Disclaimer: I do not own most of these characters, they are the creative genius of Steph Meyers!

A/N: Thanks again to all my lovely and loyal reviewers. I really do love hearing from you. And I'd like to welcome my newest reader ObsidianVamp (great name btw). You read both stories and commented on almost every single chapters in a day! Impressive and thanks :-P

Chapter 30 The Assignment

We'd been in the car for over an hour. The sight of the villa looming in front of us was a welcomed relief. Normally silence between all of was comfortable, but today it was strained and I couldn't wait to escape the awkwardness that had dogged us for the last hour. Christian unwound his arm from around my shoulders and helped me out of the black Lincoln that Marcus had provided for us. He seemed rather upset about me leaving for any reason, but when I'd told him about the assignment, he'd been even more so. His eyes were full of pity and concern. He'd even offered to deal with Aro and convince him to use someone else, but clearly, I'd declined. One: I really wanted out of the castle and away from the watchful eyes of all those guards. Two: I did not want to be anywhere in the vicinity of Seline when she was released. I wasn't scared of her. But, I was concerned that I'd have to kill her if she assaulted me again. Not if, but when. There was no question in my mind that I would have to fight her eventually.

So, here we were. Directly across the road was the home of the family in question. I'd already decided that we would observe them for a few days. I needed a feel for the situation. I was fairly certain of my course of action, but I still needed to see with my own eyes what the relationship was between this teenager and this vampire.

Christian took my arm and guided me into the villa while Santiago and Felix emptied the trunk and headed to their own villa. Perhaps I'd even be able to contact Edward since Christian and I had the place to ourselves.

I took in my surroundings. Every inch of floor was a rich dark hardwood with deep blue furnishings and drapes. All the artwork decorating the walls had hints of that vibrant blue as well as the candles sporadically positioned throughout the room.

"So what do you want to do first?" Christian asked me as he turned on the TV and sprawled out on the couch.
"I'm going to call Edward."

He grunted never taking his eyes from the screen. He'd become such a TV junkie since we'd been in Volterra. Pretty much every night was devoted to this new hobby. I'd never been a huge fan, but I had to admit, that cuddling with him during those silly old movies that were only on late at night, was not a bad way to spend a night.

I went to the bedroom and held the phone in my trembling hands. It took me two tries to dial Edward's cell phone and with each ring of the phone my anxiety level sky rocketed. Guilt was gnawing away at me. I'd done some things with Christian that I was embarrassed about and I knew that Edward was going to hate. But worse than Christian seeing me mostly naked, was how very much I liked him, and that despite my best efforts, I was attracted to him.

The fifth ring was interrupted by his velvety voice. "Bella," he breathed through the phone. I could almost feel his breath against my cheek. I gripped the phone tighter and collapsed onto the bed.

"Edward," I croaked, not believing that I was actually talking to him. I could see him clearly in my mind. His gorgeous, disheveled bronze hair, the perfect angles of his exquisite face, those honey eyes full of love, and his perfect blend of musk and spice that was so uniquely him.

"What's wrong?" I didn't need to see him to know his brows were furrowed and that his eyes were full of concern and worry.

"Nothing, I…" I broke off trying to figure out what to say. If I told him I was out of Volterra he might ruin everything by coming here. And I certainly did not want to admit why I was no longer in Volterra. "I had a vision of you, Alice, Rose, Emmett, and Jasper in an old dilapidated house and it didn't look like you were in Romania anymore."

"We are leaving in a few days," Edward explained as he updated me on the newest development between Virat and Demetri. They were trying to keep Virat from discovering the Romanian army, so they decided to relocate to Verona.

"Edward," I interrupted. "I don't think that Aro broke treaty with us."

The silence on the other end continued until I repeated my opinion. "What makes you say that?" He asked me in a voice utterly devoid of all emotion.

I told him everything that Aro had said yesterday and explained how unprepared they'd been for me. "Virat has his own agenda, Edward. The Volturi are not our enemies." I kept thinking about Renata. I so did not want to have to kill her. Christian was right, I'd let myself get too close, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I'd befriended them and I was certain that they meant us no harm. It was imperative that I make Edward understand this. Understand that I could not fight them.

"It's a little late in the game for this," he choked out. "The Romanians are never going to just back down. Nothing short of the Volturi's demise will satisfy them, Bella."

Christian strode into the room and shot me a questioningly glance as he crawled onto the bed with me and rested his thick golden hair against my thigh.

"We can't attack them if they didn't do anything wrong," I whined.

"I'll discuss it with everyone here and get back to you," he bit out. I could feel the heat of his anger, but I had no idea what had stroked the fire.

"It's not as if you can just call me whenever you want, Edward." I paused as I tried to figure out a way to continue communicating without revealing my current location. "Talk to them and I'll call you back around two in the morning."

"What aren't you telling me, Bella?"

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about." Wanting to distract him from that line of questioning, I asked, "Why are you so angry?"

"Because you were sent to spy on them not become friends with them. I can hear it in your voice. You talk about the Volturi the same way you talk about Demetri," he snapped at me.

"I have been your good little spy," I sneered finally getting angry enough to cause the guilt that I'd been carrying around to dissipate. "I'm reporting back to you just like I'm supposed to. It's not my fault if you don't like what I have to say."

"Tell me something, Bella. Where's Christian right now?" His voice had gone gravelly and low, the menace was almost tangible.

I was startled by the change in the conversation and his tone. I knew that I should have just lied, but I blurted it out all the same. "He's right here beside me. Why? Do you need to talk to him? What, do you want all the gory details, but can't stand hearing them from my mouth?"
Christian had raised his head, his eyes wide as he listened to my side of the conversation.

"Are there a lot of gory details, Bella?" He asked quietly.

"No. I'm just playing the part that you and Carlisle demanded of me, Edward," I sighed as I rested my body against Christian's, his arms encasing me and rubbing up and down my arms comfortingly.

"And how convincing have you had to be?" He whispered.

"We spend most of our days apart. I'm often with Aro and Marcus, so not that convincing."

"And what about your nights?"

"If you have something to ask, Edward, then do so." I demanded.

"Did you have sex with Christian?" His voice was bland, almost no emotion, but there was enough to know that he was hurt, scared, and angry.

"No."

Another long silence as he took in my clipped voice. "I'll talk to everyone, Bella. I'll relay your information and thoughts on Aro's lack of involvement in Virat's schemes."

"Good."

"Bella?" He questioned carefully as though he was doing something very dangerous like walking across fire. "I'm sorry I put you in this position. I've been thinking that once this is all over that we'll go out on our own."

I let his words swirl around my head for a moment. "When you say 'we' do you mean me and you?"

"Yes."

"As in - not going back to Forks or New Hampshire? You are suggesting that we leave the family." I made it a question, though I thought I already knew the answer. Sometimes I just did not understand the workings of his mind.

"Yes, is that a problem?" He sounded so uncertain and wounded. It almost made me want to say the hell with this stupid plan and rush off to Verona and let him whisk me off to wherever he wanted to take me. Almost. But the thought of leaving Alice was almost more than I could bear. Not to mention the rest of them.

"I'll call you later tonight. I love you," I whispered then hung up the phone without answering his question or waiting for his goodbyes. I clutched the phone against my chest and would have been drowning in tears if I could cry. Christian pried the phone from my hand and kissed the top of my head.

"You two will work everything out, love. Once this fiasco is finished and you don't have so many distractions, everything will be as it was meant to be." He trailed kisses all over my hair as he held me tight.

"He wants us to leave the Cullens, Christian," I complained.

"Then tell him that you do not wish to leave. He will not make you do anything that you do not want to do." His luscious breath caressed my face before his hot lips skimmed over my jaw. My body tightened with need with each light kiss.

"Would you make me do anything that I didn't want to do?" I asked in a low sensuous voice.

He turned me around and drew my face upwards with one finger as he peered intently into my eyes. "I would never make you do anything that you did not wish to do, love." His lips hovered over mine before he pulled back. "But I also will not do what you are suggesting right now either. You are upset with Edward and you are not thinking straight. If I were to allow anything to happen between us you would accuse me of taking advantage of you."

I sighed and let my head drop against his hard chest. He was right, but for one second I thought about just doing it anyways. Would he refuse me once I started kissing him?

"Let us go for a walk and get a feel for the place. I caught the vampire's scent when we arrived. Let's see where it leads," he whispered gently.

We strolled hand in hand down the empty road making meaningless small talk and tracking the vampire. We ended up about a mile into the forest where a serene pond glistened at us as the sun's rays reached through the thick canopy of trees. The girl that we'd been sent to acquire was swimming in that murky water, her clothes in a small heap on a rock. Her red hair shimmered like fire on the water as she swam from one end of the pond to the other, her pale, luminescent arms very visible against the darkness of the water.

I leaned toward Christian so I could whisper against his ear. "If we shield will the vampire be able to detect our presence?"

"Yes. There's no way to hide our trail. We've been all over these woods. There's no point in hiding."

As the last of the sun's rays where chased away by the darkness the vampire in question appeared on the rock beside her pile of clothes. He'd come from the other side of the woods and hadn't yet crossed our scent trail.

He looked as young as the girl, but he reminded me of Carlisle and Christian age wise. I was betting he was a few hundred years old and forever stuck in the body of a sixteen year old. He wasn't very tall, no more than five foot eight and had a little dark stubble along his jaw; the beginnings of a beard that never had a chance to grow. He wore dark jeans, cowboy boots, and a brown suede cowboy hat low over his red eyes which were focused entirely on the girl.

She gave an audible gasp as she realized he was watching her then a huge grin broke across her freckled face and she swam to the shore. When she climbed out she was completely naked and not at all embarrassed as she made her way to him. The heat in his eyes was alarming as his eyes scorched over her body possessively. He jumped down from the rock and took her into his arms twirling her around before capturing her mouth in a fervent kiss.

I wanted to turn around and leave, but knew that if I moved he'd be alerted to our presence. Still, I had no desire to watch what was almost certain to happen. Choices, choices. Christian just stared at me while I tried to decide the best course of action. I let Jasper's power flare out so I could taste their true feelings for one another. Clearly, there was more between these two than him just feeding off of her. I could tell that much just by spying on them, but I wanted to be certain. Love as pure as any I'd ever felt crashed over me. Only young love had such a wild abandon and burned with such intensity. I knew the taste and feel of this, because I'd lived it. Edward and I must have driven poor Jasper mad with such powerful emotions. Too bad we couldn't seem to hold on to that raw love. I felt it slipping out of my hands like water.

I couldn't destroy him for falling in love with her, could I? He set her on her feet and glared at us from over her head. We stayed utterly motionless while he hid her from our view so that she could get dressed. He whispered for her to go home and that he'd meet her there. She didn't want to leave, but eventually made her way through the dark woods. Once she was out of sight a low rumbling growl floated on the wind as he leaped half the distance between us and landed in a crouch.

I held my hands out in the universal 'we come in peace' motion. "I am Bella and this is Christian. We must talk," I said as calmly as possible.

"Why are you here?" He snarled and in one quick movement he appeared less than a foot from me looking fierce.

There was just no good way to say this. If I mentioned the Volturi he might attack, but if I tried to make him see reason where the girl was concerned he might not take me seriously. And there was still the fact that I was supposed to change the entire family. Something told me he wasn't going to just let me do that. I was suddenly wishing that Felix and Santiago had accompanied us on our twilight stroll, but we hadn't been planning on actually confronting the vampire tonight. "I'm here to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"That you have come to the attention of people who it would have been in your best interest to avoid."

He cocked his head to one side. He may have died at a young age, but the intelligence that burned in his eyes was not that of a child, but of a being that'd walked the earth for many centuries. "The Volturi?" He finally asked, his voice still holding the edge of a growl.

I nodded sharply.

"You have done your part then. I have been warned, now be on your way, señora."

"I'm afraid it's a little more complex than that," I stated regretfully.

Neither his body nor his emotions belied his intentions. He suddenly struck out. Christian pushed me out of the way and took the brunt of the force. I sent calm and lethargic feelings toward him, giving Christian the time he needed to get back on his feet. With speed like no other, Christian was on top of him. Snarls erupted and echoed through the forest. The sounds of vampire flesh being torn and thudding against the soft forest floor forced me to intercede. I lashed out at the vampire connecting with his aura and pushing it back into him. His screech was cut off as I damn near decapitated him. "Stay down," I ordered. "I do not wish to destroy you, but if you persist in attacking us I will do so." To make my point I flicked my hand at him twice and two deep gashes formed on his stubbly cheeks. He flipped over backwards like some Olympic gymnasts, his head lying at an odd angle as the flesh had not healed enough to support its weight.

Christian whirled around gracefully, but the vampire was a beat faster and his fingers tore into Christian's neck leaving it a ragged mess. He collapsed to his knees. I attacked with the full force of my power as the vampire leaped at Christian, his mouth open wide, his white teeth gleaming in the moonlight. The force of my power ripping through him caused him to land in several pieces at Christian's knees.

I ran to him and let my healing energy pour into him. Through the burning heat Christian's throat re-knitted to that smooth marble that it had been but moments ago. I knelt beside the fallen vampire and tried to locate all the pieces.

"What are you doing, Bella?" Christian asked.

"Trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together. Help me find all the pieces."

"Bella," Christian chided. "You cannot possibly heal this damage, it is far too great."

"I healed Marcus when he was split in two, what difference are a few more pieces going to make?" I shouted at him as my stomach lurched. He didn't deserve this. All he'd done was fall in love. And feed off of a minor, I reminded myself. It was, after all, my job to destroy him. How much trouble would I get into if I failed? What would my punishment be? If Aro could torture his own lover for more than two weeks, what might he do to me? I was nothing to him personally. But, I could not kill this being. Edward would be so disappointed in me if I'd sunk to such a level.

"God dammit, Christian. Help me!" I screamed again. I was melding several sections together when Christian dropped three more beside me. He knelt behind me with a hand on the middle of my back watching in complete fascination as I used all of my power, all of my strength to fill this body with life again. When the last wound was healed I collapsed against the soft dirt not seeing anything, not hearing, not thinking.

A/N: Okies, I'd love your opinion on what Bella should do to the vamp and the family. I have no set course of action for this bit. It's just writing itself at the moment. Thanks!

Sabrina