Well, hello, everyone! I'm back, and in the spirit of the holiday season, I have a special gift for you!

Two chapters instead of one!

I left you guys on quite the cliffhanger, and while some questions get answered in this chapter, I think you're all really looking for chapter twelve.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!

I hope you enjoy chapters 11 and 12!

EPOV

Bella's chipper the morning after we make love. Jesus, listen to me. Make love. Like I'm some bastard in a chick flick. But what we did wasn't a quick fuck. No, it was the start of something bigger. Warmth builds deep inside my chest every time I think of her. I want to hold on tight and never let go.

We're both on a fucked up sleep schedule, so when I say morning, I mean four am. My skull no longer feels like it's about to crack open, and my nausea is gone. Apparently, I'm going to live.

I grin into my coffee as I watch Bella flit around the kitchen making waffles. I could get used to waking up with a beautiful woman in my arms who feeds me. The only thing missing from a perfect morning is some attention for my morning wood which hasn't entirely dissipated.

"So, how sore are you?" I ask, eyeing the exposed skin of Bella's legs and fantasizing about the feel of them wrapped around my waist. I could prop her on the counter and-

"No, sir. You got seconds last night. Does our eleven pm rendez-vous spark any memories? I need Advil, a bath, and a couple of days to recover."

"A couple of days!" I pout. I don't have it in me to be patient.

"There are other things we can do." She smirks. Fuck me.

"I like 'other things.'"

"I'm sure you do. Here, eat." She places a waffle piled high with strawberries and powdered sugar in front of me. I dig in like an animal. Fuck manners. I built up an appetite last night. "What time do you have to work today?" she asks.

"I've got to be there at eleven. Not sure how late I'll have to stay."

"I don't work again until tomorrow, so if you want to come back over later…."

"Oh, I want to."

Her goofy smile matches mine as we eat in companionable silence.

It's not until I leave Bella's brownstone that the depth of what I'm doing sinks in.

God, please give her the ability to forgive me when the truth comes out.

oOo

"Last day, Tony! How you feeling?" Caius claps me on the back when I show up for work the morning of Bella's Friendsgiving party.

I'm a month deep into my relationship with Bella, and she still believes I'm Tony Masen, construction consultant. My hours are more manageable since Aro put me on the books, but Caius wants the project finished today. He's got plans next week that don't involve sitting in front of Aro's computer.

"Glad to get this over with," I laugh. "Hey, I gotta be out of here before seven tonight. You think we can get the final months done before then?"

"Depends on how fast you type," Caius jokes. "We'll make it happen. You got a hot date?"

"Something like that."

"Good for you. You need some tail. Too uptight, this one," he chuckles as he pats me on the back.

I fire up the computer and type in Aro's password- Volturi123. Criminals have the right not to be tech-savvy. Caius pulls up a chair and brings the latest book over, opening it to August, and we get to work. The template for the spreadsheet is already built, so all I have to do is plug in the numbers and calculate, making sure they match up. The job is more tedious than difficult.

Caius reads his writing to me as I type because God knows I can't make out that chicken scratch. How we haven't come across more errors in his accounting due to his handwriting, I'll never know.

"Alright, Masen. I'm fucking starving," he announces sometime after two. We're most of the way through September. "You want a hero or something? I'm going down to Carmen's, gonna pick up some food."

"Yeah, salami and provolone," I answer, stretching. My back is tight from hunching over a keyboard for days on end.

"Take a break. I'll be back."

I relax in my chair and double-check my work. Caius is putting a lot of faith in me, leaving me alone with all this evidence sitting out in the open.

Wait.

I thank God for Aro's lack of security cameras and recording devices as I pull out my agency phone and call Mike.

"Hey, man, it's me. I've got access to something big. Call me back."

I need a fucking warrant. Now.

I've got to be smart. If I take evidence without a warrant, it won't hold up in court. However, if I start collecting now and get a judge to sign off sometime today, I'll be in the clear.

There's a flash drive burning a hole in my pocket, but I don't know if I have the time to upload anything before Caius or one of the other guys waltz in here.

However, I've got the original book wide open in front of me. I take a moment to listen for recognizable voices outside the door. I'm sure Alec is out in the pool hall soaking up as much booze as his liver will allow, but I don't think anyone other than Caius is due here until tonight.

I tip the book upward to hide my phone before I start snapping photos of the original numbers. I get August through November done before the door creaks, and I'm forced to drop the phone into my lap.

"Ah, Tony!" Aro greets me. "How's the work coming along."

"Great. I think we're going to finish tonight," I say, forcing a smile. I scoot my chair closer to the desk, hiding my lap from view.

"And where is Caius?" Aro's eyes narrow as he realizes I'm the only one around.

"He went to Carmen's to pick up lunch and left me to double-check our work from this morning. We only noticed a few errors in calculations so far, but we want everything to be as accurate as possible." I shrug.

"A perfectionist. I can appreciate that. So, you say you can finish this today?"

"It looks that way."

"Wonderful, because I have another position I want you to fill."

"Yeah?" I ask. "What about the books?"

"Caius pointed out that keeping a laptop with such valuable information here may be troublesome. He suggested we move it to my home office. He will continue keeping the books from there."

"And me?"

"You are getting a promotion!" Aro claps his hands together, and I fight the urge to grimace.

"What does that entail?"

"I am going to give you your very own crew! I am sure you heard about the unfortunate series of events Diego encountered. God, rest his soul."

Yeah, Diego. The victim of a poker brawl that ended up with him deep in Lake Michigan? Amazing how no one knows anything about what truly happened at that card game.

"No shit, really?" I feign excitement.

"You have proven yourself beyond my wildest dreams."

"Salami and cheese," Caius says as he returns and tosses a sandwich my way. "Ah, hell. Did Aro already tell you the good news? I wanted to be here for that!"

My phone starts buzzing in my lap, and I have to reach down quickly to ignore the call.

"I'm honored," I tell the men in front of me.

"We'll transition you next week. But for now, let's finish this shit so we can get outta here."

"A sandwich for me?" Aro asks. I use the distraction to slip my phone back into my pocket and turn it off.

"You weren't here!" Caius complains.

"Then I will have to visit Carmen on my own."

"Yeah, don't visit her for too long. She's a busy lady." I shudder at the image of Aro in the throws of passion with the deli lady.

"That's more than I needed to know," I laugh as Aro makes his exit, and Caius returns to his spot next to me.

"He's got a thing with Maggie at the bakery too."

"Please stop."

Caius chuckles and rearranges the ledger book so he can start reading out numbers again.

We get stuck reconciling October. Benny's accounting doesn't match up, which we knew, but the numbers from Eclipse are all over the place. Up one week, down the next. Something's not right.

"I wonder if that fucker, Freddy, is taking kickbacks from Black when he sells there."

"Why would he pay tribute on that income?"

"Because he's a God damn moron. Probably thinks if he gets caught, he'll tell us he kicked up Aro's share, and we'll let him off the hook."

"You gonna let him off the hook?" I chuckle.

"Fuck no."

I wait as Caius pulls out his phone to call Aro.

"We've got an issue at Eclipse," he explains, going into detail about what we found.

"Yeah, I can meet you over there. What? Can Masen finish the books? I don't know." He glances at me. "I know he's a smart motherfucker. Okay. You're the boss." He hangs up and looks me over. "Aro wants you to finish up here while I go with him to deal with Freddy."

"Sure. That's not a problem."

"I'm gonna check your work in the morning, so nothing better be off with this shit."

"I know what I'm doing," I promise.

"Yeah, yeah. Lock up when you leave," he orders, turning the lock on the doorknob so no one will be able to enter and disturb me.

"Good luck!" I call after him, earning a scoff before the door slams shut.

"Holy fuck!" I blow out a long breath, nervous energy building in my veins.

I pull my agency phone out and power it on. I've got four missed calls from Mike. I give it a few minutes before I call back, just to make sure I don't get a surprise reappearance from Caius.

I still have to finish the books because even if I get a warrant tonight, it will be sealed, and I'll only be able to obtain digital information. Information that Caius and Aro won't be able to tell I took. I won't be done with my undercover assignment immediately. It will be a few months before any arrest warrants can be processed. I check the time. I still have to do all of November, which will take at least another hour and a half.

Shit. It's six-fifteen. I told Bella I would be at her party by eight. If I work fast, I can get through the accounting in an hour, download the files and get out of here.

I call Mike as I return to work, growling when I get nothing but voicemail.

It turns out November, much like October, is a shit show. Benny's team is back on track, but the numbers coming out of Eclipse are more erratic than they were before. I have to call Caius and explain this to him in detail as he relays it all to Aro. It takes a good twenty minutes.

At seven-thirty, I've got one week left to account for, so I send Bella a quick text letting her know I'll be out in half an hour- that is assuming Mike will pick up his fucking phone.

I call him again. Voicemail.

This is my last shot at getting the evidence we need, and I know it. Once the computer and the ledger are safely tucked away at Aro's, I won't have access to them. But if I take the evidence without a warrant, it won't hold up in court.

I growl and run my hands through my hair once I finish the last of November. What the fuck am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait?

I try to remember if I have any other agents' phone numbers saved. Mike has a personal phone but doesn't use it for work. Maybe someone on the team has it in case of emergencies?

I scroll through old emails and texts but can't find anything other than a hotline for our internal affairs department.

At eight, I text Bella again, and I start to pace.

At eight-fifteen, I realize I'm not going to make the damn party. I can't leave this god-forsaken office.

I feel sick having to cancel on Bella. She was excited for me to meet her friends, and to be honest, so was I. Our relationship is the only thing left that gives me hope of a decent life after I'm out.

My phone buzzes on the desktop, and I lunge for it. "Fucking, finally!" I hiss when I answer.

"Shit, Ed! I'm sorry, man. We're hosting a party at our house tonight!"

"Great! Good for you. But I need a fucking warrant, now! I can download Volturi's books, but it's my only chance. Tomorrow all my access will be cut off!"

"Tonight?"

"Yes, Tonight! I swear to god, Mike, if you don't come through, I'm fucking walking! No more Tony Masen, no more case, I'm out. Done."

"No! I'll get the warrant. Calm down!"

"This is it, Mike. The end. I can feel it."

"I know, I agree. Just hang in there."

"Call me back when you find a judge."

I collapse on a chair and let my head fall back. Now I fucking wait.

For three fucking hours.

I'm dozing off when my phone finally fucking rings again.

"Did-" I have to clear my throat. "Did you get it?"

"It's in hand. Start downloading."

I rush to the computer, sign back in, and ensure I saved all my spreadsheets correctly. Seven fucking years of names and tribute paid to Aro. Seven fucking years of extortion, racketeering, and even money laundering.

It takes all of ten minutes to get eighty-four spreadsheets onto my flash drive and another ten to snap pictures from Aro's ledger.

When I finish, I lock the computer, put the ledger away in the false drawer in Aro's desk, and cradle the fucking flash drive in my pocket like it's a newborn infant.

It's done. -E

Meet me at the bodega around the corner from your place. -M

I make sure to lock Aro's office before taking off from the pool hall. The only guy there that might blab to Aro about my late departure is Alec, and as suspected, he's two sheets to the wind.

I'm jumpy all the way home. Watching for a tail because I'm positive there's no way I'm getting away with this.

The twenty-four-hour bodega is empty when I walk in, save for the clerk and Mike, who's scanning soda options in the back. I pretend I'm interested in a Pepsi and excuse myself as I reach around Mike to open the display case. I pass the flash drive into his hand, grab my soda, pay, and leave.

Good job. Cullen. I'm going straight to the office to get this uploaded. -M

I let out a sigh of relief at his text as I head back toward the L.

I've got pictures of this year's original ledger. I'll upload them and send them over when I get home. -E

You're almost out. -M

I know. -E

Almost fucking out. Due to God damn financial crimes.

Why do these guys always end up going down for the white-collar stuff? Al Capone, hell, even half of Whitey Bulger's indictment was for financial shit.

Re-energized, I run down the steps from the train platform near Bella's place.

Soon I can come clean, tell her everything and beg for fucking forgiveness.

She'll understand. She's got to understand.

Maybe one day we'll laugh about how we met. It's a great story for the grandkids.

I'm halfway down her street when I hear arguing. I pick up my pace. It's Bella's voice, threatening to call the cops. Fuck!

My muscles tense, and my hands curl into fists when I see who's harassing her on her front steps. I'm ready to throw down and get this fucker out of her life once and for all.

"Jacob," I growl. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

A/N: Okay, we got some answers about where the heck Edward was. Now let's find out what happens when his worlds collide!