A/N: This chapter? Probably not the easiest. Tread carefully, my friends. I promise you, I have no intention of drawing this out.

Alec had given her no choice.

Repeatedly, Bella cursed herself for being so lost in her own little world that she didn't notice when he came up behind her. Books had long been a particular joy of hers. After Charlie died, she'd lost her concentration, lost her ability to get completely enraptured in crisp paper pages. How odd that it would be a random novel at a random display in one of the Forum Shops that grabbed her interest and wouldn't let go.

So she hadn't noticed when a figure stepped up behind her, menacingly close.

She didn't notice until he spoke, his voice quiet but malicious, telling her not to move until he said so or make any noise, or he'd blow her precious husband's brain out before anyone could stop him.

Surreptitiously, he'd shown her his phone. There was a text message ready to be sent to James whom he said was in a safe spot, pointing a gun at Edward's head.

No one else had to get hurt if she just walked away calmly with him.

What choice did she have?

As they walked away, Bella tried to grab anyone's eyes, alert someone to her distress, but they were all so wrapped up in their individual worlds. Every step took her further and further away from Edward, toward a doubtlessly terrifying unknown.

She'd looked for him, desperate to catch his glance or at least see him - know for sure he was fine - but there was that stupid statue in the way. She saw only the top tufts of his tousled bronze hair, his head bent down toward Alice, before Alec yanked her insistently forward.

When they were joined by a second figure - James - Bella fully intended to scream, knowing her husband was safe from the madman's gun, but Alec was quicker. He slipped his grip from her arm to her waist, pulling her tight against him.

She felt what could only be the hard metal of a gun pressed against her side, hidden from plain view by the jacket he was wearing, but unmistakable to her.

Bella hadn't known what it meant for blood to run cold until that very moment.

"Go ahead and scream," Alec had snarled against her ear. "I'm so through with your bullshit, believe me. You don't want to fuck with me right now."

She didn't. Not with a gun aimed right at her baby.

By the time they got to the parking structure, her cheeks were streaked with hot tears of complete terror and frustration.

No one looked up. Or rather, one woman had, but on seeing Bella's tears had quickly looked away.

It was strange how time seemed to bend then, both going too quickly for her to process and dragging on in anxious trepidation of what was going to happen next. When she was alone with them in the elevator, it began to sink in how well and truly in trouble she was. Nothing was going to stop this from happening. No one was coming to help her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked in a hoarse whisper when Alec wrenched her arms behind her back, closing a pair of handcuffs unnecessarily tight around her wrists.

"Where are you taking me?"

They ignored her questions, and Bella fell silent before frustration could get the better of her. She was desperately aware she needed not to push them, not to make them angry. The whole situation might be different if it weren't for Riley.

She was going to protect her daughter at all costs.

Now she was stuck, again, where it all started - in a cramped little closet. She concentrated on keeping her breathing steady and her mind clear. Panicking wouldn't help; she needed to be able to think on the fly if she was going to get out of this.

Resting her head against the wall, Bella tried her best not to tug at her bindings as she tried to figure her options. Already, the cold steel of the handcuffs had chafed her skin. Her shoulders were sore from the awkward position.

Needing more information, to know what was going on outside this cramped room, she pressed her ear to the door. They were talking, but she couldn't hear the distinct words - just the tone.

James's wry mocking.

Alec's answering tone was low. Steady.

Dangerous.

Bella shuddered.

Her heart began to speed again when the voices got closer. Her body tensed.

"I'm done, you understand? Whatever fucked up thing you got going for this bitch, I want no more part of it. I'm square with Jane. Get it? I'm done risking getting my ass thrown back in jail. And for what?" he scoffed. "You're bending over backward for an ugly little whore, and I'll never understand that shit."

"She's mine," Alec growled, sending a shiver of pure terror down Bella's back. Immediately, she broke out in a cold sweat, her body trembling. "She'll learn."

He was crazy.

He was utterly out of his mind.

Bella was getting a bit dizzy, trying to steady her breathing.

"Whatever," James muttered. "Good luck with that, I guess. I hope for your sake she's a good fuck, otherwise I don't get the point. I'd have kicked her to the curb ages ago."

A door opened and shut. The house was quiet. Bella pressed her lips together into a thin, hard line, trying to stop her tears before they started again.

She knew she was out of time.

Sure enough, after an unbearably long moment of silence, she could hear Alec's measured steps coming closer. One. Two. Three. Four. He paused right outside the closet, and Bella could hardly breathe.

The door came open. Bella's body stiffened, waiting for the inevitable moment when he grabbed her again.

When it didn't come right away, she chanced a look up, her heart hammering painfully against her ribcage. Her throat was so tight that the tiny whimper that passed her lips when she saw him towering over her - his eyes cold and hard - was no more than a breath of noise.

He glared down, and she had to speak. Not only because there were a thousand things going through her mind, but because she knew, above all, she couldn't make him angrier than he obviously already was. The way he stared down, she wasn't entirely sure her silence was helping.

She had to swallow several times before she could find her voice.

"Alec," she whispered. "I-" She cried out when he grabbed her roughly by the chin, jerking her head up so she couldn't avoid his gaze.

For seconds there was only the sound of his heavy breaths and the frightened whimpers she struggled to strangle. He was breathing through his nose, and Bella was beyond terrified by the malice in his eyes.

"Believe me, I am not in the mood to hear your bullshit." His angry words did not match his placid, even tone.

Completely unnerved, Bella pressed the tip of her tongue to the roof of her mouth, struggling to comply with his roundabout order for silence. Fear and fury made for disquieting bedfellows, and she wanted to speak, wanted to yell, snap, or even babble. But he was watching her, waiting for her disobedience.

But rather than smirk at his control over her, his eyes narrowed and hardened. He switched his grip to her arm, hauling her up to her feet. Bella stumbled out of the closet. Her body was unbalanced, and she would have pitched forward except that Alec grabbed her other arm. She remained upright, wincing at the way his fingers dug into her skin.

He pressed her back against the wall. When he released the grip on her arms she gasped, feeling the blood rush back to her limbs, throbbing painfully where his fingers had gripped her so tight.

Bella struggled to calm her speeding heart, breathing in and out slowly, though her chest felt painfully tight. Alec's glare was intimidating, and as he stepped forward, she found herself cringing, as if she were trying to melt into the wall. Her bound hands dug into her back.

"For years, I've been more than patient with you. The shit I put up with, no self respecting man should have to tolerate. I let you play your coy little games, let you prance around like the fucking cocktease you are, even let you mess around with that pathetic little blond boy to get it out of your system. I never said a word to you, Bella. Not a single word."

His breath was hot on her face as he spoke. Bella's body was coiled tight, the urge to run nearly unbearable. Because she couldn't run, what she wanted most was to turn her face away, but somehow, she couldn't look away from his piercing eyes.

A deer caught in headlights. The truck was coming and she had nowhere to go.

"You were the one that started this. You were the one who wanted me first, and then you ran away like the immature little brat you are. I used to think all you needed was to grow up a bit. You were just a stupid little kid, but now? I think I was wrong." His voice had gained a dangerous edge. It was a fire clicking on at the center of Bella's lungs, rapidly burning off all the oxygen, leaving her starving for air. "I can't help but think maybe James was right all along."

Bella was so focused on his eyes, she didn't see him raise his right hand until he'd brought it down hard against her cheek. Her head snapped to the side. The pain that bloomed made her gasp, pulling air into her lungs again.

"Does this work a little better?" Alec demanded through gritted teeth. He hit her again, the sound of his hand against her skin loud in her ears. "Is this the only way to keep you in line?" He punctuated his sentence with a third slap. "Am I getting through to you?"

Her hands jerked against the metal of the handcuffs, the instinct to cover her face too strong to overcome. "Stop! Please, stop. You're going to hurt the baby."

He pulled back, his eyes narrowing to slits. Quick as a flash, he switched his grip, his hand going to her stomach and squeezing. "This? This is disgusting. I don't know how you can even look me in the eye when you're carrying this fucking monstrosity, this proof you let him inside you. You're a fucking filthy whore, you know that?"

"Don't touch me!" His movement against the baby, the way he held her now, pushed her fear straight into complete fury. His words and his actions made her livid, and any ability she had to think clearly went straight out the window. Acting on instinct and anger alone, she barreled into him with her shoulder, shoving him away hard. "You fucking lunatic! I'm not yours. I chose him. I love him. I fucking hate you!"

She regretted her words instantly, watching in horror as his face twisted. Before she could even open her mouth to apologize, try to salvage the situation and calm him down, he slapped her with the back of his hand hard enough that her head snapped to the side. Dizzy, Bella stumbled backward, sliding down the wall when her legs proved too wobbling to hold her.

"I'm sorry," she lied, turning her body to the side, bringing her legs up since she couldn't use her arms to protect her baby from whatever was coming.

And she knew something was coming. She knew it was going to be bad.

When she found the courage to look up, she instantly wished she hadn't. Alec was standing over her, his belt doubled over and held in his fisted hand. "I didn't mean it," she tried, but there was no volume at all to her voice. "Please, just let me-"

But she cut off when he raised his hand.

~0~

Alec was absolutely and completely delusional.

He'd beaten her with that fucking belt, screaming and snarling the whole time about her every transgression against him.

In a warped way, Bella thought she understood. Alec had gotten it into his head somewhere along the way that they were in a relationship. Bella had seen the behavior he was accusing her of before - girls and women, and men for that matter, who constantly played games, flying off the handle, playing hard to get when it pleased them. He'd built up this whole relationship where she pushed him away only to reel him back in, and Bella felt so stupid.

If only she hadn't tried to be his friend. What she meant as friendship - hanging out with him even though she was uncomfortable with his advances - he'd twisted into something much more than it was.

When his anger was spent, he'd knelt by her side, his voice returned to that pleasant, comforting tone he used with everyone. "Shh, shh," he'd soothed, ignoring the way she flinched away from his touch. He cupped her cheeks gently and wiped at her tears.

His tender touches had made her stomach twist sickeningly. She was still sobbing from the pain and so afraid for her baby. She couldn't seem to stop.

"Really, this isn't your fault," he said quietly, pulling her upright so he could hold her close. He didn't seem to notice the way she shuddered in complete revulsion. "Your dad was just too easy on you. He let you get away with anything. Your mom, too. She should have noticed when you started to go so wrong. If she was any kind of mother at all, she would have noticed. And I'm sure that fucking rich prick didn't help matters any. I can't imagine all the lies he told you."

He tilted her face up, but still, Bella refused to look at him.

"I know it probably doesn't feel like it now, but this is for your own good." He ran his fingers gently down her battered cheeks, making her wince. "You're going to learn. We're going to get rid of that thing," he spat the word, "and then we're going to start over." He kissed her forehead. Bella had to struggle not to vomit. "We're gonna get through this, because I love you."

What she wanted most was to snarl at him that he had no real concept of love. She knew what love felt like, and it wasn't this. It most certainly wasn't this. But she held her tongue, closing her eyes and letting herself drift back to her safe and happy place where it was Edward's arms around her.

After that, Alec had locked her not in the closet, but in a tiny bathroom. There was some small mercy in the fact he'd released her from the handcuffs and left her alone to 'think about what we talked about'.

Crazy asshole.

For a long time, Bella lay right where he left her - curled on the dingy tile floor. It was a long time before she stopped crying and shaking. How pathetic she felt, wrapped up in a ball with her arms around her stomach just sniveling. But she was overwhelmed. Alec was crazy and in her condition, she couldn't hope to run. What other option was left?

The baby moving inside her gave Bella a tremendous measure of relief. Riley's kicks were strong as ever - a blessing considering what Bella had already gone through. She was sure the stress of the situation could not be good for the innocent life she carried.

"I'm going to get you out of this," she whispered, running her hands lovingly over her bump. She remembered Alec's words… fear running cold through her blood. How did he intend to 'get rid' of her daughter?

But Riley was still safe inside her, and Bella fully intended on keeping her that way.

Slowly, she unwound herself from the tight ball she'd been huddled in. She groaned as she moved. There wasn't a lot of her that didn't ache terribly. Without a doubt, she was covered in bruises and welts. Her lip was split , and her wrists were bloodied from where she'd struggled against her bonds.

Bracing herself with her hands on the counter, Bella stood on trembling legs, looking into the mirror. The reflection that stared back at her was jarring, making her feel sick.

Good God, she was a total mess. Her face was swollen, turning shades of purple and red. She looked like a victim.

She had to get away from him. But how?

First thing was first. She concentrated on getting cleaned up a little, wiping away the blood on her lip and wrists, and drank as much as she could from the faucet.

Then, she forced herself to bite back the urge to panic. Riley's occasional flutter in her belly made this task a little easier. Her daughter's presence always brought on a fierce protectiveness. Bella held on to that emotion, riding it until it consumed her, turning fright into determination.

Exploring the little bathroom proved frustrating. There was so little to work with here. Alec wasn't an idiot. He'd left only a single bar of soap, a roll of toilet paper, and a small towel for her use.

Bella first considered trying to pry the bar off the towel rack, but quickly dismissed the idea. It was too light to do much damage even if she could get a good swing in. She ran her hands along the empty drawers and shelves, looking to see if she could find a loose piece of wood, toying with the idea she could fashion some sort of stake. Surely a stake through the heart would kill more than just vampires. But then, she doubted it was as easy to stab someone in the heart as the movies made it look.

"This is stupid," she groaned quietly to herself.

Realistically speaking, it wasn't likely she was going to be able to overpower him physically.

Another plan, a very uncomfortable plan, began to occur to her.

After all, she'd gotten away from him once before. But surely if she tried the same thing now, it wouldn't be as easy. She would have to be very, very convincing.

Closing her eyes, Bella swallowed hard, fighting a wave of nausea. She felt light headed at the idea that was forming. She leaned with one hand against the counter and another splayed over her belly.

She breathed in and out slowly.

For Riley, she would do anything.

A/N: Breathe folks. Again - I'm doing my best not to draw this out. You're getting pretty consistent updates right? Yeah? More of that until we're out of this. I promise.

Much thanks to barburella and GinnyW. Don't know what I'd do without you girls.