Chapter 4
"So, how long until Aro calls?" Emmett asked, we were sitting outside a Dairy Queen, Emmett was attacking a huge sundae. Apparently he couldn't go more than a few hours without eating.
"Dunno?" Edward shrugged. "Hopefully never. J had it coming. Aro knows that. I gave him a warning not to fuck me over."
"There's no way T's gonna let that go." Rose said. "She'll have been calling him before we even left the club."
"You left her able to talk?" Edward grinned.
She flipped him off and he laughed. "What did you do to J anyway?" she asked him.
Edward glanced at me. "Let's just say he won't be making phone calls for a while." He muttered.
"Talking, eating, moving, breathing on his own. He won't be doing any of it for a while. " Emmett added nonchalantly.
I stared between the three of them, resisting the urge to giggle. It was comical, after everything that had happened tonight, it seemed anti-climactic to be sitting around discussing it calmly while eating ice-cream.
"Maybe you should call Alec, give him a heads up." Emmett said bringing his bowl to his mouth and slurping the rest of his melted ice-cream.
"It was Alec's order. He knows what it might mean. If Aro wants to take issue he can take it up with him, not me." Edward shrugged. "I hate that motherfucker."
"Me too." Emmett agreed. "He's a slimy fucker. You know Alec made me invite him to the wedding."
"What! Did you tell him no?" Edward's head snapped up.
"You ever told him no?" Emmett arched an eyebrow.
"I'm still here aren't I." Edward smiled ruefully.
I had no idea who Alec or Aro were and I'm almost certain if I asked, Edward wouldn't tell me. I wondered if he'd ever let me in. I knew he wasn't going to instantly tell me all his secrets, but I hoped in time he'd learn to trust me. My phone ringing brought me out of my reverie and I rushed to answer it.
"Bells." My dad sounded a bit panicked.
"Hi."
"Where are you? Jake went by the house and he said you weren't home."
"That's because I'm not, I'm just out with some friends."
"Friends? What friends? Jake says he went by Mike's, he said he hadn't seen you since school. Jake was worried."
I rolled my eyes at my overprotective father and friend. "I'm with Rose."
"Rose who? I've never heard you mention a Rose."
"Er, she's new in town."
"Ok, so what time will you be home? It is a school night."
"Soon."
"Alright, I better call Jake, stop him searching Forks for you. See you in the morning."
"Bye." I put my phone back in my pocket, and turned back to the others. "My dad." I said as explanation.
"Do you need to get home?" Edward asked.
"In a bit, he doesn't finish work til midnight so there's no rush."
"What about your mom?" Rose asked.
"She lives in Phoenix."
"So you live with just your dad, that must be a fucking nightmare." Rose said looking horrified.
"Not really, he's pretty quiet and he works long hours." I shrugged.
"What does he do?" she asked.
"Um…" I trailed off. I didn't really want to tell them, I had a funny feeling it wasn't going to go over too well.
"What?" Emmett asked smiling. "If it makes you feel any better my mom was a stripper. It can't be that bad." He shrugged.
I appreciated the effort, but it didn't make me feel any better.
"He's the Police Chief." I glanced at them warily and just like I expected they had all frozen and were gaping at me.
"Holy fucking shit!" Emmett recovered first.
"Chief Swan?" Rose asked disbelievingly. "Your dad is Chief Swan?"
"Um, yeah."
"You didn't think to mention that before I took you to a strip club Princess." Edward asked, his hand running through his hair.
Emmett burst out laughing and Rose soon joined him. Edward looked at them both like they were crazy.
"E! Dude, you just took Chief Swan's baby girl to a strip club, broke at least five separate laws, and then molested her on the hood of your car! Big C is going to piss his pants laughing when he finds out about this."
"Fuck!" Was all Edward had to offer on the situation. I really hoped this didn't change things between us. I knew Edward was up to no good, but it wasn't like I was planning to run home and tell daddy.
"Em, you wanna go get some more ice-cream?" Rose asked him, subtly leaving me and Edward alone.
"Sure" he shrugged and they both left the table.
"I can't…, I mean…, fuck Princess, why didn't you tell me?" Edward said as soon as they were gone.
"It doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything." He said heatedly. "Shit, the police chief, Princess." He shook his head. "I should have dropped you right the fuck home after school, fucking Emmett." He was getting angrier and I shrank back in my seat. "Fuck! Do you have any idea what you got mixed up in tonight? I can't believe this. So fucking stupid!" He stood up abruptly and grabbed my arm, leading me to his car. I didn't think I was dealing with my Edward anymore and that scared me.
"Edward." I called hoping to reach him. He glared at me, eyes cold and shoved me into the back of his car. He slammed the door and got in the driver's seat. Starting the engine and screeching out onto the road. I let him be for a minute, hoping he'd calm down by himself. My heart rate was going through the roof, while I'd seen this side of him before I'd never had it directed at me.
"Edward I'm sorry, I should have told you, I didn't think it was a big deal, it's not like I'm going to tell him what I did tonight." I told him as he continued to speed through the streets. He didn't answer me, he didn't even acknowledge that I'd spoken. He was muttering under his breath, I caught a few curses and the odd word but most of it I couldn't make out. His mobile was ringing but he was ignoring that too.
"Edward please, you're scaring me."
That stopped him in his tracks. He skidded to a halt at the side of the road and turned to look at me.
"Shit Princess, I'm sorry, I don't mean to frighten you, I just wanted to get you home."
I sat back, relieved that Edward seemed to be calming down. I let my breathing and heart get back to normal while Edward watched me cautiously, his phone continued to ring.
"That's probably Emmett and Rose wondering why you left them in the ice cream shop." I told him.
"Fuck!" He looked genuinely shocked that he had forgotten them and grabbed his phone and answered. "What?"
I could hear the muffled voice of Emmett shouting through the phone.
"Ten minutes." Edward said and hung up. "He's not too happy with me." Edward explained. "Look, I…, tonight was…, and now you and your dad…, I can't…," He screwed his eyes up and grabbed his hair in his fists, frustrated. "I need to speak to Alec …, this situation might need handling."
I stared at him, I hadn't understood most of what was said all night, but now I was scared and confused. "What do you mean, are you going to hurt me?" My head was spinning with images of torture and murder, I may have watched one too many cop films with my dad in the last few months.
"What! No! Jesus Princess, you think I'm gonna hurt you?"
"I don't know!" I kind of wailed, my mind was all over the place and Edward's weird cryptic sentences weren't helping. It had been a crazy night and I didn't know what to think.
He was out of the car and had my door open before I'd even realised he had moved. "I'd never hurt you, no one will, I'll make sure of it." He said pulling me out and wrapping his arms around me.
As crazy as I obviously was right now, I believed him. My high from earlier had worn off, the adrenaline and excitement was gone, and now I was standing on the side of a deserted road with a boy, who I had to admit, frightened me to death at times, and I still couldn't find it in myself to turn away from him. Being in his arms was all that mattered.
Edward was involved in something dodgy, I'd known that from the first time I met him, but I had assumed it was stupid high school stuff, I was only just realising that it was far more serious than that.
"Tell me." I urged him. "Tell me who you are, what this is all about."
"I can't Princess." He sighed
"That bad huh?"
"You need to go home and forget you ever met us." I shook my head against his chest. "It's for the best, you'll be safer."
I knew he was probably right, but I didn't want safe. I had lived 'safe' for over seventeen years and it wasn't much fun. I didn't want to forget tonight, I didn't want to forget Emmett and Rose and I certainly didn't ever want to forget Edward, as if that was even possible.
"I have to go get Em and Rose." He said quietly. I nodded and he led me to the front of his car and settled me in the passenger seat. "Do you hate me yet?" he asked when as he got in the car.
"Never." I whispered.
"You're too good for all this, Princess." He said and we drove back in silence through town to get Emmett and Rose.
"What the fuck E!" Emmett shouted from behind me. As soon as Edward had pulled up in the parking lot, Emmett and Rose had jumped into the back of Edward's car. "You're gonna leave my ass at fucking Dairy Queen, I've had Alec, Jazz and Big C on the phone trying to get hold of you. Aro made contact. Pick up your god damn messages."
"Son of a motherfucking bitch." Edward swore and pulled out his cell phone. He pressed a few buttons and put the phone to his ear. He listened intently then dialled a number.
"Alec..., yes…, give me a couple of hours…,midnight at the docks…, I can't…, I have baggage…," he said looking at me, and I assume referring to me, which isn't the least bit offensive. "No! It's not fucking disposable…,she's untouchable…, we've got Rose as well, so two untouchables…, yeah…,three…, hang on…, " Edward turned to Emmett. "You carrying?" he asked.
"Two." Emmett nodded. "Rosie?"
"One." She answered.
"Em's got two, Rose has one." Edward went back to his call, as usual I was lost. "We're ten minutes away, but…, why me?...,of course…, my dad, really?...,no, ok …,fine." Edward hung up, but he didn't look pleased. His jaw was clenched and his nostrils flared. I could practically feel the tension coming off him.
"So, did you two fuck and make up?" Emmett asked from the backseat lightening the mood somewhat.
"I just wanted to get her home, before all this kicked off." Edward answered.
"Too late for that now. T saw you together, she's got her name, can't be many Bella's wandering around Forks. She might as well be walking around with a target painted on her back." Emmett said casually. I was feeling anything but.
"You think I don't know that." Edward said through gritted teeth.
"You have to bring her in."
"No."
"You'd prefer her dead?"
"What the fuck Em!" Edward shouted.
"Whoa, easy there. Just sayin'. We can keep her safe."
"At what cost, she doesn't need to be involved in all this shit."
"She already is."
"No, she's better than this." Edward said adamantly.
"You should have thought of that before you called her Princess in front of T"
"Fuck you."
"Anyway B's cool, we can keep her around. Hell, it's worth it just for the shits and giggles."
"So we put her life in fucking danger, for shits and giggles." Edward looked mad.
"Ohh, touchy, might have to start calling you Princess." Emmett laughed.
"You'll only do it once." Edward threatened.
"Whatever you say Princess." Emmett grinned.
"I'm not fucking joking." Edward yelled.
"Calm down Pri...," Edward pulled a gun from nowhere, cocked it and pointed it at Emmett's head. It happened too fast for me to have an appropriate response. I just stared open mouthed as Edward's arm held firm.
"Put the fucking gun down E." Rose actually rolled her eyes at him. Apparently Edward pulling a gun on Emmett didn't faze her in the slightest. "Em's right, Bella's already involved. So suck it up and stop being a prissy little bitch." Clearly no one told Rose it's not a good idea to call the man with the gun names.
Edward didn't move, he just stared at Emmett who was still grinning. "Fuck, we don't have time for this. We gotta meet with Aro." He lowered his arm, tucking the gun away. I was stunned, did that mean if he had more time he would have happily shot his cousin. "Rose you're up." Edward got out of the car and he and Rose swapped places.
"Where to?" she asked, adjusting the seat and pulling out of the parking lot.
"Docks, Unit twelve." Edward instructed.
"Is Alec meeting us there?" Emmett asked, their previous argument obviously forgotten.
"No, my dad."
"Cool, Big C can meet Little B" Emmett smiled.
"It's not a fucking meet and greet Em. Do you take anything seriously?" Edward muttered.
"Hardly ever. That's why you're next in line, not me. You take all this shit so seriously you'll give yourself a fucking ulcer one of these days."
Edward took out his phone again and pulled a laptop out of a bag, he powered it up. "Jazz." He put the phone to his ear. "You got the link?" I watched in fascination as he typed furiously on his computer, brows furrowed as he concentrated on whatever it was he was doing. "Twelve on the inside…, any sign of Aro?..., Fucker!..., I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch one of these days…, keep a lock on him…, old man's losing his touch if he thought we'd go in blind…," he chuckled at something Jasper said. "Yep, Rose can track us…, later man." He put his phone away. "It's a set up, Aro's not even there."
Emmett nodded. "Excellent! Gun fight!" He said with enthusiasm. Pulling a weapon out and checking it over.
It seemed like my crazy night wasn't over yet. I think I was in shock, it was the only way to explain how calm I was feeling.
Rose pulled the car up to the side of a warehouse. I checked the time, it was a little after ten, I really needed to get home soon, if I was going to make it before my dad, but I thought perhaps now wasn't the best time to mention it.
"Princess, you stay in the car with Rose. Rose you spot anyone that isn't Em, my dad or me you drive, keep going until you get home. Understand." Edward was all business. I nodded.
"Edward?" Someone opened the back door of the car.
"Dad." Edward got out of the car.
"Big C" Emmett chuckled. "Come meet Bella." He got out of the car and pulled the man around to my side.
"B, this is Big C, E's daddy." He said as he opened my door. I was met by an older blonder version of Edward. You could tell they were related. "Big C, this is Bella. E calls her Princess." He added with a grin.
"Fucking Hell Em, you gossip worse than a fucking woman." Edward moaned.
"It's Carlisle." He rolled his eyes at Emmett. "I apologise for my nephew, we think his mother dropped him on his head when he was a baby. It's a pleasure to meet you Bella." He held out his hand for me to shake.
"You too." I told him.
He stood and turned to Edward and Emmett. "We're going in the south entrance. I have men stationed at every available exit point. Edward it's you he wants so be careful. Your mother will kill me if I bring you home with another gunshot wound." He chuckled lightly, like it was no big deal for his son to get shot at.
Edward came around the car and crouched beside me. "I won't be long." He glanced at his watch. "You have to be home before twelve yeah?" I nodded, finding the whole thing surreal, Edward was worrying about my curfew at a time like this. Madness didn't even begin to cover it. "If we're not out by eleven, just go, make sure you get her home on time." He told Rose who agreed. He leant forward and grabbing the back of my neck pulled me forward and kissed me soundly on the lips. "Back soon, Princess." He winked and stood, slamming my door shut, he walked away with his father and Emmett.
Rose and I sat in silence for a few moments. She reached into the backseat and got the laptop Edward had been using, studying it for a while.
"Quite a day, huh?" she asked.
"You could say that." I agreed, it was a gross understatement. "Is this an everyday occurrence for them?"
"Not everyday." She laughed as her phone rang. "Jazz?...,yeah, I got them." She hung up. "Jazz has trackers on all their mobiles, and surveillance cameras inside the warehouse so we can keep up with what's going on." She explained.
"So, you're all involved in this, the whole family?"
"Uh huh." Rose said absent-mindedly, she was busy concentrating on the screen. It finally dawned on me just what I had gotten caught up in.
"Like the mob?" I felt my breathing speed up, I felt dizzy, no wonder Edward had been so upset that my father was the chief of Police. He wasn't dealing a bit of pot in high school, we were talking organised crime, the mafia, guns, drugs, money laundering, illegal gambling. It suddenly all made sense, that's why everyone had been so fearful of him at the club, he was part of the underworld, something I didn't think even existed in small towns like Forks. I could hear Rose talking to me, but her words weren't registering. I couldn't get my breathing under control.
A sharp slap brought me crashing back to reality. "Sorry, but you were hyperventilating." Rose said apologetically. "Look E should really be the one to tell you all this, but you're here and you're involved whether you like it or not, and you're obviously not stupid."
I nodded, although I was feeling pretty stupid for not realising all this earlier.
"The Cullen's are a respected crime family, probably the most respected on the west coast. Marcus is the boss, that's E and Em's grandfather. He had three sons, Alec, Carlisle and Felix. Felix, that's Emmett's dad was killed years ago. Alec and Carlisle run things these days, Marcus is all but retired. Carlisle doesn't get involved often, being a doctor, this life wasn't particularly for him, but he will if he has to, like tonight for example, especially if E is involved. Carlisle can hold his own, but Alec pretty much runs the show, then you have E and Emmett, the only male Cullen children. Emmett is the oldest, but he doesn't have what it takes to be boss, you've met him, you can see why, he's just the muscle. E, he has the brains, but he can also be cold and cruel and he's just as strong as Emmett, he's also quicker. When Alec steps down, it will be E that takes over. He's perfect for the position, Alec trained him, Carlisle tried to keep him out of the life but it's like it's in his blood. He's a natural. He turns eighteen soon and he'll be initiated into the family. But that's just a formality, he's already made a name for himself."
Great, just great, I finally find a boy that I'm attracted to, that I want more than anything and after one night I find out that not only is he a criminal, he's in the freaking mob, and not just in the mob, he's all set to be boss. I know I wanted to know all his secrets but I'm beginning to think I was better off in the dark. "So what do you do?"
"Not a lot, I help handle the paperwork, make sure all the accounts look legitimate, sometimes I'll act as a decoy or a lure, a getaway driver, but Emmett mostly keeps me out of it. I'm Emmett's girlfriend, it's supposed to make me untouchable, no one can come after me, some old fashioned criminal code that they are all supposed to follow, no one touches the wives or girlfriends. Doesn't always work and some families don't honour it. But that's what E was talking about earlier, he told Alec that you're untouchable."
I knew it was wrong to feel even slightly flattered by that, but I couldn't help myself, it was sweet, in a massively screwed up way.
"Jasper is the tech guy, he can hack anything, he can change your grade card as easily as he can get into the Pentagon files. He deals with all the electronics, surveillance when it's needed, phones, computers, destroying electronic records, anything like that. And Alice.."
"Alice!" I couldn't imagine sweet little Alice I had met in the diner having anything to do with all this.
"Yes Alice. Silent but deadly, she's tiny, so she can get in and out of almost anywhere, she's almost as good as her brother. She's another one who seems made for this life. Despite Carlisle's best efforts both his children seem to embrace this lifestyle."
"Wow!" I mean what else could I say? It was all a bit much to take in.
"Now, I shouldn't have told you any of that. It's not my place, but if Aro is going to kick off because of tonight, he's going to know about you. Tanya will have told him everything, and you have a right to know if you might be in danger. Aro is boss of a rival family, the Volturi's, he is Tanya and James' uncle. If Aro suspects E has feelings for you it's going to make you even more vulnerable. They will come after him any way they can, he's that good and if they take out the next in line the family will crumble, no one else can run the Cullen's after Alec, it has to be Edward. Aro will think nothing of coming after you, if he thinks it will get to him. So you can expect a heavy Cullen presence in your life for the time being. E won't let anything happen to you."
"Wonderful." I muttered.
"It's a lot to take in and I know you haven't known us very long, but it feels like you fit."
She was right, I had thought earlier that I felt a sense of belonging with these people, but that was before I found out who they really were. A few short hours ago I had been desperate to fit into Edward's world but
knowing what that world involved now, did I still want that?
"I don't know if I can be part of this." I told her honestly.
"That's for you to decide, you haven't run away screaming yet and I don't think you will, but Bella, I have to warn you, you discuss anything I just told you with anyone outside of the Cullen's, I will personally hunt you down. This is my family, and I won't have anyone fuck with it, you don't have to become part of it, but you do have to keep our secrets. Don't make me regret letting you in. I like you Bella, I really don't want to have to hurt you."
I shuddered, I had no doubt she meant what she said, not that I would ever tell anyone what she had just told me. Rose went back to watching the computer screen and I rested my head against the headrest of my seat and shut my eyes, trying to process everything she had told me.
I jumped when I heard a gunshot ring out through the night. It was almost immediately followed by several more. "Rose?" I cried. I wasn't worried about myself, I was too busy panicking that something was happening to Edward.
"We're fine, they're fine." She assured me, not taking her eyes off the computer screen. "It'll be over soon."
"How do you know?"
She pushed the computer between us. "E will finish this in three shots." She said confidently. "Watch this." She said almost proudly. She showed me on the screen where Edward was, crouched down behind some boxes, then to three men hidden around the room.
I held my breath as I watched Edward stand. He shot three times in rapid succession and I heard the shots echo outside the car a second before I watched them on screen. Edward put his gun away, smirk on his face as Emmett and Carlisle rushed into the room. "I told you he was good." Rose said.
I merely nodded. Somewhere it registered that I should be horrified that I just sat and watched him kill three people, but all I felt was relief that Edward wasn't hurt.
"And you can't tell me that didn't get you all hot and bothered." She laughed.
As much as I didn't want to, I had to admit Edward had looked damn fine. My dad carried a gun, Jake too, I'd seen them shoot, we'd been to the range together, I'd even had a go myself once. But Edward with a gun, that was different, he was powerful, controlled and focused , he really had been quite impressive. Rose was right it did get me a little hot and bothered, and that was worrying, what kind of girl was I if watching people get shot turned me on.
We waited another five minutes before we spotted Edward, Emmett and Carlisle coming towards the car.
They were laughing about something, looking like they didn't have a care in the world. They looked like they had just been out to a football game or a party, not that they'd just taken part in a gun fight.
"Still not running Bella?" Rose asked, rather smugly in my opinion. It was almost like she knew that I'd already accepted this, and I didn't even know myself if I had or not yet. She jumped out of the car and ran to them, she said something to Edward and then threw herself into Emmett's arms.
Edward opened the driver's side door and poked his head into the car. "Hi." He said simply.
"Hi."
"Em and Rose are going with my dad, I'll take you home, if that's alright with you."
I nodded, and Edward looked relieved. He went to sit and moved the computer off his seat, shutting it and throwing it into the back of the car. He hung his head, concentrating on adjusting his seat and starting the car.
"Were you watching?" He asked quietly.
"Only at the end." Edward didn't say anything, just nodded once and waited for me to continue. He still wasn't looking at me. "I'm glad you're ok." I told him softly.
"Yeah?" He looked up and gave me a small smile.
"Yeah." It was true. I couldn't deny that I would have been devastated if something had happened to him.
Edward drove out of Port Angeles in silence, he was speeding, but it was the only way I was going to get home before my dad so I didn't mind much. The silence wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, but I had so much I wanted to say to him and I didn't know where to start. I decided to go with the truth.
"Rose told me." He glanced over at me confused. "Who you are." I explained.
"I told you I was no good for you." He sighed.
"And I told you I didn't care." It wasn't until I said it that I realised how true that was.
"You don't hate me?"
"Why do you keep asking me that?"
"Because you will Princess. One day, you'll look at me and you'll hate me."
"Never." I vowed. Even knowing what I knew about Edward, having seen him in action tonight, I couldn't ever imagine hating him.
He took my hand in his and we rode that way until his phone rang.
"Dad?" He answered. "Yeah, why?…, what!…, Fuck, why would you do that?" He listened for a while. "You tell Emmett I'm gonna kick his fucking ass…,Rose can shut the fuck up as well…,Fucking Hell!..., It's not funny!.., Fine!" He hung up angrily. "Motherfuckers." He muttered under his breath. "You have any plans after school tomorrow Princess?" He asked glancing sideways at me and I wondered what I was going to get involved in now.
"No, why?"
"Because my mom wants you to come over for dinner."
