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Bella stared at Carlisle and Emmett for a solid three seconds before reality slammed into her like a load of bricks, and she started screaming against the tape, thrashing against the binds around her arms and ankles, trying to do something other than just lay there, completely and utterly exposed.

"Get her out of here," Carlisle gritted out.

"Babe," Emmett fretted, his eyes shooting toward his lover, but then shifted his shot gun into Carlisle's arm, and hurried over to Bella, whose eyes widened as he reached for her, but then seemed to think better of it, considering she was completely naked. "It's okay, sweetheart. We've got you."

Emmett gathered the bedspread around her, before he lifted her gently, carefully off the mattress and turned toward the door, giving Bella a view of Alistair and Charlie. Alistair had a gunshot wound to his thigh, his hateful eyes on Bella, still filled with lustful want.

Charlie, however, was cowering against the far wall. Unlike his father, he wasn't staring at her. No, his fear filled eyes were locked on the shot gun in Carlisle's hands.

"Make them pay," Emmett muttered, before carrying Bella out of the room, though the small hallway, and through to the living room. He carefully placed her on the couch, keeping the blanket wrapped around her as much as he could. His eyes were sad as he reached for the tape covering his mouth, but both of them turned toward the hallway when they heard another gunshot.

Emmett blew out a deep breath and looked back at Bella as he pulled the tape from her mouth, freeing her sobs. "Hey, honey, it's okay."

"Not . . . okay," she cried, and they heard another gunshot. "Em."

He didn't reply, though as he pulled a knife from the back of his pants and cut through the zip ties, but when he reached for her hands, she scrambled away from him.

Emmett paused and put his hands up. "We're not going to hurt you, sweetheart. I promise."

"He was . . . they were. . ." she sobbed. "Emmett!"

"I know, honey. Just let me get you out of those cuffs, okay? And then we'll take you home."

Though she could still feel herself shaking, she nodded, and shifted so that Emmett could remove the cuffs. He used the knife to jimmy the lock on the handcuffs. As soon as she was freed, she scrambled away from him, hugging the blanket around her.

"How'd you know where I was?" she asked.

Emmett smiled weakly as he stood up and pulled off his button up shirt, leaving him in a black T-shirt. He tossed it to her, perhaps knowing that she wasn't ready for him to come any closer. It wasn't that she was scared of him, quite the opposite in fact. She just didn't want anyone to touch her ever again.

Except Alice.

"We, um, might have had a tracking device planted on Charlie's car. You know, just in case," he explained.

She nodded as she slipped his shirt on, thankful for something that would cover her nudity. She was unsure of what to say, though, and before she could question why they had felt the need for said tracker, which seemed obvious now, Carlisle came rushing into the living room, his eyes dark, his hair a mess, and his fists red and already bruising.

"Let's go," he said, breathing heavily.

Emmett reached for Bella, who shook her head, and climbed off the couch. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, but she's already had too many hands on her in the last little while, and she didn't need another set. He seemed to understand, and motioned for her to follow Carlisle out of the cabin, and into their black SUV, where she was disappointed that Alice wasn't waiting for her in the backseat, the way she had been when they saved her from Jacob Black.

Carlisle climbed into the passenger seat, while Emmett drove, and Bella curled up in the backseat, her tears seeping down her face silently. Once they were away from the cabin, Carlisle turned in the front seat and looked back at her, his face softening as he watched her cry.

"We're so sorry, sweetheart, we weren't faster."

She wasn't sure what to say, how to respond. "What'd you do to them?"

He shifted his eyes to Emmett, who nodded, before he said, "I made sure they'll never be able to put their hands on you again."

"What does that mean?"

"You don't need to know."

"I do, though," she pleaded. "They touched me, Carlisle. They were . . . they were . . . He . . ." Bella screamed as she clenched her hands into fists, causing Emmett to slam on the brakes in the middle of the road. She scrambled out of the car, and hurried to the back of the car, falling to her knees. In an instant, Carlisle and Emmett were by her side, holding her in their arms.

"He . . . he . . . I can feel him on me," She cried, trying to catch her breath. "Feel his . . . How could he do that?" she cried.

"We don't know, sweetheart," he murmured, nestling her against his chest. "I just don't know."

"He said he raped my mother," she whispered, and she felt him tensed. "Said she had learned to like it, and so would I."

"You don't have to worry about him anymore, sweetheart," he told her again, and when she looked up at him, he smiled. "Trust me, but we need to go."

Bella bit the inside of her lip as she nodded, and allowed him to help her stand up. They climbed back into the car, and started back toward Forks. Just as they passed the city limit sign, three black SUVs with flashing red and blue lights flew past them, and as she looked back, she saw them turning toward the same road they'd just pulled away from. Bile filled Bella's throat as she turned back, pulling her knees to her chest.

The second Emmett parked in the driveway, the front door opened and Alice hurried outside. Bella couldn't stop herself from jumping out of the SUV and meeting her halfway, her arms wrapping around the love of her life, finding solace in her arms. And once again, she cried.

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