A/N… All of you are super curious about this, so I'll let you get to it.

~oOo~

Chapter 10

EDWARD

I parked my truck across the street from Common Ground, and Garrett pulled up behind me. Bella stepped out of her little Nissan, her phone up to her ear and a worried expression on her face.

"Dad's not picking up," she muttered when Garrett and I met up with her at the door of the apartments. Her gaze met mine. "I need to check on him first. He always answers."

We followed her to Charlie's door, and she used a key to go in. Alice looked up from the sofa.

"Where's Dad?" Bella asked her.

"Umm, he said he was finishing 4B today because he had someone looking to rent it. He wanted to show it," Alice said, standing up with her hand on her stomach. "Why? What's going on?"

"Just…" Bella didn't even bother to finish. She walked back out to the foyer, taking the stairs almost at a run.

"Bella, slow down," Garrett teased her as both of us trailed behind her.

"Something's wrong… He always answers."

I gritted my teeth because her panic was making me nervous. If something was wrong with Charlie, I was absolutely certain she'd lose it. The closer we got to the fourth floor, the sound of some sort of televised sports met my ears, but I didn't hear anything else.

"Dad?" Bella called, walking right into the unrented apartment.

We searched every room, every closet, and the bathroom, but he wasn't up there. His phone was sitting on the windowsill, playing a baseball game. I walked to it, picking it up and turning off the game. He had several missed calls from Bella and one from Kings County Correctional.

I handed it to Bella, and she read the screen.

"He doesn't go anywhere without it. He just…doesn't."

"Okay, so we need to spr—"

I was about to say we needed to spread out to search the building, but suddenly, an alarm sounded from downstairs.

"That's Common Ground," Bella said, starting for the door.

We all rushed down the stairs, but once we hit the sidewalk in front of Common Ground, I stopped Bella.

"Bella, let us look first. Okay?" I was practically begging her as I pointed to the foyer of the apartments. "Please?"

She nodded nervously, glancing down at her father's phone. "Okay."

Garrett gave a sharp whistle toward the patrol car, and two officers stepped out of the cruiser. "Call it in. I don't care if it's a fucking rat that set it off. Call this alarm in!" he ordered them.

Immediately, Yorkie was on his radio. His partner, whose name was Clearwater, was a fresh, wet-behind-the-ears rookie right out of the academy. But he looked sharp and smart.

"Clearwater, you're with me. Front door. Yorkie, take the back with Garrett."

"Edward!" I heard behind us, and Bella rushed up, holding out her keys – one specifically. "It opens both the front and the back."

I nodded, pointing back to the door. I stepped up to the door and unlocked it, handing the key over to Garrett, who took off toward the back. I tucked a Bluetooth into my ear, dialing him instantly.

"We'll go in at the same time. Tell me when you're ready," I told him, pulling out my gun, and Clearwater did the same.

"Well, shit fire… This was already open. On you, Masen," Garrett stated softly.

"Go!" I pulled the door open, and we both stepped inside. "Seattle PD!" I called out, but no answer, no movement, nothing.

Most of the lights were off due to the restaurant being closed in the late afternoon, and the dining area was empty. Clearwater and I stepped up to the counter, each peeking around the corners in the direction of the floor. If someone were to hide, that was the place to do it – other than the kitchen.

"Jesus, Edward, someone's searched this place," Garrett said softly.

In the distance, I heard sirens already on their way. I called clear for the front but decided to step into the kitchen.

"Jesus fucking Christ," I barely said aloud, because the kitchen had been ransacked.

Pots, pans, garbage, and food was strewn everywhere. The big-ass refrigerator was wide open, but it was the walls my eyes locked on.

Blood. It streaked down the wall toward Bella's office, and her door was practically split in half. The safe was intact, but it was the groan I heard that made chills crawl down my spine.

"Call for a bus! Now!" I yelled, rushing to Charlie, who was behind her desk on the floor, and dropping to my knees by his side.

He was a mess – split lip, possible broken nose, and broken arm. In his other grip was a gun. I carefully checked his pulse, and he was still alive.

"Charlie, can you hear me?" I asked him, giving the rest of him a once-over, and he seemed to just have been beaten – no gunshot wounds, no lacerations. He groaned softly, and I called to him again. One of his eyes was pretty swollen, but the other cracked open. Barely. "Who was it, Charlie?"

"Bella! Promise… Promise me you'll keep her safe," he rasped, letting go of his weapon and reaching for my shirt to grip it hard.

"I swear on my life, Charlie. But who did this?"

"J-Jake and…" he barely whispered out before his eyes fell closed again.

"Stay with me, Charlie," I told him, checking his pulse again. Fuck, it was so faint. I glanced behind me to see Garrett. "Go get her. I want her to ride in with him. Alice too."

"I'm gonna shoot these motherfuckers, Edward. I swear to fucking God," Garrett practically growled out. "Seriously, they're gonna have a fucking accident."

"Just…go get her, please," I repeated, keeping my hand on Charlie to make sure he was hanging in there. Clearwater was guarding the door, waiting on the ambulance, but he met my gaze. "I need you to ride with them. You're not to let any-fucking-body come near them. Copy?"

"Yeah, Masen." He nodded vehemently.

"I'll clear it with Banner. Just…"

"No, I get it. I mean… There's a reason we've been watching this coffee shop, right?" he asked shrewdly.

"Right."

Bella appeared at the door. "Dad?" she barely squeaked aloud, quickly falling to her knees beside me. "Daddy? Dad, wake up. Please!"

"Here," I whispered, taking her hand and placing it on his chest. "He's alive, okay?"

"Wh-Who? Who did this?" she asked, taking her father's hand in hers. "Who, Edward?"

My nostrils flared with my anger, but I wanted her to know she needed to be so careful. I put my lips to her ear, whispering, "He said Jake, and then he passed out before he could tell me the other person. You must keep that to yourself. Am I clear?"

She nodded nervously. "Yeah." She looked to me, and those deep, dark, beautiful eyes filled with tears. "You think the other was James."

"Fuck, I hope so," I whispered back to her, and I couldn't stop myself from reaching up to wipe away the tears that had slipped down her sweet cheek. "I need you to listen to me, Bella. Your dad made me swear to keep you safe, but I need you to ride with them to the hospital. Officer Clearwater over there is going to stay with you until I've not only processed this crime scene, but also searched for why we came here in the first place. Okay? Can you do that for me?"

I raised an eyebrow at her so that she understood I meant the drugs we thought Maria had stashed somewhere in this damn building.

"As soon as I'm done, I'll come to you, but no one will fuck with you while you're in the ambulance or the hospital, especially with guards on you. Now, do I have your permission to search the premises?"

She sniffled a little, swallowing thickly. "Yeah…yes. Definitely. Just…don't let Sid get out. Okay?"

"I'll put him up in my apartment if I have to," I vowed to her. "You take care of Charlie until I come up to the hospital. Don't talk to anyone, Bella. Don't take a call from Jasper, and don't talk to any other cop other than who is in this building right now."

I knew I sounded paranoid and probably a touch aggressive, but she needed to understand just how important she was.

"Please, Bella. I need you safe, and as much as I'd rather it be me with you, I need to be here," I begged her.

"Cop's intuition?" she verified.

Nodding, I wiped away another tear. It was all I could do to maintain my temper in front of her. I wanted to hunt Jacob Black down and beat the answers out of him.

"You're going after him, aren't you?" she asked, glancing back when someone called that the ambulance had arrived.

"I… I don't know yet. I want to, but… It wouldn't exactly be legal what I want to do to him for hurting you, hurting Charlie," I admitted softly, standing up and helping her to her feet so the EMTs could get to her father.

"Why?"

"You're important to me, Bella. I know I'm an ass, and I know I drive you crazy… Please just…do as I say, and we'll talk later."

She studied my face. "It's not me, it's you?" she asked, turning around our usual joke, and there was teasing in that tone, even though she kept her eyes on Charlie as they worked on him.

I grinned briefly, sighing a little. "Yeah. It's me." Because, Jesus, I couldn't fight that shit any longer. Now wasn't exactly the right time, but I couldn't help it.

"It's me too," she whispered back and gave my hand a quick squeeze.

I wanted to pull her to me, wrap her up in a bubble of protection, and put a bullet in whoever caused those tears. She was always at ease with taking care of people, but I could see this was too much. Where everyone had Bella to come to as a safe haven, I knew Charlie was hers, and she looked a tad bit overwhelmed and lost.

"Good. Then stop breaking up with me," I told her, smirking at her eyeroll.

"Detective, his weapon," one of the EMTs called to me.

"That's not Dad's gun, Edward," Bella pointed out, glancing from the weapon to me. "Which means…he fought them."

"No one touch that weapon! We'll process it when CSU gets here," I ordered, and everyone acknowledged that.

Charlie was given oxygen, and they carefully did what they had to do to get him on the gurney. As they were loading him, I asked the driver, "Can he make it to Virginia Mason?"

"Yeah, he's stable," she replied with a nod. "There might be some internal stuff, maybe a concussion, but his vitals are good for the trip."

I turned to Bella and Alice. "You'll ask for Dr. Carlisle Cullen when you get to the hospital. Okay?"

They both nodded, getting into the ambulance with Charlie. Clearwater and Yorkie were going to follow them in.

I pulled out my phone, scrolling until I found him.

"Edward, son… How are you?" Uncle Carlisle answered without even saying hello.

"I need your help. I'm sending an ambulance your way. He's been attacked, and I…"

"Okay, okay… Who is it? I'll make my way downstairs now," he replied calmly.

"Charlie Swan. I need him to make it, Uncle Carlisle."

"Is he a witness?"

"He's… Yeah, but he's…Bella's father."

He went quiet for a moment. "I've heard all about her from everyone but you, Edward." It wasn't accusatory or harsh, just calm, cool facts. Carlisle was never harsh, but if I knew Emmett and Aunt Esme, then they'd already told him about Bella.

"I'll rectify that when I get to the hospital in a few hours, but…"

"Okay. I'll keep you posted."

~oOo~

The crime scene unit was working on the kitchen as I walked through the whole place. I was eyeing security cameras and the blood smear on the wall, which I was convinced wasn't Charlie's blood. I had a gut feeling that he'd gotten off at least one shot on those assholes.

We'd been through the whole place, but before we started the search for those missing kilos of heroin, I was going to let them get as much evidence as they could for this attack. Once they'd deemed it clear to touch shit, Garrett and I were going to hunt those drugs down.

"Hey, Masen?" Garrett called from Bella's office.

"Yeah?"

I peeked my head in the door, and he was sitting at her desk. He pointed above his head to a camera.

"Where's that feed to?"

"She's… She's got a laptop. It's not here?"

"No. Not in a drawer or anywhere else."

"It'll feed to the security company, I'd bet," I surmised softly, but when my phone rang in my pocket, I pulled out to see who it was. "Timing is everything. Let's ask her."

"Damn, I hope Charlie makes it," Garrett mumbled mainly to himself.

Swiping my thumb across the screen, I answered, "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, I just… I wanted to thank you. Your uncle took over once we pulled in. He's…so calm."

Grinning, I let out a small laugh. "Yeah, he is. He always has been. What did he say about Charlie?"

"He's in surgery. Ruptured spleen. He has a broken arm and a concussion, which is why he was unconscious. Dr. Cullen says he's stable enough for surgery, so…"

"Good. Really good." I practically fell down into a chair in the dining area of Common Ground in pure relief.

"How's it going? Find anything?"

"We're letting them document the break-in before we do anything else. Although, Garrett had a question. Where's your security video go?" I asked her.

"To my laptop and the alarm company."

"Was your laptop in the office?"

"No, it's actually upstairs in my apartment. I was working last night," she explained. "You have my keys. Go get it. Just…"

"Don't let Sid out. I know. I got him, Bella. I promise." I got up, walking back to Bella's office to Garrett. "I'm gonna get you that laptop. I'll be right back."

"Ten-four. Hope we can see that footage," he muttered.

"How bad is it?" she asked as I walked out of the cafe. "I really didn't get a chance to look around. How bad did they tear it up?"

"It's fixable," I told her, ascending the stairs to the second floor. "Charlie's more important. I'll even help you clean again, so…" I couldn't stop the smile when she laughed a little at that.

I used the newest key on her ring first, since she'd just changed the locks, and the door opened. Sid was sitting on the table, glaring curiously at the fact that it wasn't Bella. I closed the door behind me, noting that she'd replaced all the furniture that had been ruined during the break-in.

"Hello, Sid," I greeted, running a hand over his head. "Okay, Bella, I'm in here. Where is it?"

"Bedroom. On my nightstand."

Jesus Christ, her room smelled amazing. Like flowers and just all clean girl, and I had to shake my head to focus, because briefly, I wondered if she smelled that good everywhere.

The bedroom had been put back together, as well. Sid had a new climbing tower, all the clothes had been put back into their rightful place, and a new mattress sat with just slightly rumpled covers on it. And on the nightstand was her laptop.

"Got it. Any password?"

"Obsidian2020. The O is capitalized."

"Okay. I'll keep you posted. I want to run through this footage, Bella."

"Can… Will you please feed Sid? I know we're here until you get here, and that'll be a bit," she requested sweetly.

"Yup, on it," I answered, walking into the kitchen for Sid's bowl.

"Thanks. I'll call you when Dad's out of surgery."

"Bella?" I said before she could end the call.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry about Charlie. About all of it. I'm… I'm gonna do my best to stop them," I vowed to her, swallowing nervously. "You don't deserve a fucking bit of it."

She sniffled a little over the line. She went silent for a second or two but finally said, "I blame Jasper and Maria for some of it, but…I know James is behind the majority of this bullshit. I hope you can prove it, Edward. No one is safe until he's stopped. But what happens if you can't stop him?"

I poured some food in Sid's bowl, setting it down in its place, and I scratched his head before straightening and picking the laptop back up.

"I don't know, Bella. One thing at a time. Focus on Charlie. Stay inside that hospital with those officers. When I'm done here, maybe I'll know more. Okay?"

She sniffed. "Okay. Oh, and the password is the same for the security cameras. You'll want to go back about a month and a half for any footage on Maria."

My eyebrows shot up. "Got it. Thank you."

We ended the call, and I made sure Sid was still preoccupied with his dinner before I opened her door and locked it back. I made my way back down to Common Ground, finding Garrett in the kitchen staring at the blood on the wall. All the CSU people were starting to wrap up.

"I think he shot one of those assholes," I stated from behind him. "Someone somewhere is hurt. I hope Charlie's aim was good. I hope it was Jacob Black, but I wouldn't be fucking sad if it was James."

Garrett grinned. "You think James was the second guy?"

"I don't know. But I plan to find out," I told him, holding up Bella's laptop. "Anything on the weapon?"

"Yeah, that gun had recently been fired, but they took fingerprints and bagged the gun. Your buddy, Jessica, is still processing Bella's office." He turned to me. "These assholes used a key. I spoke to the alarm company; the alarm went off, and Charlie came down here to check it out, so he shut it off. They had to have ambushed him. And he hit the panic button in Bella's office before he collapsed." He glanced back at me. "How is he doing? How's that sweet girl holdin' up?"

I shook my head. "He's in surgery. And she's pissed off and scared."

I walked back into the dining room and set the laptop on the counter, opening it and logging in. I found the icon for the security company.

"We lookin' for these drugs or what?" he asked me. "I didn't want to interrupt the CSU girls, but we can do it now."

"Yeah, but Bella gave me an idea, so…hold that thought," I told him, changing the dates to a month prior. "I'll be looking at today's timeframe too, but I wanted to check out Maria first."

I started scanning quickly through mundane stuff, though I couldn't stop myself from watching Bella work the dining room. She was so good at it – never getting flustered, always with a smile, and organized as all hell. It wasn't until the second or third shift I was scrolling through that I caught sight of Maria.

"There she is," I mumbled, and Garrett came over to watch the screen with me.

After a few minutes, there wasn't much to see. A few dishes washed, a few tables bussed, and more cups of coffee than I could count. Maria came and went, working her shift just about the same, but by the time she was on her fifth day, she arrived with a red backpack on her shoulder.

"Now, what'choo got there?" Garrett sang softly.

We went quiet for a bit, watching her work. That backpack was set down on a shelf in the kitchen, but no one fucked with it. "Okay, so we got some blind spots. Inside the big fridge, the corner of the end of the hallway passing Bella's office, and…" He trailed off when one camera in the corner of the dining room went out.

"What the… Bella said a camera went out, right?" I asked rhetorically, scrolling back a few minutes in the dining room. "Maria takes a tray of food to the table…then disappears behind the counter. So…that end of this counter is a blind spot?"

Garrett went to the end, tugging open the cabinet doors beneath it. "Nothing here. Just extra cups and lids and takeout containers." He riffled through it but came up shaking his head.

I went through the time over and over and then saw it. "She was a sneaky, shady bitch," I muttered, waving him back over. "Check this. She drops off the food, goes over to the end of the counter, and that's when the camera dies. That one." I pointed up to the one in the very corner in said blind spot. "But she's not perfect, so watch. The camera above the door? It caught this…"

It wasn't quite in focus, but it was enough that we could see that the place was pretty empty. No other employee was around, and Maria moved quickly through the footage to the booth at the far end of the room, and she had that fucking backpack. She was barely showing, but it was enough for me to scramble around the counter to the same booth. The seats of the booth lifted easily enough, and there was the red backpack.

"Motherfucker," I said, glancing back at Garrett, who'd followed me.

"Gloves," he ordered, and I took a pair out of my pocket and pulled them on. Lifting the bag to the table, I unzipped it slowly. "Two kilos of heroin." I glanced back to Garrett. "Go get Jessica. She'll process this bag too."

"We need to make a scene. He needs to know that the drugs are no longer an option," I stated, pointing to the backpack.

Garrett nodded. "Well, as soon as Charlie Swan wakes up, I'm gonna get a statement and a warrant, and I'm going to enjoy arresting Black again. And sweet baby Jesus, please let the other motherfucker be Hunt, because all this shit will be wrapped up."

His phone rang in his pocket. "Spears!" He paused, nodding a little, whispering, "Cell phone company for Bree."

He walked away to talk to them, and I went back to Bella's office. Jessica was dusting for prints around the door, the alarm keypad, and Bella's desk. She glanced up when I stepped into the doorway.

"I need you to process one more thing we just found," I told her.

"No worries. I just finished in here," she said, closing her kit and picking it up. "What'cha got?"

"Two kilos of pure uncut heroin," I stated softly. "I need the bag it's in processed, as well as the plastic bags dusted for prints."

"Whoa," she said, walking to the table where the booth seat was still lifted.

She picked up her camera from around her neck, snapping several shots. She opened the flap of the backpack just enough to grab a few shots of the inside. Finally, she pulled out a large enough evidence bag to hold the entire backpack.

I pulled out my phone, calling dispatch. "This is Detective Masen, badge number 8501, requesting assistance." I rattled off that I needed uniform escort for CSU. When I ended the call, I glanced back to Jessica, saying, "Do not leave until they can tail you."

"Got it, Masen."

I went back to Bella's computer, looking up the current break-in. "Well, shit!" I hissed. "They wore masks," I said aloud, but Jessica came to stand by me. "But there's only one asshole who would've had access to Bella's keys."

"Jacob Black," she surmised, and I nodded.

We both looked up when Garrett came back inside still on his phone. "So what you're telling me is that this is the last time that phone pinged? Okay, so send me a map with that tower location. Perfect. You've been most helpful."

He ended the call, looking to me. "So we know the last call Bree Tanner made was to Inferno, but we don't know who she spoke to. If we can narrow down where she was, maybe we can locate her body."

I gripped my hair, nodding a little. "As soon as we take these drugs into evidence and hopefully get Charlie's statement, then I'm hoping we can finally finish this bullshit. But if we can't get a statement, then we're fucked, because those assholes wore masks for tonight's little escapade."

"Well, then…let's get our asses to the hospital. I know you're itching to set eyes on your girl and find out about Charlie. We'll call Banner on the way to let him know where we stand. Maybe Charlie telling you will be enough for us to get a warrant for Black."

I didn't argue that Bella wasn't my girl. She wasn't. I didn't know where Bella and I stood, except for our small intimate chat earlier. I knew I needed to keep her safe, and I knew that everything surrounding her was scaring her. There was a part of me that considered putting Bella and Alice somewhere safe, somewhere no one could get to them. However, that conversation would not be a pleasant one. I had a feeling those two would fight me.

But I also couldn't deny that there was a pull to Bella unlike anything I'd ever felt for anyone. And knowing that gorgeous girl the way I did, I knew she wouldn't stand for anything less than total upfront honesty. No bullshit, no pushing her away, and no hiding my past.

And that scared the shit out of me.

~oOo~

A/N… Maria was a shady bitch… Just saying. And Charlie is badass. And things are getting…personal with Edward.

Okay so all updates should go back to normal on When Angels Fall. And this will update next Tuesday. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)