AN: Stephenie Meyer owns all.
*All grammar mistakes are mine
Chapter Eleven
What the fuck? That's all I kept thinking as I threw Bella her clothes and got dressed. I let myself lose my goddamn head, and now I put my girl in danger. We should've gone home, watched a little television, and not committed grand theft auto. There was no excuse for my behavior, and I didn't know how bad things would get for us.
"Here, Bella," I said, opening up my duffel bag and handing her a cheesecloth. "Wipe down everything in the car, okay?" Bella stood frozen, just staring at me. Her clothes were half-on, and her hair a fucking mess. I was worried she'd gone into shock. When I kissed her, though, it brought her back. "Hurry, baby. We don't have much time."
She nodded and went to clean out the inside of the car.
The police scanner was chattering as the ensuing units discussed how far they were from us. Only two minutes out.
"Fuck!" I snapped into action and wiped down the car from the rims to the roof.
I did this several times. There was no room for error.
When I turned to check on Bella, I lost my fucking mind again. She was bent over and rubbing down the seats and dash. My dumbass wondered how long it would take me to pull her shorts aside and fuck her senseless from behind. It annoyed me how easily she could distract me. Then the red and blue lights caught my attention and made shit real. From where we were parked, I could see the freeway, and there was one police cruiser driving off the exit. We only had a minute to get fucking gone.
"You good?" I asked her.
"Yeah," she said.
"Good." Stuffing all our shit into the duffel bag and throwing it over my shoulder, I grabbed Bella's hand. "Now, we're going to run to the housing district, okay? Can you run?"
The kid looked up at me and saw zero worry in her eyes. Instead, she trusted me to take care of her. "Yeah, just lead the way."
Holding her hand firmly in mine, Bella and I ran toward the block fence about a hundred feet away. My hearing was impeccable, but tonight, it was tuned to every sound, no matter how minuscule. I listened to Bella's labored breathing, our feet pounding against the dirt, and the police sirens getting closer. Although I'd been in sticky situations in the past, none of them caused me this much anxiety. It wasn't about me anymore, but about my girl. If we got caught because I was a fucking idiot, she would pay the price with her freedom. Not only would she hate me forever, but I would lose her. I couldn't see my life without her, which made me desperate.
"Okay," I said once we got to the brick wall. "Let's go, quickly."
It was about eight feet tall, and Bella was short and needed a boost. I crouched and interlocked my fingers. She nodded, stepping into my hand, and with a swift jerk, I lifted her. She struggled for a second, and I had to place my hands on her ass and push the kid rest of the way. It was hard to watch her, uncoordinated as she was, and when she rolled off the wall and let herself hang, I grimaced when I heard her land hard on the other side.
"Owww, fuck!" she said.
Glancing back at the deserted Lambo, I hoped we got every print and piece of our identity out of the damn thing. It was a shame to leave her behind, but sticking around wasn't an option. Throwing the duffel bag over, I quickly jumped and gripped the edge of the wall, pulling myself up and over. I landed on the ground by Bella. She was still rubbing her shins and looking at me in wonderment. I wanted to laugh. Baby girl, I'm 6'2" and not as fragile as you are.
Now that we were safe and hiding in this community, I needed to get rid of our baggage. The police would be patrolling the streets and this district soon, and having all this shit on me wasn't going to fly.
Sadly, I knew my piece was the first thing I had to ditch.
Taking the gun from my back waistband, I wiped off my fingerprints. That would be the only thing tying me to the Glock. The numbers were scratched off and illegally bought on the streets. I was a convicted felon, no way in hell could I ever purchase a gun from a store.
My eyes scanned the community park for somewhere to get rid of it, and I didn't want to toss it in the open where a kid could find it. Luckily, there was a manufactured pond to my right, and I figured it was a nice resting place for old Bertha.
"What are you doing?" Bella asked when she saw me walk toward the water.
"We can't be caught with this," I said, throwing it in and watching it disappear. "I fucking loved that gun." I grabbed Bella's hand again. "Let's go."
As we headed out, I realized I had no fucking idea where we were. Carefree Highway was close to Anthem and at least forty miles from home.
"Shit, we need to get out of here," I said, taking out my phone and dialing Emmett.
It rang three times before he picked up. "Yo, Eddie, what up?"
As we walked through the streets, I cleaned my tools and threw them, individually, into different backyards every couple of houses. My rationale was simple: the police could never connect the items if I scattered them.
"Hey! Look, man, we're in deep fucking shit," I said.
Emmett laughed. "Let me fucking guess, you didn't ditch the car when I fucking told you to, did you?"
"No," I said, and it was embarrassing because I wasn't the type of guy to not listen to good advice. The police scanner was the next to go, but since I could hear the helicopter overhead and shit, I didn't need it anymore, and I tossed it into someone's backyard and hit their dog. The asshole started barking, and the house lights went on.
I had to hustle Bella along.
"So, what did you do, Edward, huh? Fuck her on the hood?"
"No," I lied and glanced at Bella. She had her head forward, but her mouth was curved upward in a smirk. Yeah, she was listening.
"Bullshit you fucking liar! You fucking fucked her and now you're both fucked."
I wanted to pull my goddamn hair out. "Look, man, that shit doesn't matter, all right?"
He scoffed.
"They can't prove shit. We cleaned the car. They won't be able to lift any prints," I said confidently, but it wasn't a hundred percent.
"What about her hair, dip shit? You know that they do that CSI shit all the time. Did you fucking vacuum out the car?"
"Don't be stupid," I said, wadding up the duffel bag and tossing it over another fence. That last piece would tie Bella and me to the Lambo. It was now gone for good.
"No, you've got stupid covered. If you get pinched tonight, call fucking Jasper to come bail you out. I've got plans with Rose. You know, fucking a girl that won't land me five to ten."
It was a dig at her age and how unpredictable we were together.
"What? " I stopped in the middle of the street. The asshole wasn't serious. "But we need you to come pick us up, man. We're stranded and you've got my fucking car!"
"I told you I'm busy. Call Jasper."
After all the shit I've done for this guy? How quickly does he forget that I took the fall for him on the high-rise job? When everyone dimed me out, I didn't name him to gain some leniency, and there we were, now fucking me over.
"Whatever, dick!" I hung up and shoved the phone into my back pocket. Bella was staring at me, shocked. "He's an asshole. We don't need him."
"How are we going to get home?" she asked.
As I opened my mouth, that fucking ghetto bird flew over our heads and shined a light down. We were too visible, and I needed somewhere to regroup so I could think of another plan for us to get home. Scanning the streets, I noticed a clubhouse and told Bella to wait while I went to check it out. Some of the community tenants must've forgotten to lock the doors. I waved Bella over, and she came running like a scared little kitty. It was cute but also shitty. I fucking did that to her.
Walking in, I searched for the bathroom. It was in the corner. Turning to Bella, I crouched to her level and held her face in my hands. "I need to go to the bathroom and get rid of this condom. Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she said, clasping my arms and forcing a smile. "I'm just trying not to freak out."
"We'll be fine. The cops can't prove anything if they don't have any evidence, right?" I kissed her lips to assure her that I would never let her take the fall for my fuck-ups. "We're not going to jail for this. Do you trust me?"
"I trust you."
Her big brown eyes were wide and open to me. She said the words and meant them. It was heavy knowing how much faith she had in me. I smiled and kissed her. Those lips had the power to rule me. Anything the kid wanted, I would give her without question.
"I'll be right back," I told her and went to the bathroom.
Flicking on the light, I went into the only stall and removed the soiled condom. It was disgusting, but I couldn't leave it by the Lambo. The whole running, jumping, and walking wasn't pleasant, and I had to wash my boxers a little in the sink. I would rather have a wet spot than an oyster sitting there all night. Running my fingers through my hair, I stared at my reflection. There was a different man than the one I'd seen for most of my life. Although I had stress lines on my forehead, my eyes were focused, and the smirk on my face expressed happiness. The kid would ruin me, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
But now, I had to figure a way to get us out of there, and calling Jasper wasn't going to be pleasant. I can already hear, "I told you so."
Taking a deep breath, I pulled out my phone and called him.
"Hey, what's going on? You guys okay?" Jasper asked and sounded concerned.
"I'm guessing Emmett filled you in," I said.
"Yes and no. I saw the story on the news, and knew Emmett picked up the Chevelle, so I put two and two together."
"Shit! It's on the news? Are you kidding me?" I groaned. Just what we fucking needed, public attention.
Jasper laughed. "Bro, you stole a fucking Lamborghini from the Governor's son, what did you expect?"
"I'm sorry, say that shit again?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"That Lambo was a birthday gift to Kyle O'Leary. Arizona's Governor Keith O'Leary. Are you telling me, you had no idea?"
"No, I didn't know who the kid was. I just figured he was just some rich prick."
Jasper sighed. "Man, I can't believe that you actually held him at gunpoint. Where was Bella? Did she help?"
I shook my head, confused by his statement. "I didn't fucking hold him at gunpoint. Where did you get that bullshit?"
"Thats what the kid is saying. He's on the news telling everybody that he got carjacked by two people. The governor is on a war path to find you guys. This is bad, man."
"Un-fucking-believable." My head lolled back as I stared up at the heavens. How did my luck get so bad? "No wonder they put out they we were armed and dangerous."
"So, what happened then?"
"Man, the kid parked that shit in a public garage and it was too good to pass up."
"Maybe you should have."
I laughed and groaned. "Yeah, no fucking shit. Fuck! How did everything get so twisted?"
That was a rhetorical question. I knew exactly how I fucking got there. Bella changed me in ways I couldn't explain. She made me impulsive and stupid. It wasn't her fault. I was just too fucking eager to make her smile.
Jasper had every opportunity to pounce but held his tongue. "So, did you ditch the car?"
"Yeah, we did, but now we're stranded out in Anthem. Do you think you could come pick us up?"
"Yeah, of course. Where are you at?" Jasper asked, and I could hear Alice in the background asking him for the address.
"We're in some housing district east of the Carefree Highway exit."
Alice clicked clacked on her computer, and in two seconds, I heard her say, "Found them!"
"All right, there's a gas station a mile south from the district. Be there. I'm leaving now."
Strolling out of the bathroom, I saw Bella spin around. Her hair was up in a ponytail, exposing that slender neck. She smiled at me so perfectly and innocently, which was why I was there, stealing shit and running from the cops.
"Yeah, thanks, man. I'll see you in twenty," I said.
Jasper tried his hardest to say goodbye without being a dick but couldn't help rubbing that shit in deep. "Didn't I warn you that this kind of shit would happen if you got with Bella?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, you're some fucking clairvoyant, all right."
Jasper laughed. "And you're a fucking moron, my man."
"Yeah, I know. See you soon." I hung up the phone and nodded over at Bella. "You ready?"
She was fidgeting, swaying, and switching from foot to foot. "As ever as I am going to be, I guess."
The stress I've put her through wasn't fair. She deserved to be at home, safely snuggled in bed and sleeping peacefully. Instead, I was the chaotic tornado in her life, just fucking shit up left and right. What a selfish man I've become. I felt like the piece of shit that I always knew I was. But I couldn't show that to her. Right at that moment, my girl needed me to be her protector.
"Come here." I opened my arms to Bella, and she walked into me. Holding her tightly, I tried my best to ease her fears. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
She nodded her head, burying her face in my chest, and mumbled. "I know."
"All right," I said, hugging her briefly before pulling away but keeping that connection by taking her hand. "Jasper will pick us up at the gas station up the road. We just got to make it there without getting picked up by the cops."
"Oh, okay," Bella said sarcastically. "Sounds easy enough."
"Yeah, maybe," I said.
We approached the clubhouse door and peered outside. The streets looked clear, but it was almost one, and I expected this time at night. When I looked up at the sky, it seemed quiet. No helicopter flying around. We needed to leave right then.
"Let's go," I said.
Once we were out in the open, we had to move fast. Bella stayed in step with my long legs as we made it out of the district and up to the main road. The gas station sign was within our visual range, and I relaxed. I had enough money to get us something to drink and eat. If I knew anything about my girl, she was hungry. It would be nice to get something in my stomach. Then, we would wait for Jasper to pick us up and never do something this insane again. I planned to lead an everyday life with her. Even the notion of stopping the drug dealing business crossed my mind.
I could live a quiet, suburban life with Bella, but under no circumstances was she allowed to live a chaotic, criminal life with me.
Then, it all came crashing down as a police cruiser turned a corner and drove straight at us.
"Fuck me," I said, tightening my grip on her hand. "Act casual."
"I am trying to act casual," she said, and when I looked at her, that girl was anything but fucking casual. Every part of her screamed: panic.
There was no way the cop wasn't going to stop. It was early morning, and I was a tall, skinny motherfucker, wearing combat boots, ripped black jeans, and a black t-shirt. Bella was a tiny, young-faced girl wearing hoochie shorts and a sheer top. We looked fucking suspicious.
The cruiser slowed to a crawl and shined his light at us as he passed. I stared at the guy, and he stared back. I didn't doubt that the asshole would stop and harass the kid and me. Then he flicked his lights on and pulled over.
"Fucking perfect," I said, stopping mid-step. We had two seconds to develop a story, but I needed the kid to be calm at that moment. "Listen, Bella, we just look suspicious. They can't prove anything, alright?"
"Okay," she said, surprisingly confident.
The cop got out of the cruiser and walked toward us. He had his hand's palm resting on his gun's handle. It was his way of telling me not to make any sudden moves. He wouldn't be relaxed until he searched us and found no weapons. I suppressed a sigh. This whole stop was a waste of time.
"Evening, folks," he said, keeping his eyes on me. "What you guys doing out here so late?"
"We're coming from a party," I said.
Which, after I said that, proved to be a mistake.
The cop was on alert now and yanked out his flashlight and shoved the intrusive light into my eyes. "Have you been drinking?"
Technically, but that was almost six hours ago, and whatever I drank was metabolized now. So if I were to blow, it would be 0.00.
"No, sir," I said.
"How about you?"The cop forced the light into my lady's eyes, and she squinted with discomfort.
My muscles tensed, and I had to bite the side of my cheek not to deck the motherfucker.
"No, sir," Bella said.
Satisfied that we were sober, he pocketed the flashlight and moved on to the following procedure. "Raise your arms to the side."
Bella followed my lead, and we did as instructed. It was the first time a cop had patted her down - or so I thought.
As for me, too many times to count.
"Do you have any weapons or drugs on you?" the cop asked
We did, but now we don't, I thought, but my outward answer was: "No, sir."
Finishing up with me and moving on to Bella, I watched that asshole closely. If he lingered for too long anywhere on my girl, I would fucking kill him. But luckily for both of us, he stayed professional and treated her respectfully.
The cop relaxed and took a step back. "Do you know anything about a stolen Lamborghini? It was abandoned not too far from here."
How would I play this? My acting wasn't the best, but I needed to sell him on a story. Cracking my mental knuckles, I opted to act surprised.
"Someone stole a Lamborghini? No shit? Is that even possible to do?" I might've laid it on a little thick.
"Apparently so." The cop narrowed his eyes, not believing any of my bullshit, making him focus on Bella. "How old are you?"
Fuck. Fuck. I showed no outward signs of flipping out, but this shit was turning sideways quickly.
"Eighteen," Bella said, her voice high and squeaky.
She was no liar.
And here we go.
"All right, I'm going to need to see some ID's," he said.
Pulling out my wallet and opening it, I went to hand over my license, but the asshole swiped it and pompously read off my name.
"Edward Cullen. Why does that sound familiar?"
Because my father was a deciding component in the bill of police brutality education and prevention passing the senate, and officers, probably like himself, saw that as an intrusion of their practices. But did I want to be this fucker's target because of my father?
Not a chance, so I shrugged and replied flatly, "It's a common name?"
The guy sensed the 'you're a dipshit attitude' and wasn't appreciative.
"I would watch your tone!" He barked like a feral dog. The cop addressed Bella. "Where's your ID, miss?"
"I left it at home," she said.
"What's your name?" he asked, taking out a paper and pad.
I listened intently because I'd never learned her full name for as long as I'd known her. It could be a way of me keeping her at a distance and not getting too close.
That no longer applied, and I was all ears.
"Isabella Swan," she said, glancing up at me.
I smiled. The name didn't fit her as well as Bella did, but I like the last name: Swan.
Bella Swan.
"All right, I'm going to go check you out in th system. Do either of you have any outstanding warrants that I should know about?"
"No, sir," Bella and I answered.
The cop either didn't believe me or was disappointed that I wasn't an easy arrest. While he ran our names, I took the opportunity to hold my girl. I was an addict, not going to deny it, and couldn't stand not showing Bella how much I was fucking into her.
"Isabella Swan?" I took her by the hips and jerked her roughly into me.
She groaned as her cheeks turned a rosy red "Yeah, I know, it sounds like a TV dinner. My parent's hated me."
"It's a beautiful name," I said. But, of course, the actual word 'beautiful' is in the name. Bending, I whispered in her ear and smiled as goosebumps multiplied over her skin. "Per la mia bella ragazza."
Rough translation: For my beautiful girl.
My Italian was a bit rusty, and I used to be pretty fluent.
Since I was a bad kid, my parents sent me to Florence, Italy, when I was thirteen for school. They hoped the culture would put me on a different path, but all it did was give me the talent of picking up girls in a foreign language.
Bella smirked. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you, Mr. Cullen?"
"You have no idea," I said, suddenly forgetting about the cop a few feet away and wanting to kiss that flirty smile right off her. But, unfortunately, just as my lips were touching hers, the cop cleared his throat and officially fucked-up my day.
Bella and I put some distance between us, like two kids getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
"Well, you checked out fine," he said and handed my license back, but then his focus was on Bella. "You on the other hand, were reported as a runaway."
"What?" she stammered, her big browns wide and looking at me for help.
The cop was smug. "Your parent's reported you as a runway three months ago. So I'm gonna have to take you in."
I had yet to figure out what to do. Of course, I always knew the kid was a runaway, but I had no idea she could get arrested for that. The unexpected had me frozen in place.
"Put your hands behind your back," the cop said, forcefully spinning Bella around and putting cuffs on her.
She whimpered in pain, and that woke my fucking ass up.
"Dude seriously?" I stepped up to him and was two inches from his face. "Are the cuffs necessary?"
"She's in violation of the law," he said, and I scoffed. It sounded like bullshit, but the cop's hand was around her arm, and he yanked her toward his cruiser. He reassessed me and my reaction to everything. "What is your relationship with her?"
"She's my girlfriend," I said.
"You do realize that she's underage, right? That it's a serious offence to be having sexual relations with a minor. You understand that, sir?"
Yeah, I was well versed on that fucking law and never lost sleep over it. The cop thought he had a play over me. Overly concerned with her age, Bella panicked and decided to lie on my behalf.
"He didn't know, officer," she said. "I told him that I was eighteen."
"Hmm, well, now he knows, and I'm sure you'll stay away from her, won't you?"
Not a fucking chance, but since it looked like he missed the fine print, I decided to remind him. "Only for two weeks, officer. She has a birthday coming up."
The prick took notice of my stance, seeing it go from harmless to hostile. That slight shift put the guy on the defense, and the cop knew that he would lose it if he didn't take control of the situation.
He took a bold and threatening step into me, his face mere inches from mine. "I suggest you get home now, Mr. Cullen before I make an excuse to haul your ass in, or do you want to go down to the station and be questioned for this Lamborghini business, huh? Your long rap sheet is more than enough cause to consider you a suspect."
The fucker was a joke. Now the cop was spouting off shit, thinking I was an imbecile. You would think that since my 'rap sheet' was so long, I would know the ins and outs of the law.
But he wanted to fucking play with me, so I accepted.
"Do it," I said. "You can't prove shit."
There was nothing this asshole had on me. So what if my girl and I were in the area of the stolen Lambo? It was circumstantial evidence and never held up.
But my sweet baby girl was a novice about everything and panicked. "No!" she shouted.
"Bella," I whispered, slowly shaking my head.
"Don't be stupid," she said, gesturing toward the gas station. "Go. I'll be fine. Please."
Fuck, she had to say please.
"She's a smart girl. I suggest you listen to her," the fucker said as he dragged my girl off.
It killed me to stand there and watch this prick haul Bella away like she was a fucking criminal. It didn't sit well with me, and I had to fight the urge to get myself killed because that's how insane I was when it came to her. But it was her eyes that made me behave. She wanted me to wait. If she were to give me the go-ahead, I would've charged him like a raging bull.
"Let it go," Bella mouthed to me.
The cop was a fucking dick. He tossed my girl into the cruiser like she was nothing. He was goading me. She stared at me from the backseat, tears streaming down her cheeks, and I was busting out of my skin. But don't worry, baby. I'd said to her in my head. I'm coming to get you.
The cop scoffed at me and gave me one last look over.
Keep walking, prick. Don't say a fucking word, I thought.
But he couldn't help himself. "I remember now why your name sounds familiar."
"Oh, yeah?" I said, but inwardly, it was just a string of profanities.
"Cullen. Like that Democrat asshole Carlisle Cullen?" He laughed. "You look like him. But not even that piece of shit would be related to a huge piece of shit like you."
I chuckled but flipped him off when he turned his back. "Motherfucker."
My eyes quickly found Bella. She looked so broken, and it gutted me.
"I'll come for you," I told her, and I meant it.
The cruiser started and rolled forward, and I stared at her beautiful face until I could no longer see her. Then, when the cop turned the corner, I released all my pent-up anger.
"Fuuccck!" I yelled, pulled a bush out from its root, and threw it against the wall. "Fucking asshole, piece of shit, prick!"
Even though the cop was a dick for arresting a girl who turned eighteen in 13 days as a runaway, I couldn't stay pissed at him. The evening turning to shit was all my fault. Bella followed my lead. Sure, she was pissed when I told her we were stealing anything, but she would've gotten over it. There was no reason for me to up the stakes of the night. Except, I was a selfish asshole. I hated her being mad at me and wanted to get under her good graces again, but like a moron, I overshot, and what happened? The governor wants our heads, I lost one of my favorite guns, and Bella ripped away from me.
If I were a decent guy who worked nine to five, my girl wouldn't have to fear anything, not the law or drug dealers, not a goddamn thing.
If I were a decent guy on the straight and narrow, I would marry Bella before having sex with her.
My lady could be anything she wanted: a college student, a career woman, a wife, or a stay-at-home mom.
All she had to do was say the word, and I would give her fucking anything.
But the fucking cop took Bella from me.
I had to get her back.
That was step one.
After that, I was going to retire from the criminal world.
AN: So, Edward was going to go legit? How quickly shit got out of hand.