A/N… This steps back a bit before Edward left the house. I'll let you get to it.

~oOo~

Chapter 16

BELLA

After a quick shower and feeding Sid, I left my room. I could hear Edward in the shower in the hallway bathroom, and something about that made a sweat break out on my forehead. The man was dangerous, and it wasn't because he was a capable cop or protective to the point of obsessed.

No, he was dangerous because he was gorgeous and passionate. The man I knew now was not the man I'd assumed he was when we'd met during Jasper's arrest. I knew more now. I knew him better now. Edward Masen Jr. was a good man, a caring man; he simply didn't show it to everyone.

And after hearing about his parents, I understood why he kept the world at arm's length. I now stood in awe of Carlisle and Esme; they loved him, tried to wrap him up in family and strength and warmth. It worked for the most part.

I let out a deep breath, continuing down to the kitchen and passing by Alice's still closed door. Carlisle was sitting at the counter sipping a cup of coffee while scrolling through something on a tablet.

"Good morning, Bella," he greeted.

"Welcome home," I teased him, smiling at his chuckle while I poured my own cup of coffee.

"Your father wanted me to tell you he's feeling better, and that he loves you and Alice. He'll probably need a touch of physical therapy for his arm, but his vitals look good," he explained kindly.

I groaned, looking his way. "May the Force be with the therapist."

Carlisle huffed a laugh. "Sounds like experience."

"Oh, absolutely. When he was shot in the line of duty, he needed PT for his leg. That poor man – Oscar. He put up with way more stubbornness than he should have from Charlie."

Carlisle nodded, wearing a smile. "Maybe we can figure something out. We'll know more once the fracture heals. We might be able to set up something easy that you can do with him."

"Out-stubborn my dad? Oh, yeah, that's possible. My mother called us mules."

Esme giggled at my statement when she stepped into the kitchen. "You're up early, sweetheart."

"Ah, habit," I told her, but I wasn't sure the truth was ready for the public. Being woken up by tall, dark, and really hard wasn't something I wanted to share at the moment. "I was going to see if you wanted help with breakfast."

"Is Edward still here, or has he left for work already?" she countered.

"He was in the shower when I came down."

She nodded. "Then yes, let me see if I can't get him to at least grab a quick bite before he leaves."

Smiling at how she catered to him, I nodded. "Okay, what can I do?"

"If you could start the pancake batter, I'll start the bacon," she suggested.

"Do you guys like bananas?" I asked, and both nodded. "If you have some and a bit of cinnamon, I can make banana pancakes like we make at Common Ground."

Esme beamed, reaching into the cabinet for ingredients, and then pointed to the bowl on the counter with a bunch of bananas. She wanted to learn the recipe, so we both worked in the kitchen for a bit.

"Christ, what's that smell?" I heard behind me, and I couldn't stop the light laugh at Edward's growly tone.

"Breakfast. Sit," I told him, pouring a cup of black coffee and setting it down in front of the seat next to a highly amused Carlisle.

"You miss serving people all day?" Edward teased with a smirk as he adjusted his tie and took a seat on a stool.

"Yes, Edward. Yes, I do," I snarked back, "so you'll have to just suffer as a surrogate."

Carlisle and Esme cracked up, but Edward merely grinned. It lit up his face like an angel as he sat there in a suit that would put most executives to damn shame.

I set a plate down in front of him, made myself one, and took the seat next to his. We all ate in silence for a few minutes, but Edward's phone bleeped, and he set his fork down to read a text.

"Shit," he sighed, shaking his head and glancing my way. "I have to go." His voice was soft, but something in his eyes worried me. "They found Bree."

The way he'd said that sounded final, like she wasn't just partying it up in Vegas or something. He'd said it as carefully as he could. Nodding, I focused back on my plate, fighting my tears. I knew the day would probably come, but hearing my friend was gone – truly gone – hurt me. Edward's hand gently brushed my hair from my face, but his lips were at my temple.

"I'm sorry, Bella."

I nodded again, trying to maintain, but a soft, sniffly sob escaped me. "Me, too. She was a good person. She'd just had a shit go in life – abusive parents, even worse foster families, and then…" I swallowed around the lump in my throat and swiped away tears.

"They need me at the crime scene," he stated softly, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "I'm…" He trailed off, but his temper was there in his flared nostrils, the grit to his teeth, and the rolling of his jaw. "I'm doing my best to stop James."

"I know you are, Edward. You've done way more than they did when she originally went missing, so…" I didn't finish that sentence, merely shrugged.

He kissed the top of my head, whispering, "I'm still sorry, beautiful."

Edward's sincerity caused more tears, and he gently brushed them away. For a brief moment, I leaned into him, and he pressed another kiss to my head.

Then he stood up from his seat, taking a few gulps of coffee and glancing over to Esme and Carlisle. "I'll keep you guys posted. Are you still overnights?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yeah, one more. Emmett said he'd be here tonight if you couldn't."

"Okay, I'll call him later when I know what I'm doing," Edward told him, glancing up when Alice joined us downstairs.

She froze in her tracks, rubbing her ever-growing belly. "What happened?" she asked, gazing around at all of us.

"They found Bree, Ali," I said, getting up to make her a plate because I needed to do something.

"Aw, hell." Alice frowned but took a seat by Esme.

"I'll be in touch later today," Edward told Carlisle.

"Be careful, son," Carlisle replied.

Edward nodded, met my gaze with dark and sad and still a bit upset, and he then left out the front door.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Esme asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I knew she was… Hearing it confirmed, though, is kind of a reality check. Like why we're here instead of at home. You know?"

In order to not go crazy, I started to clean up after breakfast. Once the dishwasher was running, I stepped into the living room. Carlisle had gone to bed, and Esme was around somewhere. Alice was watching TV, some cop show, which only reminded me that Edward was out there hunting down a dangerous fucking killer. I wasn't sure James would survive this investigation; Edward was starting to take shit personally over me.

The thought of Edward made my eyes seek out a few pictures on the shelf – specifically the one just after he'd come to live with his aunt and uncle. Knowing the full story, I could now understand what I was seeing on Edward's face at fifteen.

He was pissed, but he was grieving. Hell, he might've been dealing with a touch of PTSD or, at the very least, some anxiety. He certainly hadn't slept much, though I was pretty sure finding your mother in the walls of your home would give him nightmares of epic fucking proportions. I couldn't blame him for it – not a single damn emotion. He was too thin in the picture, which only reminded me that a growing boy of fourteen had been living alone, and he probably hadn't eaten as well as a mother would've provided.

Reaching up to the top shelf, I grabbed the album that Esme had shown me. I flipped to the photo with a young Edward and his parents. Elizabeth was beautiful, lovingly hugging that happy boy. My lip curled in hatred at the sight of Edward Sr. I agreed with Edward – he could've just left. He didn't have to kill her. Hell, they would've been better off if he'd just walked away.

"You're so good for him," I heard next to me, and I met Esme's gaze. "He's smiled more in the last few months than he has in years, Bella."

I smiled her way. "He's not easy to get to know, but after all he's been through…"

She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. "He… He told you?" When I nodded, she burst into tears and wrapped me in a fierce hug.

Alice shut the TV off as I guided Esme to the sofa. Alice and I sat on either side of her, and I kept an arm around her.

"He's never talked about it," she whispered, meeting my gaze as tears welled up and spilled over. "Not after he recounted the events to the police, did he ever mention it. Those of us who were around for it just followed his lead."

Wrinkling my nose, I nodded. "Yeah, he said he'd never told anyone outside his family. I'm assuming Emmett and Tanya are a part of that."

"Yes, they were all in school together, along with Rose."

Alice was quiet, but she glanced between us curiously. I handed over the album still open to the picture of young Edward and his parents.

"Edward's dad…" I sighed, shaking my head. "He killed her and then essentially started a new damn life in Chicago, leaving a fourteen-year-old Edward to fend for himself…for a fucking year." I ground that last part out through gritted teeth because that pissed me off. "His dad set it up like she just up and left one day, but he'd…" I looked to Esme. "I'm sorry. She was your sister."

Esme smiled sadly, dabbing her face with the tissue Alice had grabbed her from the end table. "Liz and I were pregnant at the same time, and she so badly wanted our children to grow up together. She pushed the move from Chicago to Seattle by the time Edward was four, I think."

I met Alice's gaze. "But his dad was… Jesus Christ, he was an abusive bastard."

Esme nodded. "He was a cold man, and my sister loved him at first, but things changed after Edward was born. Even more once they finally moved here. I think she needed to be near family. I think it was her way of protecting herself and Edward. She shielded him from Ed Sr. for most of Edward's young life."

"Until she couldn't."

Esme met my gaze. "Until she couldn't," she repeated in agreement. "Ed Sr. didn't give his son enough credit, and that was his undoing."

Something about that made my own eyes tear up, and I rubbed them with the heels of my hands as I added, "The fact that he solved his own mother's disappearance at fourteen…" I trailed off, swallowing around the lump in my throat.

"He did?" Alice asked, glancing between us.

Esme smiled her way, her nose wrinkling a little. "He did. Edward's father had brow-beaten him so badly that he was afraid to tell us that he'd been left alone for weeks and weeks at a time. Edward took that time and started to piece it together that his mother didn't leave, that her things were still in the house, and that Ed Sr. avoided the basement."

"She was… Oh, my God, tell me she wasn't in the house the whole time," Alice whispered, and Esme and I nodded. Alice met my gaze. "No wonder he told Carlisle to burn it down."

"Yeah, I thought that same thing," I admitted.

"Edward inherited it, along with a substantial trust fund," Esme stated, shaking her head a little. "The house is his should he want it, but he doesn't. And he won't even go in it to pack it so we could sell it. It just…sits there all locked up with everything covered in sheets. He'd rather pay rent than deal with that house."

"I'm okay with that," I teased her, nudging her shoulder, which made Alice giggle softly.

"Yeah, that guy in 3B isn't so bad," Alice said with a laugh.

"A little grumpy every now and then, and he probably drinks too much coffee, but he's a cop, so it's expected. He's not too bad once you figure him out," I said with a tease to my tone.

Esme sniffled and laughed at the same time. "Then I'll say it again… You're good for him."

I wanted to tell them both that he had a sweet, awkward, shy side, that his kisses were fire and lightning and need, but something made me keep that to myself. The way Edward and I were learning each other seemed to be kind of perfect, natural. I liked it. I liked that Edward never pushed or charmed his way into my bed, that sex wasn't on the agenda with every conversation. He didn't treat doing things with me like a chore in order to get what he wanted. Thinking back, that had been Jacob Black from the beginning. I was sorry it took too long to see it.

Not that I didn't want Edward. Sweet Jesus, I did. However, with all that was going on around us, we seemed to be finding a pace that worked for us both.

And I never, ever remembered Jake – or any other ex, for that matter – kissing my forehead, my temple, or my cheek. Never.

~oOo~

EDWARD

Seattle's City Hall was downtown, the building open, airy. Garrett and I stepped into the large, brightly lit atrium, and I was happy that the uniformed officers with us were Clearwater and Yorkie. Not only did they know the case, but they'd also become invested in it.

They liked Alice and Bella. They respected Charlie. And they were willing to learn from Garrett and me.

Despite his youth, Seth Clearwater was sharp as hell. He reminded me of myself coming out of the academy – eager, observant, focused. And Eric Yorkie would make a decent detective in the future. He was calm in nature and sympathetic to victims, but he didn't allow for bullshit.

We made our way upstairs to the mayor's office, stopping at the reception desk, and Garrett took the lead.

"We're here to see Randall Powell," he stated, holding up his badge.

"He's in a meeting," the woman behind the desk stated, not bothering to look up from her computer.

"Tough shit," I said and smiled when she finally glanced up, her eyes raking over my face and then Garrett's badge that he still was holding. "We need to talk to him, so…" I waved a finger toward the phone.

Garrett snorted, shaking his head as the woman gaped at me. "Please," he added, just to be a sarcastic ass.

Clearwater flashed a grin but otherwise stayed quiet.

She spoke quickly into the phone, hanging up and nodding. "He'll be out in a minute. If you'll just have a seat." She pointed toward a seating area by the windows.

"Thanks," I muttered, ignoring her stares and walking toward the windows. Facing the three men with me, I spoke low. "Clearwater, Yorkie… I need you to watch this area. Tell me what you see while we talk with this motherfucker. James is still MIA, but that doesn't mean someone else from Inferno isn't coming up here to pass on information to his uncle."

"Yeah, yeah. Got it, Masen," Clearwater agreed. "We'll post outside whatever door you go in."

"Perfect," I praised him, turning as Randall Powell approached us.

I'd seen the file on this guy. He'd been in this position through two terms with the current mayor and one with the prior one. One look at this asshole, and I shook my head. He screamed shady as fuck. He looked like a mafia wannabe, with his expensive suit, round physique, and not one but two fucking pinky rings. It took all I had not to say something, because my father wore one, and I found them cheesy as hell. To me, they screamed small dick energy as Alice liked to say.

The thought of Alice brought thoughts of Bella, and I focused on the task at hand. There was nothing – fucking nothing – I wanted more than to be able to give that beautiful woman back her life. I wondered briefly if she and I could find something normal back at Common Ground once this shit was all over. I missed the apartments and the comfort of the building and those in it. I missed her smile when I'd grab coffee in the morning, and I was fucking done with seeing tears in those warm, brown eyes due to all the shit surrounding her – shit she didn't deserve.

"Detectives," Powell greeted coolly, but he was sweating, his face was blotchy, and his smile was forced.

"Mr. Powell, we're sorry to have pulled you away from your meeting," Garrett started, sounding not sorry at all. "I'm Spears, and this is my partner, Masen. We need to ask you a few questions about James Hunt."

"Don't know 'im."

I laughed humorlessly once. "That's not quite true, is it, Uncle Randy?"

Garrett grinned but shrugged at Powell, who was getting redder in the face by the second. "Yeah, we kinda know about your nephew, buddy, so if there's somewhere we can go to chat…" He trailed off, letting that hang out there until Powell finally nodded.

"Yeah, my office," he finally conceded.

I locked gazes with Clearwater, who nodded once, before I followed Garrett and Powell down a short hallway. They took their post at the end of that hall, facing out into the reception area.

"Are the uniforms necessary, gentlemen?" Powell asked, gesturing to two chairs as he took a seat behind his desk.

"We have a warrant for your nephew, Powell," Garrett explained, taking a seat, but I stayed standing. "He's wanted for some pretty hefty charges, and the last time we wanted to talk to him, we were shot at, so forgive us for taking precautions."

"What's that got to do with me?" he asked.

"You're his next of kin, and we need to know if you've heard from him lately or if there's somewhere you'd know he'd go to hole up," Garrett stated carefully.

We needed to treat this like we were truly asking about James, but Laurent Brunelle had given us enough info on Powell that meant we had to tread carefully. We needed facts and evidence in order to catch a guy this high up on the drug-trade food chain. And honestly, I didn't give two shits about Powell. I wanted James, and I wasn't sure if arresting him would be good enough for me, but I had to force that hatred down a notch.

Powell sighed deeply, shaking his head. "My wife's sister's kid. He was a pain in the ass growing up, but he's made something of himself with that club of his. What did he do?"

"Murder," I stated firmly, watching Powell's reaction closely.

His nostrils flared and sweat rolled down from his temples to his neck. I had a feeling that had James been in the room, his uncle would've snapped on his ass.

"Actually, we're looking at him for three murders, and we need to question him concerning a few other things – illegal distribution of pornography, drug trafficking, and assault," Garrett rattled off. "If he's not careful, the feds are gonna swoop in on this case."

"Look, Powell," I said, my patience running thin. "Your nephew's in deep shit. He's been abusing and killing girls for years. And he kept a lid on it until recently, but now he's gotten sloppy. We just need to find him. After that you can hire an expensive fucking lawyer to try and save his ass."

"Jesus H. Christ," Powell sighed, setting his elbows on the desk in front of him. He rubbed his face, wiping sweat from his brow and into his hair. "I'm guessing he's not at Inferno or his studio on First. And if he was at home, you wouldn't be here." His hands fell to the desk with a meaty thump. "I don't know where he'd be. Maybe he ran to fucking Canada."

Snorting, I shook my head. "Nah, he's pretty pissed off, Powell. He's set his sights on innocent people and former employees who could spill all his goddamn secrets. He's not all that fucking smart, and I'm not quite sure he's wired right."

"Never mind that we're watching for him to cross into Canada," Garrett added, sitting back in the chair. "If you're hiding him…"

Powell scoffed, waving a thick hand at us. "Yeah, yeah…aiding and abetting, obstruction. Don't threaten me. I'm not hiding him. I simply don't know where he is if he's not in his usual places. He has a girl he sees occasionally – one of the girls from the club."

"Got a name?" Garrett asked.

"Fuck if I know. She's always got some fucked-up color in her hair."

Garrett locked gazes with me. "Bartender at Nomad's."

"Um, um… Tori. Victoria Fields," I clarified, looking to Powell. "Got an address?"

"Pfft, gimme a break, Detective. I honestly don't care where my nephew goes to get his rocks off. Okay?"

"Fair enough," I said, pulling out a business card. "If you see James, give us a call. The longer he hides, the worse it'll be for him."

Garrett and I left Powell's office, and Yorkie turned to face us as we got to the waiting area.

"Anything?" Garrett asked him.

"Uh, yeah. Check out the sofa by the window. Recognize that asshole?"

I narrowed my eyes on the person in question. "Yeah. Aro Volturi. What's he doing here?"

"Seein' the same guy you just did," Clearwater replied, shrugging a shoulder. "I was listening at the desk."

"Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that office," Garrett whispered to us.

Yorkie snorted. "No shit."

"I'd bet my next paycheck that Powell supplies drugs to the Italians too," I stated, eyeing Aro as he sat there with what looked like a bodyguard.

"In competition with his nephew?" Garrett asked.

"What competition? Seriously. He's profiting no matter who's pushing," I told them. "When I worked Narcotics, we knew Volturi and Hunt were the biggest dealers in the city. We just couldn't prove it because neither touch the product themselves. They let their employees handle it all – the buy, the cut, the distribution, and the return of profits. It trickles all the way down to the little weed dealer in a high school. Nothing stops it. And the only way I caught Whitlock was because someone he'd sold coke to got busted for DUI and wanted to make a deal in order to stay out of jail. We started watching him."

Garrett seemed to be mulling all of that over as Aro was finally called to go on back to Powell's office. He was not as tall as me, with dark hair and an expensive suit. He passed us by wearing a slimy smirk, but his eyes landed on me for a beat longer than everyone else. Bastard looked at me like he fucking knew me. And the only thing I could think was that he knew I'd been in Narcotics.

He was a pale thing, thin, but he carried himself like a businessman. Once he disappeared down the hall toward Powell's office, I gestured that we leave. We followed Clearwater and Powell to their cruiser.

"Okay, let's look up Victoria Fields," I told them, pointing to their computer in the car.

"Gotcha, Masen," Clearwater stated, plopping down in the passenger side and immediately typing away. "Got her. She rents a house not too far from Inferno."

"Copy that. We'll follow you," I told them, and Garrett and I made our way to my truck.

It didn't take long to navigate the streets back toward Inferno. There were a few small yet clean neighborhoods a few blocks away. Tori's home was neat, sitting at the end of a cul-de-sac. We parked, and I pointed toward the back so Clearwater and Yorkie could cover it as Garrett and I knocked on the front door.

The sound of a crying kid met our ears, and Garrett locked gazes with me for a split second before the door was yanked open. I wasn't sure what I expected, but the woman we'd seen at Nomad's with bright-pink braids was looking a little worse for wear.

Her left eye was black and bruised, her lip split, and I was pretty certain there was a handprint around her neck.

"He's not here," she stated wearily. "He got a call on his cell and took off."

"Uncle Randy?" Garrett asked her sarcastically.

She huffed a humorless laugh, shrugging. "Yeah, maybe." She glanced down when a toddler tugged on her jeans – a little boy with blond hair and eyes the same as James Hunt's. She scooped him up into her arms.

"Ah, Christ. That's his son," I stated, and she nodded. "Do you have someplace you can go?"

"Yeah, I'm out. I'm going to my dad's in Eugene." She glanced back at two bags packed. "As soon as he left, I packed my shit."

"We have to ask, Ms. Fields, but do you know where he'd go?" Garrett queried gently, reaching out to ask for a high-five from the kid, who did it with a giggle.

"I don't know. You guys are watching every place he has, and now this place is shot." She sighed, pressing her lips to the kid's forehead as she swayed him back and forth. "Umm, there's an old warehouse in an industrial area by the water. It used to be where he filmed and shit until his aunt gave up the old hotel. Now it sits empty. It's next to a cement factory."

"You wanna press—" I began to ask, but she cut me off.

"No. I don't. I just need to go," she told me, eyeing the baby. "For him. If you catch James, you'd better figure out how to make the charges stick, because he's a monster and he'll never stop being a fucking monster."

She closed the door as we backed away. I pulled out my phone to call Emmett.

"S'up, bro?" he answered immediately.

"I need you to cover the house tonight. I'm gonna be late."

"Yeah, yeah. Got it. I'll take Rosie with me. We'll head over there now."

"That's fine. It's just one more nightshift," I told him, walking to my truck.

"Yeah, Carlisle told me. It's cool, dude. Just catch that asshole, okay?"

"I'm gonna try."

Garrett walked to me with Clearwater and Yorkie as my call ended. "Guess we're checking out this warehouse," he said, glancing at his watch because the sun had already set. "Let's check in with Banner, see if he wants in on this."

We drove in silence for several miles as night descended over us. Clearwater and Yorkie were leading the way toward the industrial area. Banner had stated that he'd meet us there. About a half an hour later, the port and some warehouses came into view at the same time my cell rang.

"It's your girl," Garrett said, pointing to the screen in my truck.

"Yeah, but she should know not to use her cell," I muttered, answering the call through my truck's speakers. "Bella?"

"Edward… There's a car parked across the street that hasn't been there before," she stated nervously. "I can see it from the bedroom window. And there's someone sitting inside."

"Ah, fuck," Garrett hissed, pulling out his own phone and calling Banner.

"Has Emmett gotten there yet?" I asked her.

"No, not yet."

"Okay, well, he's on his way now. In fact, he should be anytime now. Is Uncle Carlisle still there?"

"No. He just left for his shift," she answered. "It's just Esme, Alice, and me."

Without even thinking, I turned the truck around, heading for the highway. Garrett got off the phone with Banner and called Clearwater.

"I'm sending you an address. I want sirens and lights the whole fucking way. Am I clear? We've got to move. Now!" he demanded over the phone, and soon the cruiser passed me in the next lane with lights and sirens.

"Bella, I need you to get your gun. And then I want you to get all of you into one room. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Turning to Garrett, I said, "Call Emmett. I need him to park down the street and sneak to the house before he calls the Stillwater sheriff. He knows how to get inside."

Garrett nodded, but I went back to Bella as he did what I said. "Bella, I'm coming to you. Okay? I need you to watch for Emmett. He's gonna come in through the back window of the garage. I don't want him to scare you, but you need to know."

"Okay. I won't shoot Emmett, but everyone else is fair game."

Garrett grinned and I huffed a laugh. "That's my girl," I praised her. "Stay low, stay quiet. I'm coming to you, baby."

"Hurry, Edward."

~oOo~

A/N… Everyone still strapped in? Should I have given the whole "please keep all hands inside the fic until it comes to a complete stop" warning?

I'll see you guys on the usual days next week for both fics. After that, When Angels Fall will take an update break. But this one should carry on just fine. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)