CHAPTER 19
While he was doin' lines and crossin' all of mine
Someone told his white-collar crimes to the FBI
And I don't dress for villains
Or for innocence
I'm on my vigilante shit again
~ Taylor Swift, Vigilante Shit
EPOV
"You know," Bella sighed dramatically beside me. "I've never met someone so hellbent on constantly reminding people how he failed horribly at his job."
There were gasps from around the table. Embry Call froze where he stood across from us, his face gaping with a pleasant mixture of surprise and horror.
I had to fight my smile as my wife nearly blatently spelled out how she got away with murder.
Call finally composed himself enough to ask, "Did you just admit to murdering Aro Volturi?"
Bella gave him a smile. "I never denied it. He broke into my home and assaulted me."
As soon as she said the words I was back there again, my wife running toward me with blood staining her skin and bruises around her neck. I shook off the memory to enjoy Call's defeat.
"Did you—did you just admit to planning the murder of Aro Volturi?"
Bella's smile was blinding as she reached for my scotch. "Of course not."
"Jesus," he snapped. "You cold-hearted bi—"
"Say one word about my wife, Call, and you won't make it home to yours. Or to any of your many mistresses."
While I had thoroughly enjoyed Bella toying with him, his presence was already grating on my nerves the few minutes he had been in my sight. Call retreated, stunned and furious. Bella took a large sip of my scotch and I placed my fingers lightly on the back of her neck to massage the muscles I knew would be tight from the altercation.
I knew her better than anyone else on the planet. And while she liked to put on a tough front, she was entirely too soft for this life I had tossed her into. She was too good, too pure to be surrounded by so many criminals so often.
Once her neck relaxed I lifted her chin toward me and pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips. "I fucking love you," I breathed out.
It was an exclamation as much as an explanation. For why I never had the strength to let her go, let her live a far more peaceful and safe life without me.
Bella leaned in and gave me one more soft kiss and all of my rumination was chased away.
Eventually she nudged my calf under the table and nodded across the room where a casually dressed man was walking toward the captain of the police precinct that wouldn't leave her the fuck alone. I sat back in my chair, took a sip of scotch, and watched as he was served the hefty lawsuit that had been filed this morning.
Call was beside him, eyes wide and shocked. I raised my glass to him.
I leaned over and pressed a kiss to my wife's temple. "Stay here, please."
She could, quite obviously, handle her own. But she didn't need to be around for this particular fight.
A few on duty officers saw my approach and stepped closer toward the table. As if I were going to shoot the captain on the spot.
A tempting idea, but not as satisfying in the long run.
"Captain," I greeted jovially. My hand fell on Call's shoulder as I took a spot between the two. "Enjoying yourselves?"
"What is this, Cullen?" the aging man asked me. "You're the biggest donor to the CPD and now—"
"Former doner," I corrected.
Half of the faces at the table paled. One man looked like he might be on the verge of passing out.
Captain Marks lost his anger quickly. "Come now, Edward. You know—"
My own demeanor was quick to change, my anger boiling to the surface. "You made a grave mistake in accepting a single cent from Aengus O'Malley, Captain. Letting him breathe the same air as my wife was the nail in your coffin." I paused. "So to speak, of course. The Chicago Police department will never see a single cent from the Cullen family again."
It was impossible that I would have actually heard it, his palm colliding with her skin. It wasn't biologically possible that I felt the sting as if it were my own cheek, but something snapped my head in her direction just in time to see Nathan Lawrence backhand her.
Both Call and the Captain had the wherewithal to get out of my way without another word.
I forced my anger into submission on my walk across the ballroom. My hands were tight fists as I watched the men surrounding Lawrence. He had the brains to look regretful.
It wouldn't save him.
Aiden stood in front of her, arms on her shoulders as he looked her over. "Some conversation, huh?"
My hand fell to his shoulder and he stepped to the side without a word.
I didn't trust myself to speak as I looked her over. My fingers gently lifted her chin, angling her face to the side. The skin was already pink.
"Take her home, please," I grunted out, nodding toward my son.
I watched a shiver go down her spine. It was early May and hardly cold, but I still slid my suit coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders. It wasn't until I watched Aiden escort her out of the room that I turned toward the man who had just assaulted my wife.
"We will be pressing charges," I said to the many cops now surrounding us.
Captain Marks sneered at me. "You're suing the department and expect—"
"I expect you to do your goddamn job and arrest the man who just backhanded my wife in a room full of witnesses, Captain, unless you want a new suit filed against you and your department."
I knew nothing would happen to him. He would get processed and immediately bailed out. He would get, at most, a fine that was pocket change to a man like him.
Playing the long game in an instance like this was excruciating. I couldn't take the little things for granted, like watching Nathan Lawrence get cuffed and stuffed into the back of a squad car. And I couldn't take the few moments I would have him alone lightly.
Because I might be suing the Chicago Police Department, but there were still plenty of dirty cops willing to accept my money. Plenty willing to turn a blind eye and give me a few moments with their newest man in lockup.
Lawrence was escorted to a cell after being processed, told his bail was in the process of being paid. I waited in the empty cell across from where they locked him up.
It didn't take long for him to notice me. "Must be like a second home to you," he snapped in my direction. "Bella, too."
I didn't say anything. Partly because I didn't trust myself not to slit the fuckers throat and partly because, to a man like Lawrence, not knowing would be worse.
He had crossed a line with me tonight and he knew it. And every day of the rest of his miserable existence he would be looking around the corner waiting for my retribution.
So I said nothing. I sat across from him and watched his fury slowly disappear as he finally realized what he had done, as he realized I wouldn't let him have a single moment of peace for the rest of his life.
He was escorted out of the precinct within an hour of his arrival. A fucking joke considering Bella had been held for five when she was arrested with a decades old warrant.
I made my way home on autopilot, ignoring the constant buzzing of my phone and regretting letting Nathan Lawrence out of my sight alive with every minute that passed.
The house was quiet when I got home. I went upstairs, following the lights left on and found her in our en-suite.
She was still drowning in my coat. Her face was freshly washed, a few water droplets lingering in her hair and on her cheeks. There were a few angry splotches on her cheek, but no bruise. Not yet, at least.
My hands clenched. My entire body tense with the instinct to demolish the reason for that angry cheek.
It wasn't my fight, not yet. But I'd had a very loose grip on my anger over the situation up until this moment, and the sight of the angry mark left on her skin was my breaking point.
"Are you okay?"
Bella nodded.
I knew she was lying.
"I am. I…I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this. I hosted parties and starved my body for this. I did it. Not him. Lawrence is very obviously not the man I once thought he was and after tonight I can finally let that man go. And not care about destroying him in the process of saving myself."
I took a few steps across the en-suite, bracing myself on the counter on either side of her hips. I rested my forehead against hers before carelessly cupping her cheek—wincing a fraction of a second after she did at the touch.
"I'm sorry you're hurt," I managed to get out.
"It's okay. I can finally let him go. And not care about what I have to do to him in the process."
I let my head fall to her shoulder. I fists clenched on the counter beside her hips as I breathed in the familiar perfume of her skin; that perfect mixture of florals and strawberries and Bella.
It barely suppressed the urge to hunt the fucker down.
Because it didn't matter if the action resulted in Bella finally being able to let him go for good. He put his hands on her.
A warm palm cupped my cheek, pressing softly into my skin until I lifted my head to meet her eyes. Sweet, chocolate brown eyes that were mine to love and protect.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I—"
Her kiss silenced my apology. Every time she pulled away and I opened my mouth to apologize again she kissed it away. Repeating the process until all that mattered was her; her skin underneath my fingertips and her taste in my tongue. Her moans in my ear and her pleasure at my hand.
Bella's dress disappeared on the walk to our bed, along with my coat that had been around her shoulders. She managed to work through half of the buttons on my shirt by the time I had her naked in the center of our bed.
I traced my palms over each smooth calf, along her thighs as I spread her legs, peppering kisses along the delicate skin as I leaned over her. My teeth dug into my name where it was inked into her hip.
She whimpered as my thumb brushed gently over her clit and I watched her squirm underneath me, felt her arousal grow with each flick of my thumb and kiss to her soft skin.
Her soft please was barely out of her mouth before mine descended upon her. She let out a huff of a breath, fingers immediately knotted in my hair when I moaned against her.
I watched her the whole time, looking up at her from between her legs to watch her writhe in pleasure with every flick of my tongue. That rage that had been overflowing just minutes ago disappeared more and more every time her nails scratched against my scalp and she tried to tug me closer.
My hands squeezed her thighs, my tongue finding that spot inside of her that I knew would give me what I wanted.
Bella's body tensed, a glorious string of moans and curses escaping her as she came.
I knelt between her legs, eyes scanning every inch of beautifully exposed skin from the curve of her abdomen to the tips of her nipples.
She watched me with a satisfied smile as I got rid of my clothing, her hand immediately going to my cock as soon as it was free.
I leaned over her, palm sliding up her abdomen and relishing the feel of the soft skin as my thumb brushed against the edge of her breast.
Bella's hands pressed against my chest and I took the hint to settle on my back as she took her spot on my lap. My cock nestled perfectly between her thighs as she leaned over me.
I went in for a kiss but she pulled away, just an inch. "I love you," she breathed out against my lips. "Thank you for always protecting me."
I pulled her lips to mine, taking advantage of her distraction and flipping her onto her back. I was inside her with one smooth thrust, her moan matching my own.
I had told her from that very first night that I'd never get enough of her. Truer words had never been spoken. Because even now, decades later, with her underneath me with those pretty pink lips popped open in pleasure, all I wanted was more. All I'd ever want was more.
–Love|Power–
The set was hectic. It usually was these days, trying to get back on track and even make up a day or two in the process. Today seemed to be a day Bella was in front of the camera more than she was behind it. I waited patiently in the background for her to have a free minute.
I picked her out of the mass of people easily, even with the slight changes in her appearance. Her hair was in messy knots that I usually only saw in the mornings when she got out of bed and her tattoos were covered in makeup, her arms disappointingly bare. She had deep, dark circles painted underneath her eyes and hollowed out cheeks shadowed in.
The set was more crowded than usual today, and I knew it was because people liked to watch her work. Liked to see her prove just how good of an actor she was in person.
Her movie… it was raw. Stories of a woman put through hell and back, betrayed at every turn while she just tried to survive. All of the different outcomes that could have happened to her had she stayed in rehab or never gone in the first place. What would have happened if she really let Hollywood get to her and never got out, so to speak.
Most of the options made my stomach twist.
Soft lips pressed to my cheek and I looked down to chocolate eyes and a sweet smile. "Hi," she sighed sweetly.
"Hi. Do you have a minute?"
She nodded, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the crowd. She was stopped about every three feet but shrugged everyone off until she found a secluded corner for us. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes. I just have to go out of town for a couple days. Three tops. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Bella frowned. "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere of importance."
She sighed, but nodded. "Three days seems too long. Try to make it two, okay?"
I leaned down to press my lips to her temple. "I'll try my best."
The flight was uneventful. I had no desire to stay in Washington DC longer than absolutely necessary. My meeting today could last an hour or twelve, but it would be worth it.
My driver pulled up to the building and I grabbed the nondescript black duffle from my feet.
"Stay in the car," I told the driver, and the men I usually had watching my back.
I half expected an alarm to go off as soon as I stepped foot into the building. It probably should have.
The officer at the front desk barely looked up at me as I stopped in front of him. He reached his hand up, engrossed in whatever was on his computer screen. "ID, please."
I pulled my ID out of my wallet and handed it to him.
His eyes widened as he seemed to read and reread my license. Then they went from the photo back up to me half a dozen times before I got bored of the charade.
"I have a meeting with Ryan Erikson," I told him, pointedly checking my watch. I couldn't give a shit if I was late, but I didn't want to spend my time with this prick gawking at me.
"I, well, I don't think I can let you in, um, sir."
"And why is that?"
He looked at me as if I had four heads.
I heard the click of his loafers on the marble as he rounded the corner. "Sign him in, Chris," Erikson sighed.
I snatched my ID back from Chris and grabbed the duffle. Erikson eyed the metal detector and bag search pointedly.
Repressing the urge to roll my eyes, I complied. Passed with flying colors, too. I could be an upstanding citizen when I wanted to. I had just never had the urge before.
The walk up to Erikson's office was short and quiet. I saw all of the double takes, all of the people whose conversations suddenly stopped as Erikson and I passed them in the hall. All shocked that I was walking by them without cuffs around my wrists.
Erikson's office was small. Smelled of stale coffee and peppermint. Everything seemed to be a shade of gray, including the cheap desk he sat behind.
I dropped the duffle beside my chair as I sat opposite of him.
"We've never had the pleasure of meeting, Mr. Cullen," Erikson said, a tense smile on his face.
"We haven't," I agreed. "You did spend approximately twenty-seven hours illegally interrogating my wife, though."
Fucker nodded. "I did. I also attended your funeral and watched her sob over your grave."
"I'm not stupid enough to kill you in FBI headquarters," I told him. He was goading me, but I was getting bored.
"Then what exactly do you want?"
"We'll get to that," I said, pulling out a file from the duffle and handing it to him. "First, you get this signed and approved by all of the necessary parties."
"What is it?" He questioned, frowning down at it as he thumbed through the pages.
"Blanket immunity for myself, my wife, my son, my entire family and organization for what I'm about to tell you."
It was immunity for everything, essentially. The kind of immunity diplomats wished they had. The kind that would make me and my entire family and organization untouchable.
Erikson shook his head. "Not until you prove you have information worth this."
"I'm not saying anything until that's signed and authenticated by my lawyers."
We were at a standstill. Erikson eyed me from across his desk and I sat and indifferently took in the lack of family photos in his office.
I was a thorough man and had done my research. "Your job is your life. You seem to genuinely want to make the world a safer place than you found it. It's admirable, really. You've done a good job at it so far, too. Made quite a few high profile arrests. Put some of the worst people behind bars."
I nodded down to the duffle. "The information I have will get you whatever promotion you want. It'll earn you medals and accolades. Maybe the fuckin' president will give you a call. It's worth the deal, Erikson. I wouldn't be here if it weren't."
He sighed, shaking his head as he looked over the papers. Then again. And again. "Give me an hour," he grunted, storming out of the room.
I pulled out my phone, texting Adeline and letting her know the paperwork would be sent to her soon. Then I texted Bella and let her know I would make my two day deadline.
It was easier than expected convincing the FBI to give me immunity.
Erikson was back within the hour, and twenty minutes later Adeline called and said everything was perfect.
The Cullen family was now untouchable.
I started pulling out the countless files from the duffle. "I've got two cases for you. More, technically, but we'll get to that. First: Nathan Lawrence, Duncan Zane, and Colton Shay—"
"Christ, Cullen, the FBI isn't going to take down three Hollywood fuckers just because they're going after your wife!" he snapped.
I kept a tight leash on my own anger. "Would you like to take them down for a half-billion-dollar ring of fraud, embezzlement, and tax evasion?"
Erikson had the decency to look guilty for his premature outburst.
I finished dropping the dozen files of evidence on his desk. "I'll let you bore yourself with the details. All of the evidence is there; all legally obtained and clean. The three of them have been working together for years."
My stomach twisted, knowing Lawrence had been planning this shit for so long. Using Bella, waiting for his time to tear her down completely.
"What else?" Erikson's eyes were like a childs on Christmas morning, floating over the files.
I pulled out a dozen more. "The Chicago Police Department is the heart of a ring of police misconduct. You name any kind of offense, they've committed it. Excessive force, tampering with evidence, coerced confessions, profiling, perjury, witness tampering, false arrest, bribery. My favorite is the ring of departments across the country that got together to sell the drugs from their busts. Admirable work."
"Jesus," Erikson gasped, flipping through a few of the papers.
Those two cases alone would set Erikson up for a life of recognition for his work protecting the country. There were hundreds of cases that could be made out of each.
"I do have a few more… requests." Erikson was engrossed in his reading but finally managed to give me his attention. "You can't arrest Lawrence, Zane, or Shay until next spring at the earliest. My wife gets to take the first shot. Figuratively, of course."
Erikson nodded. It would be months of paperwork before they got to the actual arrest anyway. "What else?"
I pulled out the final file in my arsenal and slid it across the desk. "This is the public apology you will issue on behalf of the Chicago Police Department and the FBI, admitting the severe mishandling of my wife's case. You'll confess that the CPD never had adequate enough evidence to try her for anything, let alone question her as anything other than a victim of an assault."
I could have gone to anyone with my information. I had plenty of other contacts in the FBI. Erikson, however, was the only one who had ever questioned Bella during her trial. He was the one who kept her in interrogations for hours on end. He would be the one to clear her name. For good.
"Is that what all of this is for? Just to clear her name?"
"No," I told him, standing up and offering him my hand.
Erikson hesitated, eyed the files on his desk, and eventually placed his palm in mine.
I gave his hand a firm squeeze. "Thank you for the immunity, Agent Erikson."
–Love|Power–
I was in a remarkably chipper mood as I got home. A day earlier than I expected, and with absolutely everything I wanted. Even the arguing I heard as soon as I walked into the house wasn't enough to sour my mood.
Bella's was the first voice I heard. "But, I can–"
"No," Kate interrupted.
"If I move a few things around–"
"You'll work yourself into the ground," Heidi pressed.
"No. I'll be fine. I can–"
"You can't do it all, Bella," Kate said, trying a softer approach this time.
I rounded the corner and found Bella sitting on the sofa, arms crossed over her chest like a petulant child with a frown on her face. If there was one thing the woman didn't take kindly to, it was being told what to do.
Heidi, Kate, and Claire stood across from her. They had a rolling whiteboard between them with the next few months mapped out. And were, evidently, in the process of telling Bella there wasn't enough time for her to pull off the three shows showcasing her previous albums as well as a new tour for If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power.
I noticed Aiden sitting in a chair opposite of Bella, leaning forward and studying the board intently.
"I don't like this," Bella grunted out.
I leaned against the doorway, none of them paying any attention to my presence.
"I never liked the three show thing, anyway," Aiden offered.
Bella's head snapped in his direction.
Aiden had the self preservation instinct to look slightly nervous. "What I mean is that you neglected a big part of your career with it. Yeah, Badlands, Hopeless Kingdom, and reputation are your big three, so to speak. But you've got a lot of other good fucking music out there. Lover was leaked, but you still put it out yourself with your own twist. reputation revived had a lot of good shit on it, too. And you just won another Grammy for the stuff you put out with Peter last year. Plus, the two albums you've got ready to release now."
Bella pressed her lips together. "Three."
Every eye in the room snapped to her.
"Excuse me?" Heidi gasped.
Bella shrugged. "It was an accident."
"You accidentally made an extra album? On top of the two you were in the middle of finishing."
"Yes. I don't know why you're looking at me like I'm insane. These things happen."
Kate shook her head with a bewildered chuckle. "Only to you."
"This is what I mean, Ma. You've got decades worth of material, not just those three albums. Just go all fuckin' out with a big show of all of it. Every era of your career."
Bella sat back, staring at the mess of a whiteboard in front of her.
After a few minutes of silence, Kate spoke up. "One big show is doable. You've already got visuals, wardrobe, and choreo working on each of the three–four–shows. We'll just have to make a few adjustments, add a few things."
I stood back and listened for a few more minutes, watching as Aiden gleefully helped convince Bella it was okay to switch up her original plan. That maybe this new one was better.
Erikson had asked me if my sole reason for turning over my information to the FBI was to clear Bella's name. It wasn't, I had great plans for the immunity he had given me, but originally? It had just been for her.
It was years and years worth of information I had given him on the CPD. Decades worth of surveillance and evidence I had started to collect as soon as we got back to Chicago after her trial.
A/N: This might be one of my favorite EPOV chapters. I hope you guys enjoyed it, too! Also: friendly reminder that I'm posting a new story next Saturday (April 1 (no it is not an April fools joke)) so make sure you've got an author alert on :)
See ya next time!