A/N: Since alerts weren't going out from Fanfic for quite some time, you might want to make sure you read the previous chapter before starting this one.

Things are about to get a bit dark and disturbing. Hold on!

Chapter 29

~Game of Chance~

~*Edward*~

I let the cell phone fall from my hand and hit the carpet with a soft plop. Gripping my hair in both hands, I pulled and tugged and cursed.

"E, what the fuck is going on?" Emmett crouched beside me, concern emanating from his blue eyes. When I didn't immediately answer, he delivered a stinging slap to my cheek. "Hey!"

That did the trick, and I felt around on the rug, grabbing my phone. "Fucking Alec has Bella!" The words burst forth in a roar of pain.

"Shit! Wait—who are you calling?"

"Fuck!" I realized calling Aro would complicate things in ways I wasn't prepared to deal with. I scrunched my eyes closed, tapping the phone against my forehead, and forced myself to think.

I needed Jasper.

He answered on the first ring. "We're almost there. Talk to me. What can we do?'

"Jas, Alec has Bella . . ." My voice was hoarse. I scrubbed a hand over my face and tried to remain focused.

"The assassin?" he asked calmly.

"Yeah. I—I have three hours to find them, or he's going to kill her."

"Okay, give Rose all the details you have. Tell her to start a Hale Scan on your cell. It will go through the data on your phone, access your carrier, and pull data on the line Alec called you from and triangulate his location." Jasper was all business, a calm port in a storm. My best friend was the type of guy you wanted around during a crisis.

"You can do all that?"

"And then some. It might take a while, so have her get started."

I hung up and raced from the room, bellowing for Rose. Emmett followed close behind. When we reached Jasper's office, Rose was sitting at his desk typing on a keyboard. Light from side-by-side monitors reflected off her glasses, concealing her eyes.

"Rose! Jasper said—"

"To start a Hale Scan?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. When I nodded, she held her hand out. "Already started. Give me your phone."

I came around the desk and handed it to her. She plugged it into a USB cord that was attached to the computer. Data from my cell scrolled across one screen and transferred data points into a grid on the other. At the bottom of the screen, a red bar appeared with Map Loading… in bold, black letters.

Rose spun the chair and grabbed a laptop from the credenza behind her. "While the scan is running, I'm going to tap into street cams and see if we can get eyes on that bastard." Her fingers flew over the keys, entering strings of data that looked like gibberish to me.

I glanced over at Emmett, mostly because he was unusually quiet. He stood by the window, but his admiring gaze was on Rose. He grinned at me. "Isn't she something?"

"She is." If I weren't so frantic about Bella, I would have been more amused that my give-me-eye-candy-over-substance brother was more enamored by Rose's skills than her beauty—though she certainly had both going for her.

Voices drifted up the hall. Ali was the first one through the door, looking around frantically. When her sympathetic gaze landed on me, she bounded across the room and threw herself in my arms.

"Don't worry, Silver. We're going to get her back."

Jasper strode into the room with a laptop under his arm and joined Rose. The two of them conferred quietly, throwing around terms I didn't understand. She pointed at something on the left monitor then the right. Jasper nodded before grabbing another chair and rolling it up to the credenza where he set up his laptop.

Ali grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the couch. "Sit with me. Let them do their thing." She held both of my hands and looked into my eyes. "Breathe with me, Silver. In for four, hold for four, out for four."

"I don't have time to meditate right now!"

"You can't afford not to. Once you know where Alec is, you need to have a clear mind or you'll get both of you killed."

"Okay."

I breathed with my sister, and it did help. The tightness banding my chest loosened, and I was able to think. I had to be ready. The love of my life was being held captive by the man who murdered her father. She must be so terrified. I wouldn't let her down. I couldn't.

"Got him!" Rose called out. "Jas, look."

Jasper leaned a palm on the desk, gazing over her shoulder. "What the fuck?"

"What is it?" I was off the couch and pacing, fingers raking through my hair.

"This can't be right. Give me a minute." Jasper's forehead wrinkled, and he took over for Rose, his fingers moving over the keyboard. "Holy fuck. He's in the building!"

"What? Where?"

"There's an empty penthouse on twenty-four. That has to be it." He tapped a few more keys and huffed in frustration. "The camera feed has been cut, but I triangulated the call."

"Can you get the elevator code? Is there any other way out of there?"

"On it. I'll have it in a sec. Rose, bring up the blueprints, and check if there are other ways out."

I tucked a gun into the waistband of my pants.

Emmett grasped my shoulder. "I'm going with you."

"There's no way out other than the emergency stairs, and nobody has input that code in the past six weeks," Rose said.

"Okay, Em. We go together."

Jasper gave me the code. Serious blue eyes captured mine. "Be careful with this guy. Bring your girl home."

Ali threw her arms around my waist. "Kill that fucker."

I hugged her back and turned to leave.

Rose stood next to Emmett, her hand on his arm. "Be careful, okay?"

Emmett grinned down at her. "You bet, Aphrodite."

Rose hesitated a moment before going up on tiptoe, placing a kiss on Emmett's cheek.

We hurried to the elevator and punched the code in. The descent down two floors seemed to take forever. I stood to the side of the doors, and Emmett crouched in the corner with the semi-automatic.

The doors slid open smoothly. We were greeted by a silence so complete, I could hear my heart beating in my ears. We crossed the foyer stealthily, using hand signals. Sheets of plastic hung from the ceiling, and panels of drywall were stacked in a corner alongside a bag of tools.

There was no moving quietly once we reached the work area. The ghostly strips of plastic reminded me of a funhouse maze.

Emmett pitched his voice low. "This doesn't feel right, bro."

He was right. Alec wouldn't trap himself in an under-construction penthouse with a single exit. "There must be some reason Jasper tracked him here. Let's clear these rooms."

We crept past the kitchen and moved into the living room. Nearby, a phone rang. As I made my way toward the sound, I could see the glow behind the plastic. I lunged for the phone, which was sitting on a sawhorse. "Yeah."

"Bravo, Edward! That was remarkable." Alec's arrogant voice on the phone meant he wasn't here.

"Where is she?" My voice held a ragged growl.

"That's the wrong question. Can you get to her in time? One hour and forty minutes. I do hope you make it. I'm excited for you to play the game."

"Why are you doing this?"

"You're wasting precious time, Edward." Alec's tone turned impatient. "If you make it to the final round, maybe I'll answer your questions. Tick tock."

The call ended.

My abrupt rush toward the elevator was impeded by the thick plastic sheets, and I yelled out in frustration, ripping some of them free. This felt like wading through molasses while, in the meantime, the sand was rapidly sifting through the hourglass to the end of my princess and our child—the end of everything.

"E, what's going on? What did he say?"

"We need to get this phone to Jasper. We don't have much time to find her."

~*Bella*~

I woke up in a metal box with a concrete floor, bound to a chair. My head felt as if it was filled with cotton, and my thoughts drifted by slowly, just out of reach. How did I end up here? When I contemplated the question, my head pounded. My memories were dim and grainy, mere shadows with no substance.

The screech of a metal door rolling up startled me. A figure in black clothing and a ski mask ducked under the partially open door and stood in front of me, hands clasped in front of him.

I was kidnapped but unhurt so far. Perhaps he was waiting for my father to pay a ransom. If he wanted to kill me, I'd be dead already.

He produced a bottle of water and removed the cap. Coming closer, he held the bottle to my lips, and I took a drink. Yes, the water could have been poisoned, but logic told me he wanted me alive.

"What's going on?" My voice was raspy.

"Shh" was his only response.

Though I fought to remain conscious, my vision dimmed, and my eyelids felt heavy. I'm sure my fear sent adrenaline coursing through my bloodstream, but my eyes kept closing. "What'd . . . you . . . give me?" My words were slurred.

He crouched beside me and pushed the hair back from my forehead. "Rest now."

There was something vaguely familiar about the cadence of his voice, but I couldn't hold onto my thoughts, and darkness rose up to greet me.

When I opened my eyes again, my curiosity was piqued by a table against the wall with an ornately carved wooden box on top. I was alone, but I heard the murmur of a man's voice in the distance. I fought to hear what he was saying, but I couldn't make out the words.

A sliver of a memory flashed through my mind. I was holed up at Jasper's and wasn't able to reach Tony. Then I received a message to meet him in the penthouse on the twenty-fourth floor and to come alone. It seemed like an odd request, but I thought maybe he had a surprise for me. I punched the code into the keypad and the elevator opened to a foyer similar to Jasper's. I called Tony's name as I walked across the tile floor. The rooms were dark, and I quickly realized something was amiss when I saw the sheets of plastic. I raced to the elevator and hit the call button.

Rubber soles squeaked on the tile behind me, and I whirled around . . .

The memory kept ending before I could see the other person. The most likely candidate was my captor. I tried again and again to remember, but to no avail. I screeched in frustration, pulling against the restraints.

The door rolled up, and the man in black let himself in. "Take it easy. This will all be over soon, one way or another."

"What the hell does that mean?" I wriggled in the chair and felt a sharp pain as the bindings cut into my wrists.

"Stop, or I'll knock you out again."

His words had the desired effect. I knew my best chance of getting out of this was by being alert and taking in every detail possible.

"What do you want?" I asked.

He huffed a laugh. "Revenge. Retribution."

"What have I done to you?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. "This isn't about you."

"My father?"

"No."

My scalp tingled as I realized I was just a pawn, a bit of bait. "Who, then?"

He crouched in front of me and peeled off the ski mask. I recognized the dusky complexion and dark, cruel eyes from a recent photo. Alec—my father's murderer. A mixture of fear, revulsion, and anger swirled through me. Tears sprang to my eyes, and one slid down my cheek.

"Do you recognize me?"

I glared at him. "You killed my father." My voice lacked power. Though I knew it was because I was choked up by a whirl of emotions, it was maddening. I wanted this bastard to understand the gravity of what he'd taken from me.

"I assure you, Aro is very much alive. In fact, he doesn't even know you're missing. I attended your recent funeral." Alec stood and slipped a phone from his pocket, checking the screen for a moment.

I lifted my chin defiantly and looked him in the eye. "I'm talking about Charles Swan, the man who raised me."

Alec shrugged. "It was just business."

Anger got the best of me. "You need to die, you piece of shit!" I struggled so hard the chair started to tip.

He lunged forward and righted me. "Easy, Isabella. You don't want to hurt the baby."

I inhaled sharply, my gaze automatically dropping to my baby bump. I supposed there was no hiding my pregnancy at this point, but how did Alec know I was still alive? Pride kept me from asking because it didn't matter now anyway.

The phone in his hand vibrated, and he smirked, hurrying out of the room. The door was still rolled halfway up. I saw another corrugated metal door across the wide concrete hall. This was a storage unit. I guessed we were in an abandoned facility, which meant nobody would hear me scream.

Alec stalked back in, his eyes shining with excitement. "It's almost time. Are you hungry? A little pre-show snack?"

"No."

"Suit yourself. The festivities will begin soon."

There was only one person who knew I was alive and might attract the interest of Alec: Tony. No, no, no!

While Alec was gone, I tried to loosen my restraints enough to slip a hand out. After a lot of straining and yanking, my skin was raw and abraded, but I was no closer to breaking free.

I heard the scuff of shoes in the hall and stopped struggling, taking a few deep breaths.

But it wasn't Alec who ducked under the door this time—it was Tony. He was dressed similarly to my captor—in all black. His hair was a rumpled mess. Fierce green eyes took me in, cataloging everything.

"Princess! Are you okay?" He rushed over and flicked open a knife, cutting my bindings.

"It's Alec, Tony! We have to get out of here!" Slowly, I stretched my arms, working out the stiffness. A deep ache permeated my shoulders.

When he saw my wrists, he hissed. "Son of a bitch! Can you walk?"

"I—I think so." He helped me to my feet, and I took a few shaky steps.

He pulled out a gun. "Stay behind me."

The door rolled down with a slam. Tony muttered a string of curses and glanced back at me. Fear sizzled through me, curdling my stomach.

He shook his head, almost as if I spoke my dread aloud. "Do you trust me, princess?"

"Of course."

"It's going to be okay."

I gazed into his eyes and found certainty there, taking strength from it. "Okay."

While I walked the stiffness out, Tony examined the door and ceiling. He dropped to the ground and tried to look under the crack in the door. When he rose to his feet, he drew me into his arms, turning us. He hugged me close with one arm around my waist, leaving the other free to keep the gun aimed at the door.

He pressed his cheek to mine and brought his lips close to my ear, whispering, "Alec is watching us. He can probably hear us too, so be careful what you say."

I nodded, my heart beating double-time. The baby kicked me hard. Was he aware of the danger? Did the spike in my adrenaline run along the umbilical cord and disturb him? Bella, stop it. Stay strong.

Alec's disembodied voice came from somewhere along the ceiling. "You made it, Edward! I'm so glad you're here."

"I'll bet you are." Tony's voice was low and gravelly. "How about you let Bella go and deal with me like a man?"

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? I promised you a chance to save her. If you win, she walks out of here unharmed."

Tony's hold on me tightened. "What do I have to do?"

"There's a wooden box on the table. Do you recognize it?"

Tony moved to the table, taking me with him. He stared at the box for a long moment, his brow scrunching. "That looks like the case from my grandfather's gun."

"Open it."

Tony released his hold on my waist and stared me in the eye. "Stay close." There was a stony, impassiveness in his gaze. The mafia boss was in charge.

He lifted the lid, the hinges creaking loudly. Nestled inside the red velvet interior, a revolver with ivory accents gleamed dully.

"You'll find it has one bullet."

"Jesus Christ." Tony muttered the curse on a strong exhale.

"The odds are decent that Bella and your baby will live."

A muscle on Tony's jaw twitched. He reached out and grabbed the revolver, checking the cylinder. One bullet. "Let's do this, asshole. Do you want to go first, or should I?"

Alec laughed. "You misunderstand, my friend. You and Bella will take turns. One of you walks. The other dies."

~*oOo*~

A/N: Before you decide to shoot me with poison darts, the next chapter is already finished and will post within a week. I couldn't leave all of you hanging for long. That said, tell me what you're thinking!

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