Devil Incarnate Chapter Twenty-eight

Bella thought maybe she was dreaming. Soon, she would awaken in a world where Zion had never targeted them and no one had died. If that happened, then she couldn't be standing in a room full of dead bodies, the President of the United States, her only son . . . and her mother.

“I mourned for you,” she whispered, biting back tears the woman didn’t deserve.

“That’s your stupidity talking,” Renee snapped, tightening her hold on Quinn and the gun she held to his head. He was the only thing keeping any of them from shooting Renee on the spot, and it was clear she knew it. "Funnily enough, I thought you were dead too."

Edward shifted his weight to his other foot, and Bella fisted the back of his shirt to hold him in place.

Quinn said, “An agent was supposed to take me to the secure site, but he brought me here to Grandma Renee instead.”

He sounded perplexed, but not sad. It was almost as if he didn’t yet understand the repercussions of all that had transpired. Renee, a woman it appeared none of them had actually known, stood in front of the president. When he moved, she moved, keeping his body blocked with hers. The agent, who Bella recalled seeing briefly as she was escorted into the building to meet up with Edward and the others, also aimed a gun at him. 

The weight of the world had once felt enormous to Bella; too huge a burden to surmount. It was on her shoulders if anyone died, if she wasn’t successful in coming up with a plan to save the universe from madmen. But that had been nothing compared to how she felt at that moment. Swallowing around the lump in her throat, she contemplated her options. 

If she took the shot, she could kill her mother, or she might miss and kill her son.

Her mother could kill her son. And if she somehow missed from such a close range, there was always another traitorous agent right there waiting to pick up the slack. 

The president barely ranked in her thought process as she tried to figure out what to do. As a mother, her only priority was Quinn. As Edward had said, she had to protect him at all costs, above all others. Even above her husband, who had killed her before bringing her to life again. 

“What is the long game here, Renee?” Holden asked. “Do you expect us to allow you to kill the POTUS while we watch and then waltz away scot-free?”

“I want ten million dollars!” she screamed. “That's your price for killing my husband!”

“We didn’t kill Afton,” Jasper began to say, as he circled to their left side.

“I’m not fucking talking about that simpering nitwit!” Quinn’s face reddened as Renee’s grip on his collar became more taut. “I mean Charles Swan, my true husband!”

Holding up her hands, Bella said, “That was me. I’ll take Quinn’s place, Mom." The title burned acidic on her tongue. “I shot him.”

“It all boils down to Edward, though, doesn’t it? It must be nice to stand twelve foot two over anyone who opposes you.” Renee adjusted her stance to narrow her eyes at Edward, swinging the gun wildly as she gestured. “You came into our town all high and mighty. Wouldn't work with Charlie, though God himself knew you had plenty of cops and judges in your pocket.”

“He was shot before he approached me about working with him,” Edward pointed out. “That wasn’t my Family, that was someone else.”

“Yeah, that was some petty motherfucker who didn't like being asked for money. Charlie only wanted a small cut.” Her voice edged toward whiney. “Enough to pay off the house and maybe not be so fucking dirt poor all the goddamn time. Our brat was meant to take care of us, but instead, she bolted with you the second you got between her legs. How could you be stupid enough to knock her up, anyway? Bastard has never been nothin' but a fucking mistake.”

Bella met the gaze of that mistake, the one who people had berated her for over the years. He'd never been a mistake in their eyes, not to her or his father. He'd been a blessing, forcing her and Edward to work together, to admit their feelings and build a marriage. To create a life worth living. Pain flashed over Quinn’s face, wrenching Bella’s heart. Nobody deserved to feel less than because of the circumstances of their conception. Perhaps worse was discovering the woman who’d spent nearly his entire life caring for him had, in fact, always been a monster, one willing to trade his life for wealth.

“Give me the fucking money, or I swear to God, I’ll blow his brains all over his mommy.”

Bella had rarely heard her mother swear, and certainly nothing more harsh than the word hell. Something had splintered in her mind, something worse than any of them could have imagined. 

She was plan B.

Holden moved a step forward. "We'll get you what you need, ma'am, as long as you let the boy go."

Renee's laugh was bitter. "I'm not as foolish as you think."

"I'll give you money," Edward said, his finger twitching over the trigger of his lowered gun. "Whatever you want. You know I'll do anything for my child."

“I do know, that's why I took him. Sometimes I can't believe I lasted this long. Babysitting your pussy dismounts, letting that disgusting Italian rut with me.” She leveled her glare at Bella. “I understand why you left, why you traded bumfuck Forks for the wealth the devil offered you. Pretending to give a shit about any of you gained me the lifestyle I wanted. The things I was owed. I knew it would be worth it in the end, but now I need more. It’s time to pay up for all the wrong you’ve caused, for all the time I had to spend away from my precious Charlie."

"No amount of money is worth dying over." Quinn’s words were quiet in the stillness of the room until Renee started cackling. 

"Spoken like a rich man's bastard. Mark my words, Cullen; your ruthless pride will be the death of you."

So fucking over it, Bella clenched her teeth and spoke through them. "I'll give you the money if you let my son go." Raising her handgun, she said, "Or maybe you'd like to join your true husband in hell to ask him what an excellent shot I am."

Edward angled his body so he blocked her left arm, forcing her to either alter her stance or lower her weapon. "She's going to let him go. She wants the money too badly."

Renee’s head swiveled between their faces, tracking any movement as some of them edged closer. "Cash first, pretty boy."

"And then what?" Holden asked. "You're part of a terrorist organization now."

"Maybe they'll show me some goddamn respect when I bring in so much cash. Maybe they'll realize I was smarter than them for coming up with plan B."

"And maybe pigs will fly," Seamus muttered. "I guess there's a certain requirement for becoming a terrorist, such as being fooked in the head."

"I have the suitcase of money Ivan gave me." Edward took another step forward. "I'll get it for you, or someone else will."

"How much is in it?" she demanded. 

"Fifty mil."

Renee's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Really?"

"You didn't know what Ivan planned?" 

She scoffed. "Think that dumbass was sharing information with the women? We were shuffled off to a room with a CCTV monitor. I watched you shoot Bella in exchange for that money. So how can the two of you stand here now and judge me?"

"The psycho widows' club," Jake murmured. 

"It was all part of our plan," Emmett answered. "Not like holding other lives hostage."

The smirk on Renee’s face was ugly. "I've learned what's important to my enemy, and now I’m going to use it to my advantage."

"You're right," Edward said. "Family is everything. Even you, when I thought you'd died senselessly."

"Your loyalty lies within your devil spawn, and that's your downfall. They're worthless because they came from you. Every last one of them."

Bella mouthed the word now, changing the target at the other end of her weapon. She shot the double crossing agent in the head, but Renee dropped to the floor behind the table before anyone could shoot her. Holden grabbed the president and escorted him out of the room, while Bella rushed around the length of the table, shoving hostages out of her path. 

On the floor, Quinn struggled with his grandmother, trying to wrench the gun from her hands. Garrett, Jake, and Jasper were closest, but Quinn didn't hesitate to aim the gun at Renee, even as she fought for control of it. Terrified her son would lose the battle with a crazy woman before she could get there, Bella shrieked as his finger met the trigger.

Without a silencer, the round went off with a deafening explosion of sound, rapidly followed by a grunt and another shot. Bella sagged to her knees at the sight of her mother's unblinking stare, blood smearing her forehead and creeping across the floor. A fine mist of ghastly red coated Quinn, and Bella let out a strangled cry. 

“My baby, my baby.” Crawling to him, she framed his face in her hands. “Are you injured?”

All he could do was minutely shake his head, staring in a daze over her shoulder. “Dad.”

Bella turned, spotting Edward slumped against the wall. “Fuck!”

How was she meant to choose between a piece of her soul versus one from her body? Her son over her husband, or the other way around? Protect our son at all costs. What if the cost just became too high?

Emmett and Seamus rushed over to check on Edward while Jasper and Jake helped the hostages exit the room. Garrett remained squatting on the floor near Bella and Quinn, also appearing unsure who to go to first. Bella sat frozen, wondering if she’d made the wrong choice despite his directive to focus only on their son.

“He’s okay,” Seamus was quick to assure them, patting Edward down and tapping his cheek.

Edward groaned, hunching over and blinking rapidly. “Vest caught the bullet.”

His voice was weak, strained. Tears flowed unchecked down Bella’s face as Quinn wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve got you, Mama.”

Sobs heaved their way out of her throat, forced up from a gut depleted of anything but bile. She clung to her child, to her rock solid son who’d had to endure killing his flesh and blood.

“I’m sorry. I'm so sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, Mama. I wanted to spare you the trauma of killing your mother.”

“You had to do it to save your life, baby, don’t forget that.” Tilting back far enough to see his face, she was met with eyes strikingly similar to his father’s. “But I would have ripped her throat out with my bare hands to save you.”

“I know that. I’m just glad you didn’t have to.”

Hugging him close again, she let her tears absorb into his shirt. “You aren’t a mistake. You never were.”

“I know that too, thanks to you and Dad. You never made me feel like one.”

After a few minutes, they scooted over to Edward so he could hug Quinn. 

“My chest hurts like a son of a bitch.”

“Tell me about it,” Bella muttered.

“Dad,” Quinn said. “I understand now. Sometimes, killing someone is necessary. To save your own life, to defend your family, or to stop a terrorist from taking over the world.”

Edward grasped his son’s hand. “I hate that this is the way you had to discover it.”

Looking down at their joined hands, Quinn said, “I used to judge you for it. I know you were born into it and didn’t have a choice, and I admire the changes you made for yourself. Despite that, I kept thinking there’s never a reason to take someone else’s life.”

Sighing, Bella said, “I’ve done it too.”

“I know.” Quinn nodded. “But I get it now. You chose to be better, to make a stand and create a life focused on humanity rather than the darkness your parents forced you into.”

“I wanted better for you,” Edward said. “Even though I would have supported you if you’d wanted to follow in the footsteps of my previous life, I didn't want that for you if it could be helped. I don’t think you’ll ever comprehend the weight of all those souls lingering on my conscience, but that’s why I atone. Every day.”

“Every day,” Bella echoed. “And I think it’s safe to say we’ve levied a hefty win in the plus column.”

Wincing, Edward rubbed at his ribcage. “Karma can go fuck herself.” 

Seamus chuckled at that. “She’s too busy trying to fook all of us over.”

Holden came back into the room. “Well. That’s it for me. I’m done with this, with never knowing who’s dirty and who’s not. I quit.”

“As long as you send through our immunity before handing in your credentials,” Emmett said.

Jasper gave a small laugh. “Guess I should find a new line of work.”

“There’s always room in the coffee business,” Edward offered.

“As my right-hand man,” Emmett added, slapping him on the back. “Fetching coffee, filing paperwork, answering the phone.”

“I’d have to be your assistant?” Jasper moaned. “Never mind, just cuff me now.”

Quinn chuckled, and Bella felt lighter than she had in a long time. She caught Edward staring at her, so she reached out and ran her fingertips down his stubbly cheek. For the time being, there was nothing to say. They had much to work through, months of deceit and falsities to overcome. Lying to themselves might have caused more damage than lying to the others. But what they had underneath, what they’d built, had grown roots into all the cracks and crevices of their souls. The road might be bumpy, but they would make it back home.

Seamus looked around the room. It was covered in blood and dead bodies, an eerie red light from the emergency system, and wisps of smoke. “Do you think this is what hell feels like?” 

Holding Bella’s gaze, Edward replied, “Maybe, but hell's not so bad if you get to keep an angel with you.”