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Chapter 5

Edward-

I saw Emmett's truck creeping up the street from the opposite direction before I even hit the brakes in front of Bella's apartment building. The glare of the oncoming headlights brightened every nook and cranny, making it easier to search the concrete jungle for any signs my little thief had been tipped off. The streets were empty of traffic, and there was no indication of any life at all on the vacant sidewalks.

I maneuvered into the parking spot in front of the apartment building. The place looked about as safe as the crack house on the corner. Several of the windows were boarded up, and a yellow strip of caution tape from a shooting last week floated on a breeze from the front entrance. I inwardly cringed, pressing on the brake, and throwing the car in park. If my reputation wasn't as infamous as it was, I would've been very apprehensive about leaving my car unattended in this neighborhood. As it happened, I had many dealings on this side of town, ensuring my presence was noted wherever I went, my Aston Martin unmistakable.

Slowly, I pushed the door open, scanning the street around me. Shadows greeted me all around, and as Emmett climbed from his truck, I stepped forward to join him. "Go through the back exit and make sure we don't cross paths. You're looking for a cute brunette, tall, and skinny. Meet me at apartment sixty-four."

Emmett withdrew his nine, holding it close to his leg, he turned in the direction of the alley. "You got it."

The intimidating bulk of my brother disappeared around the corner, and with one last lingering look over my shoulder, I gestured for Mike to get out of the passenger seat. Grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, I shoved him in the direction of the decaying building, not willing to let him out of my sight for a minute.

The musky smell of old carpet mingling with the aroma of piss hit my nostrils when I stepped into the entryway, causing me to withhold a gag. The upkeep on this place was nonexistent, the white paint on the walls was cracked and peeling in large chunks. Someone must've been angry because a hole the size of my fist was next to the staircase. A breeze blew outside, yet the air whistled through the seal in the door. I would've looked for an elevator, but considering the state of this building, I didn't surmise it even had one.

I pushed Mike toward the stairs ahead of me, and hurriedly we mounted them, glancing down the empty hallways along the way. On the third floor, there was a lump in the form of a human figure, but unless my perpetrator was a seventy-year-old drunk, this wasn't my target. Shaking my head in response to the heavy scent of body odor and urine, I took the next flight of stairs two at a time. When we finally reached the sixth floor, I glanced out the upper window, looking down into the streets.

Nothing.

The streets were as desolate as they'd been minutes ago. A creak of hinges drew my attention down the hall. Emmett was just reaching the sixth floor from the back stairwell, his head shaking when he saw me.

Annoyance burned through my chest. I absolutely despised chasing people the fuck around. She wasn't here. I could feel it in my bones. Even as I turned toward the marked apartment door, a magnetic pull compelled me to look out the window again. Somehow I resisted, my feet moving across the floor until I stood in front of dingy brass numbers.

"Knock," I told Mike, stepping clear of the peephole.

I rested my back against the wall, Emmett following suit on the opposite side of the door. Timidly, Mike lifted his hand and rapped, the sound echoing throughout the hallway. There was no indication of anyone inside coming to answer. With growing impatience, I pushed Mike aside and knocked forcibly. The whole damn structure rattled under my knuckles. I could easily kick the damn thing in without much effort at all, and if someone didn't answer this time, I wouldn't hesitate.

The hesitant thud of approaching feet penetrated what had to be plywood at best. A soft, shaky voice asked through the flimsy cardboard. "Can I help you?"

I fucking hated games. Shaking my head with frustration, the muscle in my temple jumped, my teeth grinding. "I'm here to speak to Bella."

"You have the wrong apartment."

The quiver in her tone told me more than her words. Leaning close, I lowered my voice. "Open the door, or I will kick it in."

"I will call the police …"

"I will be inside that apartment and out before the dispatch ever answers your call," I assured her, pushing at the door to show her how weak the structure between her and me actually was. "Last chance."

Movement on the other side had me taking a step back. Ever so slowly, a woman half my size cracked the door, the weak chain still attached. The top of her head didn't even reach my shoulder, and very real fear lit her hazel gaze. "Okay. Bella lives here, but she's gone. She's not coming back."

I was so fucking pissed, the anger rattled every cell in my body. My piercing blues shot to Mike who cringed in response. "Open the door." I didn't give her a chance to try and dissuade me this time, with a hard shoulder, I pushed. With little effort, I dislodged the screws, the plywood splintering in a thousand different directions. I didn't stop, walking forward, forcing the woman to back up several paces. "Where did the little thief go?"

Emmett and Mike entered the apartment, striding past me to look around the apartment, my gaze never wavered from the woman in front of me, however. When her lips parted with another lie lingering on her tongue, I growled, walking her into the adjacent wall. "Don't even think of lying to me again. I am beginning to take your deception personally, and you don't want me to do that."

"I-I," she gulped, her complexion turning green before going ashen. "I-I really don't know." Her pointed chin trembled and a sheen of tears glossed over her eyes. "I have no idea. I just told her to leave. S-she didn't mean it. She didn't know,"

"Did you two really believe you could swipe a hundred grand without someone coming to look for it?" The girl before me was beyond terrified. To drive my influence home, I lowered my nose until it was an inch from hers, pleased when her whole form vibrated with terror. "It just so happens she robbed the wrong motherfucker, and I'm not stopping until I locate her. Either you can help me, or …"

I let my voice trail off. Her imagination would do far worse things to her than I. I wasn't in the business of hurting women and children. As important as money might be to me, there were some principles I couldn't ignore, but she didn't need to know that. In order for her to spill the information she might have, she needed to believe I would hurt her, or her friend.

A tear leaked from the corner of her eye and slid down her cheek. She shook her head adamantly, "I don't know where she could've gone." She looked past me to where Mike hovered near the archway, saying, "She was just supposed to rob him. Steal his shit and get out. She wasn't supposed to take that money. When she told me what she did, I made her leave, I swear."

I didn't doubt this woman for a second. She didn't know where Bella had gone, but that didn't mean Bella wouldn't contact her later. Chicago was a very big city with too many shadows to search, and trying would be a fruitless endeavor. Grinding my teeth, I glanced over at Emmett, my words directed to my newest prisoner. "Take her in your truck to my apartment. She's not leaving my sight until we find Bella."

Emmett rounded me as I stepped back, grabbing her by her arm, and whirling her toward the living room. "You heard him, princess. Get your phone, and let's go."

Emmett led the girl into my living room, yanking the bag off her head, and shoving her into an awaiting chair. "What's your name, princess?"

"Alice," she squeaked out as Emmett bound her arms and legs. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, and her face and neck were blotchy. "I don't think she will call me. She's not that stupid."

I pointed in her direction. "You better hope like fuck she calls, or you can pay all that money back you helped her steal."

"But I didn't do anything," she whimpered. Her gaze widened with a plea. "Please, just let me go and I will help you find her."

"Bullshit you didn't do anything." With the most menacing look I could muster, I stared her down as I wandered closer. Purposely, I got in her face, smirking when she shuddered. "I watched you feed my man pills so your friend could rob him blind. Now you are going to see the consequences of your actions."

As I spoke, I unbuttoned my sleeves and rolled them up, baring my forearms. I'd promised Mike a thorough beat down after learning of his treachery, and this was a golden opportunity to scare Alice into a confession. If she knew anything about Bella's whereabouts, I knew after watching Mike suffer for his own indirect actions, her tongue would wag.

Mike must've interrupted my actions, his body starting to shake, walking backward until he tripped over the ottoman. Growling over his cowardice, I stalked forward and yanked him up by the front of his shirt. "Don't be a bitch, Mike. You knew this was coming, and just because I'm in a tailspin, doesn't excuse your involvement."

"I know, man, I will do anyth–."

He didn't complete his sentence before my knuckles connected with his jaw. My hand fisted in his shirt to keep him upright, yet his head fell back on his shoulders. When Alice's scared cry filled the space around me, my mission in that regard was accomplished, but Mike–he still needed to feel the wrath. One hit wasn't going to rectify months of skimming and deception. I pulled him up until he stared me in the eye. "Do not disgrace yourself by begging. That will just make it worse, and piss me off."

For the next twenty minutes, I worked him over until he was a blubbering mess on my floor. My knuckles were black and blue, yet the fire in me was still burning bright. Alice had cried so much at that point, she could barely see out of her swollen eyelids. To intimidate her further, I moved toward her chair, and she shrunk away from me. Bending low, I whispered in her ear, "This is what happens when you cross me. If you tell me where Bella went–."

"I don't know. I swear," she buried her face against her bound hands. "Please, please don't hurt her. W-we … W-we just do what we have to survive. If she'd known it was you, or your money–there's no way she'd ever have taken it. Please, please don't hurt her."

I found it a testament to Bella's character that her friend was begging me for her welfare. Alice wasn't asking to save herself, but for Bella. That gave me pause. Why would I spare Bella? What made that girl any more special than anyone else who'd screwed me over? "Don't give me that shit. Everyone has a choice, and your friend chose to steal money that wasn't rightfully hers. She's gonna have to pay just like anyone else."

"S-she's been through so much," Alice cried, her words muffled against her arms. "Please, just give us a chance to make this right."

I looked at Emmett with a shrug. "Get Mike out of here."

I waited until the door closed behind Mike and Emmett. Tossing Alice's phone next to her, I stared her in the eye. "When Bella calls, and we both know she will, you will act as though I've come and gone. If you give her any–any indication that I'm sitting next to you, I will make you sorry to ever have been born." My gaze narrowed. At this point, Alice was far too scared to lie. Driving the threat home, I leaned down in her face. "Do you understand me?"

"J-just promise you won't hurt her." She looked at the spot where Mike had been laying on the floor. "I need to know she's safe."

Emmett came into the apartment. "Mike's out of here. Hopefully, he can see tomorrow, both of his eyelids are purple."

Alice shuddered, balling in on herself. "I'll do anything as long as you promise she will be safe."

I held my arms open wide, ignoring my smarting knuckles to focus on Alice. "I will give you my word as a Cullen, I want my money back. If she doesn't fight me then we won't have an issue."

My honor and integrity were at stake. I would never go against my word after giving it. There weren't many things in this world worth a damn, but I lived and breathed my ethics. I studied her intently. "What's your decision?"

She nodded weakly, her gaze never wavering from mine. "Okay. I will do whatever you want me to."

Alice was true to her word, and at four o'clock I was standing in the bus station when Bella came racing inside. Sticking to the shadows, I watched every move she made from the time she entered the bus station until she boarded the bus. I hung back, waiting with my ticket in hand until five minutes before they closed the door.

Considering Bella didn't know who I was, or what I looked like, I'd shucked my formal attire for a T-shirt and jeans, intent on blending in better with my surroundings. I glanced at the faces I passed as I made my way down the aisle until I found my prey. She was tucked at the back of the bus with her head against the window. Her hair was covering her eyes, and a snort indicated she'd already dozed off. I should keep my distance. Hell, I could've reached over her head into the compartment to retrieve my hundred grand, and the sleeping beauty curled in that seat would be none the wiser. I did neither of those things, however, slipping into the space next to her.

Over the course of the next two hours, I listened to her snore and dodged a few sleepy smacks when she turned in my direction. What caught me completely off guard was the way she rested her head on my shoulder, nuzzling closer. Her contented sigh coasted across my neck, and an electric current shot through my blood, twisting my gut. On instinct, I stiffened. In my thirty years, I'd never slept next to a woman or had one cozied up next to me, and the unexpected thrill left me uncomfortable.

Instead, I uncharacteristically remained still. This woman was everything I despised in a person. She was a liar, manipulative, and a thief. Even as these thoughts played through my mind, I didn't push her away. To my further astonishment, I too dozed off with lingering confusion in my muddled mind.

I must've been completely exhausted because the next thing I knew I was awakened with a shriek in my ear and a shove. "Get away from me you creep!"

I brought Bella's face into focus, blinking rapidly to clear the fog from my brain to find my arm curled around her waist. I was just as bewildered as the woman laying halfway across my chest. Her reaction didn't offend me at all. Slowly, I disentangled myself from her slight form. With a knowing smirk I'd used on many women in my time, I smiled at her. "Hi. I'm Adam. What's your name, beautiful?"

Bella yanked free, her eyes wide, and skittish. "Who gave you permission to have your hands all over me?"

"For your information, doll, you are the one who got all handsy. I was just returning the gesture." I made no attempt to create any distance between us. It was in my best interest to stay right where I sat, with my enemy at hand. "Planted your head right on my shoulder, and cuddled up like I was a long-lost love."

"Hardly," she snorted with disbelief, pulling her knee away when it brushed against mine. "This isn't assigned seating. Why are you over here? There are plenty of other places to sit."

"Why would I do that when I have my very own snuggle bunny?" The woman next to me growled, glaring at me. To further antagonize her, I leaned back in my chair. "Come on, babe, we have a long ride to Cali, we can do a lot more than snuggle."

I swear if the woman had a gun, she'd pull it out and shoot me straight between the eyes. The menace in her eyes spoke volumes. "I really wish you'd change seats." She gestured at the one across the aisle. "Like that one over there. Please, just leave me alone."

"I could," I started, glancing in the direction she pointed in. "But I won't."

She shoved impatiently at my legs and stood with determination in her gaze. Opening the compartment she pulled her bags free. "Fine. Move. I will switch seats."

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