Mafia Princess

Chapter One-Hundred Thirty-Five

Twilight...not mine (sigh).

Chapter 135

I took a long shower, scrubbing my body with Bella's body wash. Yes, it was odd that I, a twenty-seven year old man, was washing his body with vanilla body wash and scouring my hair with strawberry shampoo. I felt much better, just being covered in Bella's scent. I closed my hand around her necklace which hung around my neck. The emptiness of knowing why I was wearing it hit me and I collapsed on the bench where Bella and I had made love numerous times.

"Keep it together, Edward," I chanted as I tried to quell the mounting panic attack I was experiencing. "Stay strong for her. She may hate you, but you have to save her."

I hoped she didn't hate me. I hope that she was just speaking out of anger and frustration. I was her angelo, tesoro, prottetore and amore. What we had wasn't a fly-by-night fling. Despite the fact that I didn't tell her about my reason for being there, everything I felt was the same. I had to prove it to her. I had to win her back.

This line of thinking was not helping the panic attack.

So, I washed my hair again and walked out of the shower. I pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before crawling into the bed. Carino must have known I was back. She was perched on the pillow next to mine, purring contentedly. Her eyes were open and she gave me a kitty smile of nuzzling against my jaw. "Hey, cat," I said, tickling her head. "I missed you."

She mewled in response, curling up on my shoulder. Within moments, my eyelids drooped and I was down for the count, exhausted and emotionally drained. However, my reprieve didn't last long. Carino was hissing and I felt myself being pulled out of bed. In my sleep-induced fog, I was too slow to react and found myself pressed against the wall. My air supply was being cut off by a beefy arm. Glaring at me were the angry eyes of Emmett.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved with Bella," he snarled. He pushed me against the wall, causing my head to snap into the plaster. The wall gave way from the force of Emmett's blow. "She's missing because of you."

"I tried to stay away," I hissed out, unable to speak clearly since Emmett was pressing on my neck. "But you saw how we couldn't deny our feelings."

"You were thinking with you dick," Emmett said angrily, kneeing me in the balls. I groaned and fell forward. Emmett's fist connected with my jaw and I was on the ground. "Was she just an easy lay? A notch in your belt?"

"NO!" I wailed, curling up to avoid his kicks that he was forcing onto my torso. My ribs were aching. "I do love her. With everything, I love her. This was not intentional."

The door slammed open and Charlie, Carlisle and Jasper tackled Emmett, forcing him to the ground. He struggled against the three men, punching Charlie in the mouth and kicking Jasper in the chest. It wasn't until Carlisle unholstered his gun that Emmett stopped. "I really don't want to arrest you, Emmett," he said evenly, holding the gun to his face. "You've assaulted one of my men after I explicitly asked you not to, not to mention kicking another federal agent while being restrained."

"You are such a stronzo, Emmett," Charlie spat, wiping his face with his hand. "These men are trying to help us. You need to put this beef you have against Edward behind you. I have. Am I pissed that because of his cover up that Bella's gone? Yes, but he's doing everything in his power to fix that. Besides, he's the best man for the job. I've seen his service record and he's fucking amazing. Stop acting like a moron and back off. The next time you fly off the handle, I will have you arrested. Are we clear?"

"Yeah," Emmett grumbled.

"I didn't hear you, Emmett," Charlie hissed. "Are. We. Clear?"

"YES! I need to get out of here. Can I go?" Emmett asked, his eyes blazing.

"Where are you going?" Carlisle asked, reholstering his weapon.

"For a run. I need to get out of this house before I kill him," he retorted angrily, pointing at me. "I'll be back. I just need to clear my head."

"Fine," Carlisle nodded. Emmett stomped out of the room. Charlie turned to me, frowning deeply. Carlisle had the same expression. "Call that doctor again. Emmett tore Edward's stitches."

Jasper helped me up and sat me on the bed. Carino plopped herself on my lap, glaring angrily at the interlopers in our room. I felt woozy, nauseous and exhausted. Carlisle held a towel to my head while Charlie called Doc. "You okay, Edward?" Jasper asked, crouching in front of me.

"I'm tired of being beat up," I said, my voice slurring.

"Tell the doctor to get here quickly," Carlisle barked.

"He's already on his way," Charlie replied. "Stay with us, son. Bella needs you. She might not know it but she does."

I nodded but my eyes fought their losing battle with closing. With everything that happened, I just slumped and fell onto the bed. The voices of my father and Charlie echoing in my mind like a distant, fading memory.

A/N: Edward will be fine. He's just had the shit kicked out of him. Twice in one day. Emmett's reaction...yeah, he's hurt by Edward's admission that he's a fed. However, he'll come around. Leave me some lovin!

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