bullets and bouquets

41

Bella wakes up to find Sadie missing from their bed. She's incredibly sore from the pain inflicted on her and figures that Sadie is somewhere else handling business. She gets out of bed and walks out into the living room. She finds Sadie and Jenna in the dining room.

"Good morning, cara mia," she greets. Bella sits down next to Sadie. The redhead pushes her plate over to her girlfriend who begins to eat off of her plate.

"How are you?" Jenna asks.

"Sore, but I'll live," she answers, "How are you? How did the uh, killing go?"

She notices the black eye and fat lip from Florence.

"Oh, I asked Florence to hit me," Jenna explains.

"Florence? Have I met her before?" Bella asks.

"No, you haven't. And I don't know if you will," Sadie answers, "She's very serious about her business."

"Are you guys allies?"

"Not exactly," Jenna answers.

"She does business exchanges, but that's it. She's not interested in coming to the Estate or having relationships with people," Sadie explains.

"She's never even met the others. She only knows us," the former gang leader adds, "But she's perfect to take over because no one will doubt that she killed me."

Bella nods nervously, "That's nice... I guess."

Jenna's phone goes off. She smiles as she picks it up.

"It's Emma," she smiles, "Hey!"

"Holy shit, Jenna, what happened?" the blonde exclaims on the phone. Jenna had forgotten about her black eye.

"Emma, I can explain," Jenna stands up and leaves the dining room to have a more private conversation on the second level.

"I'm letting Denmar handle business for the next couple of days," Sadie says to Bella.

"Because of me? I'm fine, Sadie, I promise," she answers.

"I believe you, but I think I need to stay here for a little bit," the redhead explains, "My emotions are strong and I'm nervous about leaving again."

Sadie's never really talked about her emotions before. Bella knows this is a lot for Sadie to admit, so she just listens.

"I know that you are okay, I just need a little break in all honesty," she continues.

"Okay," Bella smiles. She kisses Sadie on the lips.

"I've got a little surprise for you," Sadie smiles.

"Surprise?"

"Well, one is better than the other," the redhead sighs.

"There's more than one?" Bella exclaims.

"Two, but like I said, one is slightly better than the other," she explains.

"I don't care what it is, thank you," her girlfriend smiles.

"Wanna see what it is?" Sadie asks.

"Of course!" Bella answers. The redhead stands up and lets Bella out of her chair. Together they walk back out to the living room. There is a small gift wrapped up for the brunette. She opens it to find a walkie.

"Now you can radio me when I'm away," Sadie explains, "It also goes to Denmar and Trent's radios."

"Ooo," she smiles. Sadie doesn't use cell phones because of tracking services and such. The radios are her main form of communication. Bella's phone was obviously left behind when Sadie took her, so she's been without a phone or any sort of communication, "Thank you, you'll have to show me how to use it."

"It's pretty simple since there's only one channel," she takes the radio from her girlfriend's hand, "You just press this button down and talk into it. Like this, this is Sadie testing Bella's walkie."

"This is Sadie testing Bella's walkie," the redhead's voice says over her own.

"This is for volume," Sadie continues explaining, "And the charger is in our room."

"This is so cool. What if I interrupt your job? When you're away?" Bella asks.

"My radio is silenced when I'm away. So when you try and radio me, it will go to Denmar and Trent first," the mafia boss explains, "And if they can't help with what you need or you need me, they'll page me silently, and I can respond after."

"Oh okay," Bella sighs, "So I can call to say I miss you and it won't disturb you?"

Sadie smiles and laughs, "It won't. And Trent will probably answer and ask if you need a drink or food."

Bella laughs.

"Are you ready for the second surprise?" Sadie asks. Bella nods, "Close your eyes."

She pulls Bella up and leads her out to the garage.

"Okay."

Bella opens her eyes to find a brand-new motorcycle next to the line of SUVs. She smiles.

"You did not!" she exclaims. Sadie smirks.

"I did," the redhead grins, "The Dodge Tomahawk! It can go up to 350 miles per hour."

"Oh lord, I like fast... but maybe not that fast," Bella says.

"Well, yeah, I figured," Sadie laughs, "Wanna take it for a spin?"

Bella blushes, "I would. Do you even know how to drive one of these things?"

"Oh yeah, Jenna let me use hers all the time," Sadie explains. She grabs a helmet and hands it to Bella, "Safety first."

Sadie then puts her own helmet on. She opens the garage and starts the motorcycle. Bella climbs on behind her and holds onto her waist, giving Sadie butterflies.

***

"Jenna, if I knew you were going to be hurt doing this, I wouldn't have agreed," Emma sighs.

"I'm not hurt, I promise. I wanted it to be believable for my enemies," she explains, "They will never doubt that I am dead now."

"That still doesn't make it okay," the blonde says, "I don't like seeing you hurt. Your eye is all black and blue. And I can't even be there to give it a kiss."

Jenna blushes and looks away. Emma notices.

"Did I make you blush?"

"... maybe," Jenna smiles, "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Emma agrees, "I'm almost done filming so I can come see you soon."

"Good."

"How are Sadie and Bella?" she asks.

"They're good. Sadie's taking Bella out on her new motorcycle today," Jenna grins, "Bella saw mine and wanted Sadie to get one."

"That sounds fun! Maybe Sadie will let you borrow hers to take me out?" she says softly. Her voice makes Jenna's heart skip.

"Yeah," Jenna smiles, "That would be fun."

"I've got to go now, it's late, but text me?" Emma asks.

"Always," she grins. She blows her a kiss before Emma ends the call.

***

Sadie drives the motorcycle through Sicily. Bella smiles and lies her head on Sadie's shoulder. She stops at a stop light.

"Sadie, should we be here?" Bella asks. She hasn't been back in the actual city since she was kidnapped. According to Sadie's plan, Bella should not be out in public right now.

"Just keep your helmet on, cara mia," the redhead instructs, "We can enjoy ourselves today."

"Okay," the brunette smiles. While they wait for the light to turn, a familiar face sees Bella. The brunette turns her head and sees her, just as Sadie rides off.

"Isla?"