Holy schnikey, you guys! Thank you all so much for the reviews, faves, and story subscriptions! I got at least ten new subscribers and twenty reviews, which is a huge jump from previous chapters, so thanks again! You guys are awesome! Don't forget to check out the playlist on my profile. Enjoy the chapter.
I sighed and moved to the door, snapping it open to find a very sly looking man.
"Ciao, Bella. Sono Sergio," he greeted. It was the same man that had drove Cullen and I to the restaurant.
My brow furrowed. "Sergio? Why you? You were working for Cullen."
Sergio shrugged. "I have many jobs. Lucky for you, your boss pay more, I don't tell Cullen a thing. You need know about Cullen?"
I gulped and nodded, letting Sergio into the hotel room.
"Cullen, he very nice man," Sergio stated, looking right at Cullen. "He pay much, but nothing compared to you, Signorina Bella. He have a brother, Emmett Cullen. He like to, uh, how do you say? Curse much. They talk about you in very disrespectful ways, Signorina Bella. I secretly put a microphone in Cullen's pocket so I can hear him while he was with you."
I blushed furiously. Had he heard Cullen and I...? Sergio didn't seem to understand why I was blushing, so I assumed not.
"Cullen's brother say very disrespectful things, but he also very nice man. He talk to me on phone. They both very nice people."
"Just tell me what Cullen is doing in Italy," I snapped. As if I didn't already feel guilty enough. Now I had some short Italian spy/cab driver telling me how nice Cullen actually is.
Sergio cleared his throat, obviously embarrassed. "Sorry, Signorina Bella. He here to protect someone by the name of Aro from you. He always mad when his brother say your name."
I felt my stomach drop. So Cullen did know who I was, and he clearly hated me. I shook my head. All the better, I tried to convince myself. Now I don't need to feel attached to him.
I already knew that was a lie.
"Is that all?" I demanded, keeping my voice emotionless.
Sergio nodded. "Cullen only here to protect Aro from you, Signorina Bella. But, we must go now. Helicopter will not wait for anyone, Signorina Bella."
I nodded and grabbed Cullen's limp right hand and threw him over my shoulder. He was a lot lighter than some of the men I had carried during Project R training.
Sergio was gaping at me. "Are-are you sure you can carry him, Signorina Bella? I strong enough."
I gave Sergio a small, quick smile. "It's fine, Sergio. I'm strong, too. You just take my luggage; I'll take care of Cullen." The short Italian didn't have a chance in hell at carrying Cullen.
Sergio picked up both of my fairly light bags and led me out into the hallway. He pushed the down button and the elevator door immediately opened. I entered first, leaning Cullen up against the wall for the ride down. Sergio pressed the "M" button, and off we went.
The doors slid open and the lobby was relatively busy, which was very unlucky. I gulped and stepped out into the spotlight. People stared at me as I carried Cullen through the freakishly large lobby.
"Ubriaco," Sergio kept explaining to everyone as we walked towards the exit.
Sergio's car was right in front, thank God. I opened the back door and set Cullen inside, doing up his seatbelt. Hey, even FBI agents can die in a car accident.
I hopped in the passenger's seat as Sergio started the car. We rode to the helicopter pad in complete silence, which gave me plenty of time to devise a plan.
Cullen would hopefully remain unconscious throughout the entire helicopter ride. As much as I would love for him to jump out of the helicopter and plummet to his death that would just ruin my entire killing frenzy. It was funny how the death of one person could ruin my entire life, in fact.
Hopefully my people would have an extra snowsuit for Cullen. I would need to strap him to my body somehow. He'd definitely be awake by then, which would definitely be an issue. I had yet to see Cullen's full physical strength, so I was contemplating chaining him to my back. I also had a feeling that Cullen wouldn't be silent on this trip.
According to the research Jacob and I had done, Aro was staying at a burlesque house. Gag me with a God damn spoon. Sure, being a "prostitute" was a whole hell of a lot worse than being a stripper, but I was not in the mood to be dancing mostly naked in front of a bunch of old, horny men.
Then there was the whole issue of getting Aro alone. That was up to luck. Hopefully he liked pale, petite brunettes with brown eyes. Otherwise I'd have to break into his room, and what was the fun in that?
What would I do with Cullen in the meantime? I could chain him up in a closet somewhere near the back of the burlesque house. That way he'd be out of the way for me to accomplish my mission, but close enough for me to check on him whenever I deemed necessary.
Sergio pulled into the helicopter pad. It was ready for take-off by the looks of it.
"Grazie, Sergio," I thanked as he put my bags into the storage compartment of the helicopter.
"Mio piacere, Signorina Bella," Sergio murmured with a nod of his head.
I buckled Cullen into a seat before hopping into the helicopter myself.
"Well, hello there, Bella Swan," a familiar voice greeted. The pilot turned around and my jaw dropped.
"What the...?" I muttered as I realized Tyler Crowley was my pilot. "Tyler? Why are you flying a helicopter in Italy?"
Tyler shrugged. "I got my helicopter license after high school and decided that I wanted to keep flying. Jake got a hold of me somehow. Didn't say why I was flying you to the Alps tonight though..." He looked at Cullen's unconscious form suspiciously.
I just grinned and shook my head. "Oh, Crowley. That's for me to know and for you to never find out."
Crowley chuckled and turned back to the controls. "Hope you're ready, Bella. I don't take it easy in the mountains."
"Ah, you underestimate me, Crowley," I teased. "I think I can handle it."
He laughed again and started talking to the people at the base. I looked at Cullen as he shifted slightly in his seat, finally resting with his head on my shoulder. I instinctively rolled my eyes, but didn't push him off me. I'd much rather have Cullen unconscious and peaceful rather than conscious and destructive.
The helicopter started hovering above the pad, taking it fairly slow for a lift off.
"See you soon," Tyler crowed into his headset as we took off full speed ahead toward the Italian Alps.
This, unfortunately, was not a silent trip. Tyler talked the entire time. About high school and how little he saw of me in our senior year, about his girl back home in Phoenix, about his boss, whom apparently was a "very nice man", and pretty much everything in between. Tyler literally did not shut up. I would be lying if I said I was happy to see Tyler. Sure, it was a nice (sort of) surprise, but my drivers, whether it be in a care or an aircraft, were useless to me. I preferred silence so I could prepare myself for my forthcoming task.
We finally landed at the base in the mountains around eleven. Aro would surely still be at the burlesque house when I got there.
"Hope to see you again, Bella!" Tyler shouted as I hauled Cullen out of the helicopter.
I gave him a weak smile in return and prayed that I would never see Crowley again.
Two men from the building near the helicopter pad rushed out to greet me. One of the men grabbed Cullen while the other one grabbed my two suitcases. I didn't even have the chance to say I could handle it.
I followed them into the garage-like building. There were all sorts of vehicles in here. Anything from bicycles to hummers to hot air balloons were found in the cramped area. My six hundred Mountain Cat was looking good. I ran my hand over the lime green hood and smiled. I loved to go fast.
There was a bunch of Italian gibberish coming from all around me. Some men were strapping my bags onto the snowmobile, some were grabbing snowsuits, and some were looking at the snowmobile under the hood. It was like having my own pit team.
"Signorina Bella!" one of the men called. He was the one holding Cullen. "He come with you? He need suit?"
"Si, per favoure," I pleaded with a curt nod.
The man nodded and carried Cullen over to the snowsuit area. Another man brought me my very stylish snowsuit. The ski pants were black, as was the jacket with the hood lined with fur. They handed me a pair of brown goggles and some small and sleek black gloves. I was ready for a blizzard, it seemed like.
The snowmobile was running and Cullen was suited up. We were set to go.
"Scusi?" I called to the nearest man. "Chain man to me?"
The man looked confused. I grabbed the chain that was on the seat of the snowmobile. I pointed to Cullen, snapped the links tight, and then pointed to myself. His eyes widened as he began to jabber away to one of his workers.
I straddled the seat of the snowmobile, testing the throttle. It was a fast snowmobile. You could barely touch the throttle without it jerking slightly.
I felt someone lean against my back. I craned my neck to see Cullen's unconscious body tight to me, his face nuzzled into the crook of my neck.
The man that I had spoken to before starting wrapping the chains around my torso, locking Cullen to me. He handed me the key and I put it in my zipper pocket, making sure I didn't lose it. The man patted me on the back and gave me the thumbs up. I was all set to go.
The large garage-style door flipped open and I slowly left the building behind. As soon as my track hit the powder, I was off like a rocket. I only had to go south-west for twenty kilometres, which would take approximately half an hour. I hoped that Cullen wouldn't wake up soon; it would make my life so much easier. Driving a snowmobile with someone chained to your back was bound to be dangerous.
I tore off in the darkness, flicking my brights on. It was a calm, warm might in the Alps. The moon was full and the stars were flittering. All that was missing was the Northern Lights now.
I pushed my thumb against the throttle a little more, making it jump to fifty miles per hour. The wind was whipping against the bare skin on my face and I could practically feel the heat rushing there to form a horrible wind burn.
I looked at Cullen and he was no longer peaceful. His face was contorted into a confused scowl, he'd be awake soon. The son of a bitch couldn't wait for seventeen more kilometres, could he?
I saw another snowmobile light gaining on me. I could assume one of two things: Either it was one of the men from the building I had just left, coming to escort me to Aro's burlesque house, or it was an FBI agent or an agent of some sort trying to take me out.
I chose to believe the second.
I pushed the lever closer to the handle, going up to sixty miles per house. The snowmobile kept pace with me, and then continued to pursue me. It was definitely someone trying to kill me.
I panicked. I didn't have any weapons.
At least I thought I didn't.
My elbow bumped my left pocket, hitting something other than my body. I quickly grabbed the object from my jacket, discovering that it was a handgun. My luck instantly changed. I was pretty good with a gun, especially while I was driving. Hopefully Cullen would keep his trap shut and not try to throw us off the snowmobile.
A shot was fired, but it missed us by a mile. I looked around and saw that our stalker was definitely entering my shooting range. If I didn't have Cullen chained to my God damn back, we'd be golden.
Another shot was fired, just ahead of us. I realized that if the agent did hit his mark, he'd be most likely to kill Cullen and not me. This changed my focus completely. I wouldn't let Cullen die because someone else was trying to kill me.
What the hell happened to me? If I would have been in this predicament with anyone else, and I really mean anyone, even my grandmother, I would have been happy to have the shield. But now I wasn't willing to let a single bullet come close to him. Edward Cullen, of all the people in the world, had captured my rare protectiveness. Damn did I hate fate.
Another shot rang through the calm night air, just in the snow I was kicking up. I looked over my right shoulder and saw that the man was nearly right behind me. I also noticed that a pair of green eyes were staring at me in confusion.
"Fuck," I muttered as I looked ahead again.
I gripped the gun tightly, putting my finger on the trigger. I only wanted to fire one shot. I might need this gun for later.
I turned my head to the right again and pulled my left arm, holding the gun level with my shoulder. I shot the man right in the throat, causing him to fall backwards off the snowmobile. I didn't bother turning around to see who it was. I had bigger and better things to finish.
"Raina?" Cullen mumbled in my ear. "Why am I chained to you?"
"I'll explain later," I replied in a pleading voice. I really didn't need a fight right now.
"No." I could feel Cullen shake his head against my neck. "I need to know now. I just saw you shoot a man right in the middle of his throat. I know you're not a flight attendant. Tell me the truth."
I gritted my teeth and continued driving way too fast. Only nine more kilometres and I could knock him out again...
"Raina!" Cullen shouted, taking me by surprise. "Tell me!"
"The truth will hurt you more than it will me, Cullen," I snapped.
It was silent for about a half kilometre.
"I think I can handle it," he finally decided.
"Are you sure?" I sighed. "You'll probably want to kill me."
Cullen snorted. "I doubt that. I lied to you, too, Raina. I'm not a gondola business owner. I'm an international FBI agent. I've seen a hundred men shot in the throat."
I couldn't help but to laugh a bit. He sounded so smug, like he knew better than me. And the fact that he assumed I was clueless was also mildly amusing.
"I know what you are, Cullen," I started, a smug tone seeping into my voice. "I knew you were an agent before I even laid eyes on you."
"How?" Cullen asked sceptically.
"I'm an agent with Project R," I explained monotonously. "Or I used to be. I know everything about you, Cullen. Everything from your height and weight to your sketchy relationship with Tanya Denali."
"What do you mean 'used to be'?" Cullen asked cautiously. He probably didn't want to believe the obvious.
"I ran away from the agency. I'm Bella Swan, the infamous rogue Project R agent."
Cullen didn't have a smart ass, cocky remark for that. This was probably coming out of left field for him.
"I could have killed you so many times," he finally whispered in a flat voice. "I can't believe you had me fooled, you bitch. I'll get you as soon as we're unchained. I've been waiting for this day for a long time."
Thankfully his hatred for me wasn't new to me. I don't know what I'd do if I had only heard this now.
I kept my face a clean slate and replied fiercely, "Cullen, you're the lucky one. I knocked you out, yet I didn't kill you. I had you under my control as soon as you saw me naked on the balcony. If I was you, I'd be holding my tongue and thanking God that I was still alive. You're in a hostage situation with someone who is ultimately stronger than you."
I saw lights in the distance and grim determination entered my body.
"Bitch," Edward muttered when he saw the lights.
"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," I replied coolly. "As if you didn't already owe me your life, now I'm going to knock you out so you don't have to watch your precious Uncle Aro be lured straight into my death trap."
"Fuck you," he spat. Then he proceeded to bite my neck until the skin broke.
I sighed. Sweet, sweet pain. Too bad he didn't know that pain only made my adrenaline rush stronger.
He continued biting my neck all over, trying to get a rise out of me. He was like a pathetic fly trying to annoy a horse.
"Cullen, you're only making me stronger by doing that," I warned him softly. "Didn't Daddy teach you anything about Project R agents? Pain gives us that beautiful rush of adrenaline. So, unless you want Uncle Aro's neck snapped, I'd suggest you stop nibbling at my neck."
He gulped while his mouth was still latched to my skin, sucking some of the blood out of my neck. He realized what he had done and spit it back out into my face.
"You leave my father out of this," he growled. "He's done nothing wrong; he just helped the government out. You're lucky you had him operate on you and not some mad scientist."
I snorted. "Carlisle is about as mad as they come, Cullen. He made my body a machine. He turned my mind into a never-ending flow of hatred. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
"I may not know about what he did to your revolting body" – ouch – "but I know who he is as a person. My dad is nothing but good to the core. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about."
I rolled my eyes as I pulled into the snowmobile parking lot.
"Shut the hell up, Cullen," I snapped as I dug my thumbs into his pressure points again, harder this time though.
I quickly unlocked the chains and dug my thumbs into the sensitive spot again. I grabbed him by the neck until his eyelids closed. I let go and he fell limply against me. I threw him over my shoulder and walked in through the back of the chalet, finding a closet full of empty boxes. I locked the door after tossing Cullen on the ground.
Now all I needed to do was perform for Aro.
Okay, here's the Italian dictionary (Sorry, I used a translator on the net. I don't really know Italian):
Ciao - Hello
Sono - I am
Signorina - Miss
Ubriaco - drunk
Grazie - Thank you
Mio piacere - My pleasure
Si - yes
per favoure - please
Scusi? - Excuse me?
Okay, anyway, I liked this chapter, sort of. It's just the beginning of a mildly dramatic fanfic. Edward hates Bella's guts. Really hates them. And, P.S., I'm freakin' excited for the next chapter. I get to write a mild strip tease. Damn, do I love writing strip teases. Anything with dancing incorporated into it is my favourite.
Personal stuff: I got my toenail removed today, so that was painful and sucky. Thank God I'm getting it done now, though. I'm going to Jamaica from Feburary twenty-first to the twenty-eighth! Don't miss me too much. ;) And, I've been watching too much hockey for my own good. My best friend plays on a team near my hometown, so I go to all of his games. (And it just so happens that I'm texting him right now....) Okay, enough. Sorry. I just felt like ranting. I think I'm overtired.
