Chapter 20

~Nothing But Trouble~

I stare at the three policemen. "Where's Sam?"

Another man pushes his way forward. His uniform is a darker navy with patches and a shiny gold badge. "Sam is out in the field, but I'm in charge of this investigation, Mr. Cullen. Ray Whitmer, Fire Marshal." He holds his hand out, and I automatically shake it. He has close cropped silver hair and intelligent blue eyes. "May we come in?"

Alice steps up beside me, grasping my arm. "No, you may not." She pulls me out onto the deck, closing the door behind her, and plants both hands on her hips. "What's this all about, Officer Whitmer?"

She's still wearing her lab coat, and the fire marshal squints to read her title. "Ms. Cullen, is it?" He inclines his head in my direction. "Any relation to Edward?"

"I'm his sister and happen to be a nurse practitioner in the ER, which is where my brother was during the time in question." When the marshal opens his mouth to speak, Alice shakes her head. "Now before you question the verity of my statement, bear in mind that I can produce upwards of twenty witnesses who are familiar with my brother—and there's always the security footage from the hospital."

One of the officers mutters, "Mr. Cullen looks pretty healthy to me."

I fight not to glare at him because that won't help the situation. I rub the back of my neck and stay silent. Alice has been doing a great job as my mouthpiece thus far, and she doesn't disappoint.

"First off, not everyone who goes to the ER looks obviously sick, but as it happens, Edward arrived in an ambulance with an injured friend." Alice tilts her dark head. "Maybe check the nine-one-one dispatch logs?" Her tone is acerbic.

Whitmer gives the cop a hard look, then turns his attention back to Alice. "Apologies. There's no reason for this to turn ugly." He glances at me. "Mr. Cullen, would it be all right if we have a seat at the table to chat for a few minutes?"

"Sure."

The marshal pulls out a chair and offers it to Alice. Then he turns to the other officers. "Why don't you all wait downstairs for me." When the wiseass who commented before starts to open his mouth, Whitmer holds up a hand. "Son, I get that you're eager for some action, but this isn't it. This is my show. Go on now."

Once they're gone, and it's just me, Alice, and the marshal, I relax a little. I lean against the railing and cross my arms, still too nervous to sit. "So, what's this all about?"

"You are the owner of Inkspiration, correct? The place that was burglarized recently?"

"Yeah."

"In a statement from one of your employees, I understand she put forth Aro Volturi as a suspect."

I nod. "Rose has been approached by Aro numerous times. He's been trying to entice her to return to The Vault. She worked for him first."

"I see. Well, Aro apparently has an alibi for the night of your break-in, but now he's accusing you of retaliation."

Alice and I look at each other and back to Whitmer. "I'm sorry—I'm just really confused. What does he think I did?"

"I thought you might have heard. Someone torched The Vault tonight."

My eyes widen. "What?"

"Oh my god!" Alice covers her mouth.

"Happened sometime after midnight. Volturi is certain you're behind it. Someone was seen in the vicinity just before the fire broke out. We checked the traffic cams, but he was dressed in black and wore a hoodie. There's no way to identify the guy."

"Jesus! I can't believe Aro thinks I'd do something like that!"

Alice looks up at me with sympathy. "Well, it's good that you have an airtight alibi then, isn't it? No gray area." Her steady gaze returns to Whitmer. "Since you're already heavily involved, can we assume it was arson?"

"Definitely. There was accelerant found at the scene, and multiple charges were used. What stopped this from being the devastating tragedy it was meant to be was the failure of one of the charges. Had it gone off as planned, we'd be combing through a pile of rubble." Whitmer's eyes hardened. "This clown is going down. I'm hoping to lift some good prints. Our arsonist expected all evidence to burn at the scene, so now I get to look for his mistakes."

"I hope you put whoever did this away for a long time!" Alice shakes her head. "Just awful."

"Well, I think we're done here." The marshal rises and shakes my hand. "Mr. Cullen, thank you for talking to me. Nothing personal, but I'd like the names of witnesses who can place you in the ER tonight. Here's my card—call anytime if you think of anything." He pulls out a stack of business cards, giving one to each of us.

"Sure thing, man. Thanks for . . . the way you handled this."

Whitmer waves a hand. "Rookies. They haven't learned the fine art of wooing with flowers and wine instead of the old 'club 'em and drag 'em' routine. Thanks again for your time, folks."

I have to laugh when I turn around. Emmett's face is plastered in the kitchen window, his eyes filled with curiosity.

When we go inside, I check on Bella. She's fast asleep, so I return to the kitchen where Alice is in the middle of telling Emmett what happened.

"What the fuck, man? Who would do such a thing?"

Unbidden, a memory flashes through my mind from the night of the break-in. Jimmy, his expression cool and calculating. What was it he said? It seems to me, Aro Volturi needs to be taught a lesson.

I shrug, ignoring the chill that races along my spine. "I don't know. Whoever did it better watch out though. The fire marshal is determined to catch this guy."

The sky grows lighter as the sun starts rising on a new day. Emmett walks Alice to her car on his way out, leaving me here alone with Bella.

I decide to grab a pillow and some blankets from the closet and sleep on the couch. Bella wakes up while I'm stumbling around in the dark.

"Edward?" she calls in a sleepy voice.

I put the bedding down and kneel beside the bed. "Sorry I woke you. I was just getting some blankets so I can sleep on the couch."

"Don't." Bella's voice is soft and pleading. She grabs my hand and places it under her warm cheek, whispering, "Please don't leave me alone."

Her face is in shadow, but her tone tugs at my heartstrings. "Okay. Give me a minute."

I head into the bathroom and brush my teeth. I pull on a T-shirt and sweatpants, then scrub a hand over my face and stare into the mirror. My eyes are bloodshot, and I need a fucking shave. "You're a stupid ass," I say to my reflection. "Bella belongs to Jimmy."

I shoot a text to Seth, asking him to cancel my morning appointments. It would be unsafe to work on clients without getting some shut-eye. Padding back into the bedroom, I pause beside the bed, wondering if Bella is asleep, so I can steal away into the living room—where it's safer.

But she sits up, looking at me in the dark. "Thank you for tonight—for everything."

Remembering she is wrapped in a blanket on top of my comforter, I lift the covers and slide beneath them. Somehow this feels less wrong if there's a barrier between our bodies. Bella shifts to lean against me, and I end up with my arm around her shoulders. She rests her head on my chest, and that's how she falls asleep.

I lay trapped under a sleeping Bella. Jimmy's girl. Jimmy's girl. Jimmy's girl. I keep repeating it in my head.

She's soft and warm in my embrace, snoring softly with complete trust. I feel tender toward her.

You don't even know her. Who is she really?

The truth is I have no idea who Bella is. Is she the snarky bitch from yesterday or the whimpering, frightened little girl from earlier? Maybe she's something in between.

She's Jimmy girl, and she'll bring you nothing but trouble.

That rings true. With a sigh, I close my eyes, sure I'll be awake for hours.

~oOo~

Wonder what happened over at The Vault and what repercussions it will have. Bella is starting to depend on Edward, and he's softening toward her. Keep on sharing your thoughts and theories. I love reading them (and some of you get close sometimes)! See you next week!

**Red Kryptonite and Give Me a Sign have been nominated in the Top Ten Completed Fics in 2022! Thanks to all of you for your support! Voting ends on February 24, 2023. Poll can be found at TwiFanfictionRecs site.

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