort in my laughter, breath, just me. "You feel sick, scared, fuckit anything, you text me— call me— whatever the fuck you want. Wherever you are, I'll come get you."

I smile wide, chained to him, heart and soul. I'll give him anything he asks for.

"I promise."

"Good girl. Go to sleep you're tired."

~.~.~D&D~.~.~

Every time I close my eyes, I see the foyer blow up again. Painkillers have worn out and everything hurts. The soreness that's snapping at me isn't helping with the exhaustion and I'm too tired to keep my eyes open. I'm petrified I'm going to fall asleep.

Thanks to the open window, I hear JC arrive before I see him. I needed the sound of the wind outside. I was just too fucked in the silence. The cold breeze also helped to keep me awake in the wee hours of the morning. The hum of his engine is muted in the howling but it remains unique, his Firebird's his pride and joy. It's deserving of the title too. They've done the work themselves and it's amazing. Praying this means Jake's home, I lean out as far as I can till I can see the shape of it in the darkness. Following routine, he keeps the lights cut.

My body aches from the bruises, feeling like it's going to pass out. Hauling myself through the window, I hop out slowly not being able to push my body further than it wants to go.

"Been tryna call you," JC says with a smile, putting his phone away as I walk up. "Let's go."

I shake my head, not wanting to head out. "It's not working. Where's Jake?" Leaning over, I cup my eyes, trying to squint into the backseat to find him.

"Sent me to get you," Jared says, swinging over and throwing open the side door. "Leave em a note."

I let out a heavy breath, but nod and move back to let myself in through my room. I shut the window and slip out quietly. In the kitchen, I take another pain killer to help with the throbbing and pen out I'm with Jake, putting the note on the fridge. It's gonna be light soon anyway, so they'll find it at a reasonable hour.

On my way back to the car, I glance at the time on Edward's errand phone and amend that statement. It'll probably only be breaking dawn by the time we get back.

"Bird's flying tonight," I quip as I hop in, tugging the hoodie closer.

He chuckles and backs us out, "Kinda." Jared floors it so we're fast heading out. He watches me out the corner of his eye. "How you doing?"

"Brilliant," I answer with a smile. It stretches from side to side with ease, good enough to make even me believe it.

"Good." He smiles. "When Paul called us—" He shifts gear, slamming his hands into the wheel. "Christ."

"How'd Paul know?" I ask, trying to steer us into less violent waters. Rach is a safe topic.

"Rach called him when Sarah called her. Told 'em to tell Jake and us. We were fucked till we heard you got out fine."

I nod, looking out the window and back. "How's things with Sam?"

"So far we're clear. Things are going smooth. Just got one quick run."

"This one's taking long? How many trips you guys have to make?" I say, glancing at him out the corner of my eye.

"Jake has his last one with Sam. You can ride back with them. We got a few more."

"Cool," I lean my head back, willing the pain killers to kick in faster. The conversation's good. It keeps sleep at bay. "You're in a better mood."

He isn't smiling, but he looks better than when he picked me up.

"Why not," he replies, looking at me as I light up one of his cigarettes. "You've been missed lately."

"I'm working," I reply, like it's no big deal, letting the smoke out through my teeth and enjoying the numbness that slowly works inside me, relaxing my body. That really is the reason why I'm hardly at the Res. Even with school, I'm practically in and out of here all the time despite being at home with Dad. For the better part of my life, I actually lived here more than Forks.

He allows a small smile now. "This time tomorrow that won't be a problem anymore huh?"

My smile dies. I'm drawn quickly back into the conversation I had earlier on the phone with Jake. I'd forgotten about it since Edward told me to. "How do you figure?"

"Just a hunch," he says with a shrug.

I shrug too, aloof, though I'm grasping at straws for information. "If dad goes there, any of your names could be brought up too."

"Doesn't matter, as long as you're the fuck away from that place, and safe back on this side of the line. Fucking Fangs shouldn't be near what's ours," he answers. He pauses between his words before he goes on running the reasoning by me, "Jake ag— I agree with Jake. All we need is to keep you away from the Fangs. Then we can go at Cullen without him being able to fuck around with you." He starts getting more agitated. "Fuck, and now with this shit about your crib, you don't need more danger. We gonna be able to have a whole lot more eyes on you here. You'll be safe, no worries."

I have a sinking feeling any freedom I used to have is about to be brought down to none. The only reason they aren't around like flies right now is because 'errands', depending on how important and for who, if interrupted can result in all kinds of hazards, work and life wise. Once they have time to focus, they're going to start keeping an eye on my house in La Push. A small flame dies in me, because no matter how long I leave the window open now, Edward won't be able to come.

We hop out the car at First Beach. I crease my brows wondering why we're here instead of Montesano where Sam is.

"Where are the guys?" I ask JC as he leans against the hood and lights a cigarette.

Seth's, Jake's, and Quil's cars are parked beside us lined up at the natural cave formed in one of the cliffs but they're nowhere in sight.

"Should be back soon. We need to load up again before we leave," he replies, pulling deep and releasing the smoke before he slings an arm around me moving me to the light, seeing the scratches on my face, "Christ, I can't wait for tomorrow. All this shit could be over."

Heaven forbid, heaven forbid, I keep chanting in my head.

"You need to be alert in Forks, Bells," he warns seriously, watching the scratches like he wants them to disappear. "Especially now with the house. Be careful at school. Something don't feel good, you split. Call us. We'll handle the rest." He spits and flings his cigarette to the ground, his true Grey Wolf blood running thick in him, "Chief say who it was?"

I shake my head at him.

"Some chance it's Fangs or pig business?" He thinks aloud.

My eyes dart to him and my brow cocks incredulously. I'd never believe that even if I didn't know Edward. Especially not with what I felt on the other side of the door before I made Dad move to the kitchen.

"Please. The Fangs? They're too smart for shit like that, you know that," I point out the obvious; an attack that missed the mark and was aimed at the Chief of Police, no one is that dumb. "That was an amateur. My money's on police business." I refuse to call my dad a pig.

"True," He takes another drag and thinks it through, opting to point out the obvious to me too, serious in his warnings, "amateurs are more dangerous than professionals, Bella. Watch your back, 24/7. That guard doesn't go down."

I nod, "Always do."

Headlights flash straight onto our faces, stealing our attention right out from under us. Shielding my eyes against the bright beams, I turn sharply. Panic sets in on the inside. I force myself to calm down.

Cars, Bella, just cars.

My body aches and I feel myself sway.

Getting a grip quick, I turn towards the two cars that pull into the cave. A huge smile crosses my face, a brief second of rejoicing, because I haven't seen these two morons in ages. The engines roar loud, getting higher and higher with each rev before they finally cut and the boys jump out, moving out to the entrance where JC and I are. I grin wide enough to split my face in two as I jog over to Brady and Collin, unable to run like I want to.

"Lil' sis!" Collin opens his arms and gives me a round the head hug, jostling my hair with his knuckles, while he talks to Jared behind me about something for tonight.

"Nah, Jake's last run," Jared responds to him.

"He gonna take baby wolf back?" Collin asks, letting go off me.

Jared nods in confirmation instead of answering and Collin eyes him for a bit, stupefied. A look that morphs from 'are you kidding me' to 'I hope you know what you doing'.

"He's gonna fucking kill you when he spots her here."

I don't like the sound of that at all. Moving to Brady, I squeeze him quick and hard. He dips down for fun, catching me in one long arm to hug around my waist, lifting me off the ground for a sec before dropping me back down, sensing my worry over what I just heard Collin say to Jared and the scratches he sees on my face.

"Where you been, shortie?" He asks, running his thumb around the circumference of my face. He picks up my chin, tilting my face to get a better look and winces, "Mutha— hurt bad, kid?"

I brace myself by bending my knees as I touch down. When firmly back on my feet, I walk with them towards the Firebird.

"Around," I answer. I know from the look he's giving me that I'm in for a bit more. "And no, don't feel a thing."

He buys it easy though I'm lying through my teeth.

Brady Fuller and Collin Rivers could be real brothers; they look and behave so similar. Like the rest of the guys they're dark haired, dark eyed and tan. But they're built on their own weight, lean, toned, granite muscle on their tall frames. As compared to the others, they're bloody crazy. Two clowns when they're not in a fight or on business. That's when you see the real Collin and Brady – scary, fast, and skilled fighters with gang tendencies as bad as and befitting the Grey Wolves. They're two of the guys I only get to see away from my dad, Sarah and Billy because they've been caught before, and known for certain as being affiliated to the gang.

Right now, Brady isn't joking. He's not blowing up, but I know he's serious. Maybe renewed his pissed off card at the fact that I'm stuck in Fang territory.

"It's not so bad," I try and explain about the restaurant eventually, though I breathe slowly, dejectedly, through my nose at the look that earns me.

Regardless of the possibility of this turning from bad to worse, they hate the Shadow Fangs too much for them to put aside their pride and do the smart thing by trying to keep all this from my dad. The further away I am from Edward and his gang, the better they'll all feel. It's gang mentality, Edward had made a bold move forcing me to work there knowing who I am to the Wolves, but it's also just that, who I am to the Wolves. As far as they know, the Shadow Fangs are a danger that has to be removed at the earliest opportunity, not just from me, according to pride, they want them gone end of story. And with what happened at the house, I can foresee how it's going to be for the aftermath. They're gonna be on edge unless I'm on this side of the borderline.

"Brady, it's me." My palm moves to my chest emphatically, because fuck me, don't they remember what I'm capable of at all? They're being ludicrous with the amount of things they're overlooking despite knowing me for so many years. "If it were bad, I would've been out of there myself and telling you about it, c'mon," I practically plead, because seriously, what the fuck? They know it's true. If I could tell them, I'd be able to use me walking out when Tanya had told me Edward was using me as proof, I'd done it for them more than me. Of course if it were bad I'd be kicking up a storm!

Brady knows it's true. "Gotta be my kid. Tough little shit." He does a shrug that he does and shakes his head, slinging his one arm around my shoulder, eyeing my scars like a soldier.

I return his smile gratefully, feeling some of the tension dissipate, but when I look up it just slips back. As we approach them, I see that Collin and Jared are done speaking and have been watching the brief conversation between me and Brady. Collin exchanges a look with Brady and upon seeing that, he's let it go. He doesn't voice his obvious displeasure with everything and lets it slide too. But JC is different. His anger from when he first heard about the dare and my first day at work is revived. I'm surprised we don't have a screaming contest like we did at the house that day.

Brady and Collin go about their business but JC hovers, staying aware in the background when they're done. I hear the quiet footsteps of the others as they approach from the bordering forest. Thank you powers above!

"What's all this stuff for?" I ask Jake.

He shoots a sharp look at JC. It's harder than steel and colder than ice. If I didn't know any better, I'd think Jake didn't know I was going to be here at all. But he'd said ok, hadn't he? I mean, he must have if he sent Jared to bring me round right?

He schools his features before looking back to me. His arms are full but his eyes reach out and hold me, a soft look he manages to push past the hardness he's exuding. "We're taking care of some stuff for Smokes just outside Montesano."

Keeping things as normal as possible to offset the marks he sees on me, I go with what I'd feel if it where any other night; disappointment. "No race?"

"Roads are too wet for it today," he replies, tossing a few large bags and some equipment into the trunk of his car.

"Okay, then where we heading?" I ask, watching him skeptically as he puts in the bags. I notice he handles those ones with a lot of care.

Jake doesn't want me there. It's easy to notice, but I can also tell by JC's underlying surety that there must be a schedule that needs to be kept because Jake doesn't say that he's dropping me back at our place. There isn't any time for him to.

"The airstrip just outside Montesano," he says, slamming the trunk closed harder than necessary and leaning against it with arms folded.

Wrinkling my nose, I continue my conversation with Jake flawlessly, trying to keep him focused there. "There's no airstrip outside Montesano."

"There was, it's abandoned now." Jake doesn't sound happy. He isn't even looking at me as he speaks. His sharp focus remains on JC.

Jared seems wise enough to be quiet for the moment, though he's adamant on whatever it is that he's decided by bringing me here.

"C'mon, let's go," Jake says to me. He walks us past Jared, ignoring him as he tries to say something. His piercing look tells him to get into his own car. They've got work to do.

We leave the others' cars hidden in the dark and occupy only Jake and Jared's. Seth and I ride with Jake, leaving Brady, Collin and Quil riding with JC in the Bird as Quil fills them in on last minute changes they've added to the plan.

He lets out a gust of air through his mouth and wraps his two mammoth arms around me. "I should have been there."

"Don't be stupid," I huff, "it was unpredictable. No one could have done anything. I'm fine. Dad's fine. That's all that matters."

He shakes his head, his expression torn between fierceness and affection. "When I find out who's behind— ." He stops short.

"Don't even think it," I soothe, "One, it's not your neck of the woods. You can't go to Forks for that long. And two, the place has nothing but cops patrolling now. Not even I can get there until things die down."

"Billy said you guys were far out."

"The kitchen," I smile at him, knowing he gets that I mean. The foyer and kitchen are on two different ends of the hall. Even though it's not a long hall, at the end of the day, at least we were far enough away to be away from the direct heat when the blast happened.

He shakes his head vehemently, aside from Edward the only one who does it, "Not far enough."

I shake my head, hugging him before he puts her into gear and takes us out the cave.

"Do they know what it was?" The wheels in his head are still turning.

"Not yet, nothing conclusive, but they assume faulty wiring."

It's easy for Jake to buy because he hasn't seen the house. Part of me wishes Tyler hadn't seen the aftermath of the blaze too, because then he wouldn't have let Edward in on what I already presume from Pire's presence. She's an encyclopedia of bombs, an expert in the field, and even though it went off, her presence there confirms there had been an explosive.

"How's things with Charlie?" Jake asks, looking at the road as we take off with burning tires.

"They're going swell, thanks." I fold my arms, because that's a dumb question and he knows it too. "You realize how bad things could get tomorrow right?"

I'm cautious in my approach because I know he's probably worried too, but isn't going to change his mind, especially now.

He tenses, and then puffs out a heavy breath. I feel myself grow infinitely more nervous. Riding shot gun, Seth lights up a cigarette and stares out the window hard, pretending to not hear this conversation. It's like further confirmation that they're agitated about the topic.

"I know," Jake forces himself to relax. It's more for my benefit than anything else, "but Jared's right. Charlie's a good shot to get you out of there."

I freeze, suddenly unnaturally happy I'm riding with Jake. This was Jared's idea.

~.~.~D&D~.~.~

The ride takes us half the time with the way the guys have been driving. It's just over an hour on the road when Jake slows down and pulls out his phone.

"We're here."

I hear Sam's voice respond on the other end, but can't make out what's being said. He snaps his phone shut and switches off the head lights. Behind us, I see Jared take the signal and do the same, until we're surrounded by nothing but shadows on the neglected dirt road.

I tug the hoodie tighter around me. Adrenaline pumps wildly in my body, heightening my senses to offset my ache and sleepiness in order to prepare myself for this new setting.

Sam's already waiting for us by the time we pull up away from the airport. We don't approach it through the front. The cars are hidden in the dense trees on the outskirts. No sign of the Hurricane, so Sam must've driven in with Embry because Sam stands beside it cloaked in coal grey and dark blue with his leather jacket carelessly slung over his shoulders. I look around for Embry, but can't see him. It's just Sam.

Jake hops out. Sam's normal, guarded, definitely in gang mode until he sees me hop out too. His entire stance shifts from concentration to anger in a nanosecond.

"Relax. She's gonna be with us. I got her." JC promises my apparent safety, quickly stepping up to stand by me.

Jake's face grows stoic, and so does Sam's, but neither says anything, holding themselves back for what appears to be a lack of time. Their impatience has partly something to do with Jared's choice of words. I go over what he said, mentally checking for something out of place. The word 'us' resonates in my head. Were Jake and Sam not coming with?

"No, you don't," I retort in irritation. "I want to stay with Jake," I say firmly. There's venom in my voice. It's obvious that wherever Jake and Sam are heading is clearly the more dangerous of the two. But I have no idea what JC is playing at. He convinced Jake to offer himself up tomorrow and he lied to me intentionally about it because he knew if Jake had decided on tomorrow, I wouldn't contest it. Fuck me, the only reason I have some glimmer of hope for Dad and Nell' Ombra is thanks to Shadow and his uncle! Seriously, where the hell was Jared's head at when he decided all this shit?

Jared looks shocked. "Bella—"

"Just leave it alone," I snap.

I don't want to hear it. Fair enough, he didn't know that staying away from Edward constitutes hell for me but Jared does know how badly I love the Blacks. This was huge. He went and made a decision all on his own that could risk the very way my life is. His half cocked idea that could get me away from the Fangs also had a bigger possibility of not only fucking things up between my dad and me, but also risking a falling out between Dad and Jake. What if Dad didn't want me to see Jake anymore? I could lose Sarah and Billy too if that happened. And didn't he think of Jake? That's his friend. I know Jake would put my well being first but didn't Jared think for a fucking second that if the Fangs are implicated, Jake's name could be brought up? How his life would be affected? What would happen if word got back to Sarah and Billy about Jake and the Wolves?

All I do know right now is that I want to be far away from Jared. For his own safety.

"I got her," Seth says, stepping up to me. But in a move that surprises me, Jared steps forward too. Seth head snaps to him. "Back off," he speaks through his teeth, his stance rapidly turning callous as he warns JC.

Jake is watching closely, his face pulled, jaw clenched. He's angry but stops himself from getting in Jared's face. He doesn't step forward himself though he looks like he wants to, letting Seth confront Jared without complaint. I look around like it's a tennis match, not knowing what the hell is going on.

"What's going on?" I ask, noticing that they all just seem to have the same face on.

"Jake's gotta handle some shit with Sam. You can hang with me 'kay?" Seth says, still watching Jared. His tone is hard but not at me.

The look on Jared's face is undecipherable. There are hints and undertones of anger, disbelief and maybe even a trace of hurt as he looks at me.

"I got her," Jared says in return, his face the epitome of seriousness.

"Are you fucking with me?" Jake drops the bag Sam's just given him back into his hands and stalks forward.

Sam looks on, making no move to interject, though he glances over his shoulder. The head Wolf watches it all happen, let's it all happen, which tells me and the others not to interfere too.

"Hours ago, Cameron," Jake roars, his hands ball themselves into tight fists, glaring at JC with acid in his gaze and tongue, "She was inside a house that blew the fuck up just fucking hours ago!"

Jared slams his foot irately into a dead branch, kicking it further than he should be able to. "Why do you think I brought her?!"

Jake scoffs, mirthlessly. "What?" He snarls rhetorically, "Because she's fucking safe here, JC?"

"I won't let anything happen to her!" He explodes, "It's fucking me! For fuck sakes, look at who we're talking about! Bella!"

"Yeah, look at her, Cameron!" Jake gets in JC's face and Seth moves me aside when I try to step towards them, "Her crib blew up with Charlie and her inside! She's fucking hurt! She's fucking exhausted! She should be at home, asleep! And you brought her here where more shit could fucking go down?"

"It's not that bad, she's tough. And fuck, I said I'll take care of her." Jared takes the time to see the bruises visible on me that Jake points out, shaking his head in admittance that he messed up bringing me here, but not having a choice now that we're already on the run. He holds out a hand for me, nodding his head to call me forward. I find the wording of his next sentence strange. "She's safest with me," he says, not backing down.

"Don't fuck around," Seth says, taking offence slightly. His expression is close to pissed, highlighting to Jared without words that I clearly don't want to be around him. "Lil' sis, you okay with me?" He asks, still watching JC. When I nod, he does too. "C'mon."

I don't need to be told twice. I follow him and hear the light footsteps of everyone else too. As I get closer, I get a better read on Jake's face. It's identical to the expression Seth had been wearing seconds ago. He bumps the back of his fist to Seth's and they exchange a nod.

"Away from the entrance," he instructs him.

"Got it," Seth replies.

"What's happening at the entrance?" I ask, watching Sam and Jake check the bags in the trunk carefully before they close them up again and jump into the cars. Jake in his own, Sam in Jared's and the second Embry appears out the trees with a bag slung over his shoulder, he gets into his car and they leave. No headlights and driving just slow enough for the engines not to attract too much unnecessary attention. As soon as they hit the asphalt road at the far side from us, they switch direction and turn on the lights, giving any observer the illusion that they've arrived from a completely different direction from where the rest of us stand.

"Nothing," Seth replies to me when they disappear. He ushers me down the deserted dark path leading towards a building with the rest of the Wolves. "We got to scout some cars."

He boosts me up when we get to the boundary. I climb over the fence and he follows. The light thumps of the others as they hop over mixes with our hurried footsteps as we move towards the side of the building. We keep to the dark, approaching the building cautiously.

"This is an errand. How come you're letting me come?" I whisper to him. We've all spilt up, approaching the building through different cracks inland, literally.

"Letting you come?" He scoffs, "I almost had a fucking coronary— I swear to fucking God, with everything that's going on, I think Jared lost his fucking mind."

I don't think I've ever heard Seth speak that way before, about Jared at least. "What's going on with him?" I ask.

As we get closer, I see the looming brick work that's falling apart.. The roof appears to have caved in years ago. The second we duck inside the small hole in the wall, our nostrils are assaulted with the pungent smell of the rotting structure. The musty smell only gets stronger in the dank hallways, the wood from the fallen doors and beams are waterlogged and decaying.

He shakes his head, speaking equally as quiet as me. "This one's simple. Shouldn't matter too much if you're here. We're just chasing cars."

The word 'chasing' sounds like an impromptu substitute for something else. We're here for something different. After everything I've picked up from Edward, I can feel it in my bones. I don't press on and ask him about it though because now's not the time.

"That didn't answer my question," I say, getting back to our conversation.

"Look, I don't know Bells. Jared's fucked up lately," Seth answers, his face slipping back into his initial annoyance from outside. "Now step where I step, this place is a hole."

My sentiments exactly. "Why are we here?"

"We're fetching some of Smokez' cars," He answers too easily.

I don't buy it. I know better. If they're Smokez' cars, why'd he park them here? More important, why'd he get the gang in to get it for him? He's got drivers.

I follow his steps exactly. It's dark and there's an echo of dripping water around. It's airy and haunted. It feels like there are eyes all around me. I jump when something brushes my leg, but I look down and find nothing. Seth whips around, hand braced on his abdomen where he keeps the gun still hidden from me. He looks around me making sure there's nothing and I shake my head at him, quelling his worries when we see the rats running across the passage and scurrying through a hole in the wall.

He's so serious right now I'm not sure I'm even looking at Seth anymore. I then comprehend for certain that the Wolves are into so much more than they've ever let me see before. I recognize the way Seth held his hand. It wasn't the precautionary way that I'm used to. It was in a way to stop himself from drawing it when he remembered that I was here too. Here in a setting where it's an actual 'errand', he was fighting his instincts to keep things secret from me, to hide the truth behind what they're into. Had I not been here with him, I'd bet my life he'd have used it without blinking if he had to.

"Don't worry, there's no one here," he says, but brings me forward so that I'm safely in his peripheral vision.

"How do you know?" I ask.

"Just guessing. This place doesn't attract much attention." He laughs, taking in the dreadful scenery around us. I can't help but bear his sentiment again. "And Sam's been scouting this place, we're alone for now, don't stress."

I hear metal to metal, something being knocked against a pipe if I'm not mistaken. It's a quick succession of three raps.

"C'mon," Seth says, moving towards the sound.

I see the silhouettes of the others as they begin moving toward it too. How they find their way through this place without torches is beyond me. It's so dark, if it weren't for Seth guiding me, I'd be walking into walls.

We round a corner at the far end of the vacant halls and find Quil throwing sheets off of a car. My eyes adjust to the poor lighting. It looks like a monster, a damn beast, silent, sleek and deadly. Beside it, there are several others that we rush towards. The guys work quickly to free them from the covers. They're gorgeous. Classics if I'm going by the looks of them.

The guys must hear something, because there's a point where all heads shoot up. I turn around, searching the darkness and straining my ears for what they hear but there's nothing that I can decipher for now.

"Fuck," Jared cusses hard under his breath. "They're early."

"We mapped this thing out. We can't get these out to Paul if we go another direction," Seth mutters, as I help him rip the coverings off the car we're at. I grab the edge of Brady's as I go too.

"No choice. Old way is blocked off," Collin says, racing in. "Step this shit up. They're here already."

"How long we got?" Quil asks.

"Bout a minute, max," Collin replies, His answer isn't a good one.

"Change of plans," Seth says quickly, "we're riding without them."

My pulse picks up wildly. The guys start talking fast, very fast, and harsh, with too many cusses. What I decipher through it all is that we've got to get out of here 5 minutes ago and we've got to make a way to leave through the back, the fenced back. Fuck. Me.

Seth looks pissed, his eyes moving sharply towards the cars. He speeds up what he's doing. I squint through the darkness, finally able to make out he's messing with the window, shoving a wire through the door along it. When it's unlocked, he hops in and stretches across the seat, unlocking the door on my side and throwing it open violently.

"If we're fetching cars for him, you'd think Smokez would at least give us the keys!" I gripe, heavy on the sarcasm, jumping in just as fast as he had and shutting my door.

Seth snorts, appreciating my apparent humor.

Twit.

Breaking into the other cars, the guys seem to have a uni-mind. I amend that thought to it being so in sync because it's a routine. This isn't the first time. It's easy for me to tell it's a regular occurrence, because they've got experience with getting out of it when it goes wrong too.

Sparks ignites below the wheel, and he pops his head out from under it when the engine purrs beneath us and revs hard. Pushing my hood over my head, as far as it can go till my face is covered in a shadow, he says, "Keep your hood on and buckle up." Tires already screeching beneath us, he pulls out the huge, heavy metal door Collin and Brady are pushing open.

I twist in my seat as we speed out, keeping my head down as I watch closely behind us to see where the others are. I count them out as the cars appear out the door, sitting back in satisfaction when I see the four cars behind us, signaling everyone who was inside got out fine.

"Bells, sit back!" Seth shoves me hard back into the seat, my body violently colliding with the softness at my back just in time to brace myself as we collide with the chained gate at the back of the airstrip. Bursting straight through, an impromptu exit made for us.

The deafening sound of us bursting through echoes in my head, as we make a break for it. Where the metal makes contact with the body of the car sparks like lightning.

Like a storm, I see the others race out right after us, one after the other, hot on each other's trail, moving so precise.

Behind them in the distance, I could swear I see several other cars shooting around the building, and shots are fired. They fade into specs at the speed we're gaining.

"What the fuck was that?!" I yell.

"The reason why Jared's a fucking idiot!" Seth barks. "Muthafuck," He cusses loud, shoving his hand into the wheel and punching hard.

"Should we call Jake and the others?" I ask, checking behind us again on instinct. My heart speeds when I see that we've all split up.

"No," Seth answers, "they'll meet us when they're done. It'll be soon. We all gotta head back home now."

By 'done' he means after they're done with whatever it is that was in those bags and he says 'we've all got to head home now' because they've got to lay low for a while, unable to finish the other stuff they were supposed to take care of while Sam and Jake where done with their end. But he hides it so well in his words, if I hadn't been spending so much time with Edward I'd have missed it. I feel bile in my throat at my own ignorance all these years. I'vebeen a naïve fucking idiot.

"What about Paul?" I inquire, recalling that he isn't with the others.

"He'll be fine," Seth says, now normal. It's the voice I recognize when they're just saying what I need to hear. Impeccable practiced honesty, "Bells, we're just picking up cars for Smokez, it's nothing big."

Lie.

It's a lie.

Maybe we're not so different after all…

When it comes to protecting each other, keeping the peace that ensures the safety of us and our own people, we're capable of anything… even lying to each other's faces… We've been doing it since the beginning.

Despite the need for it in the messed up reality we live in, it's sad. In the back of my mind I think I've always known, but the confirmation breaks my heart a bit… The bubble's been shattered.

~.~.~D&D~.~.~

Systematically as we ride, the guys fall into line with us, speeding with no lights on. All our hoods thrown on, we're phantoms in ghost cars, untraceable, until we drop the cars in Montesano, in a store that must be Papa Smokez' because though he's not around, Tony is there when we arrive.

It's at the end of a dead end street. A regular convenience store on the outside, probably leased to someone Smokez knows or is affiliated with. But what should be the back room is a vacant space with a partition, a fake wall that Tony slides aside for us to park, glancing quick and slick to the guys on the street keeping an eye for them, before he shuts the place. We ride in and cut the engines alongside each other in meticulous succession and get out to meet him.

"And this?" Tony asks, stepping forward and kicking his metal tipped boot lightly to the obvious dents and scratches on the car.

Seth does a quick scan of it walking round, "We gotta smokescreen this bitch anyway." He squats on the floor and bumps his fist to where the paint work will be needed. Then eyes the dents, "Rest will be taken care off when we work on the body. Won't be a problem." He quotes the job easily.

This answer is good for Tony because, in trust, he pulls out a thick envelope and tosses it to Seth. "Count it."

Seth shakes his head, "Later."

I turn away, knowing that he doesn't want to make this more obvious than it has to be. Tony must know it too, because he drops it easily and looks towards me.

"How you living, Bella?" He greets, then whistles low when he see's my bruises too. "How goes this fuckery?" He asks.

With a grin I turn back to him, I can't help it. Tony scares the shit out of everyone but I got to know him so I think he's cool. No matter when you see him, it's impossible not to have a view of his ink because he's always dressed the same –Wife beater, ripped jeans and biker boots– no different today. On a rare occasion, you actually see him wear the leather jacket he always carries with him. Since the very first day I saw him, I find Tony's ink fascinating. He's covered head to toe in it, his body practically some tattoo artist's canvas. The flimsy wife beater isn't even a problem in this weather. The cold doesn't seem to affect him anymore. It could be due to ice. He says he's off it now, always swears it's true, but he was addicted to meth at some point. I'm sure of it because he was in Forks at the time so Dad's the one who brought him in. He calls Charlie 'father of ours' when he speaks to me, because he was way young back then so Dad tried to get him on the straight and narrow while he did his time in Juvi. It's all in jest. First time he said it I almost peed I laughed so hard, picturing my father's face in a family photograph if he knew Tony was his son, and ink man threw down four more shots in a line because 'I wasn't bad, for a chick he can't marry'. His words not mine. Tony has more girls than we care to remember. He never has the same one – cough or two – at the races I'm ever at.

"Good, Tony," I reply leaning against the car, exhaustion has taken over completely, "you good?"

"Never better." He fidgets, his dilated eyes darting rapidly about the place. He's unnaturally alert before his eyes focus again on the guys. "Two days," he says simply, blocking his nostril with his thumb and snorting like an angry bull in the other.

Details must've been confirmed beforehand because they say no more. Tony shuts the place, securing the fake back and sealing the large metal door with thick chains and two massive padlocks.

We're let out another way. Seth leads me through again, grabbing me off the ladder so we can get out faster and when we emerge through the pipe lines under the bridge, we cross over to the next street, walking casual to any onlookers. I feel someone's hand brush along mine.

"Bells."

I snatch my hand back up to me. "I've got nothing to say to you."

"Why are you so upset?" Jared has the audacity to ask. He sounds genuinely put out, maybe even hurt.

That makes me stop, I don't want him hurt, but I also can't believe any of this either. For the years of our kinship I wait, finally pivoting to face him. I try to give him the benefit of the doubt. Taking a huge gulp of air, I ask him the one question he denied. "Did you tell Jake it'd be a good idea for Dad to come to Nell' Ombra?"

It's a simple question, with a simple answer. An answer that I can see on his face, in the way his body tenses, and how he says nothing.

"Yeah," I throw my hands up, "That's what I thought."

"It's for the best, baby—Bell." He grabs my hand as I try to walk away again.

"For who, Jared?!" I explode, darting a quick glance to the street corner where the others hang around waiting for Jake and the others to drive up. JC and I are still some ways from them.

"My dad," I hiss, emphasizing what's happening, knowing that I can only mention what affects us both, me and Jared, "My dad could find out who the rest of the Grey Wolves are. He could find out Jake is there! Billy and my dad are best friends since forever! Jake's my best friend! God, JC, he's one of your best friends! You convinced him to do it anyway when it could ruin his whole life as he knows it for no bloody reason!"

"No reason?!" Jared blows right back up at me, "Fucking Hell! For you, Bella!"

"That's bullshit and you know it!" I call him on it and he doesn't bother contesting it because he knows it's true too. I shove at his chest, so angry that I want him to feel it too. He doesn't move much but I keep going. "What do you think's going to happen when Sarah finds out about Jake and the Wolves? She's sick!" My voice breaks, I scream so loud. "And, Billy, he'll be so angry! I don't even want to know what he'll do. He could kick him out. This time tomorrow, you could've ruined everything for him!"

"Jake is in this! He chose this life! People fucking finding out is a risk we all run!" He tugs at my hands, holding them in his to stop my pounding.

"If they found out on their own or through Jake then that was fine!" I roar, calling him on his bullshit. Again he doesn't bother trying to deny the truth of my words, he just lets me go on and it does nothing but aggravate me further because he looks so aloof. " This was unnecessary." I glower at him, trying to get my hands back, but he doesn't let me. "It wasn't for you to decide!" I tug harder to no avail. He won't let go. He starts adding strain to stop me.

Beneath my sleeve, I feel the bandage tied around my wrist tearing at my wound from the fall. It hurts more than usual, and not in the calming way, this hurts like hell because of the pressure being applied to it from his iron hold.

"You knew Jake would do it if he knew it'll keep me safe!" I keep going, my pitch is piercing in the cold night, "And safe, Jared?" I add for the hell of it, "Safe from what there?! I'm there!" I sound loud and pleading now. I need someone to hear the words, comprehend them, "For fuck sakes, I'm not crazy! If I thought I was in danger in Nell' Ombra I would've left long ago but nothing's happened. No one attacks me. No one even bothers me! This is about you!" He doesn't deny it. If anything his expression confirms it. "It's pissing you off and you're willing to ruin Jake to stop it! You know Jake loves me more than anyone and you played it to fix your pride!"

Jared finally reacts. To the part that should least interest him out of everything that's been said.

"Not more than anyone!" He roars.

I feel my heart stop, despite my anger, when I see the hurt on his furious face. Pain hits me hard and fierce. Oh, God, tell me I'm wrong… please tell me I'm wrong…

He shoves hard at me, releasing my hands like he can't believe what I just said. I stumble back from the force and collide too hard with the wall. Wind knocked out of me, my back aching, my head bumps against it and flies forward. I gape at him in his outrage. Still he doesn't deny my allegations. From my peripheral vision, I see someone break into a sprint towards us, his actions followed quick by others.

"Not more than me! Fuck, Bella, it's been me all your life," he shouts, not catching himself and steaming on like a runaway train, "Jake's your brother. Even he's willing to do this if you're out of there. I have one shot at this. I don't give a fuck. I'm taking it. Charlie's gonna see that hole and he's going to figure something out. He knows that place."

Seth appears at my side like a typhoon, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, getting me off the wall. Standing at his full height, his eyes move like steel towards JC, but he's stormed off, his words echo after him.

I stare after him, at a complete loss for words. JC doesn't see me like the others do…

I think back to every single instance, the Den, hanging out, barbecues, all the times the guys and girls referred to each other as siblings through stupid meaningless nicknames, meaningless fooling around to us, but the further I dig the more I grasp that Jared always hung in the background. He's never said it to me, only Lee and Rach. I had no idea. My relationship with them has always been so innocent. They're the ones who called me and treated me as the kid sister first. So when one passively rejected it every time it was said, I hadn't noticed.

He's hurt. I feel like a complete bitch even though I've never lead him on. Tears spill out the corners of my eyes and Seth asks me what's wrong, caught between worry as he checks where I hit the wall and anger wanting to go after JC. I bite my lip and shake my head, walking down the street with heavy feet to wait for Jake to come. I never meant to hurt him.

My wrist burns painfully under my hoodie where Jared ripped it open again. I try to move it and can't. It burns and throbs, swelling up.

As I wait, my other hand deftly seeks out my phone. In this night of fuckery, I have one thing that stills my body like euphoric venom spreading under my skin into every single cell in my body. One pure truth. Beyond blood and reason. I sniff into my shoulder and type swiftly what I should have known all along. The first words I text him from the phone he gave me.

~I love you. -B~

His response is immediate. Even written words that cannot be heard are filled with his velvet devoted undertones; surety and honesty. Something he only ever offers me. It's precise... It's naturally dark even when it's gentle... even when it's happy... It's just him...

~Say it. -E~

~.~.~Back on track, hope you enjoyed it. Share your thoughts, love or hate. Much Love your Kat;)~.~.~

Prompt Status CH13: Full chapter posted here.

Authors Note - Though I tried to keep things as real as possible, I also manipulated stuff to suit the direction the plot needs to go. 14's teaser will be on my blog next weekend. I'll let you know on my Twitter when it is, at KatieA_Tyler. With it the other character pictures will be added. Also take look at the beautiful trailer my girl SapphireEyed-ValkyriePixie made for Crossfire's Of Heaven And Hell. All addresses are available on my profile. D&D is my priority fic, so I spend the most time on it and fit in the others. In Love And War will be updated as soon as I can.

Love and God bless, till next time,

Kat;)