26

Bella hadn't been this nervous, or determined, in a long, long time. Why she thought this was a good idea wasn't something she could explain, but it was something that knew in her gut that she had to do. Not for her, but for Jasper.

So, she found herself parked in front of a trashy, rundown apartment building in south Las Vegas just as the sun was setting. Bella had never been to Vegas. Never saw the appeal of the city, if she were honest. Of course, before the accident that killed her father and robbed her mother of her true self, Bella hadn't been focused on anything but school . . . Well, school and Jasper.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath before climbing out of the rental car she'd picked up at the airport and headed into the building. It wasn't hard to find the unit she needed. It was the one that reeked of stale alcohol and cigarettes. There was loud music pulsating from inside.

Taking another deep breath, Bella raised her fist and knocked on the door. Someone inside turned down the music before they hurried over and yanked the door open. The smell coming from inside the apartment multiplied by ten, but Bella didn't let her disgust show as for the first time in over three years, she found herself face to face with Maria Morino.

Around the same height as Bella, Maria had creamy tan skin and long silky black hair. Or at least she used to. Now, her hair was much shorter, greasy, her skin was patchy and covered in acne. She'd gained weight, but at the same time, she looked sickly, unhealthy. Maria smiled, showing her stained teeth, and all Bella could think about was how far the woman had fallen since they graduated. Just the thought of her touching Jasper had Bella reeling and it took all her very limited self-control not to choke the life out of her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Bella Swan. Never thought I would see you again."

"I would have loved to have kept it that way, but you and I have business to discuss."

Maria raised an eyebrow. "And what business is that?"

"I'm sure you know."

She smiled wider, and Bella saw several gaps where her teeth used to be. "Did my husband send you to clean up his mess?"

"He is not your husband, or at least he won't be after tomorrow."

She tilted her head to the side. "What makes you think that?"

"Because you're gong to do the right thing and show up at court and sign all the paperwork and free him once and for all."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because the only reason you went after him in the first place, was to get back at me. You've never hidden your dislike of me, Maria. To be honest, the feeling is mutual. But Jasper is mine, and I won't sit back and watch as you play your fucking mind games with him."

"He married me, Bella. He begged me to marry him."

"And now he wants to be free of you. Do the right thing for once in your miserable life, Maria, and let him go. He deserves better than you."

"And what? You're better than me? You're the one who threw him away, told him you didn't love him anymore. His sweet little Cricket broke his heart."

"Don't call me that. Only he calls me that."

Maria stepped closer. "Did he tell you how he whored himself out? Let other women suck his dick?"

Bella flinched.

"He did, didn't he?"

"He told me every, sick, horrible, disgusting thing you made him do."

"Made him?" Maria laughed. "I didn't make him do anything. He was more than willing."

"I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here to make sure you show up at the courthouse tomorrow at noon." Bella opened her bag and pulled out a plane ticket and an envelope with cash. "This is a round-trip ticket to Seattle. Leaves at seven a.m., and there is enough cash for a cab to and from, and a little more because I know you won't do anything without there being something in it for you."

"You're trying to buy me off?"

"No, no, I don't need to buy you off," Bella replied. "He's never choosing you again. Never. Let him go. Let him move on with his life."

"You mean with you, don't you?" Maria tossed the plane ticket and envelope onto the floor. "You destroyed him, Bella. You destroyed him, and I did everything I could to put him back together."

"Like abusing him?" Bella tilted her head to the side. "I broke his heart. I won't deny that, even though at the time I thought I was doing the right thing for both of us. But I never, ever put my hands on him and hurt him, Maria. I never, ever told him he had to sell his body to make money. You weren't a wife. You were his abuser, you tried to pimp him out. Free him from your clutches and let him move on with his life. For once in your miserable life, be selfless and be at the courthouse tomorrow."

Turning, Bella walked away with the hope that for once, Maria would think of someone other than herself.

—WL—

Ben was waiting for her when Bella's plane landed in Seattle just over three hours later. He had his hands shoved deep in his pockets, a look of worry on his face — a look that dissipated when he saw her. He'd offered to go with her. Hell, they'd all offered to go with her. But this was something she needed to do for herself, and for Jasper.

"Hey," he murmured, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her in for a hug. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." She placed her hands on his chest, nudging him backward. "It took everything in me not to beat her ass into the ground. Wouldn't have taken much, either. Bitch is wasting away."

Ben laughed before he said, "You think it worked?"

"I don't know. I . . . I hope so, but it's Maria, so . . ."

He nodded and dropped his hands to his hips. "Bitch is crazy."

Bella snorted. "You're sure Jay doesn't know I went to see her?"

"No, Alice and Edward kept him busy all day. They are planning an epic party for your birthday, so just a heads up."

Bella groaned. "Should have figured as much. Haven't really celebrated my birthday in the last few years, to be honest. Never felt the need with Mom always telling me how I ruined her life."

"Well, that's going to change." Ben wrapped his arm and her shoulder as the two started toward the exit. "Talked to dad while I was waiting for you."

Tensing, Bella heard herself asking, "Is she okay?"

"She is," he said with a nod. "Said she's been hanging out with a couple women who are teaching her how to crochet. He admitted the nights are hard. She gets more . . . anxious, I guess, is the word he used. He's been going up there in the evenings and sitting with her. Watching T.V., or he will read to her."

"Why?" Bella stopped and looked at him. "Why, Ben, is he taking over my mother's care like this? It's not that I don't appreciate it, because I do, but . . . she's not his responsibility."

Ben frowned. "Dad doesn't talk about our mom much. I think he focused all his time and attention on raising me and Jasper so he didn't wallow in his own grief. Did you know he's never dated another woman since Mom died?"

"Jay told me."

He nodded. "I think losing Mom and raising me and Jasper on his own made him bitter for a long time. Don't get me wrong, he's a good dad, but . . . Well, he never wanted us to suffer the way he did. Be alone the way he was. Watching Jasper fall apart, watching that bitch tear him down . . . Jasper's happy with you, Bella, and Dad wants both of you to have a chance to have a good life together. Since your dad isn't here to take care of your mom, Dad will be. He loves you, Bella."

Biting her lip to keep from crying, she blinked several times before she could speak, though her voice wavered with tears. "You know I never meant for Jay to get hurt, don't you? I love him, Ben. He's . . . I didn't want him saddled with my burden. And I know he never felt that I was saddling him with anything," she added when he opened his mouth to argue. "None of you do, but Renee is . . . was my responsibility."

"She is," he admitted. "But you're our family, and in case you haven't heard it a bazillion times, we don't give up on family. Got it?"

"I got it," she whimpered. "I wish I had been there for you and Alice when you got married. I should have."

"Oh, girl, be thankful that you weren't," Ben laughed before he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the airport toward where his car was parked. "If Al and I had it our way, we would have had a quick service with the Justice of the Peace followed by a killer party at the beach house, but you know how her parents are . . ."

Bella nodded. "They've always been like that, too. On our sixteenth birthdays, they threw us this huge party, but instead of us inviting our friends and classmates, her parents invited their friends, their coworkers. It was . . ." She shook her head. "My mom and dad snuck us out of the party and took us to Port Angeles for pizza and ice cream. Even paid for us both to get our nose pierced. Her parents were furious and made her take it out, but if you look close enough, you can see the hole."

"She's wants to get it redone, but the hospital has a pretty strict policy when it comes to piercings."

"Do you like being a doctor?" Bella asked as they climbed into the car.

"I do," he said with a grin. "I mean, I'm exhausted all the time. I've seen things in the ER that would make you question your life choices, but . . . The rush, Bella, is . . . indescribable. But you'll find out."

"I will?"

"Yep, once you start internships with medical school. They don't let you interact much with patients, but you observe a lot."

"What makes you think I'm going to medical school?"

Ben laughed. "Jasper already told us that he submitted applications for both of you. While he may not get in, there is no way you won't. You had how many offers during senior year?"

"That was a long time ago."

"Doesn't matter."

"Doesn't it?"

"Nope," he replied, sounding a lot like Alice when she placed emphasis on the 'p'. "Not like you don't have eight friends who quite literally just went through medical school. Besides, you were always the smartest of all of us, Bella. That hasn't changed."

"I'll let you believe that, Ben."

"You'll see, Swan. You'll see."

—WL—

Ben dropped Bella off at the lake house before heading back to Seattle. When she entered, she found Jasper sitting on the back deck with his feet propped up on a chair and his computer on top. There were two empty beer bottles on the floor next to his chair and another on the table that looked mostly full.

He turned when she opened the back door, his lips curling into her favorite crooked smile. "Hey, I was starting to get worried you and Ben ran away together."

"Thought about it," she snickered, walking over and moving his laptop. She placed it on the table before she straddled his lap, causing him to groan as he gripped her waist. "But in the end, I decided I love you more than him."

"In the end, huh?" he scoffed. "If it was anyone other than Ben, I might have believed that."

"Yeah?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "Why is that?"

"Well, first, Alice would kill Ben if he even looked at another woman. Second, Ben would never, ever hurt me by trying to take my woman from me. And third, you don't love anyone the way you love me, Cricket."

"No, I don't." Bella pressed her lips against his. "What did you do today?"

"Just . . . just worked on invoices," he lied. "Want to get ahead before we head into Seattle tomorrow."

"Makes sense."

"Did you get everything settled at your old job?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. Signed some paperwork, sat with a panel who conducted an exit interview. I think they just wanted to be sure that I'm not going to file unemployment, or something."

The lies trickled from her lips with ease. She had signed some paperwork when she quit her job, and she had fielded phone calls from human resources and upper, upper management on why she was leaving, but none of them seemed to hold it against her.

"That's good."

Bella scooted off his lap and grabbed his hands, pulling him to his feet.

"Where are you taking me, Cricket?"

"I thought I might take you upstairs and have my wicked way with you. But if you'd rather not, then you can stay here," she said, releasing his hands and scooting backward, "and I will go upstairs, strip off my clothes, and . . . Well, I will let your imagination fill in the blanks."

Turning, Bella had barely managed a few steps before she heard Jasper moan, felt him grip her hips, spin her around, lift her, and flop her over his shoulder. She laughed as he planted a hand firmly on her ass before he took off into the house, upstairs, and into their bedroom.

Jasper threw her onto the bed before he reached for the front of her jeans, but when she covered his hands with hers, he stopped.

"Strip for me."

"What?" he asked, his eyes widening.

Bella slid across the bed and turned on the radio, scrolling through the stations until she found a song with the right beat. She looked back at him as she leaned against their pillows.

"I want a show, so strip for me, love."

Jasper's mouth opened once, twice, a third time before he slowly began swaying his hips to the music. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt before he turned around, gyrating his lower body before he looked over his shoulder, smirking as he shimmed his shirt over his head and let it drop to the floor with a soft thud.

Turning back so that he faced her, he dragged his hands down his chest to the front of his pants, painfully slow, before he popped the button and lowered the zipper. He dipped his hand inside, clearly cupping himself before he walked to the side of the bed. He grabbed her ankles and pulled, causing her to squeal.

"Jay!"

"Shh," he shushed her, placing his hands on her knees and forcing her legs apart before he started grinding himself against her. "You know I saw you when I stage. When I was standing in front of all those women, I thought about you. Pretended each and every one of them was you."

"You did?"

He nodded before he grabbed the front of his pants and deliberately lowered them until only his pubic hair was showing. "Made it more bearable, I guess, to pretend I was dancing for you."

"I wish it had been me." Bella placed her hands on his hips and shoved his pants down to his knees. His cock sprang up, slapping against his stomach. She kept her eyes locked on his as she wrapped her fingers around his girth, hearing him inhale a sharp breath. "Did they touch you like this?"

"Not while I was on stage."

"So, when you took them to what? Private rooms?"

He barely moved his head.

"Did you like the way they touched you?"

"No."

"Were you hard for them the way you are right now?"

"No," he murmured. "It took a lot for me to get hard around them, Cricket. A lot."

She licked her lips before she leaned forward and sucked his tip in between her lips, causing him to groan. "Do you remember the first time I took you into my mouth like this?"

"Spring break, at your parents' house. In your bedroom while your parents slept across the hall. You had to shove a pillow over my face so I wouldn't wake them up."

Bella hummed around him before releasing him. "Didn't think you'd want the Chief to walk in while I was sucking your cock."

"No, no, I didn't," he stammered, his hands twitching by his side. "You're driving me crazy, Cricket."

"Good," she said before she sucked all of him into her mouth. And she did mean all of him.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Cricket," he groaned, grabbing the back of her head. "You have no idea how I've missed this."

"What?" she asked, releasing. "Me giving you a blowjob?"

"Yeah, but mostly just you, here with me. Knowing that you will always be mine."

"I will. I'll never let you go again, Jay. Never."

"Good," he said before pushing her back onto the bed.

In a swift move, he kicked his pants off, stripped her of her clothes, but when he reached into the nightstand for a condom, she stopped him.

"I want to feel you. Just you."

"Are you sure?"

Bella nodded. "You said you were clean, right? You got tested after her. That's what you said."

"I did, and I am."

She said, "Then I trust you, Jay. I trust you with my heart, and my body. I trust you."

Jasper smiled her favorite smile before he pushed her back onto the bed. "I love you, Cricket."

"I love you, too. Now, get inside me before I combust."

Laughing, he climbed on top of her, and keeping his eyes locked on hers, he made love to her. Bella knew no matter whether his deranged 'wife' showed up the next day or not, Jasper Whitlock would always belong to her and her alone.

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