I want a Mommy!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. The plot, along with a few of the characters I add here and there belong to my ruthless muse.
Chapter Nine
Edward brushed past an emergency responder trying to stop him from entering the crime scene. He stumbled over debris, rubble, ash, broken glass, nudged soot-covered tables out of his way. He whirled around slowly wrinkling his nose, swallowing hard as he took in the disrepair, the ruined remnants of Ryan's, his first business, his first real success.
"Stay out," Edward ordered his men. Antonio stepped forward, "Boss, you need to get out of here. This area isn't secure."
"I said stay out," Edward hollered, he waited for a moment, when Antonio refused to retreat as requested, he snapped pulling his gun on his longtime friend. "Get the fuck out of here."
"Whoa, Boss," Antonio breathed holding his hands out as he backed out of the front door.
Edward's fist slammed forth into a wooden pillar. His stomach burned like acid as he stared his failure in the face, his failure to protect his family, his property.
He scowled as his phone blared through the silence, "What?" he snapped into the microphone.
"Tick–tock, tick-tock," a man taunted over the phone line.
"Who is this?" Edward snarled into the phone; for the first time he could feel the bloodthirsty ache, the want, the need to kill, quick easy old school justice he was against.
"Lovely evening for a barbeque? Eh, Mr. Cullen." The man mocked nonchalantly.
"I'm warning you, once, stop fucking with me." Edward cautioned his tone harsh and threatening.
The man laughed. "How's the fiancée?"
Edward felt his blood turn to ice. The how, whys, filling his mind as the line went dead. No one should be aware of his engagement. Bella's sweet smile flashing behind his eyelids. He hit the seven on his cellphone and pressed send.
"Andrew," he spoke sharply into the phone. "Lock down the house, get Isabella in the safe room now."
"Boss, Isabella is in the shower," Andrew said hesitant.
"I don't care if she's in Timbuktu, get her in the fucking safe room NOW. I'm issuing a code black. IS that understood?"
"Understood, Boss, code black, safe room, now," Andrew spoke, his voice shifting from casual to deathly serious. He knew he could trust him; trust him to give everything to protect his Bella. Edward stepped out of the building, breathing in the cold air as he hit the end call button.
"Are you okay?" Edward enquired, clasping his younger brother's shoulder fondly, his face and clothes were filthy; soiled with soot and dirt. Edward's smile was strained, but he was happy to hear Emmett's shaky laughter.
"I'm just relieved I was here to help break down the doors. Fuck Eddie – that fire burned fast, crazy fast."
"It's a good thing you're all right, kid." Edward paused, pushing the thought of what could've happened to Emmett out of his mind. "I want you to inform Jasper, they're to make their way back from the lake before sunrise." He turned to Antonio, whom he owed an apology. "Antonio, what I did back there wasn't right."
"No blood, no foul," Antonio gruffed. Edward nodded, grateful for his understanding.
"Come on let's get to mom's," Emmett said tossing an arm over his elder brother's shoulder. "Rosalie is in a panic, and I bet mom already has a batch of muffins or cookies in the oven."
…
"Isabella!" Andrew knocked roughly on the bathroom door causing Bella to jump in the shower. "Get out, we're under lockdown. There has been a direct threat to your life – Edward's ordered us to the safe room."
Safe room? What the hell is a safe room? Bella thought frantically as she dried off and slipped into the fancy yoga pants that felt like heaven with a label she couldn't pronounce, and her favorite old snug-fitting Mariner's tee. Years of sharing a bathroom with her Dad had taught her to always take her clothes with her, to avoid any awkward moments.
"Isabella, you have ten seconds to open the door before I bust it open and toss your naked ass over my shoulder," Andrew threatened. Edward would have his life, everything he valued if anything happened to her. He practically sighed in relief when the bathroom door popped open, revealing a fully dressed Bella.
"What's going on?" Bella demanded, her voice shaking as her stomach twisted, her mind conjured up horrible terrifying scenarios of what was happening.
"Edward has received a direct threat from your stalker," came Andrew's crisp reply, he watched while she darted to her jewelry safe and quickly unlocked it. "Ma'am we don't have time for this, we need to get to the safe room now." His eyes widened when she turned a small pistol held in right hand.
"Let's go, Andrew," Bella said motioning for the man to get a move on.
"Wait, Isabella, do you know how to use a gun?" Andrew asked surprised, watching her handle the weapon with an ease most women didn't have.
She snorted softly at Andrew's question as she followed him to the basement. "I was raised by my single father who was the police chief in our tiny town. I can spiral a football, cast a rod and my aim is straight," she answered stopping when Andrew came to a halt in the basement. Bella watched, mouth gaping slightly when Andrew unlocked a drawer.
"I need your hand," he spoke sharply when he pulled open the drawer, attached to the entertainment center. Bella blinked, but placed her hand on a panel that quickly scanned her fingertips, then asked for a five-digit passcode that Andrew punched in.
Oh mother of mercy! She thought as a piece of the wall opened up revealing Edward's safe room.
"We're safe in here," Andrew said after the wall – the door closed behind them. Bella followed him as he turned on the lights. He pointed down the hallway, "the bedrooms and bathrooms." She nodded numbly, her mind racing as she took in the living room that they were standing in, a small kitchen set to the back of the room. When Bella didn't speak Andrew spoke, "There are two bathrooms, three small bedrooms, and a security room. It wasn't a damn safe room; it was a fucking safe house. Who the hell needs a safe house this vast? It was a …a fallout shelter. She blinked back tears. "And, Isabella, no one, knows this place exists."
"Is EJ okay? Is Edward? His family?" Bella asked quietly, her mind still spinning like an endless top.
"EJ is fine, he'll be down here before sunrise," Andrew answered barely looking up from his phone as he communicated via text message with Edward and the rest of the family. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Bella paced the room, he could tell the young woman was deep in thought by the way her eyes darted back in forth when she forced herself to be still for a moment before the pacing resumed.
"This isn't James, is it?" she muttered softly to herself, but in the complete silence she might as well have yelled it, as Andrew's brow furrowed. She shook her head negatively. He hadn't contacted her, not since he left Forks. The charity event had been a fluke, a chance to mess with her to hurt her, but he wouldn't do this, he wasn't that crazy.
…
"Edward, you must handle this swiftly; this man, is making you look weak – incompetent," Carlisle commanded harshly, slamming his Scotch glass on the fireplace. "I raised you to be a man, not this deskbound CEO you've become. Do NOT forget whose name you carry. You're a Cullen and it's about damn time you start behaving as one."
His jaw locked, nostrils flared as he bit back at his father, his voice low, hard, hostile, "I haven't." No one spoke or moved as father and son squared off with one another. "I have more enemies than I can shake a fist at." Edward paused for effect, sucking in a sharp breath and releasing it. "We're in a new world, a different era, justice can't be halfcocked, it has to be meticulous, flawless," Edward said lowly, his entire body tense frustration for his father and his old-way thinking.
"Emmett, stay here with Mom and Dad," he ordered downing the last bit of whiskey in his glass and slipping back into his suit jacket.
"Where the hell are you going?" Emmett barked.
"Home," Edward answered roughly. "I have a fiancée I need to return to. We won't learn anything new until morning. I want Aro in my office by the end of the day tomorrow. This feels like his tomfuckery."
"Aro is family, boy, blood family." Carlisle hissed.
"We might be cousins, but Aro has made his distaste, distrust of me clear, ever since I have taken my place at the head of the family," Edward retorted. "Open your eyes, Carlisle, Aro is a vile man whose jealousy eats at him like a parasite. He cannot live up to his father's name, where I have surpassed mine. His envy makes him even more dangerous to our family—the Cullen Family," Edward informed the room before making his way to the exit.
"Whoa, whoa …Hold the fuck up, Eddie boy, pump your breaks already," Emmett boomed his voice lighter, more carefree than the rest of his family. "You said Fiancée, you're getting married?"
Edward rolled his eyes his lips twitching at his brother's excitement. "I proposed tonight."
"You're shitting me?" Emmett asked raising an eyebrow, ignoring the head slap his wife gave him for his language.
"I am not 'shitting you,' bended knee, ring, and candlelight, the whole enchilada," he stated, mouth twitching upward.
"And she said, Yes?" Emmett teased good-naturedly.
"Yes," he blinked surprised when his brother engulfed him in a tight hug.
"Congratulations, Eddie." He nodded thankful for his brother's enthusiasm and his ability to ignore the frowns of his mother, father and his wife.
"Edward," Esme objected softly, "She's a child."
"She isn't." Edward rebuffed his mother words, his voice growing stern. "Isabella Swan is going to be my wife, the mother to your grandchildren. You need to get over whatever reservations you have against her and fast."
"The car is warmed, the garage is clear," Antonio spoke giving his boss and friend an out. He could tell by the very way Edward stood he was exhausted on every level.
"Thank you, Antonio," Edward offered following his longtime companion guard out of the house. He sank into the comfortable cushions of the suburban and lifted the phone to his ear, checking in with Jasper. Thankfully, nothing shifty had gone down and they were safely in route home.
"She's fine," Andrew informed them quietly so as not disturb Bella who had curled up on the sofa instead of in the bedroom. "She didn't overreact; she followed me down here without a fuss. Then she paced for a few hours before I forced her to sit down, watch TV, and have a cup of tea. She didn't get a quarter of the cup drunk before she passed out. She did mutter something, but I don't think she meant to say it aloud. She was shaking her head, pacing, very deep in thought."
"What did she say; cut to the chase, Andy?" Edward demanded cutting Andrew off.
"She pondered aloud if this was James," he said baffled, unsure what her words really meant, but Edward's eyebrow jumped up in surprise; his entire body went on alert. James Newton, his father's go-to-boy, the man his father was vouching for to become an inner part of the family. James, who had been one of Bella's bullies. If Bella was wondering, accusing James internally, meant he had presumed wrong. James had done something more than tease his sweet love.
"I want James Newton and Jacob Black strung up in the warehouse tomorrow night for an interrogation," Edward instructed coldly, his eyes flashing toward Bella, who was curled up peacefully on his sofa. "Retire for the night, boys," Edward orders. Once the gentle click of the guards' bedroom door closed, he moves toward Bella scooping her into his arms.
He watched in fascination as her eyes fluttered open, a warm smile spreading across her face before it flickered away and worry crinkled across her face.
"Is EJ okay?" she panicked, eyes watering.
"He's fine," Edward reassured, "I just spoke to Jasper, and they'll be here soon."
"Good, good, I've been so worried," Bella muttered sagging against Edward, her smile slowly returning finding comfort in Edward's words. "I thought you said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon?" She questioned fumbling with the button on his dress shirt, smiling shyly at him, even with all the worry, fear she had experienced the last few hours, the safest she had ever felt was right here and now in Edward's arms.
"There's nothing I can do until morning, and there is nowhere else I'd rather be," he whispered in her ear, enjoying the way her soft body affected him.
"What happened, Edward?" Bella asked, her eyes losing the last bit of hazy sleepiness.
"Your stalker and my tormentor who's been attacking me by causing chaos on my businesses. Turns out he's the same bloke. He burnt down Ryan's. He called me as I stood inside of the ruined building. I was clued in because his message was the same, that fucking tickity-tock shit. Then he asked how my fiancée was, the second those words slipped past that fuckers lips, I put you and EJ in a code black."
Code Black, what the heck? Her confusion must have shown because Edward sighed bitterly. "A code black is what level of caution your security team will be treating you with. A code black is simple, Isabella. It means that one of your guards: Andrew, Matthew or Jimmy will always be with you at all times – same goes for EJ. They'll be doing more than just shadowing from a distance, like in the past, for a while until it's safe to drop the security level, they will be escorting you everywhere—bathrooms, your classes, your volunteer work."
Her eyes widened. "Okay," she croaked understanding he was trying to protect her and EJ.
"I will go ballistic if you try and ditch them," Edward warned darkly, his eyes flashing intensely.
Ballistic? Bella thought nodding tightly, her heart fluttering wildly in her chest. Every so often she'd catch a glimpse of a darker Edward, yet even when he says something crazy or possessive, she still felt safe, protected, loved.
"Say you'll be a good girl, Isabella?" Edward requested huskily, she didn't miss the innuendo.
"I'll be a good girl," Bella murmured softly, eyes bright and teasing as a soft groan tore from his lips.
It was an exciting, lust-filled power trip to make a man of Edward's status moan. She felt his hand curl around the nape of her neck, his fingers entangling themselves into her hair as he pulled her into him, closer, his mouth captured her swiftly full of possession and pride, his tongue demanding entrance, she gasped as he tugged on her hair roughly giving him the entryway he wanted, the kiss became deeper, needier. Edward's free hand anchored itself to her waist, pulling her on top of him. They knew they couldn't finish the act they had initiated; they broke apart at the sound of Edward's ever present cock-blocking phone.
"They're here," Edward muttered as Isabella peeled herself away from him. She straightened his collar and he smoothed down her messy hair, giving her a look that didn't scream 'just fucked' or fooled around as the case may be.
The door opened and EJ burst into the living room, "Bella," he shouted rushing into her arms.
"Did you have a good time?" Bella asked forcing a small smile across her face masking her underlying worry.
"Uncle Jasper and Auntie Alice took me and Tanner fishing at the lake, and when we were hiking I slipped and look..." He paused yanking up his pant leg and showing Bella his scabbed-up knee. "Cool, right?" he asked turning her heart to mush at his adorable eager expression.
'All boy,' she thought fondly. "Very cool; does it hurt?" Bella asked gently. EJ shrugged softly.
Edward's breath got caught in the back of his throat as Bella brought EJ's bruised knee to her lips. "One extra special kiss to make it heal up super fast," she told the small boy who had stolen her heart.
EJ grinned cheekily up at his father, his eyes wide with wonder, "Bella's kisses have superpowers."
Author Note...
Beta'ed by awaywithwords3
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