AN: Stephenie Meyer owns all, except for my grammar. That's all me, baby.
Chapter Twelve
Around one-thirty, Jasper showed up at the gas station in his truck. I was sitting on the curb chain-smoking. It was my eighth cigarette, but it was the only thing I could do to calm my fucking nerves. Although Bella was in jail somewhere, I knew she was safe. The Phoenix lockup wasn't terrible for women, and considering her age, and how innocent she looked, the cops would probably put her in a one-person holding cell. She'd be detained for a few hours until her parents showed up. So I just had to be there to intercept them and take my lady home.
Relax, Cullen. Bella isn't in danger, and you will see her soon -That's what I kept telling myself.
It was the only way to keep me from flipping my shit.
Besides, I knew better than to show Jasper how unstable being with Bella made me. It was bad enough that he had Mexico and the Lamborghini to hold over my head and point to exhibits A and B of why I shouldn't be with her. No, I needed to present an outward calm. That way, when I go get her, I won't have any roadblocks from him or Emmett.
"Hey, man," Jasper said as he got out of the truck. It took him less than a second to realize someone was missing. "Where's Bella?"
I took the last hit off my cigarette and threw it to the ground. My goal was to act nonchalant and not like a fucking basket case. "A cop stopped us and arrested her as a runaway."
Jasper stared at me. "What?"
"Listen, I need you to do me a favor." I patted him on the back as I passed, getting into the passenger seat. Jasper joined me a moment later, still stunned by my behavior. "We need to go back to that district and get my Glock."
Jasper nodded and started the truck. "Wait, what do you mean?"
There was too much vague information, but he couldn't get past the part where Bella got arrested. That topic was sore for me, so I kept the conversation on my gun.
"I had to ditch it in the artificial pond, but I don't want some fucking kid to find it."
But mostly, other than the Colt, it was my favorite.
"Okay, boss." Jasper, still wary of me, not trusting my casual, not giving a fuck attitude, didn't ask any more questions and drove as I directed him.
The field behind the district was swarming with cops, and it lit up the night sky, flashing red and blue. Jasper freaked a little, wanting to bolt, and I had to fucking make him wait for a car to come by and let us into the community. Once inside, the streets were quiet and dark but felt bittersweet to me. Less than an hour prior, I had the kid by my side with her taste fresh in my mouth. After the cop took her, I wouldn't allow myself to think about the kid, but now that she was in my thoughts, I fucking missed her. If I didn't get her back soon, my plan would crumble, and there would be no way of hiding the insanity inside me.
Once I combed through the two-foot water and found my gun, Jasper and I headed home. I needed my car back. Even if I asked, Jasper wouldn't drive me to the Phoenix police department. My family didn't want me with Bella. I was too unreliable, and my impulsive behavior was causing issues with the cartel. They were right, but that life wasn't attractive to me anymore, and the kid was the only thing that mattered.
My last act of good faith was meeting up with Caius in Tucson next week, but I was out for good after that.
"So, you seem pretty okay that Bella was arrested," Jasper said, finally broaching the subject.
My mind raced with ways to play it off, and I knew selling it as I didn't fucking care at all, Jasper would see right through that bullshit.
I decided to give him a half-truth. "It was a bullshit arrest. The cop just wanted her away from me. I'm sure once she's out, she'll call me."
What he didn't know was I had no intention of waiting.
"And if she doesn't call you?" Jasper probed by saying some shit that would never happen.
Why waste time entertaining it? "She'll call me."
He sighed because the words coming out of my mouth didn't jive with my actions, and so that fucker decided to goad me. "Maybe it's best you don't answer if Bella does call you."
I didn't flinch. "Why's that?"
"Don't get me, wrong, I see the appeal. She's cute and looks like a lot of fun, but long term? She's too young for you and needs a chance to do something more with her life," Jasper said, and arguably, he made good points. "She's too good of a kid to be some drug dealer's girlfriend."
Bella was too good for me. Of course, I would tell anybody that, but as it were, I was a selfish asshole and didn't see the alternative being any better.
If my girl had a safe home to return to, I might've taken his advice and let her go, but going back to an abusive mother and a rapist for a stepfather wasn't happening. As much as a piece of shit I was, at least I would love and protect her until my last dying breath. Jasper didn't want to hear any of that, though. Bella was a problem for the family and our business; the only solution was an abrupt break.
"You're right," I said, but it didn't change anything.
"What do you see happening, Edward?" he asked. "Would you marry her? Have kids? What?"
I laughed. "Dude, lay off me, okay? I've only been dating the girl for a week."
But to answer his questions: Yes, and fuck yes.
Jasper tilted his head, trying to gauge how I'd gone from a fucking lunatic in Mexico to shrugging my shoulders like Bella was disposable to me.
In hindsight, I should've busted out with my guns blazing. The outcome would've been the same.
"You know, I'm only looking out for what's best for everybody," he said.
For everybody, huh? I thought. Not what's best for Bella, just everybody else, because that's who it'll genuinely affect. Jasper's main concern wasn't my girl's future, or well fair, but how she was changing me. They wouldn't tell me to my face, but the family liked me single, only available to them. They could pair up and have a life outside this business, but me? Fuck no! I was to be alone and occasionally fucking crack-head whores.
It was amazing that I didn't lose my cool right then and there.
Instead, I fucking nodded and bit the inside of my cheek. I had one goal: to make it home, get my car, and then get my girl. If anything, I thought about packing up our shit and splitting. Fuck Marcus, Caius, and the family. They could have my entire empire.
Instead of dropping me off at the curb, Jasper parked and followed me inside. There, I saw Alice, Rose, and Emmett. They gathered in my living room like a gang of assholes. The plan was clear, to keep me home. How they thought they would accomplish that bullshit was beyond me. But I didn't say shit to them, just a head nod in greeting, and then I went straight to my room. It smelled like my girl and made everything fucking harder for me. I grabbed a duffel from my closet and started loading up all our clothes. I couldn't get to Bella's jar right then, but I'd planned on taking all that money. It was at least ten to fifteen thousand. Not much in the long run, but enough to get us relocated somewhere.
I traded out my waterlogged Glock for the new Colt. It was a precaution. As the saying goes: better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Throwing the duffel over my shoulder, I headed back into the lion's den. They all looked at me and quickly assessed my plans. If they knew shit about Edward Cullen, the family wouldn't have wasted their breath, but they believed talking to me was possible.
"Where are you going?" Emmett asked.
Jasper shook his head and chuckled.
He probably felt tricked, but I didn't give a fuck.
"Out," I said because that's all they needed to know.
"You're going to get Bella?" Alice asked, and it wasn't accusatory but hopeful. There was genuine concern, and I remembered why I liked her.
"Yeah," I said.
Rose scoffed but didn't say shit to me.
Emmett gestured toward my bag. "And what's that then?"
"Clothes, money," I said with a shrug. "Shit like that."
The family stared at me, stunned.
"Dude, you're fucking leaving us?" Emmett asked, upset. I felt for the guy. We'd been my best friend since junior high, and even he couldn't fathom my behavior.
So, I lied to him. "Only for the weekend. I need to get out of town for a while with Bella and let shit cool off."
"Oh," he said and seemed relieved.
Nobody said anything else, so I decided to head for the door.
Jasper stepped up and blocked me. "I'm coming with you."
"I don't need a babysitter, Jazz," I said.
"I think you do, Edward!" He got louder and up in my face.
"Get the fuck out of my way," I said calmly.
The tension rose, and Alice, knowing I was partial to her, decided to be the voice of reason and stepped in between Jasper and me.
She placed a hand on my arm. "Look, go get Bella, but don't split on us, okay? I know, we all seem a little worried about you, but that's because we haven't seen you like this. Just come home, sleep on it, and if you want to get out of town tomorrow, then go."
The family and I had been together as a team for nearly three years, and they couldn't understand the change. To them, it was sudden, but for me, it's been brewing for two months since the first night I laid eyes on Bella. I took their advice, avoiding her and treating the kid like shit, hoping it would all disappear. So, I understood that this part of me was a new occurrence for them, and I was willing to give them some slack and time to adjust.
"Fine." I walked back to my room and tossed the duffel on the bed. When I returned, Jasper was still by the door, unwilling to budge a single inch. I sighed. "You can come, but we take my car."
It was two forty-five in the morning when we arrived at the police station. I had yet to learn if Bella was still there or if her parents had picked her up. Jasper didn't try to talk me out of anything. Instead, he resigned to the fact that it was happening and was only there to keep things from going sideways. Even though it bugged me that he couldn't support my relationship with the kid, I knew I would make poor, impulsive choices without him trying to talk sense. It was like I was a teenager again, before my incarceration at twenty-one, where I believed I was invincible. It was my four-year stint at Florence prison that made me more cautious.
"So, what's your plan, Eddie?" Jasper asked.
I'd parked down the street and watched people come and go, but I still needed to formulate a plan. If I walked in and asked for Isabella Swan, would they tell me she was there? I had low expectations for that plan, so, unfortunately, I needed to go in and scout the place. What happened from there? I was about to find out.
"I'm not sure," I said, opening the car door and getting out. He jumped out to follow me. "Can you stay by the car? Just in case, Bella sees it or something?"
"Are you sure?" Jasper was skeptical.
I tossed him the keys to the Chevelle. "Yeah, I'll be back."
Jasper was hesitant but decided not to fight me. "Don't do something you'll fucking regret, man."
That piece of advice made me laugh. I appreciated Jasper saying it, but his sage words weren't getting through to an asshole like me. "Yeah, we'll see."
When I got to the police department door, it was surprising that there wasn't a metal detector. That was a fucking relief. My Colt was still tucked snug in my back waistband, and I didn't want to trigger any alarms. I glanced around the front lobby, looking for Bella or people who might be her parents, but it was empty. The receptionist was behind a counter and a four-glass wall that separated her from me. She looked up once as I walked by but paid me no mind, and I went straight into the bathroom. It gave me the second I needed to develop a game plan. After that, my options were limited to one: to hang out in the lobby until morning. That way, I could be there when Bella got released into her parents' care.
But what if she's already gone?I thought.
"Fuck!" I punched my reflection, and my fist bounced off the aluminum mirror.
It'd been three or so hours since the asshole cop took the kid from me, and I knew nothing about Bella's mom or stepfather, only their names: Renee and Phil. Where they lived or their last name was a fucking mystery. What if I'd already lost her? My facade was crumbling fast, and if I didn't take her home with me, Jasper and the family would see the crazed man I was hiding.
I splashed water on my face and ran my wet fingers through my hair. It woke my ass up and cooled me off. My mind refocused, and I didn't get caught up in the bullshit. It didn't fucking matter what I thought, what my family said, or the obstacles in my way. As she got hauled away, I promised the kid I would come for her.
Nothing wasn't going to make me break that promise.
Exiting the bathroom, I saw a couple waiting by the counter. It was a thin blonde-haired woman and this sweaty piece of shit. They were talking about Bella. I didn't hear them say her name, but I fucking seethed with anger because Iknewit was them.
"Sweetheart, is it any surprise that your daughter sleeps around with older men? She tried to entice me all the time, wearing her underwear around the house," he said.
That older man being me, I'd imagined.
She sniffed and pressed a tissue to her nose. "I know, but it just hurts me as her mother. I tried to raise her right. But how can I when she tries to seduce my husband? I don't know if I can do this, honey. Let's leave, please."
Yes, I thought,fucking leave.
"No, honey, she's our daughter and she needs to be home with us. You just do as we discussed, okay?"
"Okay."
The door on the west side of the room opened, and a young cop was bringing Bella out. She was tiny compared to everyone. I stepped back into the shadows and watched as they flipped on a dime and pretended to be good parents. My girl was fucking smart and didn't fall for it. She looked bored and barely engaged. Even when Renee hugged her, Bella stood unresponsive. I moved forward to intercept them, but something told me to wait, so I did. Phil put a target on his back as he aggressively took my girl by the arm and dragged her out the door. The muscles in my body tightened to strike, but as I started to go after them, Renee came back in and went to the ladies' room. I had to dodge her path by hiding in the corner.
I wasn't going to follow her.
Renee wasn't my concern.
And yet, she broke Bella's heart by being a terrible mother.
It was that quick.
One thought led to another, and I found myself standing in the bathroom with my gun at my side. There wasn't a bullet in the chamber yet. I didn't want to make my presence known.
Renee was in one of the stalls. I would wait for her to come out. Then wack her.
It would be a mistake to shoot someone in the police station, but I wasn't thinking clearly, and choking her would take too long.
"Hello?" Her voice echoed off the walls, and my breath held. Did she hear me enter? "Anna? Hey! It's me. We're at the police station bailing Bella out. Yeah, I know. Phil's out there with her right now," she said, sounding fucking awful. "I don't know why we're wasting our time on that girl. She's been nothing but a problem for our marriage, but he insisted."
Maybe strangling this fucking woman wouldn't be a waste ofmytime.
"Well, I don't know. When we picked her up, he just told me to pretend I forgot something so he could have some alone time with her. I guess he wanted to lay down some ground rules." she said, coming out of the stall and face-to-face with me.
We locked eyes for an intense ten seconds. I saw too much of my girl in Renee. The defiant expression and the bunching of the eyebrows. It didn't matter how much I hated her. I couldn't kill something resembling so much of the woman I loved. All my anger deflated.
"I.." my voice got choked up when it occurred to me that Renee purposely left my girl alone with Phil.
He wanted no interruptions.
And as her mouth opened to scream, I booked it out of there before she had a chance.
"Fuuuck!" I yelled.
Coming out of the building, I saw two figures in the distance in the parking lot. My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out what was happening. It was hard to tell, and I had to get closer. As I came upon them, I realized the motherfucker was strangling Bella. He was trying to snuff out my reason for living. How I didn't fucking start unloading lead into his body was beyond me. But, no, I slowed down to sneak up on his ass. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel rushed and do something I couldn't take back.
I got behind him and listened as Bella's faint voice drifted off. "Karma is going to be coming for you."
Phil laughed in her face. "Are you threatening me, little girl?"
"No,shes'not," I said, cocking the gun and putting it to his face. "But I am."
The asshole froze but didn't release Bella. If he didn't remove his fucking hand, I would kill him where he stood.
"There are three things of mine that I don't take kindly to when someone touches them without my permission: my car, mygun," and I pressed this motherfucking Colt into his thick skull, "and my girl. Guess which one you're touching right now?"
The fat bastard dropped his hands. "Your boyfriend, I presume?"
"That's right, asshole. Now back the fuck up!" I forced him away from my girl with the muzzle of the gun. He stumbled away, but after Phil removed his weight, Bella lost control of her legs and went down. I caught her by the arm and held her up. She looked fragile and small to me. "Baby, are you all right?"
Bella spoke, but it was raspy, "You're late."
Of course, she had to bust my balls. I chuckled, shaking my head. "Sorry, baby. It won't happen again." My eyes focused on her hand as she rubbed her neck. There was a clear, reddened hand print on her porcelain skin, and I lost my fucking shit. A roar of anger erupted out of me, and I saw nothing but red. My eyes snapped to Phil, and I put my gun back to his forehead. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now?"
"Because you can't!" The motherfucker still had the nerve to look at my girl.
I put my whole body in front of her. "Oh, no, I assure you. I fucking can."
And I would too. My finger was slowly easing on the trigger, and I lifted my other hand to block the spray.
Phil saw this move and realized I wasn't only fucking talking.
"Not with the cops so close!" he said, trying to give me that one reason. "They'll be on you the moment that gun goes off."
"Yeah,maybe, but you'll be dead," I said, reaching behind and holding Bella close. "It would be worth it to me."
My girl was the reason for everything; beyond that, it was inconsequential. My job was to protect her from pieces of shit like Phil.
I grinned. "Say goodbye, fucker."
"No, no, no. Here, just take it!" Phil pulled out his wallet and emptied it on my feet. "It's all I got."
People will try to pay their way out of death, and I expected that sort of behavior, but coming from him? It pissed me the fuck off.
"You think I want your fucking money? Like that's going to save your fucking life right now?" My voice raised as I advanced on him. The gun wasn't a foot away, but right there on his fucking head. "What about those God damn marks on her neck? Huh? How are you going to pay for that?"
Like everyone before and after him, he thought Bella made me weak, but she was my strength.
And he stupidly decided to use her as a bargaining chip.
"Is that what you want then? Bella?! You want her, take her. She's nothing but a strain on my marriage, anyway!"
Yeah, I fucking remember the phone call his wife was having in the bathroom. The strain wasn't Bella. It was this motherfucker! I knew what he planned to do with her once they got home. The fact I hadn't capped his ass showed how much I was growing as a person.
"Oh, I fucking plan on taking Bella far away from you and that worthless mother of hers," I said, pulling her close and ensuring she was protected. "You don't think I heard what you assholes were saying about her? Fucking pieces of shit make me sick."
"We're pieces of shit?" Phil laughed. "That's coming from a man who's screwing my seventeen year old daughter."
"I am not your daughter, Phil," Bella shouted from behind me. "I was just some teenage girl you tried to rape, who so conveniently was your wife's daughter."
"What?" I was stunned by her admission and stared into those big brown eyes. "Did he fucking touch you?"
"He did," she said, and the shame that crossed her face was too unbearable that she had to look away from me.
I'd heard enough.
"Motherfucker!" No more talking. I was going to waste this guy. "Say goodnight, asshole."
Phil didn't give me the satisfaction of begging but closed his eyes and waited for me to pull the trigger.
And I was adding pressure, but Jasper chose that second to drive up on me and blind me with the Chevelle's brights. It was the only thing that saved Phil's life.
"Fucking perfect." I groaned and turned around.
"Get in the fucking car, man!" Jasper said.
"I'm busy. Give me a minute." I reapplied my finger on the trigger. "That's all I fucking need."
Everything disappeared as I put all my hate into Phil, and I didn't hear Jasper anymore. Even my surroundings vanished. The only thing I was aware of was my girl and how close and warm she was to me. I would do anything for her; killing this man was step one.
But she covered my gun with her hand and brought me out of my rage. "Come on, baby. Let's go. It's done. He can't hurt me anymore."
I looked down to read her open and sincere eyes.
She was telling me the truth.
If sparing his life was what she wanted, I would give that to her.
"Okay," I said, removing the gun and putting it away. Phil would live to see another day, but I couldn't guarantee him the same courtesy the next time we met. Grabbing the kid's hand, I pulled her away from that life and brought her back to mine. "Let's get the fuck out of here."
"Hold on!" Bella said suddenly.
I stood back and watched as she walked up to Phil. Of course, having her close to him caused me a mini-panic attack. She grabbed his shoulders and leaned in like she was going to hug him. That motherfucker thought so too. The smug look he gave me cosigned his death warrant.
"There's a special place in hell for people like you and Renee," Bella said, but at the last minute, instead of hugging him, my girl kneed him in his nuts. He yelled out in pain, and I instinctively covered my junk. That shit looked like it hurt. Bella kicked dirt in his face. "Give my condolences to my mother."
She walked away from him, looking sexy as fuck. That violent, sadistic side of her got me off. I vowed to give her more opportunities to shine.
I took her under my arm and kissed her. "I'm proud of you, baby."
Jasper whistled and pointed toward the police station. Bella and I saw Renee running toward us with several cops in tow. We jumped into the car, Bella cursing and panicking as she sat on my lap. It wasn't the time to be getting hard, but fuck, my dick; he felt her soft ass on him and responded.
"Fucking hustle, Jazz!" I snapped my fingers.
He glared at me. "I know, you fucking asshole."
Shifting the gears roughly, Jasper found the reverse and spun out. He struggled to put it first, grinding shit, but finally, the Chevelle shot forward. Rocks and dust got kicked up by the tires, creating a screen of protection, as we turned right and headed home.
"What did I fucking tell you, Edward, huh?!" Jasper started with his bullshit.
"Jazz, I don't need this fucking shit from you right now," I said, tired of the same old topic but grateful to have my girl snug in my lap. I put my arms around her and filled my head with her scent.
Nothing could fuck with my happiness.
"No, you're going to hear it. I fucking warned you that this shit would happen. You knew that and you still did it. The first day as a couple, what do you two do? Steal a car, get fucking arrested, and nearly kill a man?" Jasper went on and on. "You two are trouble, do you realize that?"
Bella turned to me, her eyes bright, and she smiled mischievously. "You hear that? We're trouble."
Man, was she cute? I winked and tapped my finger on her nose.
Jasper bugged out when he saw how deeply it ran with the kid and me. "Jesus Christ. Are you two not listening to me?"
"No, we hear you, Jazz." Staring at Bella's mouth as she licked those lips. "We just don't care."
"You don't care?" he repeated. "You don't care? That's fucking great, Edward. You know this isn't..." He faded into a faint buzzing.
Slipping my hands around her neck, I pulled her down into a kiss.
It solidified everything for me.
A new plan slowly started to form.
When I first got with Bella, I told her we'd fuck up this town.
It was time we did just that.
AN: Here we go.