The Carver Café [Edward/Jacob]

20

a/n: hopefully wattpad saved all of my editing this time. 

Edward can't tell him much. He explains that he'd encountered him before when their hunting grounds had overlapped. He'd been with a man and a woman. Jacob can visibly see the gears starting to turn as he scrambles to grab the autopsy photos and stare down at two of the bodies stretched out across the metal tables of their lab. He stares long and hard at one of the pictures, the picture of the woman before glancing over at Jacob. 

"You can't solve this case." He says in such a serious manner that it makes Jacob recoil, mind racing to catch up to the conclusion Edward's jumped to.

"What?" Is all he can respond with as he glances at the autopsy photos in Edward's trembling hands.

"He's dangerous. Like, inhumanly dangerous." Edward's voice has dropped and Jacob realizes he's never seen him so on edge. His eyes are scanning the room like the man could've hidden in one of the corners without either of them noticing.

As much as his brain wanted to revel in the warmth of being protected by his mate, he wasn't the type to be bossed around and he really needed to get that through Edward's head now before it was too late. This was his life. This was his work. It's what he's been doing for the past ten years. He wasn't going to stop now because it made Edward a little nervous. 

"I can handle myself. I'm not human either, remember?" Jacob hisses, turning back to the two photos. 

He skims over them for a solid two seconds before he has to acknowledge the fact that Edward's still staring at him. He slowly turns, glare in place, ready to fight the man on it. That was until he saw the fear in his eyes. 

"These two were a part of his coven. The woman's name was Victoria. They were partners, at least they were before whatever happened between him and Bella. The man's name was Laurent. They were coven mates. They were all family."  He glances down at the photos for a long moment. They were the two bodies that were bloodless and ripped apart so viciously it was as if he'd done with his own bare hands. 

"If he's willing to do this to them, he's going to turn your team into mince meat. You won't be able to do anything to stop unless you want the entire police force to know what you really are." Edward grits out before handing the images over to Jacob. 

He was trying to scare him. He'd witnessed many an officer get chased out of Homicide because their spouse was concerned. He'd seen plenty get divorced because of the toll the job could take on people, but they weren't married. At least, they weren't on paper. So, who was he to try to control what Jacob did and didn't do? His job was at stake here.

"I don't need your permission or your blessing. This is my job." He bites back. 

The silence between them, for the first time since they'd met, was heavy and uncomfortable. 

"I'm not going to sit around while you get yourself killed." Edward says, in a matter-of-fact tone, and here it finally is. They were finally stumbling into their first real fight. Of course, when he was supposed to be wrapped up in blankets and sated, he was instead throwing fuel onto the fire. 

"I'm going to be fine. I was doing this before you got here." He reminds Edward, grabbing for a file to distract him from the lump forming in his throat. He didn't need this right now. He was under enough stress as it was. 

"You were chasing humans!" The pictures fall to the floor at their feet as Edward turns around exasperatedly. 

He's breathing heavily, looking as though he's ready to die on this hill, his face flushed red and bottom lip slicked with spit.