FAÇADE Chapter 20

Just one more time before I go I'll let you know

That all this time I've been afraid, wouldn't let it show

Stars are only visible in darkness

The only sound is the battle cry

Nobody can save me now

It's do or die

~Imagine Dragons, Battle Cry

The one time Bella should have told me her plans.

EPOV

Waking up alone in someone else’s bed is never a good thing. My exploring showed me that Garrett was gone, new bedding in place of the bloodstain he left behind. Felix was in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, giving me the impression he was waiting on me.

“Bella is visiting Carlisle. She said to thank you and make sure you made it home safely.”

“Okay.” I didn't think I needed to say anything else; he had his orders and would follow them. It was my cue to leave.

Back at the apartment, I made breakfast and wondered what the hell she was up to now. She was expecting Jasper to do her dirty work, which was fine with me. It was one less murder on her tally, one less for me to feel guilty about. Yeah, sure, Masen. I understood her game after last night. I’d probably seen it all along, but anger had blinded me from focusing on it. She wanted to push me away so she could do what she had to do without interference from me. Her motives remained unclear, and it would be egotistical to assume it was all about me. She was covering for Carlisle and herself, that much I knew.

I’d done some digging into Eric Yorkie’s death. He’d been Charles Swan’s attorney of record, had accompanied him on many trips down to the local station, and been the one to file paperwork for Charlie’s last will and testament. Yorkie had been found in his car under an overpass with two bullet wounds to the head. His tongue had been cut from his mouth, the classic sign of someone caught being a rat. There had been no leads at the time, but I had Bella’s flippant statement that Carlisle had killed him. Working backwards with that information, I tried to link the gun to Carlisle Cullen using the slugs pulled from the body at autopsy. Unfortunately for me, Carlisle didn't have any weapons registered in his name. He was entirely too smart for that.

He was slick, I had to give him that. No amount of investigating had pointed at Carlisle for the kill; not until Bella let it slip. I was determined to protect her as I’d promised, but Carlisle remained my main objective, and Jake’s. I was becoming concerned that we would both be facing sanctions after this case. If I kept my mouth shut and Jake had documented what he should have done and not what he actually did, we might skate by. I was already planning to take time off and reevaluate what I was going to do with my life. I couldn't continue as an agent after all I’d done, if I even made it out without being arrested myself. It just wasn't right after the way I’d corrupted my integrity.

By that evening, I had an insurmountable tension headache. My research into the Yorkie murder was getting me nowhere. Bella had made damn sure to cover for Carlisle to a ruthless point. It seemed that had been her agenda all along, to cover for him and for herself. I knew she thought she could run the Family after she took care of the boys, but I didn't understand how she thought she could accomplish that after my case was over and I turned in everything I knew about the day-to-day operations. I grudgingly admired her determination to remain strong and keep those she loved safe. She had a horrible way of accomplishing her goals, but it was the only life she knew.

I slept fitfully due to a sense of foreboding settling on the back of my neck, a prickling awareness of something yet to come. I woke groggy and irritable, having a hot shower and too much coffee in retaliation. The only good thing was that I had upgraded my coffee recently. It gave me a boost after the third cup, and I felt much better. I was still feeling like something was coming, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Bella ignored my attempts to get in touch; my calls going unanswered and my texts unread.

That feeling only built until I was twitchy and anxious. Something was happening, and she was part of it, that much was clear. It wasn't until Jake called that everything made sense.

“What’s so important that you’re risking calling me?” I barked into my phone.

“An anonymous recording was sent in to the local two-one late last night. It shows Emmett Cullen tied to a chair in a small room and Jasper Cullen coming in and shooting him twice in the head at point-blank range. They sent it to our office for authentication after they recognized the brothers. Jasper Cullen is at his father’s mansion and has been for almost an hour. I need you to go and oversee the arrest. I’ll have squad cars meet you there.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Now I knew where Bella was today. “Yes, sir. I’ll go now; I’m fifteen minutes out.”

“Copy that.” He hung up the phone, and I flew around the apartment getting my shit together and running down to the garage.

If they turned it in last night, then there was a plan of some kind to lure Jasper there. I only hoped he didn't realize what was coming before officers arrived. I pushed the Cadillac to the limits as I raced through the streets. It was nine forty-five, and I had no way of knowing how long he’d been there or what was going down. I only hoped I could gain entrance to the house and mitigate the damage before it got out of hand.

The man at the front gate was tall and thin. He stepped out of the guard shack with a glare and a clipboard. “I don't have any visitors on the list for this time of day,” he began.

“Felix here?” I asked. His eyes widened and his brows went up. “Tell him Tony Di Stefano is here. Carlisle’s in trouble.”

He started to argue, then looked more closely at me and stepped back inside his little doll house to use the phone. I could hear him speaking angrily with someone, and then the gate opened. “Around the back.”

I flipped him off as I drove through, I couldn't help myself. Precious minutes wasted, but I guess he was doing his job. I drove down the curved driveway, following it around the back of the house. Felix was waiting for me near a mid-sized garage.

“I don't even want to know how you knew to come,” he began as I stepped out.

“Were the police due to arrive and arrest Jasper but didn't show up?” I confirmed. He gave a curt nod. “Their invitation was lost in the mail, but they’ll be here soon. Where are Bella and Carlisle?”

He lead me to the french doors at the back corner of the house closest to us. There was a very large, dark-featured man standing guard there already. I stood to the side of the doors, glancing in at what was going on inside. Jasper was standing near Carlisle, and Bella was in front of the fireplace. I wasn't surprised that they were loud enough to almost make out what they were saying from outside. When Jasper really started yelling at Carlisle, I rested my hand on my weapon at my back.

The sound of voices over the radio on the giant man’s shoulder was a distraction that nobody needed in that moment. The local police had arrived—better late than never—and I turned to look around the corner of the house to the front gate. That moment in time was all it took for the three of us to lose focus on Jasper and what he was capable of doing. By the time I turned back and glanced through the double doors, Jasper had Bella on the tile hearth in front of the fireplace.

“Son of a bitch!”

My shout alerted the other two men and the three of us flew into the room like gangbusters. I headed straight for Bella and Jasper, using the butt of my gun to hit him in the back of the head. As he fell away from Bella with a grunt and a curse and I saw how much damage he’d done to her, I couldn't care less how unprofessional I was.

“Titan! Hold him back!” Felix ordered, and the two bodyguards picked a kicking and flailing Jasper up off the floor.

“She's a goddamn fucking traitorous bitch!” he spat.

I trained my weapon on him but crouched next to Bella and brushed my hand across her mangled face. He’d gotten in enough blows that she appeared to be out of it. “Bella,” I said, gently shaking her shoulder.

She opened one eye and seemed to focus on me. She flipped Jasper off and her eye slipped closed again. My hellcat.

I turned to survey the room, finally spotting a bleeding Carlisle sprawled across the couch. The room exploded in activity at that moment, uniformed police officers storming in and announcing themselves with raised firearms before I could reach the man. They would have been informed of the presence of a UC, but not necessarily that it was me. I raised my hands and slowly dipped down to place my Glock on the coffee table. Felix and the man he’d called Titan put their hands in the air and had to let go of Jasper to do so.

“I have information on Carlisle Cullen! I want a deal!” he started shouting as he stumbled toward the nearest cop. She raised her weapon higher and shouted at him to stop moving.

“Shut the fuck up, you imbecile,” I growled.

“He murdered my mother!” he screamed. “I want immunity!”

I huffed a laugh and spoke under my breath. “Good luck with that.”

The hours passed in an excruciating crawl. We were all arrested, taken to the station, and questioned. Jake was there, vouching for me and handing over my original identification and badge. I didn't see any of the others.

“Go home. Take the rest of the day, come back at oh-eight-hundred for your full briefing,” Black instructed. I clutched the keys to my own car and my worn leather wallet in my hand as he spoke, recognizing that I was a stranger now and not entitled to see or speak to any of the players I’d spent nine months with.

I nodded, my heart in my throat. I’d watched Bella being tended to by EMTs at Carlisle’s house, and she had to have been taken to the hospital by now. I went there first, fool that I was, and tracked her down.

She wasn't really awake, but she was conscious. She was on pain killers and had been through x-rays by the time I arrived. She was small and pale in the bed, all white sheets, dark hair, and bruised face.

“Bella. Do you want me to take you home?” I asked after the nurse left the room. I leaned close to her, memorizing the cuts and contusions, when she opened her eyes.

“Edward? I’m scared.” Her voice was tiny, sounding younger than her twenty-two years.

I signed her out, knowing I shouldn't. Her eyes fluttered as I placed her in a wheelchair, and she chuckled. “I’m going to run the world,” she said.

I believed her.

Felix was at Bella’s house when I arrived and I wasn't entirely surprised. There wasn't much of anything illegal I’d been able to prove about him. He was a bodyguard and a bouncer, end of story.

“Put her in her bed and leave,” he demanded, jaw tight.

Oh. So he hadn't known my true identity until today. Well fuck me.

I carried her into her room, placing sleeping beauty on her new bed. She stirred, her eyes opening again and focusing a little more clearly this time.

“Your bullet went through Jasper’s arm and hit Carlisle. He’ll be okay, but he’s currently in the hospital. He has armed security, just in case you think you’re going to go bust him out.” The expression of pain on her face was like nothing I’d ever seen before. She loved him, of that I was certain. She’d done all of this to protect him. “You can sleep. Felix is here.”

I paused, emotion clogging my throat so that I couldn't speak. I gulped in air, realized I couldn't take a full breath, and simply spoke before I lost the nerve. “I won't be here when you wake again. My case is over.”

Tears leaked down into the hair at her temples, but I forced myself to turn away from her. At the last minute I went back, kissing her forehead quickly and then leaving her room.

I didn't speak to Felix, just peeled out of the driveway and down the mostly empty street. It was late, streetlights piercing the darkness every few feet. Leftover rain on the road was noisy under my tires, covering the sound of the sob that broke free from its cage. Bella should have told me her plans for the day. I could have helped her, I could have ensured the police were there to arrest Jasper in time. It was merely one more testament to the fact that my feelings and hers were not aligned.