MeteorOnAMoonlessNight: Devil Incarnate Chapter Eleven

Bella’s heart felt more whole once she returned to Quinn and the girls. Back at the house, they made arrangements for Kiernan to sleep in one of the many guest rooms and scheduled a basement meeting. Everyone knew him and what his agenda was by then, but it would take time to integrate him into their brood.

They only had time for a light dinner before trooping down the stairs. Kiernan had to be trusted with more secrets than Bella was comfortable with, but she knew there was no other choice. Once the hidden panel in the hallway wall slid open, Edward went down the stairs first to unlock the heavy steel door. Bella followed at the back of the line, making sure everyone was inside before sliding the panel back and closing them off from the rest of the house.

“As you now know,” Edward began, “all of you are to refer to this man as Kiernan Cullen anywhere outside these walls. Upstairs, out of the house, on the phone, he is a Cullen. The cover story is that he joined us in California to steal the bomb and will be part of the mission from now on.”

“The objective is to hide me in plain sight,” Kiernan stated. “The Zion group needs to believe I’m one of you. In order for this to work, even your children need to pretend to know and love me. They can call me Uncle Keke.”

“Fun,” Jake said, rolling his eyes. “Another family member won’t be that noticeable, right? That’s the point?”

“Yes.” Kiernan paced in front of those present. “Because the Irish Cullens proliferate like bunnies, nobody will question me.”

“But you’re really here to represent the CIA and help us defeat Zion?” Quinn clarified.

“We refer to them as the agency, and yes.”

“Right, what’s the plan, then?” Dara asked.

Edward responded, “We brought the bomb back with us. We’ll attach a tracker to it, one Zion can’t detect. If you don't have anything like that in your arsenal, Dara, the agency can help.”

“I’m sure I can come up with something.” She snuggled against Killian. “I have a few choices, so maybe Keke can help me pick the least detectable unit.”

“Perfect.” Edward scanned the room, gaze landing on Saoirse and Niall. “Once Dara and Ben get the tracker up and running, I’ll need the two of you to follow the signal. I don't want to simply track them, I want eyes on their transportation at all times.”

“Absolutely, cousin,” Saoirse replied.

“Ronan, Carrigan, the two of you will be their backup. I don't need you in the van with them, but follow them at a distance and keep secure comms open.”

“That way, if Zion discovers them, we can provide cover.” Carrigan nodded, glancing at her husband for confirmation that he agreed. “Solid plan.”

“Okay, that leaves the question of who will break into the facility where they are holding the bomb, in order to steal it back.”

“I will.”

Though she’d been following along with everything Edward said, and agreed with his strategy, Bella hadn't spoken up yet. Her statement was met with dead silence, which didn't surprise her.

Then the room erupted.

“Absolutely not!”

“There’s no way!”

“You can’t, you just can’t!”

She let their shouts and protests die down before speaking again. “I’m the best at it.”

In her mind, that was it. It was the soundest strategy, the best answer to an otherwise unsolvable problem. No one wanted to put their ass on the line, and some of them were much needed elsewhere. She was lithe, strong, and had always been the better cat burglar of the lot.

“I forbid it.”

None of the naysayer’s opinions gutted her as much as her own husband’s, and yet she’d known he would disagree. Eyes of a warrior met his fierce, protective stare. “You can’t forbid me.”

“I can—”

“Especially when you know I’m right.”

Hands curled into fists, he pounded one into the other. “You’re not right.”

“You can’t bend my behavior, my choices, the reality of the situation, to suit your fears!”

Avoiding the sight of her, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “The answer is still no.”

“Take the emotion out of it and look at it logically.”

And when his head came back up, she knew true regret. “How the fuck can you say that to me? Everything about this clusterfuck is emotional. It’s all based on them keeping us afraid. You know what, baby? It’s fucking working.”

She wasn't surprised when he walked away, heading up the stairs into the rest of the house while they remained in the bowels. Everyone had done their best to avoid the two as they quarreled, a difficult task in such a tiny space. With Edward out of the room, no one seemed to know what to do.

“Well, that was enlightening.” Kiernan plopped down on an armchair. “Bella, my dearest, if you’re stealing the bomb back, what do you need from me?”

“For you to shut up and go away.” Unwilling to follow her husband, she strode to the gun range and entered the glass doors.

The whoosh as they closed muted all other sounds. They could go nuts in there for all she cared, changing the plans and wrecking everything. Marching to the far wall, she entered the combination to open the weapons case. Bella picked the first gun she’d ever fired, the one Edward used when he taught her about safety and aim and many other things.

She went through the ritual of it; checking the clip, loading it, bringing a target closer to her so she could study it before sending it as far back as it could physically go. It was tempting to skip eye and ear protection, but she grabbed them at the last minute and slipped them on. Raising her arms, she popped off shots until the gun was empty, then reloaded.

She couldn't say how much time passed before her solitude was interrupted. At movement by the door, she lowered the gun and set it on the ledge, removing her ear plugs and watching Maria come closer.

“I wondered where you’d gotten off to.”

“You found me.”

The woman crossed her arms, leaning against the wall. Her hair was darker than Bella’s, cut in layers which framed her face. They’d met at a Denali family get-together, and that had really been it for Jasper. He’d been alone for years by that point, content to be the arms dealer for Eleazar and Afton. When Edward took a step back, and Emmett decided he would join his cousin in the coffee business, they unknowingly set Jasper adrift. He enjoyed the mafia and everything it represented. He was trusted, and Eleazar used him often. He’d found happiness with Maria, more than Bella thought would be possible after Alice’s betrayal. They had one son, the youngest of the lot, who was the spitting image of Maria.

“I’m worried about you.”

Bella wouldn't say she and Maria were close. They were family, she wouldn’t deny that, but they weren't best friends like she and Rose. She didn't feel as though she could spill her secrets to her as she could with Angela or Leah. But they were friendly, and they liked each other.

“This thing has us all on edge.”

Maria nodded. “Yes. I fear it’s worse for you because you sometimes take on more than you can handle.”

She knew Maria didn't mean to insult her by saying that. “Is that what I’ve done? It feels more like I haven't taken on enough.”

“No, sweetie, you try to do the job of three people. You haven't anything to prove. Not anymore.”

Maria was intuitive, she had to give her that much. “At the beginning of my relationship with Edward, I had to prove myself repeatedly. Maybe I still do it some.”

“In this instance, it won’t help. It especially won’t help you. We’re all stressed over what could happen, and here I am with no role to play. If I feel as horrendous as I do, then I can’t imagine how you feel with the worry of who will make this right.”

“And I always think it has to be me.” Setting down the protective glasses, Bella stripped the gun and put everything away. “I know Edward shoulders the burdens, so I try to step up to make it easier on him.”

“And then who’s there for you?”

“I have Rose, or the kids.” She turned her head. “You.”

“And Edward has the guys.”

"Then I shouldn't be there for my husband because he has friends? I should drop the ball and sip a Mai Tai by the pool?"

Finally, Maria crossed the room, closing the distance between them. She settled her hands on Bella’s stiff shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "No, of course not. Just remember to breathe, to take a moment for yourself occasionally, and stop thinking it's your job to save the world by yourself."

There was a solid point behind Maria's words, and hated tears built up until she couldn't hold them back anymore. Silently, Bella wrapped her arms around her friend. "Thank you."

"I know we're not real tight, Bella, but that doesn't mean I don't care about you."

It stemmed more from a lack of things in common and an age difference than anything else. "Well, I appreciate you coming down here to comfort me." Stepping back and wiping her face, Bella smiled at Maria. "You know I consider you my family. My sister-in-law."

Maria teared up, dabbing her fingers under her eyes. "I don't think you know how much that means to me. It's hard not to feel like an outsider."

"I hope I don't make you feel that way." The very idea was horrible.

"No, I do it to myself. Constantly berating myself because I'm not Edward's sister, as though that makes me less than."

"Oh, God, Maria, I didn't know." She grabbed her arms. "Please don't worry. You're not a hateful bitch like that psycho. You're so much better, so much more, than Edward's sister ever was."

"That's what Jasper says, but sometimes my insecurities get the best of me."

"Honey, Alice was playing a game from the start, one she didn't know enough about to win. She was manipulated by her parents and became truly awful."

"Well, I'm glad I've been able to make Jasper happy."

"Oh, absolutely, you and Drew have been really great for him."

Together they made their way up the stairs into the main part of the house. “We sort of filled in holes left by others, you know?”

“I know the feeling.”

Bella thought about those holes as she climbed the stairs. Her bedroom was empty, and she felt the aching emptiness in her heart. She’d angered him, and he would avoid her for a while. It was his way; always had been.

There was a time when Edward had filled every need she’d barely dared to contemplate having. Then Quinn came, and the girls, and her business. She had friends and family, a full and happy life. Edward fulfilled her needs, but he wasn't all she needed. In weaker moments, she wondered if he felt the same. Was she everything he wished for in a wife, a business partner? Did he find her lacking in some areas, despite loving her?

Was she enough?

Deciding every woman, every mother, felt that way at times, she brushed her hair and changed her clothes. She was exhausted for many reasons, and she was ready to sleep in her own bed. Hating that Edward wouldn't come up for the night, Bella tried to get comfortable alone. There were entirely too many thoughts in her head for sleep to take her, though.

She had to be the one to sneak in and steal back the weapon. Others were partially qualified, but no one was as good as she was. It wasn't something she was proud of, but there had been a few shady deals in the year before they fully retired. They’d gone crazy for a short time, basking in the glory of feeling unstoppable. Stealing weapons and cash from rivals because they could; killing any enemies left behind by the other three mafia families. Torturing them for information regarding who was loyal to Eleazar and who would remain loyal to the dead. Carlisle had left a lasting legacy, one in which Bella took great glee erasing from the earth. Riley’s men caved faster, crumbling like a poorly stacked house of cards. The blood on her hands was unforgivable, and yet it had been necessary at the time.

As a matter of fact, she had single-handedly made the streets of Seattle run red in quite a few instances. Fueled by the need to protect her children, she’d done things she didn't like to admit. Only being pregnant and showing had made her give up that life, and even then she’d done a few things after Maeve’s birth. When she told Edward he was forgiven for those sins, it was as much to cleanse her soul as to comfort him.

Just before drifting off, she vowed she wouldn't become that monster again. Bella had written her destiny with her own hand, and she couldn't turn her back on it now.