Chapter 12

~B & E~

My eyes fly open in the darkness, heart pounding in my chest. I blink a few times, wondering what disturbed my sleep. A few seconds later, my cell vibrates on the nightstand. I lean over to see who's calling me at four in the morning: Kurtz Monitoring

That's my security provider for the shop. "Edward Cullen."

"Mr. Cullen, this is central monitoring. We received an alert from 918 Mallard Avenue. The silent alarm was tripped, which means someone probably cut the main wire to the security panel."

"What? I don't understand." I rub my eyes and try to clear my mind. Every time the alarm was tripped in the past it was a false alarm, but this sounds serious.

"Your alarm has a secondary system that alerts us if the panel or wires are tampered with. Less than five percent of these are false alarms. The police are being dispatched as we speak."

"Shit! Thank you for letting me know."

I jump off the bed and grab a T-shirt and sweats, yanking them on quickly. I shove my feet into sneakers with no socks, grab my phone, wallet, and keys and rush down the back stairs. There's no traffic at this hour, and I screech around corners in my rush to get to Inkspiration. The wail of sirens in the distance grows closer, but I arrive first, and I'm not fucking waiting.

The front door is locked and doesn't appear to be tampered with. I cup my hands against the window and don't see any light or activity. I unlock the door and enter stealthily. The keypad just inside the door is dark and silent. The main panel is located at the back of the shop. I listen carefully and only hear the bleat of sirens as police cruisers race up the street. I use the background noise to hurry along the murky hall, passing the stations. All of them are dark except Rose's. A flashlight beam swings around and then clicks off.

"Hey, asshole!" I yell out.

There's a crash as equipment hits the floor and scatters. I rush ahead, kicking something metallic out of my way. A solid form slams into me, punching me in the gut and knocking me on my ass. The air whooshes from my lungs, and I clutch my ribs, fighting for breath. The dark figure runs out the back door and takes off across the lot.

Red and blue lights pulse, bathing the shadowy area in a flickering wash of colors. Whoever just knocked me down slips into the shadows at the back corner of the property.

Police officers pour from the cars, yelling out, "Police! Come out with your hands up, nice and slow!"

The thunder of feet echoes up the hall, coming from the front of the shop. "Police! Come out slowly, hands up!"

Beams of light flash along the floor and walls, finally landing on me. I push myself to a seated position and raise my hands. "I'm the owner," I rasp. "Intruder . . . got away. Back left corner."

Officers converge on the back door, and there's a lot of stomping feet and police chatter over their radios.

"On your knees! Show me your hands!"

A beam of light catches me in the eyes, blinding me. I shield my vision with the back of one hand.

"Hands up! Hands up!"

"Jesus Christ! Back off, rookie! That's Edward Cullen. He's the owner."

"Shit! Sorry, man."

A hand is offered to me, and I rise to my feet. Someone flips on the lights, and I squint against the intrusion.

"Check the place thoroughly, but I suspect the perp is long gone." Sam Uley rolls his eyes, fixing me with an apologetic look. "Rookies," he mutters.

The police check the premises, and sure enough, the wires to the main panel are cut. They escort me from room to room. A laptop is missing from the front office, and Rose's station is a bit of a mess. I'm about to agree it's the only damage, but I decide to look at my station one more time because something doesn't sit right in my gut.

I pan the area, and nothing seems out of place. I'm about to turn away when I notice something about the shelves of binders; there's a space, and some of them lean at an angle. "Wait—there are binders missing."

Sam pulls out his notepad and a pen. "Okay, can you be more specific?"

I squat in front of the shelves and straighten the binders. "Two are gone, but I have no idea which ones. Each binder is filled with my original designs."

"Collins! Dust for prints in here, in the station at the end, and around the security panel and back door." Sam glances at me and sighs. "You know there's a slim chance we'll get your designs back, right?"

"I know." My stomach sinks. Losing designs is much worse than the loss of the laptop or the mess in the piercing station.

"You have cameras. Maybe we can get something useful from the footage."

My face colors. "Cameras are there for show. They're not live. I've been meaning to get around to that."

Sam shakes his head. "C'mon, man! You know better. I'll check around for street cams and other businesses that might have surveillance footage."

We shake hands. "Thanks, Sam."

"You should get checked out by the EMTs. Looks like you took a hard hit."

"Nah, I'm fine now. Just had the wind knocked out of me."

By the time the police finish up, it's almost six. Whoever broke in was a professional. They jimmied the lock on the back door and cut the wires on the main panel.

My ribs hurt like hell, so I swallow a handful of Advil and grab a hot shower upstairs before I start cleaning up the mess in Rose's station. Many of the small drawers containing hardware had been dumped and tools litter the counters and floor. I sort everything, return sealed packages to the proper drawers, and set aside instruments that need to be sterilized.

Before I finish the job, Rose stalks in, her high heels ticking against the floor. "What the fuck happened here?" She stands in the doorway, one hand propped on her hip.

I scrub a hand over my face. I've been up since four in the morning, and I'm not in the mood for any shit. "Someone broke into the shop. They stole some of my designs. I cornered the fucker in your room, and he slammed me to the floor on his way out."

"Motherfucker!" Rose's pretty face twists into a snarl. "Did the police catch him?"

"They dusted for prints and are checking the footage on street cams and neighboring businesses with camera footage."

Rose glares at me, tilting her head. "You know what I'm going to say, right?"

"I already have a call in to get our cameras activated." I gaze back at her, interested in her demeanor. "You don't seem surprised this happened."

She looks down, her face softening. "I'm not. I should have told you, but I never expected"—she gestures around angrily—"all this! I'm sorry, Edward."

There's a knock at the back door. "Heyo! Anybody home?" Jimmy calls out.

"Yeah, man! We're in Rose's station."

Jimmy saunters in. His smile dies when he sees the mess I'm cleaning up and an angry-as-a-hornet Rose pacing around.

"What the hell happened?"

I launch into the story about the break-in. In the middle of a sentence, I lose my train of thought when Bella breezes in.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Her face is flushed, eyes bright with excitement. When she sees me, she's brought up short, her mouth hanging slightly open. "Edward . . . hi." She shoots Jimmy a confused look.

Jimmy wraps an arm around her, planting a kiss on her cheek. "Hey, baby. Edward is here because there was a break-in last night."

I want to ask why I wouldn't be here. After all, it's my shop. Then I realize it's before hours. Rose showed up, followed by Jimmy and Bella.

"Oh . . ." I look at Rose because I don't trust myself to address Bella. "Off-hours piercing?"

Rose seems uncomfortable.

Jimmy answers for her. "You bet. Bella, Bella, belly ring!" He squeezes Bella tighter, planting a kiss in her hair. "Don't you think she'll look hot with a belly ring?"

"Um . . . sure. Of course."

"Jim, you're making her uncomfortable." Rose smacks Jimmy's arm before grabbing a clipboard and pen, holding them out to Bella. "Here, honey. Sit here and fill out this questionnaire for me."

Bella takes the clipboard and perches on the stool Rose indicated. She starts filling out the form but keeps glancing at me. Finally, she says, "Is he staying for my piercing appointment?"

"I'm not—" I start, shaking my head.

Jimmy laughs, interrupting. "No. Edward is just here because of the break-in. He had no idea we were coming in."

Bella's face flushes. "S-sorry," she stammers, glancing at me. "Was anything stolen?"

"So far, a laptop, two binders of my designs, and they made a huge mess of Rose's station."

Rose bangs her fist on the counter. "Aro is not going to intimidate me!"

Anger sizzles through me, and I forget all about the awkwardness with Jimmy's girlfriend. "You think Volturi was responsible for this?"

"He's been trying to woo me back to The Vault. He's disappointed Inkspiration is doing so well. I suggested some things he could do with Felix and told him I'd come back when he grew some morals."

I snort, hugging an arm around myself to stem the pain that radiates from my ribs. "Why do you think it was him? Why would he steal my designs?"

"He wants you as well. You already said no, so he's trying to get me to leave. I think stealing your designs is a warning shot. Maybe he's planning to step things up. Felix told me I better not do my free piercing routine at Denali's—says that idea belongs to The Vault."

"Does it?"

Rose side-eyes me. "Fuck no! That was all me, and my next show is Thursday night."

Bella hands Rose the clipboard. "M-maybe we should come back another day." She glances between me and Rose. Twin red splotches stain her cheeks.

Rose glances at Bella, her expression softening. "No, honey. It's fine. I'm sorry you had to walk into all this. Why don't you sit in the waiting area? Give me a chance to straighten up and disinfect in here?"

"Okay, if you're sure, but I can totally do this another time."

"Very sure."

Rose leads Bella up the hall, their voices a low murmur. My attention returns to Jimmy, who has been silent this whole time. He leans against the doorway, arms crossed, and I see a hint of the savagery from the day I observed him chopping wood. It's not the same though—that day it was less controlled and raw, but this seems more cold and calculating.

He stares at me, and I remain silent because I don't know what to say or feel. I'm almost afraid of him at this moment, which is ridiculous, but a curl of dread winds its way through me. My heart beats faster, and my mouth is dry.

Jimmy finally breaks the stare and nudges one of Rose's piercing tools with the toe of his shoe, making a metallic scrape. He leans down and picks it up, holding it this way and that, the light that shines off of it glinting in my eyes. He nods his head, putting it with the other instruments that need to be sterilized. When he speaks, his voice is soft and matter-of-fact, almost reasonable. "It seems to me, Aro Volturi needs to be taught a lesson."

~oOo~

Discomfort all around. Jimmy's inner savage is getting closer to the surface, and Edward is starting to notice. Keep those thoughts and theories coming. I love reading them! See you next week!

The next chapter of Princess will be out this week.

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