"Shit," I muttered to myself. I had forgotten that I'd need a place to stay in Italy. I couldn't just stay in a vehicle while I was here. They'd be hot on my trail by now.
I needed to get a hold of the one person I trusted in this world, Jacob Black. I had met him back in high school, after Mike but before James. He was the only person that I would give the time of day to. He was the person I ran to after gathering my wits when I ran away from Project R. Lucky for me he had turned into a total technological genius. He could crack any code, fix any gadget, and find connections all over the world. He was sort of my assistant, in a way that didn't require for him to fight.
After the seatbelt light turned black, I went to the stewardess.
"I need a phone," I said in a desperate voice. "I left my insulin at home. I have enough to last me until I get to Italy, but I don't have enough for the rest of my trip. My husband will have to bring it with him."
The stewardess narrowed her eyes. Oh, she was a bitchy one, I could tell.
"We have plenty of insulin on the plane, I'm sure we could spare you some," she said coolly.
"How much?" I asked, popping my hip and crossing my arms, getting a bit impatient.
"A week's worth."
I snorted. "I'm here for a year, lady. Just let me use the phone."
Her lips tightened and then she showed me to the phone. It was in its own separate room, thank God. You never knew who might be listening.
I dialled Jacob's cell and he picked up immediately.
"Bella!" he blurted. "Where the hell are you? Why are you going to Italy? Why didn't you phone me after you killed Tompkins? And Yorkie? Jesus, Bella –"
"Jacob," I interrupted. "Settle down. I'm in the air right now. Aro is in Italy, I'm going to finish him a-sap. It totally slipped my mind to phone you after Tompkins. It wasn't difficult, just sort of unfortunate that I had to kill Yorkie, but he was the only choice I had. Tompkin's had a man every God damn night!
"Anyway, there are a few things I need done. First, I need a hotel room for a while, probably a week or so. Secondly, do not ever, ever turn your cell off and always carry it with you. You never know when I might need something. And, lastly, I need Edward Cullen's life story right away. I want every dirty detail. Ev-ery-thing. Understand, Jakie-poo?"
"Uh, okay," Jacob said. I could tell he was confused by the nickname. "So, hotel room, cell phone, Cullen?"
"Yep," I said with a nod.
"Okay, bye for now, Bella," Jacob said reluctantly. "For God's sake, be careful out there. Don't kill yourself."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, mom. I'll phone you later. Bye."
I hung up and smiled at bitchy-stewardess when I left the room. I sat down, a heavy weight lifted off my shoulders. I didn't need to worry about shelter, food, water, emergencies, or Edward Cullen now. I actually smiled. Things had been going smoothly so far.
We landed in Italy and I took my tiny carry-on with me to find a taxi. It was a good thing I had taken Italian in school.
Once I got in the cab, I phoned Jake to find out where I was staying. I gave the name to my greasy cab driver and off we went
I was staying at a very nice hotel.
"Thank you Jacob," I murmured as I entered my room.
There was a balcony, a king-sized bed, a plasma screen TV, and a huge bathtub. I would definitely be taking advantage of that.
I phoned room service and ordered some salad, just so my stomach would stop growling, and a bottle of champagne. I couldn't help but to celebrate a little bit. Three more that was all. Three more and then I could live on some distant island, never resurfacing in the U.S. again.
"Grazie," I said with a smile. I gave the man a nice tip and then closed the door.
I demolished my salad and then took my iPod, my laptop, and the bottle of champagne with me to the bathtub.
I picked off my skin tight black pants and shirt; I didn't bother with underwear much anymore, and hopped in the scalding water.
A long sigh of relief and contentment left my lips. I cracked the bottle of champagne and took a long swig. I had my laptop on a chair beside the bathtub so I could check my e-mails from Jake. There were four from before I killed Victoria, two from before I talked to him on the phone, and two that I wanted to read.
The first one gave me Aro's location. The bastard was spending the month in the Alps. I was already hooked up with a snowmobile and a helicopter ride. Thank God for Jacob.
The second was about Edward Cullen. There was the usual stuff like, he was born on June twentieth, his parents were Carlisle and Esme Cullen, he had Emmett Cullen as a brother, and he was an international agent for the FBI. But, once again, thank the Lord for Jacob. He found me some very dirty details.
Like how he had failed out of med school. Or that he lost his virginity to a girl named Jessica Stanley.
I laughed out loud at this one: he had been briefly engaged to Playboy Bunny wannabe, Tanya Denali. I snorted again; the champagne was already taking effect. It would have been fun to seduce this man. All I would have had to do was put on a blonde wig and I would have been set!
I wondered what he looked like as I scrolled to his physical description. Bronze hair, green eyes, six-two, lean body, usually seen in a suit.... All of these were ringing a bell that made my body prepare for danger. Then I remembered. The man that had been staring at me on the plane had all of those features. Edward Cullen was already on my case.
I let an infuriated roar and stood up. Damn it! Why couldn't anything be easy? I grabbed the champagne and walked out onto the balcony, still naked. It was dreadfully cold out, but I was too mad to care. I took a long swig and looked out at my gorgeous view of Rome.
I heard someone clear their throat and I glared in the direction on the sound.
Even better. It was Edward Cullen seeing me naked in the dead of winter. I sighed and pretended to know nothing about him.
"Isn't it a bit cold for your current, um, attire?" Cullen asked with a smirk.
Oh, cocky was he?
I smiled sarcastically. "I came out here to dry off and hopefully catch my death of a cold."
"Why's that?" he asked, still smirking.
"I don't ever want to leave Rome," I said, wistfully as I could. I was still livid and that wasn't helping my acting skills very much. "I'm only here for a week but I never want to leave."
Cullen looked out at the view and turned back to me. "It's very enticing to stay here, isn't it?"
I smiled, hoping that the dreamy look was coming over my face.
"Well, now that I've seen you naked, I suppose I'm obligated to ask you what your name is," Cullen said, still wearing that crooked, smug smirk.
"Raina," I said with a smile. "Raina Williams, and yours?"
"Edward Cullen," he replied.
Maybe he didn't know who I was....
"Where are you from?" I asked, crossing my arms over my bare chest.
"I'm originally from Chicago." He paused. "Why don't you go put on a dress and I'll take you out for a nice Italian supper. We can continue this conversation then."
I smiled. Keep your friends close but keep your enemy's closer was never more true now as it ever was. "Sure, give me twenty minutes."
"I'll be in the lobby."
I slipped back into the room and did a happy little jump. Sure, I would have to kill him with my own bare hands, but wow! A FBI agent? I knew I was being very sadistic in admitting this, but I was beyond excited. Maybe it was the fact that he would be my greatest challenge, but I think it was mostly because he was compatible with James. If I could kill this guy, it would boost my self-confidence and help me finish my task.
I pulled on a black bra and thong before sliding a little black dress on. I quickly combed my waves and applied some mascara. I put on a pair of ridiculous heels and clasped my mother's black pearls around my neck. Did I forget to mention that my favourite colour is black?
I checked Cullen's strengths and weaknesses quickly before leaving. His strengths included seeing through disguises and reading people's faces. That could be a problem. But his weaknesses were in my favour. Women and controlling his emotions.
I grabbed my cell phone and my purse before heading out for my date with death.
Wahoo. Here we go now. This is the beginning of the real plot. I think I've explained everything to the best of my ability! Uhh, thanks to everyone for reviewing and adding this story to your subscription! Keep reviewing and stuff!
Ohhh, Edward. He's in for a surprise. I'm just gunna tell you, he has no idea who Bella is. And you'll find out what he's actually doing in Italy in the next chapter, I think. And, Jacob does not have a thing for Bella. I'll clear that up right now. He's just her friend and that's all he wants to be. So, there. Take that.
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