A/N: Multi-POV chapter. Heart-fail warning. Iceberg ahead.

Chapter 20

~Enjoy Your Time~

~*Bella*~

Moment of truth.

I unwrapped the pregnancy test and read the instructions. First pee of the morning was best. Control line means not pregnant. Plus sign means pregnant. Do not read after one hour as results may change. Yada, yada. What they don't say is life as you know it is about to change based on a tiny line or plus sign. There may be a life growing inside you right now. Tony's child.

I sat on the toilet, peeing on the life-changing stick, and had to lean over and puke into the tub. Was it nerves or was this Tony's baby?

"Chica? You okay?" Angela stood on the other side of the bathroom door.

"We'll know in three minutes."

I threw up again.

oOo

~*Edward*~

I stood next to Emmett and nodded. We turned in unison and emptied our guns.

"Shit. You kicked my ass, man!" Emmett groused at me.

We compared targets. Emmett's had several center mass shots and three headshots. The face on my target was obliterated, and there was one heart shot.

"Tanya"—I released the magazine and slammed another one home—"Denali." I gritted my teeth, my jaw tight. "I've never wanted to kill a woman before. I'm ashamed the thought occurred to me, but now I can't get it out of my head. She's threatening my world, trying to blackmail me into marrying her. I almost let her ruin everything." My voice went hoarse at the end when I thought about the way I hurt my princess. I wanted to protect Bella, but I wasn't thinking straight. I reacted instead of considering the options and finding a way. If this was the kind of boss I was going to be, I'd be dead in a week.

"Don't beat yourself up, E. You course-corrected."

"Bella came after me. If it weren't for her, we'd still be apart. I have to find a way out of this fucking mess."

Emmett let out a dangerous laugh, shaking his head as he reloaded his gun. "Everybody's got skeletons in the closet. You think the Denali bitch is an exception? Let's put some people on it—Hale Tech for one. Let Jasper dig around in her electronic closet. We can get Jenks on it too, have him investigate, put a tail on her."

"Yeah, I like it. But make it clear that it has to remain quiet. They report to me or you, nobody else."

"Duh." Emmett rolled his eyes and then pivoted, riddling the new target with precision shots. "Right eye. Left eye. Brain. Mouth. Jugular. Heart." He blew on the end of the barrel.

"Holy fuck, Em!"

He shrugged. "You got me riled. What can I say?"

My brother was a scary bastard, and I was thankful to have him on my side. Wise people didn't cross Emmett Masen.

Our next order of business was setting surveillance in motion for Tanya and having Jasper dig around in her business. Emmett called Jenks while I reached out to Jasper.

Jasper offered to put his cousin on it. "If you think I'm good, my cousin is an electronic savant and will find anything Tanya wants to keep hidden. You good with that?"

"You trust your cousin, Jas?" I asked.

"With my life."

"Then I'm good with it. Thanks, man."

It felt good to set our plan in motion. We horsed around as we took the trail from the shooting range back to the house. When we reached the end of the wooded path, we saw Lorenzo Denali about to leave. From the cover of the trees, we watched my father talking easily with him. Their postures were relaxed as if they were really good friends or had just made a mutually beneficial deal. Denali shook hands with my father and headed for his car. And then Tanya walked up to my father, putting a hand on his arm.

"Fuck, no," I muttered, balling my fists.

"Take it easy, bro." Emmett put a cautionary hand on my chest when I started forward. "Play it smart."

Tanya flirted with my father, shamelessly ingratiating herself. She even had the nerve to give him a semi-hug, and the old fuck ate it up.

Tanya sauntered toward her father's car, walking as if on air. Just before she got in, she looked straight at me and blew a kiss. She knew I was here, that I was watching.

"That fucking bitch!"

Emmett stepped in front of me, blocking my vision of Tanya, and kept me from going after her. "Play the long game, E. Trust our people to get the dirt on her."

I sighed. "You're right. I just hate this so fucking much!"

"Look at me, not at her." I locked eyes with my brother. He seemed very sure of himself. "We got this. Don't let that twit throw you off track. That's what she's counting on."

I knew he was right. If I let her keep me off balance, I might make a devastating mistake. I cursed the timing of falling in love with the daughter of Father's enemy while I was being groomed to take over. I had too many balls in the air—one of them was bound to fall.

I glared at Denali's car until it disappeared from sight and then went inside and showered. I had a meeting with a potential investor Cricket had vetted, so I slicked back my hair and donned a suit—my boss look. I smirked at myself in the mirror when I thought about the fit I'd thrown in the elevator when I couldn't run my hands through my hair. Bella didn't like my hair this way; she preferred my chaotic look. That made me happy because I didn't like the cold, mafia boss look either although it was necessary if I was going to be taken seriously. There was no room for even the perception of weakness or error.

Before leaving for the meeting, I knocked on the door to my father's office.

"Come." He sat behind the desk, poring over some paperwork.

"Hey, Dad. I'm on my way to meet an investor."

"Cricket told me."

A fleeting feeling of annoyance flared. Was Cricket reporting every fucking thing we did to my father?

"Oh, Edward . . . I can see the wheels turning." Father waved a hand. "Cricket only mentioned it in passing."

"Is he my guy now? Or is he still yours?"

"Yours."

"Then he needs to be completely mine."

My father nodded. "As you wish, son." He unwrapped a cigar, toying with it between his fingers. "Lorenzo Denali was here. We had a productive meeting. He's ready to choose sides."

"That's good," I answered impassively. I wasn't about to admit I knew anything.

He sighed. "Edward, we are reaching a critical point. Volturi recently announced the engagement of his daughter to Arthur Lanzo's son. Moretti's daughter is marrying into the D'Angelo family." He waved his hand around. "You need to marry."

Anger welled inside me, and I tamped it down, keeping it at bay. "Father, you asked me to wine and dine Tanya, and I have, but I'm not marrying her. Fuck, Emmett doesn't even have a girlfriend, and he's older. Why me?"

He banged a fist. "Because you will be the head of this family! We need what Denali brings to the table. He has valuable connections."

I slammed my hands on the desk and leaned in close, pitching my voice low. "Are you telling me I have no choice? Did you fucking arrange a marriage for me, like I'm some pussy who can't handle his own shit?"

Father leaned back in his chair, putting some distance between us. "No. I wouldn't do that, but if you consider the situation, I think you'll find it reasonable." I knew he was lying, but he knew I wouldn't be forced.

"Tanya's not good enough to be my wife. I want more for myself than a vacuous piece of arm candy."

He laughed, waving the cigar around. "Jesus Christ, is that all you're worried about? After you get married, you can fuck whoever you want! Pick a side piece with beauty and brains. Hell, have two or three!"

"I'll take it under advisement. I have a meeting to get to."

Stalking out of the room, I texted Cricket and told him to meet me at the garage. I was leaning against the car when he came in.

"Afternoon, boss."

I smiled, looking down at my fancy shoes. "Am I?"

"What?"

"Your boss?"

"Of course. Is something wrong?"

I raised my head, leveling him with an icy gaze. "You are either mine or you're my father's, but you can't be both. I expect complete loyalty. If the fucking house is burning down, you save me. If you need to take a bullet, it better be for me. You cannot serve two masters."

Cricket stared back without fear. A rare smile spread across his craggy face, and he nodded. "There he is—the new head of the Masen family." He went down on one knee and grabbed my hand, pressing his forehead against the back of it. "I pledge my loyalty to you and agree to forsake all others."

"Sounds like a marriage proposal. Get up!"

Cricket stood to his full height, a few inches taller than me with broader shoulders, and stared back seriously. "It is a marriage of sorts, boss, at least on my side. I've been with your dad a long time, watched you and Emmett grow up. No disrespect, but it's time for a changing of the guard in this family."

"There's something I need to know, then. What happened between my father and Aro Volturi?"

"Your father would skin me for telling you."

"I'll skin you if you don't."

A slow smile spread across Cricket's face. "There you are again. Okay, but not here. In the car on the way to our appointment."

oOo

~*Bella*~

With shaking fingers, I picked up the pregnancy test but couldn't bring myself to look at it.

"Well? What does it say?" Angela paced around the bathroom, wringing her hands.

I held the test out to her. "I can't."

She took it from me and looked at it for a long time. She knelt in front of me, putting a hand on my knee. "Chica, what are you hoping for?"

"I-I'm torn. I don't know." A dry sob wracked my chest.

"You know I'll always support you, no matter what."

"I know. Tell me."

"You're carrying Tony's child, honey."

The words were a punch to the gut and a balm to my soul at the same time. Tears poured down my face, and I wrapped both arms around my middle, rocking back and forth. I wanted Tony's baby, but not now while our situation was so volatile and uncertain.

Angela hovered close by, rubbing my back. "What can I do? Are you . . . going to keep the baby?"

Shocked, I stopped sobbing and stared at her incredulously. "Of course I'm keeping the baby! I could never . . . no."

"Okay, so we need a plan. You won't show for a few months. If worse comes to worst, you can say it's Santo's baby."

This thought caused a sharp pang in my chest. Tony should be the one by my side throughout the pregnancy. He had to be there when his child was born! The thought of passing off his child as someone else's was repugnant.

"Are you going to tell him?"

"Yes! I have to! I could never keep this from him. I don't even know how it happened. I'm on the damn pill."

"You have to stop taking those right away! No drugs and no alcohol."

I smiled. "Okay, Mama Moretti." A thought struck me. "Oh, will you be the baby's godmother?"

"Of course, but you don't have to decide that now."

"I don't need time. You're my best friend, and I know you'll protect this baby."

Angela leaned down and hugged me. "I'll protect the baby with my life."

When Angela left, she shoved all evidence of the pregnancy test in her bag. It would not do for one of the maids to come across it. I curled in a ball on my window seat. The bright green of the rolling lawn and colorful rows of tulips popped against the drab gray of the sky. My life felt like that backdrop—beauty, hope, and new life blooming inside while my life crumbled around me outside. We had to find a way out of this. I was frightened of what Aro might do if he found out.

My burner phone rang, which usually sent my heart racing in the best ways. Now I dreaded answering it. I had to keep it together because there was no way I was telling him the news over the phone.

"Hey."

"How's my princess?"

I swiped at my face and tried to smile. "I'm okay."

"Are you? You sound . . . off."

"Yeah, I'm good. There is something I need to talk to you about but not on the phone."

"Sounds ominous. Is something wrong?" Tony was on alert.

"Tony, nothing is wrong. I promise."

He huffed a sigh, and I could almost see him running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I'm just paranoid. There's a lot going on."

"What is it?"

"I don't want to discuss it on the phone either. Can you meet me at the penthouse later?"

"I have to work, but I can come there afterward."

"Good . . . yeah. I found out some things. Tell you when I see you." He fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Princess, I miss you. I hate this. I want you with me all the time."

Relief loosened the knot in my chest. "I want that, too. Please tell me we'll find a way to be together."

"We will." He sounded certain, sending a tingle of anticipation through me. "Any other outcome would be devastating. No matter what I have to do, I'll make it happen."

"I love you."

"And I love you. Can't wait to see you later." His words, delivered in a low, sultry tone, held the promise of more than talking, and just like that I was turned on.

Thankfully, the desk wasn't busy because I was distracted by thoughts of Tony while I was at work. His hands on my body, the way his touches felt as if he were worshiping me, the velvet of his tongue laving my most intimate places.

The elevator dinged, and the Denali clan walked by, dressed in their finest. Earlier, Kate asked if I'd help her set up a dinner reservation because they were having a celebration. She waved as they walked by. Even Tanya had a rare smile for me.

The evening dragged on, and I watched the clock tick down the minutes until I could be with Tony again. I was nervous to tell him about the baby, but I thought he'd take it well, maybe even be happy. I rubbed a hand across my belly, thinking of the baby growing inside me.

A crash sounded from the back office. Without thinking, I rushed down the hall to find out what happened. A metal shelf had toppled over, spewing the contents across the floor.

I was about to call maintenance to clean up the mess when I heard the ringing of a phone from the desk drawer. I pulled out the phone, which didn't look familiar, and answered it. "Hello?"

Someone was on the line; I could hear them breathing.

"Hello?"

The call disconnected. Weird.

I shoved the phone back into the drawer, but a loud ding caused me to pull it out again. There was a text message from an unknown caller.

Enjoy your time in the afterlife.

What the hell?

A door creaked nearby, and my heart raced. Someone was in here. I hurried to the closet and hid behind some coats. It was hard to hear anything over my harsh breathing, so I fought to slow my heart. There was more noise outside the office, and the murmur of a man's voice. The door to the office slammed shut. Relief flooded through me. Maybe the intruder would move on. If I stayed put for a while and gave them a chance to leave, I could check the security cameras and find out who it was.

Aro's security people had a bank of monitors in a control room in the basement. Surely someone saw the intruder and was already on the way up. I sank to the floor in the corner and waited.

The piercing shriek of a fire alarm split the silence. Now what? I stood and eased the closet door open. The office was hazy with billows of thick, black smoke. More acrid tendrils curled under the door. I used my shirt to cover my mouth and rushed over, tentatively feeling the thick metal with my fingertips. It was cool to the touch, so I tried the knob, which was also cool. Relieved, I turned the knob and yanked.

Nothing happened. The door wouldn't budge.

There was no other exit from this room. I hurried to the desk and picked up the phone.

It was dead.

I grabbed the cell phone out of the drawer and tried to make a call, but there was no signal now. The text message from earlier floated through my mind, and now I wondered if it was meant for me.

Enjoy your time in the afterlife.

For security reasons, the office was soundproof with no windows. I glanced at the ventilation ductwork, but the conduits weren't big enough to crawl into. No water gushed from the sprinkler system integrated into the ceiling. I coughed, lowering myself to the floor where there was still breathable air.

I was trapped.

~oOo~

Believe it or not, I was as surprised as everyone else about the results of the pregnancy test. I had no plans to go there, but I am just the puppet, penning their tale. What are your thoughts on Bella being trapped in the office? Love all the theories you guys come up with!

**I receive many queries about cheating/HEA. There will not be any cheating, and this will definitely be HEA. Prepare to be twisted into a pretzel though. Hope you're flexible. Just saying.

I post teasers and links to updates on my blog and on Facebook in the No Rules Twilight Fan Fiction and It All Started With Twilight groups.

Thanks and gratefulness as always to my awesome betas, SassySue (chayasara) and Wendy (wmr1601). These ladies make my stuff much more presentable!

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