I don't own Twilight or its characters. Stephenie Meyer does.
Cheryl, Noles, and Gabby, thank you for pre-reading, and April, thank you for editing. Any mistakes left are my own.
Ch 18
When I got to my office, the first thing I did was direct my secretary to make arrangements to attend the ballet. I then called a florist to have a bouquet of flowers delivered to Isabella at her work. I had a feeling I missed the mark if Isabella really did want to get married then I had been the one to ruin it for her. If I couldn't give her a baby, I could at least spoil her. Jasper and Emmett soon joined me when I was done making my call.
"How did things go with Briggs?" I asked, not beating around the bush.
"Smooth like a river of blood." Emmett chuckled darkly. "However, his blood was polluted by a butt load of drugs, so it wasn't worth saving. It didn't take much to set it up to look like he overdosed since he was halfway there. Rose fiddled with his girlfriend's car, so she would be delayed coming home and was out of harm's way."
"Good riddance." I nodded. A part of me wished I had been the one to end him after his thoughts about Isabella. However, I didn't regret leaving with her so we could have alone time as well.
"Alice has seen the gun deal tomorrow night going perfectly," Jasper mentioned.
"Excellent. I want ears out for a new drug called Magic. Liam and I took care of a situation when I was in Ireland. I want it off the streets," I ordered.
"Since when do we care if a drug is being distributed? Or are these people trying to take over for us?" Emmett asked.
"Since they target kids to be used as Guinea pigs. We're not that low and I don't plan on starting now," I answered, leaving him no room to argue due to the tone of my voice.
Jasper tilted his head. "Why not just ask Bella if it's here and use her magic to take care of it?
I clenched my fist as my anger grew. They wanted to use her powers to make things easier on us. "We are not using Isabella to handle our business."
"But the girls have helped out before," Emmett argued.
"They've wanted to help out. Isabella doesn't like to get involved with all the violence. She hated what she had to do to Leah's mind," I informed them.
"Isn't this the opposite since it will save lives?" Emmett asked.
I rapped my knuckles on my desk. "This isn't anything we can't do ourselves." I then turned to Jasper. "Did you find anything on Heidi's computer and her phone records?"
"Nothing on her computer. However, I found a stash of throw-away phones that she was stupid enough not to throw away. I traced them to locations in Italy, France, and a few other smaller European countries. One of them rang while you were gone, and Alice answered it pretending to be Heidi. It was Demetri, asking if she had found out anything about a rumored girl in Chicago from Forks. Alice confirmed there was a girl, but she said the girl's name ended up being Jessica Stanley, who was stopping on route to her college in New York," Jasper informed me.
I frowned, upset about the news. "They knew Isabella was in Forks all this time?"
"Seems like it." Jasper nodded.
I cursed, but this news only cemented my new plan of action. They needed to be taken care of before they struck first.
Jasper's eyebrows rose. "You're planning something."
"We're going to take out the Volturi. I'm tired of them being a looming threat," I announced.
"Finally." Emmett bashed his fist into his hand.
"Just the three of us?" Jasper questioned, skeptically.
"You know as well as I do that Carlisle has been itching to fight. I'm sure Charlotte and Peter will like the challenge," I suggested.
"Garrett always enjoys a good fight. Plus, Mary and Randall," Emmett added.
"What about Siobhan and Liam?" Jasper suggested.
I hesitated since I knew Siobhan wanted revenge, but she'd try to include Isabella. Hopefully, eliminating the Volturi myself would make her content and she'd leave Isabella alone. "I think we should keep Siobhan out of it. The witches proved not to be able to hold their own the last time, and I don't want Isabella to lose her last family member."
"How are you going to keep Bella out of it? I know you said she doesn't like violence, but I can't see her sitting back either on a fight like this," Jasper wondered.
"She'll know nothing about it until it's over. Neither of you are to think about it in her presence," I ordered.
"Except she said she can read minds like books," Jasper pointed out.
"Which is why I told her she wouldn't want to look at our future or minds when it comes to business, and she agreed." I was sure that plan would work since she trusted me. "Are you done questioning me? You can sit back if you're afraid."
Jasper's eyes narrowed. "I'm not afraid. I just think you haven't thought this all the way through. Did you forget the guard's powers? Like Jane and Alec's powers alone will be a challenge?"
"No, I haven't forgotten. Which is why it will be our turn to send the Volturi on a wild goose chase. We'll have Alice pretend to be Heidi again and tell Demetri that I left for Forks to collect Isabella. They'll most likely send the more powerful members of their guard. Only they'll find the wolves, and hopefully they'll take each other out," I explained.
Jasper's grin told me he was on board. "Now that's a plan."
I arrived home in the early evening before the rest of my family arrived. Isabella was upstairs, so I headed straight to her. She was standing in our bedroom in front of a mirror in a floor length white dress. The top layer was sheer and sparkled like tiny diamonds with the neckline dipping low between her breasts. There was a bottom layer of fabric that covered her body just enough to make her decent.
Isabella spun around then skipped up to me, wrapping her arms around me. "Thank you for the flowers, you're so sweet. They're beautiful."
"You're very welcome, Kitten." I brushed my lips against hers.
"What do you think of this as a dress for an angel?" she asked me, stepping back and twirling for me.
I paused as I realized my first thought had been it was a wedding dress. "I didn't think angels were supposed to look so sexy."
She smiled, then blinked, adding two feathery wings that ended just above her ass. "Should I add a halo? Or would that be too much?"
I chuckled. "I already see one, no need to add an artificial one."
She blushed and tilted her head thoughtfully. "Now to make you a devil."
My slacks morphed into black, tight leather pants, and my shirt and tie changed into a blood red satin left half unbuttoned, exposing my chest. I raised an eyebrow at her, and she gave me a playful look as she circled behind me.
"Black or red tail?" she asked.
"No, tail," I said firmly, looking over my shoulder at her.
She gave me a playful pout and her eyes sparkled with mischief. "Fine, but horns."
"No." I shook my head.
When she started to laugh, I glanced at the mirror to see that I'd sprouted two dark horns. I touched them and they felt very lifelike and very much attached to my scalp.
"Isa…Kitten, remove them," I ordered her.
"But they're so cute." She ran hand through my hair and brushed her fingers against them.
"Halloween isn't for another week. I can't go around with these on my head," I told her.
"Fine." She sighed and removed them.
"Thank you." I snaked my arm around her waist, pulling her to me. "Now the clothes."
I was instantly aware that we were both naked with our bodies pressed together. I realized my mistake as she repeated the last command. She nuzzled my cheek and pressed herself against my very hard erection. It took a lot of willpower to separate us.
I cleared my throat. "Let me be clearer, please return what we were wearing before."
"I wasn't wearing anything before this." She gave me a cheeky smile.
"Are you trying to make this hard?" I asked.
"It can get harder?" Her grin grew wider as she looked down at me.
"Kitten, our company is starting to arrive," I reminded her, trying not to be persuaded.
"I could delay them," she offered.
"Not tonight. Esme is excited, and I have a feeling Carlisle will want to thank you," I informed her.
The smile left her face, and we were both dressed once more. "I didn't do this for Carlisle's approval. But I'm glad that I made Esme happy."
"I know that." I kissed her forehead.
When we arrived downstairs, Emmett and Jasper were standing in front of Isabella's fish tank, while Alice and Rose sat on the sofa, watching them argue. Alice had an annoyed look on her face.
"I'm telling you, I saw a shark in this thing," Emmett insisted.
"There's no way, this tank isn't big enough," Jasper argued.
Emmett looked over Jasper's shoulder at my mate. "Will you please tell him you put a shark in here."
"I didn't," she responded just as one swam by.
"Then what was that?" Rosalie asked, looking at the tank in confusion.
"A shark, but I didn't put it in there. Sorry to disappoint you, but it's not a real tank. It's a live feed from The Great Barrier Reef. All the beauty with none of the maintenance," Bella explained.
"Could you get me a real shark?" Emmett asked, pleadingly.
I snickered. "I told you he'd want one."
Isabella shook her head. "Sharks belong in the ocean, not in some tank as a pet. But I could always bring you to one instead." She gave him a smirk.
"Thanks." Emmett paused. "Wait. Why does that sound like you were going to feed me to it?"
"Who cares if she feeds you to a shark?" Alice interrupted. "I want to know why I've been blocked all day about tonight."
"I care. Rose would care too, wouldn't you, babe?" Emmett complained.
Rosalie turned in her seat to face Isabella "Why have you been blocking, Alice?"
I snickered when Emmett started pouting. Jasper was amused by him and didn't seem to be worried about Isabella's secrecy.
"It's all good, I promise. I'm helping Esme hide a surprise. Everyone will know very shortly," Isabella said pleasantly.
The elevator dinged, and moments later, Esme and Carlisle entered the room, hand in hand. It took the others only milliseconds to see the surprise.
"You got Esme a new arm." Rosalie was astonished and pleased.
"Actually, this is my real arm. Bella was able to retrieve it for me." Esme grinned widely as she started to give everyone a hug.
"You went to Volterra?" Jasper was surprised and confused. He gave me a sharp look, concerned, but concealed his thoughts.
Isabella shook her head. "No. Since it was her arm, and she gave me permission to get it for her, I was able to summon it here. They don't even know it's missing."
"Cool. So, if I asked you to get me the Hope Diamond, you could?" Emmett started plotting things he could ask for.
"No. I can only get something I own, or have permission from the owner," Isabella explained.
"Why would you want it anyways? That thing is cursed." Alice rolled her eyes then glanced at Isabella. "All right, I will admit this is a good surprise."
"Thank you." Isabella looked pleased.
"Should we be concerned about the Volturi noticing?" Rose was concerned about a war.
Isabella started to speak, but I interrupted her. "Not at the moment. However, Alice, please keep an eye on them." Rosalie looked ready to argue, but I continued before she could say anything. "Kitten is already keeping an eye on the wolves, who you can't see, so it would be helpful if you could do this for her. She also doesn't care to see violent things, and we all know the Volturi isn't discreet."
Alice exchanged a subtle glance with Jasper then nodded. I suspected that Jasper had already spoken to her. "Of course."
Carlisle stepped forward. "Young lady, I owe you an apology for not being as welcoming as the rest of the family. I do know that what happened years ago wasn't your fault. However, it has made me protective." He paused when Esme cleared her throat. His lips twitched slightly in response. "Perhaps some would say overprotective. I hope you can forgive my boorishness, and that we can start fresh."
Isabella tilted her head to the side as she studied him for a moment. "I would like that. I think it's understandable that one can overreact when a loved one is at stake."
I had a feeling she meant that more for just him when she made that statement. But I was also pretty sure she was still in the dark about what lay ahead.
A/N: I bet a few of you are pleased about Bella's comment about she didn't return Esme's arm for Carlilse to like her. I'm also willing to bet a few of you aren't too pleased about what Edward is planning.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.