Synopsis:
After a forced marriage filled with violence, Bella escapes from Edward with their unborn child. Almost four years later, Edward has found her and their daughter and he refuses to let them go.
"Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
- Genesis, Chapter 4. Verse 9
Chapter 30
My Brother's Keeper
Jacob was running scared, and Edward couldn't imagine why. He'd gone to extreme levels to get Edward's attention, and now that Edward was ready to listen, Jacob had cold feet. Edward sent word out to Jacob's associates and friends that he was looking for him. None of them had heard from Jacob in a while, and they no longer seemed interested in what he had been up to. Jacob was horrible at making friends but excellent at making enemies.
"Where the hell can he be?" Edward yelled. Dean, who was the unfortunate recipient of Edward's built up anger, just sat silently. "He has to be somewhere in the area. How many places are there to hide in this small town?"
Edward paced up and down his living room. He was too agitated to sit still. It had been two days since he'd last seen Bella or even Alexis. Bella only allowed him to speak to Alexis on the phone. He knew she was still angry and scared about what had happened to Alexis. He was too, but it was as though he was being punished for what Jacob had done. He missed his daughter terribly and desperately wanted to see her.
"Maybe he's waiting for something," Dean suggested.
Edward turned on him with a hard stare. "Waiting for what? Me to chop down the entire forest to find out where he's hiding? What about that friend of his? Jared?"
"Jared refuses to say anything until you've met his request."
Edward's eyes blazed. He didn't have the time or patience to give in to Jared's petulant demands. "I don't care what you have to do. Find Jacob."
After Dean had left, Edward collapsed onto his couch with his head buried in his hands. He hadn't meant to be so harsh. He was just stressed and on the edge. Everything seemed to be falling apart just when it was falling into place. Aggravated with himself and the state of things, Edward went to bed early.
Just after midnight, the buzzing of his phone woke him with a jolt. Dean's name appeared on the screen. Edward answered it, ready to let out some more of his anger, when Dean spoke suddenly and quickly. "Dan and Hunter found Jacob." It sounded like he, himself, was bracing for Edward's wrath.
"Where?"
"He's staying at a house about two miles out of town. The house isn't in his name and is off the main road so it wasn't easy to find."
Edward didn't care about the technicalities of where Jacob was. He was just glad that he'd been found. Throwing on some clothes, Edward went out to his car.
"Where are you?" he asked. Dean gave him the directions.
"Tell Dan and Hunter not to approach Jacob. I want to do that myself." After ending the call, Edward stepped a little too hard on the gas as he peeled away from his house.
Twenty minutes later, he stopped at the side of the road where Dean, Hunter and Dan, the rest of Edward's security, were waiting.
"The house is just through there." Dean pointed to something deep within the trees. It was too far for Edward to make out. All he could see was something yellow seemingly floating in the air. "We thought we could—," Dean began, but Edward was already heading towards the yellow spot. "Sir, shouldn't we discuss a tactic or something?" Dean jogged to keep up with Edward.
"Screw tactic. That asshole kidnapped my daughter. The only tactic I care about is his head on a silver platter."
As he got closer to the house, Edward saw that that yellow spot was a light coming from inside. He stood for a moment surveying the house. It was small, and he understood why Jacob had been so hard to find. There was no path from the road to the house, and unless you knew it was there, it was possible to pass the house straight.
"There are only two exits. One in the front and one in the back," Dean explained.
"You two go around back." Edward nodded his head to Dan and Hunter. They nodded back and, staying close to the trees so they wouldn't be seen, they went around the house.
Edward waited a few minutes before he and Dean crept up the steps to Jacob's house. Edward could hear what sounded like the television coming from inside. He felt his blood boil. While his life was in shambles, the bane of his existence was enjoying some television. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dean pull out his gun. Just like most of the doors in Forks, the front door wasn't made of any sturdy material. It would be easy to break down.
"Knock it down," he whispered to Dean.
Edward took a few steps back as Dean rammed the front door with his shoulder. It sprang open on the first try, and as it swung open, Edward saw Jacob's surprised face only for a moment before Jacob began running away from them. As Edward crossed over the threshold, he heard Jacob yell out and the sound of a scuffle. Walking towards the sound, he found Jacob near the back door with Dean and Hunter holding him down.
"Get off of me," Jacob yelled.
"Get off of him," Edward told Dean and Hunter. They hesitated only for a moment before releasing Jacob.
As Jacob stood, Edward reached out and punched him in the face. When Jacob fell forward, Edward tackled him to the ground and hit him several more times. Jacob's face was already bloody when Edward gave him a final punch.
Stepping away from him, Edward asked, "Why are you here?" His voice was lethal, but all Jacob did was laugh and spit blood at Edward's feet as he attempted to stand up to his older brother.
"And you wonder why I was avoiding you," Jacob said. He grinned at Edward, revealing several bloody teeth. He spat at Edward's feet again, but Edward didn't flinch.
"You've been trying to get into contact with me, now you have my attention. What do you want?" Edward refused to break eye contact with Jacob.
"I needed help, so I thought my loving brother would help me," Jacob replied, unaffected by the anger in Edward's voice.
"Help with what?" Edward's fists curled into balls.
"I need a loan, if you will."
"Stop talking in fucking cryptic. Just say what you have to say," Edward yelled.
"So much for having a handle on that temper of yours. I can't believe Bella still lets you around my niece." Jacob made a disapproving sound. Then seeing the rage on Edward's face, he quickly continued on to his problem. "After you took dad's business from me, I got into a bit of trouble. I needed money to settle some debts, and seeing as you wouldn't answer any of my calls, I went to them. Unfortunately, one of my better deals went bad and now they're blaming me and demanding I pay the money back. Problem is, I have nothing left. All I ask, my humble brother, is that I borrow some money from you to pay them and my collectors back. Do that, and I will be out of your hair," Jacob said, plain and simple. He spoke as though he'd just discussed plans for the weekend.
"I'm not giving you a dime," Edward said. "I'd rather just hand you over to them, and then sit back and watch as they rip you apart."
Jacob's eyes narrowed at Edward. "I don't want your money. I just want my inheritance from dad's estate."
"There is no estate. He left you nothing, and besides, I already liquidated the assets. There is nothing left." Jacob's smug smile vanished at Edward's words, and he gave Edward a disgusted look.
"I'm not going to bail you out of anything. You made your grave, now you'll lie in it," Edward added.
Jacob's eyes were cold as he watched Edward. "You forget, brother, unlike dad, you do have a weakness for your wife and child, and I don't care if I have to hunt Bella and Alexis down to get what I want. I will do it."
Edward was on him like a flash. Hunter had to pull Edward off of Jacob.
"Sir, it won't help if you beat him to death," Dean reminded Edward.
Jacob was lying flat on the floor when he started to laugh. Sitting up on his elbows, he looked at Edward. Then he smiled an evil smile.
"This might be a good time to let you know that I named you as being a reason why the deal went sour. The Tarasovs are after you as well," Jacob added.
Edward saw red. He was on Jacob again. Jacob attempted to fight him off, but he was no match for Edward's fury. Jacob was a bloody mess when Hunter and Dan managed to pull Edward off. The smug smile was finally gone from Jacob's face. Doing that didn't bring any reprieve for Edward. He was still haunted by Jacob's words. Dean pulled out tie straps and tied them around Jacob's wrists, binding them together.
"What do you want us to do with him?" Dan asked as he pulled Jacob onto his feet.
"I don't care if you have to bury him. Just make sure he doesn't slip away."
Leaving them to deal with Jacob, Edward went back to his car. He didn't wait to see what they would do with Jacob. He just started his car and left the scene.
At such a late time, Forks was quiet and dead. Edward had to use continuous self-restrain to stop himself from flooring the gas pedal. The anger building in him, the empty streets, and the desperate need to reach where he was going quickly all tempted him to drive faster.
When he pulled onto an all too familiar street, he took a deep breath and slowly let it out. It enabled him to let his anger slowly out as well. Bella's house was quiet. The occupants inside hadn't the slightest idea the danger they were in. He suspected though that one of the occupants knew. Bella always knew.
Edward didn't stop his car, he just made a turn and kept driving. He knew Bella and Alexis were safe. Ethan and Michael had been assigned to keep an eye on them for him. Edward felt that they were secure enough that he did not head home right away. He didn't pay much attention to where he was driving, so he was surprised when he pulled up on First Beach in La Push. The night was eerily quiet when Edward shut off his car. There wasn't another person in sight, for which he was glad. He needed time to think.
Leaving his car behind, Edward went down to the beach. Walking along the shore for a few minutes, he used the fresh air to clear his mind while he braced himself against the bitter cold. The chills bit into him to the point where it was painful, and for that he was glad. He wanted to feel the pain. It was a welcomed distraction to what was going on inside of him.
There was a piece of driftwood lying on the shore, and when he came up to it, Edward sat down on it for a moment. Looking out at the calm water, he remembered when he had come here with Bella and Alexis. It felt like eons ago when he'd first arrived in Forks and had met Alexis. He remembered how timid at first she was to meet him, and how flat out terrified Edward was to meet her. But it didn't take long for Alexis to warm up to him. She always knew how to cheer him up when he was having a particularly bad day. That was the type of person she was. She was exhausting and amazing wrapped into one. All of this was just part of the reason why Edward felt a large lump growing in his throat whenever he thought of the danger he was putting her in.
Resting his elbows on his knees, Edward covered his face with his hands. He hadn't the slightest idea what to do about Jacob. He'd been bluffing when he'd told Jacob that he'd liquidated Carlisle's assets. The truth was that he'd left the estate to deteriorate on its own. Giving it to Jacob might not be a bad thing. He was sure Jenks could find a way to go around Carlisle's will and have it transferred to Jacob. He would have to call Jenks to find out. The problem was with the type of business Carlisle ran, it was a crime against humanity to let it continue. Even if Edward wasn't directly involved, him passing the business onto Jacob, so Jacob could continue Carlisle's sadistic work, made him just as guilty as someone who did the actual crime.
When his hands started to grow numb, Edward walked back to his car. Before heading home, he passed one last time by Bella's house. It was still silent. Nothing was out of the ordinary so he headed home, figuring he could put off his problems for just a few hours while he got some sleep.
The next day, Edward still didn't have a clear path. He'd spoken to Jenks who said he would call him back as soon as he found a way around Carlisle's will. Hunter and Dean were keeping an eye on Jacob at some hotel in Seattle. They hadn't the slightest idea what else to do with him. Edward, meanwhile, was parked outside Bella's house. He knew she was trying to keep him away from Alexis out of fear of Alexis being hurt, but Edward couldn't stand it anymore. He missed his daughter and wanted to see her. He believed it wasn't fair that he was the one being punished for what Jacob had done. He'd accepted Bella's decisions before, believing he owed her so much for what he'd put her through, but he couldn't stay away any longer. Alexis was his daughter too, and he had a right to see her.
After walking the few steps up to the house, Edward knocked on the front door. He didn't know if she had seen him parked outside. Either way, he braced himself for her anger. He heard movement from inside, and a few seconds later the door opened. Bella's eyes narrowed as soon as she saw him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked. Not even bothering to hide her disdain.
"Well hello to you too," he replied, trying to lighten the mood. Clearly it didn't work. "I came to see Alexis."
"And I said no," she answered angrily. "Don't you think you've done enough damage?"
"I had nothing to do with what Jacob did. I've never hurt Alexis, so why am I being kept away?"
Bella stepped outside and closed the door softly behind her. "Even if you weren't the one who took her, you're still the reason she was taken in the first place."
Before Edward could answer, the front door opened and Alexis stood in the doorway. She smiled as soon as she saw him.
"Daddy," she said, running towards him.
Ignoring Bella's angry expression, Edward picked Alexis up. "Hey. How are you?"
"Good. You didn't come over yesterday." Her voice was sad.
"I know. I've been really busy, but I'm here now."
Alexis looked at him as though that wasn't good enough. "I missed you."
"I'm sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?" He hated seeing her so upset.
Alexis smiled. He'd walked straight into that one.
After turning her body so he'd put her down, Alexis grabbed one of his hands and pulled him into the house.
"Don't you have somewhere to be now?" Bella asked. Her anger was only slightly masked within her question.
"Not today," Edward responded before Alexis pulled him into her room.
They both knew that Bella wouldn't make him leave so long as Alexis wanted him there. She often told him that Alexis had him wrapped around her fingers. She was no different.
For the rest of the day, Alexis had Edward read to her every book she owned twice and play every game she could invent. The games were tedious and all seemed to revolve around Alexis either winning or playing the main part, but Edward didn't mind. Bella had left them to their own devices. Edward knew she was not pleased that he was there. It took every ounce of his strength for him not to bow to her wishes. Alexis wasn't the only one who had him wrapped around their fingers.
When night came, Alexis wanted to go out to the local diner for dinner.
"Please, please, Daddy," she begged. "Please can we go?"
"I don't know," Edward said, uncertainty in his voice. He'd pushed his luck by coming here. He was almost sure that Bella would not be pleased about him taking Alexis out. "Why don't you go ask your mother?" It was better than him breaking the news to her.
Edward followed Alexis out into the kitchen.
"Mommy, can we go to the diner?" Alexis asked.
"Sure," Bella replied.
"Really?" Edward asked. He was surprised at how easy she agreed.
"Oh wait," Bella said, finally catching on. "When you say we?"
"You, me and Daddy," Alexis explained.
Edward could see that Bella had not realised who was involved when she'd agreed to Alexis's request.
"Actually, Alexis, I have some work to do," Edward said, wanting to relieve Bella from having to disappoint their daughter. He knew Bella didn't want to go anywhere with him, and he didn't want to force her.
"No, you can't go. You have to go to dinner with us," Alexis said, as she gripped on tightly to Edward's hand. Edward could see tears forming in Alexis's eyes, and it very nearly broke him.
Bella saw them too. "If you can manage one night off, I don't mind the three of us going," she said. Edward could hear the reluctance in her voice. She was only doing it to appease Alexis.
"Please, Daddy," Alexis begged.
"Okay," Edward agreed.
They took separate cars to get to the diner, but Edward didn't mind. Once they were there, neither Bella nor Edward spoke to each other. Alexis was more than happy to fill the silence with her endless recap of the events from the last few days.
"And then Mommy and I went to the ice rink with Sebastian and Drayven," Alexis said.
Edward felt his heart stop at that. He didn't want to believe that Bella had gone back to Sebastian already. They'd only been having problems for a few days. He couldn't believe she'd moved on already.
"We met them there," Bella corrected Alexis.
"Oh, right. Drayven was already on the ice. He and I fell down a lot."
Edward nodded at Alexis to show he was listening to her, but he directed his question to Bella.
"Are you still close to Sebastian?" he asked.
"Relatively. It's sort of hard to fall out of touch with someone in this small town." Bella's voice was like ice— cold and unfeeling. It was such a drastic change from what it had been this time last week.
"Do you see him often?" Edward asked, knowingly perfectly well that he needed to tread lightly.
"Often enough," Bella answered. "How is Esme?"
"I don't know. I haven't spoken to her since that day, and I haven't seen her in a while. I don't even know if she's still in Forks."
Bella scoffed. "We both know she's still here, and she isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Her obsession is here."
Edward wanted, so badly, to deny it, but they both knew it was true. Esme didn't have much else to hold on to. The rest of her family had abandoned her. She had nothing to lose and much to gain.
Edward's buzzing phone halted their tense conversation. Looking at the screen, he saw Hunter's name flash across the screen.
"Excuse me," he said standing up.
"You're coming back right?" Alexis asked. Bella looked at Alexis with worry etched on her face.
"Yes, I'll just be right outside."
Walking quickly out the door, Edward didn't accept the call until he was a few steps away from the entrance.
"What is it?"
"Jacob got away," Hunter said.
"What? How the hell did you let that happen?" Edward yelled. "You and Dan were supposed to be watching him." Edward's hands clenched into a tight fist before he loosened his fingers.
"Ethan and Michael had switched with us. They said he escaped through an airshaft with the help of one of the hotel's staff. Dean, Michael, Ethan and Dan are out looking for him."
"No. Have Michael and Ethan set up surveillance outside Bella's house. I need for them to be protected. Dean, you and Dan can look for Jacob. Though I doubt very much he's going to stick around." Edward ended the call quickly without wasting any time with formalities. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to calm down. Bella would know right away if something was up, and he didn't want her to have more reason to hate him.
When he walked back into the diner, Alexis was in the middle of a story. From the look on Bella's face, Edward knew she hadn't the slightest idea what Alexis was saying.
Edward saw Bella's eyes narrow slightly when he sat back down. He didn't know if she saw something on his face or if she was just always suspicious of him. He guessed it was the latter.
"It's getting late," she said. "We should probably head home."
Edward nodded in agreement. He had to talk to Dean urgently.
After paying the bill, they took their separate vehicles back to the house. Wanting to prolong the amount of time he spent with Bella and Alexis, Edward followed them to Bella's house. Alexis had fallen asleep on the ride home, so Edward offered to carry her inside. Bella reluctantly agreed. Once he'd laid her on her bed, he went back outside to where Bella sat in the kitchen. They both had a few things to say to each other.
"Have you heard from Renee?" he asked.
"Yeah. She says she's having a nice time."
"Did you tell her about what happened?"
Bella gave him an amused look. "Have I ever told her about anything that happened?"
He was dancing around the problem, and they both knew it.
Edward sighed sadly before beginning. "I know you're pissed off at me about what happened."
"Pissed off." Bella scoffed at him. "Pissed off doesn't even begin to describe what I feel."
"I know, and you have every right to be, but please believe me when I say that I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened. I would never intentionally put you or Alexis in danger. I never wanted it to come to this. It was my biggest fears realised, as well, when you called me and told me that Alexis was missing."
Bella had begun to shake her head before he could finish. "That doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether or not you intentionally meant to put her in harm's way. It still happened. When I think of what could have happened…" Her voice broke off, and for the first time, Edward could see that she was struggling to keep it together. This was the closest Edward ever came to seeing Bella break. She was usually so strong and resilient. Her strength and resilience seemed to be wearing thin now.
She shook her head again. "It doesn't make it any better. I don't want Alexis to get hurt," she said, though she didn't seem to be talking to him. Her eyes were fearful. When she looked back at him a few seconds later that fear was gone. The cold look was back.
"I think you should go," she said.
Edward knew he wouldn't be able to make any progress tonight. She followed him to the door.
"When can I see Alexis again?" he asked.
"I think you've already made it clear today that it doesn't matter whether or not I want you to see her."
"I'll come back tomorrow then," he said.
"Goodnight, Edward," she said as she closed the front door. He was surprised that she didn't slam it.
"Goodnight, Bella," Edward whispered back, but she was already gone.
Endless thanks to kitchmill and LuluM