The Black Balloon Contest

Title: Compromised

Your pen name: WuogKat

Characters: Bella, Edward, Charlie, James, Victoria, Quil, Jasper, Rose, Aro, Marcus

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. All of the non-twilight stuff came out of my messed up head or the Smith and Wesson website.

To see other entries in the Black Balloon Contest, please visit the C2 page: http://www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/c2/78669/3/0/1/

A/n: This is yet another one shot. Black Balloon is all about angst so gird your loins, this is angsty.

Beta'd by Lady Rip. Preread by Aleighy. Thanks to Aaron for reminding me about a certain law enforcement agency that should have been involved in the first draft.

"In all honesty, I don't know how I'm alive. By all rights, I shouldn't be, and on some level I wish that he had killed me when he pulled me out of that room. It would have been kinder to kill me."

"Wait, what?" the wall of man in front of me asked.

"This probably requires some explanation, so let me go back a bit." I glanced at Jacob from under my eyelashes and tried to decide exactly how much information I wanted to give him.

He folded his arms and leaned back into his slightly too small office chair. Although - out of fairness to the chair - it would have dwarfed anyone else. So really, it was just that Jacob Black was huge. That was probably why Charlie had hired him.

"Edward Cullen was my lab partner for Biology my Junior year of high school," I started from the beginning.

~#*#~

The Cullens were secretly dealing drugs. The kids peddled them at school; Doctor and Mrs. Cullen sold them to Forks' elite. That explained why they had an endless supply of cash. The good doctor worked at Forks General, and the job paid well but not nearly enough for the piles of money they seemed to dump at the drop of a hat.

Their family situation seemed a bit odd as well. Rosalie and Jasper were their biological children. However, Emmett and the twins, Alice and Edward, had been adopted as teenagers. All of them looked and acted older. It also appeared that they were all dating each other, with the exception of Edward. The statuesque blonde, Rosalie, paired off with Emmett, who captained Fork's football team, and Jasper the gentleman was inseparable from tiny Alice. Edward seemed to shun all romantic contact even though half of the school drooled over him - and not just the girls. The entire family from their odd, not-quite-incestuous connections to the hoards of money was suspicious.

Charlie had long suspected their illegal activities and, with some reluctance on his part, he agreed to let me help. He needed someone on the inside, so when I moved from Phoenix, I volunteered for the job. Charlie was somewhat displeased, but after years of having then slip through his fingers, he was willing to try anything. I spent the month of December training with the DEA and some police officers in Phoenix. My mom, Renee, was concerned, but she trusted Charlie's judgment.

The one problem with the plan lay in the fact that no one expected Edward and me to fall in love. That was what ultimately made the situation dangerous for me. It started after the first time he saved my life, which actually seemed to be his fault.

Tyler Crowley had shot up with Edward before coming to school, and the parking lot was covered in ice. The plan for me to befriend Edward and his twin sister, Alice was already in place. I had classes with both of them and had planned to ask them for help with my homework that afternoon. Then, fate stepped in.

I hopped out of the cab of my truck and nearly fell to the ground when my feet couldn't find traction on the ice.

"You okay, Swan?" Edward shouted from two cars over. He began making his way over to me, but I waved him off. Instead, I walked to the back of my truck to take a look at my tires. Charlie had installed snow chains that morning. I was aware of Edward behind me, and I tried to hide the tears of affection that threatened to spill over my eyelashes. Appearing to have a bad relationship with Charlie was essential to gaining Edward's trust. We'd worked too hard to jeopardize it.

Charlie and I fought in public. I complained about him at school. He made a point of telling the officers on the force I was a 'troubled teen.' A lot of effort went into making our perfectly good relationship seem like it was on the rocks. Some days it was exhausting.

I have to say when the moment came, my life didn't flash before my eyes. I felt Edward's breath on the back of my neck. There was no screech of breaks, no screaming. The only sound out of the ordinary was the soft whisk of tires sliding over ice, and Edward's breath growing louder in my ear. There was a sudden pressure around my waist and I flew through the air before landing hard on the frozen ground.

"Oooof," the air whooshed out of my chest, and I realized there was a body on top of mine.

"I wasn't here," Edward whispered into my ear.

"But you're on top of me," I protested.

"Bella, please just say you jumped out of the way on your own," he begged and then ran.

I sat up and the screaming started. The paramedics checked me out just as Charlie arrived. Tyler Crowley had to be taken to the hospital. Charlie and I shot death glares at each other rather than showing any affection, but I could tell by the way his fingers twitched he was dying to hug me and check to make sure I was in one piece. I wanted to hug him, too.

However, Mark, the paramedic, decided I was fine to go to school. I gave him a curt nod and shot Charlie a meaningful glance. I was lucky he caught it and didn't argue. I had a way to gain Edward's trust and screwing that up wasn't an option.

I made a point of avoiding all talk about the accident during the day. By the time Biology rolled around, I had a knot on the back of my head and a bruise on my shoulder. Edward's arm brushed the bruise when he sat down, and I winced.

He passed me a note: How bad is it?

You are heavier than you look, buddy! I scrawled back.

He chuckled for a second, but his face went suddenly grim, and he passed the paper back.

Yeah, but you're alive. I got a text from my dad, Tyler probably won't make it.

I winced. I didn't know Tyler well. He had spent the better part of the month I had already lived in Forks annoying me, but I didn't want him to die. I had found out that, in addition to the fact Tyler was driving at around sixty miles per hour when he hit the ice, he never touched the break. The impact had been hard. The car parked next to mine was totaled, while my rear end received only a dent.

I'm sorry. I passed the note back again.

Are you okay? He shot me an intense look. I didn't know what to make of it.

I'm fine, just sore. Soreness was nothing compared to death.

Thank you for not ratting me out to the chief.

Don't mention it. The chief and I don't get along. I hoped he would take the bait and trust me, perhaps ask me to come study at his house. It didn't happen. I was going to ask him to help me with my homework, but I needed to regroup after the morning's events. If I let him take the lead, then he would be more likely to trust me in earnest. I would get further faster that way. The sooner he and his family were locked up, the sooner I could stop acting and be a normal teenager.

But there was no more communication from him that day. We listened to the lecture silently from our lab table, and he shuffled past me on the way out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang. I noticed he was very careful not to make contact with my shoulder again.

Charlie was waiting when I pulled my tank of a truck into the driveway. The second I walked through the door he wrapped me in his arms and sobbed.

"I thought I'd lost you," he whispered.

"I'm okay, Dad."

"I've been holding it in all day. I had to pretend-" His hand brushed my shoulder, and I whimpered. The pain had grown worse over the course of the day. Charlie stopped talking and turned me around. His hands pulled the collar of my shirt down, and he looked at my shoulder. He let out a gasp.

"I thought you said the car didn't hit you, that you were okay!" he shouted.

"I was about to tell you about it. I think I may have gained some footing today." I turned around, and the corners of my mouth pulled up into a smile. "Edward Cullen saved my life and asked me not to tell anyone." I raised an eyebrow, and Charlie raised one back.

"We'll talk about Edward in a second. Where did the bruise come from?"

"He grabbed me and jumped out of the way," I explained. Charlie ushered me into the kitchen and motioned for me to take off my shirt. He turned around while I pulled the shirt over my head and used it to cover my chest and abdomen. Charlie rubbed some foul-smelling ointment into the bruise and placed an ice-pack over it before sitting down across from me. I noticed he very carefully refrained from looking at me.

"I don't know why he saved your life, but I can make a fair guess as to why he didn't want anyone to know," he said through his mustache. "Tyler Crowley was doped up on heroin this morning. Chances are Cullen was shooting up with him and didn't want to get caught." We talked for a few more minutes and ran over our surveillance options for when I finally made it into the Cullen house.

I thought I had made progress, but Edward showed no sign of trusting me over the following weeks. Tyler died two days after the accident. There was a huge memorial service, and his death was glorified. I wanted to gag. The kid got high, nearly killed me, and we were celebrating his life.

Somehow, the thought that Edward may have had something to do with the crash only slightly diminished the heroic nature of his actions. He didn't have to save me. It would have been in his best interest to let the police chief's only child die, but he didn't. Instead, he rescued me, and that caused me to have very dangerously warm feelings for him.

Nearly a month had passed before Edward and I had any contact outside of being lab partners. So, I hesitantly accepted an invitation to go dress shopping in Port Angeles with Jessica and Angela, who were second tier friends of Alice Cullen. A second tier friend was one of those whom you hang out with and kind of like but wouldn't dare trust with your secrets. I considered them a way to infiltrate the Cullen house. If I hung around long enough, it was possible that I'd be invited to one of their parties.

As part of my cover, I pretended to be too cool for the boys of Forks High. I had a fictitious boyfriend who went to ASU, so I wouldn't be attending the dance the following week. I hung out and helped them pick out clothing for an hour before calling it quits and taking a walk.

My luck was either terrible or impeccable, because I turned down an alley and walked straight into the middle of a drug deal without realizing it. I just caught money and product changing hands before turning around and making a break for it. The dealer tore after me.

I, of course, tripped and fell flat on my face. The pavement scraped my hands and arms, tearing the delicate skin on my forearms. He stood over me and grabbed me by the hair. I hissed in pain as he pulled me to my knees. A gun cocked. I knew I was dead.

"Let her go." An all too recognizable, melodic voice drifted from behind me.

"She's seen too much, Edward," a gruffer one responded. I felt the gun push into the back of my head and closed my eyes. Tears flowed down my cheeks. I had failed, and I was going to die.

"I said, let the girl go." I heard a second gun cock slightly farther away. "If she dies, you die," Edward growled.

My captor removed the gun from my head, uncocked it, and violently shoved me to the ground. A single shot sounded through the air. I sobbed and wondered how long I had until I would bleed to death. I waited for the shock to wear off and for pain that would never come.

"Bella!" Edward yelled. His face swam into view as he gently turned me over. His fingers deftly skimmed over my body, and he pulled me into his arms. "Where does it hurt?" he demanded.

"It doesn't," I whispered.

"Oh, thank God," he breathed into my hair and held me a little more tightly. "You're okay," he murmured. "You're okay."

I shuddered and pulled myself closer to him. He shifted my weight slightly and stood with me curled in his arms. It felt so natural I didn't stop to question the fact that I, a cop's daughter, had curled up in the arms of a drug dealer for comfort.

Edward set a brisk pace out of the alley and tucked me into the passenger seat of his Volvo.

"Why aren't you wearing a jacket?" He scolded me and wrapped me in his before pulling the seatbelt across my body and closing the door. His phone was immediately to his ear.

"I'm about to make your day, Rosalie," he laughed darkly. "James is dead. Can you get someone down here to clean this up?" He paused. "I can't... because I stopped him from killing the Swan girl ... No, I don't know why the hell she was in the alley, but it's a damned good thing I was tailing James tonight. ... I understand that ... Well, I'm sorry you feel that way but we have a body to ... Thank you. Thank you! I'll be home later."

My eyes were glassy. He walked around the car and slid into the driver's seat. I didn't look at him. Edward Cullen had just saved my life again, and I couldn't look at him. I started shaking violently and heard him fumbling in the backseat. He handed me a double-layed plastic bag, and brushed the hair out of my face. I dry heaved a few times and placed my mouth over the bag. I bent over with my head between my knees, and he gently pulled my hair into a pony tail before carefully knotting it at the base of my neck. His hand moved to my back and he rubbed. Two more heaves wracked my body, and then I vomited my "grade B" school lunch into the bag. It should be noted that school lunch is about the same coming up as going down.

Edward took the bag, tied it, and laid it at my feet before he passed me a water bottle. I gulped down the fluid greedily. When the bottle was empty, I placed it into the cup holder and looked up at Edward sheepishly. His hand was still on my back where it moved in small circles, and his eyes seemed to be assessing my condition with a soft expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, thanks to you." I choked on the words. "That's the second time you've saved my life."

"I know." He let out another dark laugh. "You seem rather adept at finding the exact wrong place to stand."

"Occupational hazard to being Bella Swan," I joked.

"Ah, there you are." He smiled. "I was afraid this had been a bit too much for you."

"No, I'm okay," I assured him.

"Good, because I fear you and I are long overdue for a serious talk." He started the car and pulled away from the mouth of the alley.

"You're just going to leave the body?"

"Someone should be here in a few minutes to deal with James," he explained. "I need to take care of you."

For a moment I tensed up. I wasn't sure what he meant by taking care of me, but it sounded ominous. Surely he hadn't just saved my life in order to kill me himself. What would I have done to deserve that? Had my cover been blown? There was no way he knew I was trying to collect enough information to put his entire family in jail.

Edward looked at me and stopped the car.

"Hey, not like that," he murmured. "I meant ... This is so screwed up ... Bella, you're safe now, but you're probably going into shock. I need... Shit ... I can't even speak around you." He ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on it. "I need to make sure you're alright. I need to protect you. Will you let me do that?"

I nodded.

"Where did you park that death-trap you drive?"

"Crap! I didn't drive!"

"Who were you with, and why the hell did they leave you?" he growled.

"Angela and Jessica, but they didn't leave me. I got tired of watching them shop for dresses, and I wandered off."

"I would expect that from Stanley, but it's unlike Webber," he sighed and pulled out his cell phone again. He dialed and brought it up to his ear. "Stanley? ... Yeah, this is Edward. Is Webber still with you? ... Good. ... I have Bella with me. ... No, no she got lost. I ran into her, and I'm going to drive her home. ... Yeah, see ya tomorrow." He snapped the phone closed, and turned to face me. "You can't tell anyone what happened tonight." Edward waited for me to nod before putting the car back into drive and heading for the highway. "I need you to tell Stanley and anyone else who asks, you ran into me at the bookstore."

"Okay," I agreed. I was still shaking, and my voice quivered a bit.

"Shit, it's seven o'clock – have you eaten?" he asked.

"Um, no ... I was supposed to eat with Jess and Ang." I twisted my fingers together in my lap.

Edward turned the car around sharply in the road and went back to town. He stopped the car in front of an Italian restaurant and asked me if I minded eating there. I shook my head, and he jumped out of the car to open my door. His hand slipped up under the jacket to the small of my back until he realized just how shaky I was. Then, he wrapped his arm fully around my waist, and I leaned my head down on his shoulder. He smelled like herbal soap. I surreptitiously pulled in a long wiff and relaxed further into him. He chuckled slightly. I was barely aware of him asking for a table. In no time he settled me into a booth and slid next to me, still holding me. He ordered for us both without looking at the menu and the feminist Renee had ingrained in me didn't even care. She was still sniffing his shoulder.

Edward Cullen himself could have been a drug.

"We need to talk," he whispered. I grudgingly lifted my head and sat up straighter.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I have a problem, and I'm tired of running from it."

"You have a ... a p-problem?" I stuttered.

"Yeah, you're my problem. I've spent nearly two months running from you, trying to keep my distance, and I can't," he admitted.

"Really?" I swear, the worst, most girly, trite grin spread across my face and my stomach did a back flip. Fuck all, I wanted Edward Cullen to like me, and not just because I needed to get information out of him. I was really interested in him. That was a major complication to the whole plan of bringing down his family. My loyalty was about to be tested. I was staring at a dangerous path, and I wasn't even batting an eyelash at it.

"Listen, I know that you've got a boyfriend back in Arizona but -"

"No, I don't," I confessed. I tried to convince myself that I jumped on this particular opportunity due to its convenience. "He's more - um - fictional than real." I could feel the heat traveling up my neck and into my cheeks. "I didn't want Charlie to try and set me up with some 'nice boy' that's related to a friend of his."

"That's actually a relief." He grinned.

"Yeah, I'm ... um ... I'm a-availible," I stuttered again. I needed to learn how to speak around this guy.

"So I'm done fighting this, but there are a lot of things that come with dating me you need to know before you say yes." He gave me a grim smile. "I don't want you to jump into this with your eyes closed, Bella. I trust you, but you need to be sure this is what you want, because once you enter my world, there's no way out."

"Edward, I know what you are," I admitted.

"You do?"

"You're a drug dealer," I whispered. Edward stared at me completely stunned, but he also looked relieved.. The waitress brought our food, and his eyes never left my face. "Thank you," I dismissed her with a wave after she set down the plates.

"Does the chief know?" He gripped my arm. His eyes bored into mine.

"No, he may suspect some illegal activity, but he doesn't know," I lied, and it hurt me to do it, but the truth was more dangerous.

"I trust you," Edward spoke with unrivaled intensity.

"Probably as much as I trust you." Which is to say way too much because at some point I'm going to betray you.

The fact he trusted me made me happy for all the wrong reasons.

"Will you come with me to the dance next week?" he changed the subject.

"Of course," I agreed and smiled. I was dangerously giddy.

"I'll send Alice over with a dress for you. She loves that kind of thing."

"Why don't I come to your house?" I suggested. "The Chief won't be home anyway." And I need to make sure that no one discovers the mountain of surveillance equipment in my closet. Why can't I be normal?

"As you wish." He nodded his head.

"You like The Princess Bride?"

"Anyone who doesn't should be shot!" I stiffened at his words, and he laughed at me.

That conversation cemented our relationship; we started dating. Any guy who liked The Princess Bride couldn't be that bad, right? Charlie was simultaneously terrified and thrilled when I introduced Edward as my boyfriend. It meant a lot more posturing and lying, but it meant I was closer to exposing him. I just needed to find solid evidence Charlie could use to get a warrant.

Part of me, the greater part, dreaded the day when I would have what I needed to take him down. The Cullen family wasn't what I expected. I actually liked them. They were warm and inviting and everything I always wanted that Renee and Charlie could never give me. I loved Alice and Emmett. Rosalie and Jasper were always a bit standoffish, but I liked them well enough, and Carlisle and Esme were the ideal parents - aside from the whole drug issue. My heart ached because I was going to hand them all over to my father. It was the right thing to do. So why didn't I do it?

I had a chance one month after we started dating. Carlisle had been sloppy that day and left enough drugs and paraphernalia out to bust him and possibly the rest of the family, but I didn't take the opportunity. Instead, I turned in a supplier. I rationalized that if I turned in the supply chain, then I wouldn't have to betray the Cullens. It went on like that until mid-April. I would periodically hand Charlie the evidence to bust a supplier or a small time dealer, but I didn't give him the Cullens.

On the first Friday in May, Edward took me to his house after school, as usual. What was different was what we found there. Carlisle was in a heated argument with a strikingly beautiful red head. I had met several of Dr. Cullen's 'guests' during the time I'd been dating Edward, but this one stood out. She wore a fur capelet thing even though it was May, and her rage matched her hair. Edward eased us past the living room without entering but I caught the argument. I knew it was loud enough that my wire had picked it up.

"James wasn't killed by some random junkie, Carlisle, and you know something!" she screeched.

At the mention of James, I held a hand up to Edward. We stopped just far enough around the corner not to be seen by the occupants of the room. Edward looked irritated. I felt my brow furrow, and he ran his thumb across my forehead where it wrinkled. He motioned for me to follow him, but I shook my head.

"Victoria, I hope you have evidence if you're going to continue to throw around accusations," Carlisle spat. "You are replaceable, and if you continue to come in here and accuse my son of murdering your boyfriend without any evidence, then you will find yourself at the bottom of the Sound wearing cement shoes."

"Carlisle, there's no need for that," a voice cracked from a speaker. I assumed it came from a phone. If I remembered correctly there was a fancy multi-lined phone with a speaker on it in the room.

"Marcus, this is absolutely ridiculous. It's been months, and she continues to barge into my house and throw around accusations," Carlisle ranted. "This is precisely why I called you. I want one of you to witness how absurd her behavior is. I'm not going to continue to tolerate it."

"If you don't want to 'tolerate it,' then hand me James' killer!" Victoria screamed.

"All I'm saying is that someone is picking off our suppliers and some of the other local dealers. This isn't the time for us to be arguing amongst ourselves. We have to figure out who's ratting us out," Carlisle said more calmly.

"That would be much easier if one of our own wasn't killing us," the woman huffed.

"Enough, Victoria," Marcus' voice crackled through the speaker.

I heard heels clicking angrily on the floor. Edward shot me a panicked looked and wrapped his hand around my upper arm. He rapidly pulled me down the hallway.

"Edward!" Victoria's falsely cheerful voice halted our progress. Edward slowly turned us around. He released my arm and stepped casually in front of me to take Victoria's hand.

"Victoria." His voice was laced with the same false enthusiasm as he greeted her.

"Is this the girlfriend?" She peered over his shoulder at me.

"Yes, this is Bella." Edward looked concerned but turned slightly in the hallway and waved me forward. I approached the redhead cautiously with my right hand outstretched.

"So good to finally put a face with a name," she cooed. I felt like a fly trapped in a spider's web. She appraised me carefully.

"Nice to meet you." I put on a fake smile and shook her hand firmly. I tried not to show fear. Victoria seemed like the type who could smell it.

"Well done, Edward. This one seems to have a backbone. She's pretty and polite as well. I can see why you're so taken with her." She smiled, but it didn't touch her eyes. I found Victoria creepy and was very happy when she released my hand and stormed out of the house.

Edward let out a heavy sigh and led me to his room. As soon as the door closed he gently pushed me down onto his bed, where he bent down and started to pull off my boots. An alarm sounded in my head – the gun. It was a J-frame Smith and Wesson so it was unlikely he'd find it, but there was a slight chance he'd see something different about my right boot as opposed to the left if he got close enough.

I shook my head and pulled him up by the shoulders of his shirt to kiss him. I attacked him and reached down to unzip my boots in the process. I used a foot to slide them under the bed so their tops were concealed. I was amazed I possessed the forethought to hide them, because Edward was working me into a frenzy.

We had made-out before but never like this. His lips were needy and his tongue was much more forceful than usual as it slipped along mine. He gently pushed with his fingers on my shoulders until he lay on top of me on the bed. I felt metal dig into the swell of my breast and panicked.

Shit – the wire.

I managed to buck up with my hips and flip us smoothly so I was on top of him. I controlled how much contact our bodies made, careful to keep my chest clear of his. That was really a shame because I wanted that contact.

His fingers slid up my shirt, and I gasped. They were cold on the overheated skin of my sides. I had to be careful and make sure he didn't reach up too far. Second base was most certainly off limits until I could remove the surveillance equipment. Today's data was going to have to go, too. There was no way Charlie needed to hear this.

Edward's fingers slid to the small of my back and I moaned. My hands roved over Edward's body, but I was so far gone I don't know what I did. He growled and bit my neck. His hands slid down below the waistband of my jeans, and I reflexively rocked my hips against him. Edward liked that.

By the time he decided to slip a hand up and skim my stomach on the way to my bra, I was too lightheaded. I didn't notice where he was moving until it was almost too late. Fortunately, I figured it out just in time and stilled his hand with my own. He pulled back immediately and stared into my eyes.

"Too fast?" He sounded confused.

"A little, yeah," I panted.

"I can wait as long as you want me to, Bella." He was serious, and I loved him even more for being willing to wait even though he didn't know the reason for it. I was going to have to find a time when I could spend time with him without the wire.

When I made it home, I tucked the day's intel into a box in my closet. That was where I hid everything I didn't want to hand over to Charlie. He knew I never turned over the entire day, but he also knew he didn't want to hear everything Edward Cullen was doing with his daughter. I did what I could to keep Charlie from hearing some of the finer points of the Cullens' business under the guise of, 'we were making out, again.'

Charlie became suspicious, but he wasn't the only one. Victoria was suddenly at the Cullen mansion all the time. She shadowed me everywhere. She deduced that their dwindling list of suppliers and the increasing crack-down on their associates was due to my presence. I suspected at the time that I'd been found out, but I wasn't certain.

The next afternoon I was met with a test of my loyalty. I recognized Agent Ateara from the DEA the moment I saw him. He was one of two people outside of myself and Charlie who knew about my charade. He had been bound and forced to sit on his knees behind the Cullen house. Jasper led Edward and me out to him, and my heart beat furiously in my chest. If Quil Ateara had IDed me, then I was as good as dead. Jasper slipped a 9mm into my hand and passed me a loaded clip. I tried to convince myself that it was a good thing.

"What's this about?" Edward shouted at his stepbrother.

"Rosalie has given us reason to doubt Bella's loyalty," Jasper calmly explained. It was then that I put together what I was supposed to do. They wanted me to execute Agent Ateara. But Rosalie surprised me; I had expected Victoria to be the one to turn me in.

"I've never-" I started to protest.

"Bella has proven her loyalty; this is absolutely ridiculous!" Edward raged.

"Who is he?" I forced my voice to remain steady.

"He's a rat; we discovered him today. Goes by the name of Jones but yesterday we discovered that he's actually Agent Quil Ateara." Rosalie shot me a smug look as she told me what she knew. "He's DEA." I already knew much more about him than she did, but I kept my mouth shut.

"There is no way! This is ridiculous! Have you talked to Carlisle? He won't -"

"We've spoken with Carlisle, Edward, he agrees -"

"Oh, hell no! You are not making my girlfriend -"

"I've never killed anyone; can I have a minute?" I whispered. The boys stopped. Edward stared at me wide-eyed with his mouth agape. Jasper nodded solemnly. He, Rosalie, and Edward moved back far enough to be out of earshot. I approached Quil.

"Have I been compromised?" I spoke just loudly enough for him to hear me, being very careful not to move my lips.

"You're safe, Swan. Just make sure you make it a clean kill," he muttered.

"I can't. We can run," I responded.

"There's no running. You either do this now or they kill both of us, and it'll be much messier and more painful if the blonde does it. So you're going to shoot me twice. Once in the head and once center mass. Don't miss." Ateara tried to head butt my knee. I danced back gingerly. "Hit me," he growled under his breath, and I did.

I looked up to find Edward watching me. He had stopped mid-stride heading toward me. I backed up a few feet from Ateara, and Edward met me.

"You don't have to do this." He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"They're going to doubt me until I do, Edward," I argued.

"No, you don't -" Edward never got to finish. The clip slid into the gun like butter, and the gun cocked smoothly. I turned and fired one shot into Quil's heart, the other into his head. I had fired a gun before, but only at the firing range with ear protection at a paper target. That had been one of Charlie's requirements before I went undercover, and I was an excellent shot. However, shooting a person was different. The noise rang in my ears for several minutes afterward as I stared at the body that once housed Agent Quil Ateara. I was numb. My mind closed off the part of me that grieved for the man and buried it. Instead, I just stared. It didn't take long. Quil was gone in seconds, but I couldn't move.

Edward carefully removed the gun from my hand, put the safety on, and passed it back to Jasper. There was no way I could pretend everything was alright. My eyes wouldn't move from the body – from Quil. He'd protected me, and I shot him.

"The first is always the hardest." Jasper clapped a hand onto my shoulder.

"I didn't think she had it in her," Rosalie cracked from behind me. Something about her attitude made me snap.

"Do you trust me now, Harpy?" I screamed. "This was completely uncalled for! I could have turned all of you in a month ago, and I haven't! What's it gonna take, Rose? Is this enough?" I continued to rail as I stepped into her personal space.

"Control your girl, Edward," she snapped. Edward's arms clamped around my shoulders, and he hauled me back through the eerily silent house and into his Volvo in the garage. I was in the seat and buckled before he had his door open.

"Take me home," I demanded.

"Bella," he pleaded.

"No, your family doesn't trust me, take me home," I spat.

"As you wish," he whispered. I wanted to lay into him for quoting The Princess Bride to me at a time like that, but if I spoke, I would cry. He sped to my house as I reigned in my emotions. My hands still shook, and they smelled of gunpowder. By the time he pulled up to my house, I was composed enough to speak again.

"If they can't trust me, then this will never work." I gritted my teeth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know, and I never – NEVER – meant for any of this to happen." Edward's voice was barely above a whisper.

I stormed out of the car and into the house. I locked the deadbolt and ran to my room, tossing my wire into the box in my closet. I made my way to the shower where I scrubbed first my hands and then my body mercilessly. My skin was pink and raw when I emerged. My hands still smelled, but that was probably because the scent was burnt into my nose. I had scoured the skin on my hands in particular until it was too painful to continue. I felt like they should be covered in blood, but they weren't. My hands were clean, and it seemed like a travesty.

With my body wrapped only in a towel, I slid to sit on the floor in front of the bathroom door. It was then the damn broke. The cry that ripped from my throat was filled with agony. I had become a murderer.

Quil had a three-year-old niece named Claire on whom he doted. I'd been to his office once during my brief training, just before he went undercover as Jones and I started attending Forks high. The office was practically wall-papered with pictures and drawings from her. My body shook when I thought of the little girl.

I sobbed and rocked back and forth. Breathing became increasingly difficult as my chest felt like it was caving in under the strain, and my nose plugged up. I cried until I thought I had no tears left, and then more appeared. The wailing continued to pour forth from my soul until I heard someone banging on the bathroom door.

"BELLA! Bella, open this door now!" Charlie was on the other side. I could barely hear him shouting over the noise I was making. I felt so weak. I could barely move my limbs enough to slide away from the door and turn the lock.

For once, neither of us was embarrassed by my lack of clothing. Charlie took one look at me and was on his knees in front of my body. He pulled me into his strong arms, and I felt so fragile and frail. I was a little girl, a little girl who needed help from her daddy. My cheek nestled into the shoulder of his uniform. I felt his gun belt dig into my hip. He had run up the stairs without hanging it up, because he heard me and didn't know what he would find.

After several minutes the tile floor took a toll on his knees, and Charlie carried me into my bedroom. He laid me down on my bed and turned to my dresser where he rifled around until he found a huge T-shirt. I cooperated as he pulled it over my head and tugged it down to cover me. Then, he tucked me into bed and caressed my hair until I was calm enough to speak.

"I need you to tell me what happened, Bells." His voice was rough and gravely, but it was impossible to mistake his caring tone. At that moment he wasn't the Chief of Police; he was a caring father whose daughter had been hurt. He rubbed my cheek, and I pressed my face into his leg.

"Quil's dead." I barely held back the sob that threatened to pull me back into my hysteric stupor.

"Bella, please tell me you were wearing your wire today." He remained calm and moved his hand to rub my upper back.

"It was me, Dad," I sobbed. "He told me to shoot him. The Cullens suspected – they thought – they figured it out ..."

Charlie's hand stopped moving. He stiffened and looked down at me in horror as what I said sank in.

"It was a test. Quil said they'd kill him anyway and to make it clean. So I did it, Dad. I shot him twice and made sure it was quick." I pulled my face into the pillow to hide the tears that streamed down my face. I had just confessed to murder.

Charlie nudged my upper arm. I turned to see him fish a handkerchief out of his pocket and pass it to me. I blotted my face and forcefully blew my nose. He winced just a bit while he watched me. By withholding evidence I'd let down both my father and Agent Ateara. There was only one way to fix it.

"There's a shoe box on the shelf in my closet. It's all there. You have enough information to put them all away for a very long time," I informed him. "What happened today, it's recorded. You have what you need to arrest me, too."

"Bella, I'm not going to arrest you. There's going to be an investigation, but I'm not going to take you down to the station like a common criminal," he explained.

"But that's what I am, Charlie. I've had the evidence for weeks, and I've held it because I thought that if I gave you their suppliers that I could keep him." I turned onto my side so I couldn't see Charlie while I finished my confession. This last part was the most painful. "I love him. I thought maybe I could get him to stop eventually, or by letting him continue I could help you put more people away. I was wrong. I was really, really wrong. I can't do it anymore. I can't – I can't – I can't ..." My breathing became erratic again. Charlie scooped me back into his arms, and I clutched his shirt in my fist.

"You've got a good heart, Bella, and no one can fault you for that. I don't know what the district attorney will say, but whatever happens, it'll be alright," he whispered into the top of my head. "As for the boy, I'm sorry there's nothing we can do for him. He's a criminal, Bella. This is what I was afraid of – why I didn't want you to do this. You pretend to be hard as nails, but deep down you're a soft touch, and this boy may truly love you, but it can't happen, baby. You have to let him go."

"How long do I have?" I breathed.

"It'll take a couple of days since Dr. Cullen is a respected member of the community. It's going to be hard to get a warrant even with the evidence. I can't give you any longer than that, Bells." He exhaled a puff of air into his mustache and loosened his grip around me.

"Okay." I nodded. I knew I had to let Edward go.

The problem was I was too chicken to do it. Something was off with Edward. The day after the shooting, he seemed a bit withdrawn. We didn't go to his house. Instead, he made an excuse and took me home. He stayed at the house for less than an hour before giving me a chaste kiss and bolting out the door. I cried again that night. Charlie knew why and left me alone.

After school on the second day, Edward suggested we go for a walk. He led me to a small, rarely used trail behind my house. My heart thudded in my chest. I prepared to defend myself even though I knew I would never be able to physically hurt him. I didn't know if he would kill me if he discovered I had ratted out his family. I could feel the tension building between us as we ventured down the trail, away from my house.

We didn't go far. It was a 2-3 minute walk to a small clearing. Edward stopped and turned to me. I looked into his eyes and froze. They were dead. Whatever this was about, it wasn't good. I wasn't ready for this to be over. I needed at least one more day with him. It was then that I realized I would always need at least one more day. So I resolved to tell him his family had been discovered and ask him to run with me. I opened my mouth to say it, but he was faster.

"We're leaving Forks," he sighed.

I closed my mouth and cocked my head to the side. That wasn't what I expected.

"My family is packing up and moving. That's why I didn't take you to my house yesterday. Agent Ateara's untimely demise will be traced to us. So we have to run -"

"Okay, just let me get a few ..." I looked at his face, and I knew immediately I wasn't included in 'we.'

"Bella -"

"You're leaving me to take the fall?" I felt my jaw jut out slightly and set. I knew it was unlikely that I would go down for Quil's death, but he didn't know that. He was sacrificing me. I balled my hand into a fist and swung. He caught me by the wrist and looked into my eyes. His eyes burned with intensity.

"It's not like that. My world isn't for someone like you, Bella. You're too good. So I'm leaving before you lose that. I've seen people change and turn into horrible creatures doing what I do, and it's not what I want for you. I'm going to go before that happens – before it's too late," he explained calmly.

"Don't you think it's already too late? You watched me kill a man," I protested, but he held up a hand to silence me. Like a fool, I stopped talking.

"If I stay, I don't know what you'll become. Please believe me when I tell you the things we do are much worse than that."

"Edward -"

"I don't want you to come, Bella. You're not strong enough, and I don't want you -"

"So you're leaving me?" I looked down at my shoes and blinked until the tears fell from my eyes. I watched his hand reach tentatively for me and then jerk back.

"Don't try to follow me, because you'll never find me." I heard his shoes crunch over sticks as he marched back down the trail.

I stood paralyzed for a few minutes before I ran in the opposite direction. I flew down the trail and let the wind whip the tears from my face. I tripped several times and scraped my hands, legs, and face but I kept running. I knew I couldn't avoid the heartache I felt but if I ran, then I couldn't feel it above the burn in my muscles and the sting of injuries as I fell repeatedly. Edward was gone.

After what felt like an eternity, I stopped and curled up against a tree in the cold Washington night. He had left because he thought I wasn't strong enough. He left to protect me. Little did he know I'd protected him. I'd killed for him. Even though I hadn't used my own gun to kill Quil - I pulled it from its hiding place in my boot. I opened and closed the cylinder several times. It seemed somehow sinister in the dim light of the forest. The comparison was silly, because this was nothing like the 9mm I had used only a few days prior. I stared at it until my mind grew quiet, and I tucked it back into its spot.

The night was cold and uncomfortable. I woke up at every sound. I was ready to get up at dawn, which was uncharacteristically early for me. I continued walking and found that the trail crossed a paved road. I decided to wait there for someone to pick me up. It didn't matter who it was or where I went. My life felt like it was over. I sat there for hours until a car pulled up. It was a nondescript black vehicle. The man who stepped out of it had long dreadlocks and wore a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses that looked to be from the 1990's. He was slender but somehow still imposing.

"Isabella Swan?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Thank God. Come with me; your father is waiting." He urged me toward the car before he really looked at me. I'm positive I looked like I'd been hit by a truck. The man stopped and turned back to the car for a moment. He pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around me.

"I'm Laurent. I'm replacing Agent Ateara. Your father asked me to look for you," he spoke slowly, like one does to a small child.

I allowed him to guide me into the car. Once in the passenger seat, I drew the blanket around my shoulders more tightly and drew in a deep breath. The blanket smelled like incense and sunblock, it reminded me of Renee's house. I relaxed into the seat and closed my eyes. I didn't speak until I noticed we weren't heading to Forks.

"Where are we going?" My voice was scratchy from a night spent crying. I put my hand to my throat, and he passed me a bottle of water from the center console.

"We have reason to suspect you've been compromised. I'm taking you to a safe house."

"I haven't been," I whispered.

"You haven't what?"

"I haven't been compromised," I croaked.

"I don't know if you're aware, but the Cullens packed up and left yesterday -"

"It had nothing to do with the warrant. They still don't know." I was amazed I had any tears left, but they slid down my face in the same two salty tracks from the night before. Laurent pulled over and turned to study me.

"Why else would they leave?" he coaxed.

"Edward convinced them to leave. He wanted to protect me, to keep me from turning out like one of them," I mumbled because it felt like if I said it more softly it might not have happened.

"He was probably lying to you." Laurent patted my hand and put the car back into drive.

"Will I see Charlie?" I asked.

"Not now." He shook his head. "For now, I'm going to need you to be strong and give me all of the information you have on the Cullens and their contacts. Agent Ateara didn't keep clear notes, they're in his own personal code and I need to know what I'm walking into."

"Okay," I whispered.

We spent the rest of the drive in silence. He occasionally looked over at me and offered a reassuring smile. I tried very hard not to think about the hole I felt growing in my chest. Edward was gone. It was like someone had ripped off a piece of me and cast it into the sea, never to be seen again. It didn't just ache. The pain was sharp, and I felt like I was dying a little more every moment I lived with it.

Hours later I was still hurting. Laurent pulled into the driveway of a little house and introduced me to a Federal Marshall who was assigned to keep me safe. It occurred to me that I was entering witness protection, and I stared at Laurent in horror. I couldn't lose who I was the day after I lost my heart. I argued. I cried. I lost.

Laurent made chamomile tea and settled down on the couch with me. I sobbed into his shoulder, and he patted my hair. He waited patiently for the tears to subside before prompting me for intel on the Cullens and their dealings. I gave him almost everything that he would need to know; everything that Quil could have told him. Then, I cried again, and he hummed a lullaby. I relaxed and went to sleep.

I spent several months in protective custody. The U.S. Government was kind enough to provide a tutor. I couldn't bear to do anything other than study. So I finished out my Junior year of high school in a matter of weeks and moved on to Senior year because if I was going to end up relocated, there was no way I'd be setting foot in high school again with fake parents and fake people and no dreams left. I gave Laurent information as he asked for it and cried every night until morning. I was dead without Edward and even the stone-faced Marshall who watched over me knew it.

Laurent came for me one night. There was an argument in the living room and, when I came out, he pulled me out of the house and told me that we had to run. I wanted to know what the point in running was, but he never answered me. He just shoved me into the car and drove me to another house. Laurent looked over his shoulder a few times as he led me up the walkway. I attributed his skittish behavior to fear for my safety.

However, it was readily apparent when he shoved my back into the door that I was royally fucked. I'm not one to use the term "royally fucked" lightly. The deadbolt was one of those you use the key to lock from the inside. With his hand around my neck, I couldn't see Laurent remove the key from the bolt, but I heard it, and I felt the slight "click" reverberate through my back as it engaged, and he fumbled the key out of the lock. His hand was tight and uncomfortable around my throat, but I could still breathe. My hand instinctively wrapped around his wrist, and I tried to pry myself free until he squeezed down on my windpipe a bit farther.

I never thought of Laurent as a threat, and that was my fatal mistake. I allowed his casual demeanor and seemingly kind eyes to lull me into a false sense of security. It was a colossal misstep on my part. I found it difficult to reconcile the kind man who consoled me when Edward had run off 'to keep me safe' with the monster before me. This couldn't be the same guy who held me and wrapped me in a blanket that smelled like cocoa butter and incense and brought me a cup of chamomile tea.

My eyes bugged out as I tried to draw in a breath. A tiny stream of air made it through my windpipe. I let go of Laurent's wrist and tried not to struggle. If I appeared to submit, perhaps he would take it easy on me, but my vision was starting to blur.

"Let her go, Laurent." The command came from behind him, and I recognized the voice immediately. Laurent let go and stepped to the side. I gasped for air and forced my eyes to refocus. Victoria stood at the end of the long residential hallway. She wore that stupid little fur cape over one shoulder, and her hair fell in bright red waves to her shoulders. "As much as I'd like to beat her senseless, Aro wants her alive."

Shit, Aro was the only thought that came to mind. Other than that, my mind was still like a cold pond on a spring morning. The thought of Aro was the only thing that rippled its glassy surface. The next thought was equally helpful: You are royally fucked, Swan. Aro was a drug lord. The Cullens worked with him, and as part of my plan to take out the supply chain, I had been working on taking down him and his brothers. Aro, Marcus, and Caius were cold-hearted and dangerous.

That was how I ended up in Southern California. I was led like a stupid lamb to the slaughter and I stood there, in Aro's den like a good little girl so that my hands wouldn't be bound and my mouth wouldn't be taped and I waited. It was then, with the blinding California sun streaming through the windows that I knew how cruel fate truly was. Edward walked into the room, flanked by two henchmen. His hands were bound with a cable tie, and I knew that it was uncomfortable because mine had only been removed hours prior. He looked at me with hope, and I stared at him in despair.

His eyes said, 'I still love you.'

'You won't for long,' mine responded. I hoped for death because I could only imagine one reason for Edward's presence and that was because my deception was about to be revealed. I hated myself for never telling him exactly how much I loved him, because now he would never believe it. It was too late.

Aro entered, and the room went eerily still. He reminded me of a classic movie vampire. He was gorgeous and graceful and the most frightening person I'd ever laid eyes on. I was suddenly very aware that I was only a seventeen-year-old girl who'd gotten in way over her head.

"Edward." Aro acknowledged him with a nod of his head. He grabbed my arm and dragged me over to Edward. His fingers dug into the tender flesh of my upper arm, but I didn't fight him. There was no fighting this.

"Bella," Aro whispered and ran his unnaturally cold hand down my arm. "Would you be so kind as to tell Edward how you really feel about him."

Aro wasn't going to like my answer.

"I love you," I whispered and tried to testify that it was true with my eyes.

"Liar!" Aro screamed into my ear. I flinched.

"That part was always true," I sobbed.

"Fine then, tell Edward why you befriended him." Aro knew everything. I took too long to respond, and he yanked a handful of my hair in his fist. "The truth, Isabella. He either finds out from you or I tell him myself. I think that he'd appreciate it more from you."

"I was undercover, trying to gather enough evidence for a warrant to arrest your family," I admitted and dropped my head so I wouldn't have to look at the pain in his eyes. Aro's hand pulled painfully on my hair, forcing me to look at Edward. He stared at me in disbelief.

"No," he whispered. "I'm not going to believe that."

"Fool," Aro cursed. "Look at her. She lied to you for months. Do you really think that the police chief's daughter would actually get involved with a drug dealer? I thought that you were smart, Edward. I even wanted to recruit you, but if you're truly this dim then perhaps we should put you out of your misery."

"Please, let me try to tell him. I can make him understand," I begged.

"You really do like the boy,"Aro sneered. "Fine."

"Edward, the rat who was picking off all of your contacts wasn't Agent Ateara, it was me. I turned them in. I turned you in after Rosalie and Jasper made me kill him. I had to do it ..."

And then, he doubted me. I could see it creeping across his face. I had to tell him the last little bit that would convince him.

"... The reason I held back from you wasn't because I needed time – because I really, really wanted you, too ... I was wearing a wire. I had to be careful about where your hands went. If you'd found out, then you would have killed me. I never -"

"Shut up," Edward snarled. His jaw jutted forward, and his eyes turned into green ice. "I understand now, Aro. I don't need to hear any more from her, but I want evidence," he spat. "Now, get her out of my sight."

Somehow, my heart broke further. I dropped to my knees.

"Please forgive me," I sobbed, and someone hit me.

It was hours later when I woke up in a small, dark room with a hard floor and no furnishings. My face burned, my neck heart. I reached up with my fingers and felt the side of my face and the rather large goose-egg above my ear. My face was caked with dried blood. The bruise was large and abraded making it consistent with having been hit by a gun. I had been pistol-whipped. The hole in my chest was the only part of me that felt relief at that thought. Edward hadn't had a gun. So Edward hadn't hit me.

My legs buckled when I tried to stand. Lying on the floor had cut off circulation to my left. So I curled into a ball in the corner and leaned my good side into the wall for support. The tears streaming down my face stung the abrasions where the gun had struck me. I had seen Edward, and he still loved me up until my confession. He loved me, but it wasn't enough. In truth, I no longer had it left in me to care about myself. If he could move on and have a chance at life, whether he was dealing drugs or going straight, then I wanted him to take it. I didn't want to imagine a world without Edward, and in telling the truth I hoped I made it so he would do what he had to do to live.

I sat in the corner for hours with my tears. My body ached, my face burned, my chest felt like so much damage had been done that I had to be bleeding to death, but my heart kept beating. It was hard to keep a coherent thought other than one word, Edward. I willed him to understand - to know that I did love him - that I protected him as best I could.

The door creaked open, and there he was. Edward surreptitiously glanced over his shoulder and ran to me. He hesitantly reached for the side of my face before he pulled his fingers back. His eyes were rimmed with red, but he looked determined.

"Can you walk?" he asked much more sternly than I expected.

"Yes," I whispered. He had come for me. I gave him a small smile. He didn't return it. Something was wrong.

"The guards are distracted; we have to get you out of here." Edward looped an arm around my waist and helped me stand. "If you want to live, you have to be silent and do exactly as I say."

I managed to hobble quickly on my tingling legs as Edward pulled me along. I leaned my head onto his shoulder and breathed in his scent. Everything was going to be all right. Edward knew the truth and came for me anyway. For a few short minutes while he led me through hallways and into a garage, I felt complete. I knew that we were going to be okay ... until he placed me in the driver's seat of a car.

"Rosalie has the guards at the gate distracted." Edward looked over his shoulder again before he turned back to give me directions. "Take a left to get out of the subdivision and then follow the signs to I-5 – go North, Charlie is going to meet you -"

"You're not coming with me?"

"I can't, Bella. Please just go – It's not safe for you here. Aro plans on torturing you for information. You have to get out now."

"I'm not leaving you. I can't," I protested.

"Bella, you have to leave now. I can't come with you," he growled. "I'll be better off without you here."

"Is that what you want?" I should have known that it wouldn't last.

"Yes," he responded with his jaw set.

"Okay," I whispered.

"Good, now take I-5 to Stevenson Ranch. Get off on McBean Parkway – there's a Chili's there – Charlie will be there – Go!" He shoved a set of keys into my hand and slammed the door. I put the car into gear and caught a glimpse of his back as he retreated back through the door we entered through. I found the gate open and drove away from the only person who could make me feel alive again.

~#&#~

"That pretty much brings you up to date," I sighed. I wondered when I would finally go numb.

It was fall now. I was eighteen, and I was still in hiding. This time, Charlie hired a private security team and moved me to Missouri instead of turning me over to witness protection. He changed my security detail regularly because I kept trying to convince them to let me find Edward. The instant one of them seemed to be cracking, he hired a replacement. Last time, it was my head of security that was finally on the verge of caving. Jacob was his replacement.

Jacob was a kid, barely older than me. I latched onto that and started working on him the second he arrived. He wanted the story, so I gave it to him - the whole thing – no editing. He sat there and stared at me with his mouth agape.

"Will you help me?" I asked.

"What exactly would that entail?" He raised a dark eyebrow.

"I need a last known location for him, a new drivers license, passport, and a plane ticket," I made my request quickly. If he didn't think about it too much, maybe he'd be willing to help me.

"No dice, Bells, you don't leave my sight." He shook his head. Jacob Black wasn't going to help me. My heart sank.

It had been four months since I'd seen Edward. He didn't even say goodbye. He pushed me into the car and sent me off on my own while he remained in danger. Was he even still alive? I couldn't think about that. There was no way that I could allow myself those thoughts. Edward had to be alive. I didn't want to live in a world where I'd never be able to feel his fingers tickle my sides or draw lazy circles on my back. I needed him more than air.

"I didn't say no," Jacob whispered. My head snapped up, and I met his sympathetic gaze. "I know a thing or two about love myself." He grinned. "My Ness would kill me if I didn't help you find this Edward. There's just one thing. It doesn't exactly sound like you left things on a good note. If he's alive, he might want nothing to do with you …"

"I've thought about that," I admitted.

"Bells, he may even want to kill you after all you've done-"

"No, he saved me, Jacob. He won't hurt me." Edward would never hurt me.

"I'm coming with you." Jacob gave me a stern, almost fatherly glance. "Give me two weeks to research and make arrangements. I have a few contacts in Aro's organization. I want you to consider what you'll do if I can't find him, though. You have to be ready to move on with your life, Bells."

"I know …"

"I don't think you do. You need to be prepared for him to be dead. If he is, you have to move on. He obviously wanted you to survive," Jacob insisted. "But you have to make the choice to live."

"I don't want to live without him," I whispered.

"Cut the melodramatic crap, Bells. If he's gone, or he doesn't want to be with you, I expect you to move on – go to college, meet a nice non-drug-dealer, and have a happy life with two-point-five kids and a Volvo in the garage, okay?"

"Okay." I grinned even though I wasn't happy. I went back to my room and waited for Jacob to tell me that we were ready.

Over the course of two weeks I only left my bedroom to eat. I spent the rest of the time trying to figure out two things:

Plan A – What I would say to Edward when I finally saw him again.

Plan B – What I would do if things didn't work out.

I let Charlie know my Plan B arrangements without putting them into context. He was thrilled. I had two more subjects left to take in high school and then I would be finished. Having private tutors had paid off. I would be able to start school spring semester. Needless to say, Plan B didn't excite me. My heart was in Plan A.

It occurred to me as the third week passed that perhaps Jacob wasn't looking for Edward. Maybe he just wanted me to think that he was on my side so that I'd behave like a human being again. I was looking better, well-rested, fed - human. Just as I considered calling Jacob on his game, he slipped into my room one afternoon.

"Bells, I'm taking you for a campus visit at NYU tomorrow." He winked.

"NYU?" I asked.

"Yep, one could get lost rather easily in the Big Apple." He smirked.

With that, I took my new identity, and we boarded a plane the next day. My new name was Isobel Duck. If Jacob hadn't found Edward, then I probably would have decked him for it. As it was, I was so happy that couldn't hold still on the plane. Jacob just laughed and mumbled something about young love.

The airport was packed when we arrived. I found myself separated from Jacob and utterly lost. I drew in a deep breath and searched the terminal for a large Native American man to no avail. Eventually, I gave up and took a seat near baggage claim. He had to be looking for me. A guy with black hair sporting a fake orange tan slid into the seat next to me. I didn't look at him. Instead, I scanned the area for my bodyguard. How could someone that large disappear?

"Miss Duck?" The voice made me shiver. I turned my head to look at the man next to me, and he slid his sunglasses down just enough for me to see his eyes. I had known that it was him from just his voice, but the eyes took away any remaining doubt. I moved to embrace him, but Edward held up his hand. He slid his fingers into mine, and I allowed myself to enjoy the soft electrical hum that physical contact with him brought. "Act casual," he ordered.

"You knew I was coming?" I asked.

"Yes." He squeezed my hand. "But I'm not the only one, Miss Duck. You have to stop this. You have no idea what kind of game you're playing," he growled.

"I'm not here to take you in," I tried to reassure him.

"I know that, but things aren't what they seem, love."

"What do you mean?" I turned my head toward him, but a sound in his throat alerted me that I needed to turn my attention away from him.

"Carlisle has been planning on turning on Aro and his goons for a while. The DEA and Forks PD aren't the only concerned parties. I knew what you were when we first met, Bella," he whispered.

My hand flew to cover my heart. He knew that I had been after him from day one?

"You're a terrible liar," he murmured into my ear and even though his tone wasn't exactly what I wanted, I could feel myself melt. "I tried to keep you safe - to stay away from you, but you kept showing up. Charlie and the DEA obviously didn't know about the deal that we'd made. You see, Aro isn't just into drugs, he sells guns as well."

"You let me kill Quil." I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

"For that, I am truly sorry." I looked down and saw his hand twitch in his lap like he wanted to touch me. "Victoria told Marcus about you. They were upstairs watching us. I didn't know it at the time. Rose and Jazz were trying to save you. Unfortunately, your performance wasn't convincing enough for Victoria. She jumped the chain of command and turned you in to Caius and Aro. So, we left thinking that our absence would keep you safe, but it didn't, did it?"

"No," I sighed.

"You played right into Laurent's hands, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"Bella, you have to stay away until my work is done," he explained but something clicked in the back of my mind.

"How old are you, Edward?"

"I'm twenty-one," he sighed. I blinked and forced my rapidly heating face to stay down.

"Twenty-one?" I verified and felt his head nod next to me. "So, the kissing – everything – it was all an act?"

"I'm not in the habit of pushing the boundaries of girls who are supposed to be minors, Bella, but I really couldn't help myself. You're very attractive, and I admit that I played with you a bit. It was an awful thing for me to do, but I wanted to know how you'd react when I got so close to your gun and the wire." I would have expected those words to be cold, and from anyone else they would have been, but Edward spoke them with such tenderness that I found myself involuntarily leaning toward him. "By the way, I would consider investing in a mini-gun rather than the Smith and Wesson 43C. You'll be able to hide it better."

"You act like I'm going to do this again."

"You're not?" He was shocked.

"I'm out. I only did this to help my dad," I informed him.

"Wait, are you really Charlie's daughter?" Edward suddenly gripped my chin and turned my face fully toward him. "You weren't acting?"

I tried to pull my chin out of his grasp, but he held it firmly. I looked down to escape his piercing gaze. He tipped my chin up and ducked his head until I was forced to close my eyes. He released me.

"Shit," he cursed and released me. "It was real. You're a kid." I had never seen Edward out of control. He scrubbed his hands through his hair and let out a frustrated growl. "Shit – fuck!"

"I'm eighteen," I finally found my voice and spoke. "Last time I checked that made me an adult."

"Yeah, but I thought you were a cop." He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a loud breath. I waited. "Had I known that you were a child … Shit … My hands were all over you …"

"Age of consent is sixteen, Edward." I tried to get his attention again. This really wasn't that big of a deal.

"I'm sorry, I was pretty sure that you were undercover like I was. This is a lot to take in," he sighed.

"What do you mean undercover like you?" Suddenly the pieces fell together.

"Carlisle and Esme never actually 'adopted' me. When Carlisle decided to turn Aro in, they needed to imbed someone in his family. I was fresh out of the police academy, and someone approached me with the idea of taking a long-term assignment. I took it. Alice and Emmett aren't really my siblings. They're both with the ATF." He glanced at me. "What kind of father allows his seventeen-year-old kid -"

"I volunteered," I tried to explain. Edward wasn't listening.

"I can't believe he would –"

"He was desperate, and it's not like I went in without any training. I spent Christmas break learning marksmanship and self defense!" I closed my mouth when I realized that my voice was getting louder. I shook my head to clear it. This wasn't going the way I had imagined.

"Was any of it real?" I asked, staring at my hands in my lap. They were clenched together; my knuckles were almost white. He didn't respond. "I suppose that answers my question. I should find my bodyguard and go," I whispered. Tears streamed down my face again. I chided myself for being so stupid as to think that someone as attractive as Edward would ever have wanted me. So I left him sitting in baggage claim and looked for Jacob.

I found him nursing a drink in the airport bar. He glanced up at me and then down at his watch. Jacob ordered another drink and patted the stool next to him.

"Sorry, kid." He passed me his glass and glared at the bartender who looked like he was about to card me. The amber liquid burned my throat.

"Nothing is what I thought it was," I choked.

"It rarely is, Bells." He looked down at me. I closed my eyes and tried not to feel the pain. "Our plane home doesn't leave until tomorrow. Do you want to go look at the school?"

"The campus visit was real?" My eyes shot open.

"Yep, we've got all day and there are a few people from the literature department who'd like to meet you." He smiled and guided me out of the airport.

~#%#~

Flowers.

No one had ever sent me flowers. I was in my senior year at NYU and had never held a guy's interest long enough to get flowers. However, there stood my roommate bouncing on the balls of her feet with a vase full of lilies.

Whoever sent them had a sense of humor because I was going by the name 'Lilly Masen' and had for the past four years. I smiled and took the vase from my overexcited roomie before she could injure herself. The smell was intoxicating. Our room was going to smell quite nice for days. I set the flowers on my dresser and went back to my homework.

"Lilly! Read the card!"

"Oh, okay?" I walked back to the dresser and pulled the little white envelope from its holder. It was a slip of cardstock only embellished by a simple line of script:

It was always real with you. Always.

~E

The message puzzled me. I turned to my effervescent roommate. She looked like she was about to climb the walls.

"He's outside!" she yelled and then squealed. She dragged me to the window and pointed down to the street seven stories below.

There, across the street, leaning against the building stood a man with messy bronze hair.

Fin