The Man in the Long Black Coat, Chapter Fifteen

Edward ripped the door from its hinges as he burst into the cabin.

"Fuck fuck fuck!"

No one said a word.

He pounded his fists on the table, cracking it right down the middle. He put his head in his hands and sat down.

Alice stepped forward while the rest of the family stayed outside, waiting for Carlisle to get back. "Nothing's happened yet," she said. "Besides, even if he dies, you were acting in self-defense. It wasn't your fault. You were defending the woman you love, Edward. That's never wrong. It was just an accident."

"There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed."

"What's that mean?"

"Napoleon. It means there are no accidents. It means that I am who I am. There's no point in trying to deny it."

"It'll be OK," Bella said. A bruise was forming on her cheek where Tyler had hit her. She approached Edward, put one arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his. "Dr. Cullen might be able to save him. Maybe he won't die."

"You don't know," he said. "You don't know what it's like to feel a man's life leech away under your fist. I do. Tyler is already dead. There's nothing Carlisle or anyone else can do about it."

"But you didn't mean to hurt him," she said. "That has to count for something."

Edward laughed and stood up. "Do you really think that'll make a difference? Aro won't care. He has no sense of right and wrong left. He is a sadistic son of a bitch. He'll point to the agreement and he'll rightly note that I've broken it.

"He's hated me for years. He'll do anything he can to get back at me for not joining his council. He’ll either make me join or kill me. That's the reality."

Bella rubbed his back with the palm of her hand.

"They'll find out soon," he said. "The longer I stay here, the more danger I put you in." He stopped and looked toward the broken front door, knowing the Cullens were listening. "All of you."

"What's that mean?" Bella asked, her voice rising in pitch. "What? You're going to leave? Just like that?"

"It's not as easy as you make it sound," he said. "But there is nothing anyone can do. It's the only way to make sure you're safe, and it doesn’t have to be forever. The Volturi will come. Soon. There is no doubt about that. There were dozens of witnesses. Word will get back to them. The more attention that gets drawn to you, the more danger you're in."

"We can protect you." Carlisle walked through the front door. He motioned for the rest of them to remain outside.

"That's bullshit and you know it," Edward said. "You said it yourself, Carlisle. You and Aro don't get along. You have an uneasy peace. I can't risk shattering that. There will be no war on my account."

He read Carlisle's thoughts and knew what he was going to say next. He'd known it already, anyway.

"I couldn't save Tyler. No one could," Carlisle said. "I had to leave when the police arrived. Before they could question me."

"Charlie," Bella said.

"Yes. I think it would be best if he heard an explanation from you, Bella. The crowd did not seem disposed to paint you and your new friends in a sympathetic light."

"Shit," she said. "How can I explain any of this? I definitely can't tell him the truth. Fairy tales about vampires? He'd have me locked up. Maybe I could say, 'Oh, dad, my boyfriend is a nice guy. Sure, he's killed three people, but they were bad people. And one of them was totally in self-defense.'

"Not only would he have me locked up, he'd probably disown me."

Carlisle stood quietly by. The look on his face revealed that he was deep in thought. Edward scanned his mind and smiled.

"That's not a bad idea, Carlisle," he said.

"What’s not a bad idea?" Alice replied.

"Why don't you tell them, Carlisle?"

Carlisle hesitated. "It is disquieting to have you reading my mind in my own home, Edward. But I will forgive you. I imagine one cannot possess such a gift without giving in to what must be a crushing desire to use it."

Alice called everyone else inside.

"Quit stalling, Carlisle, and tell us what you're thinking," she said.

"Well." He cleared his throat. "What if Edward did leave?"

Bella began to speak up, but Alice shushed her with a look.

Edward leaned in, ready to hear Carlisle's plan put into words.

"We have scores of safe houses like this one all over the world. He could reside in one, for a while, then move on if he sensed someone getting close. We'd have to tell the Volturi something, of course. Perhaps -"

"Tell them the truth," Edward said. "Or a version of it, anyway. Tell them that I snapped and killed this boy and then I took off. You have no idea where I went. Tell them I went rogue."

"It won't work," Alice said. "Aro can read all of our memories, remember? He'll know about this very conversation."

Edward smiled. "But I won't tell you where I'm going. I would move from house to house, always staying a step ahead. He'll never find me. I'm quite good at hiding. I've learned how to deal with the likes of Demetri and James."

“But what about me? Us?" Bella said. "How long would you be gone? And why can't I come with you?"

“Bella. We can’t. I can’t. You belong here, with your family. I won’t take you away from that.”

“Now who’s talking bullshit? Huh? I’m an adult, Edward. I hardly know Charlie, anyway. We don’t talk. I was on my way out of this place when you showed up. Remember that? You’re the only reason I’m still here. If you leave, I’m coming with you. I have nothing left here. I never really did."

"Charlie loves you more than you know," Edward said. "You have no right to do that to him."

They glared at one another.

“Well,” Alice said, soundly falsely chipper, “I have sooo much to do. Outside. With everyone else.” She made eye contact, one-by-one. “Let's go.”

They left Edward and Bella alone.

"Are you serious?" Edward asked. "You'd really want to come with me, spend the rest of your life on the road? Never see Charlie again? Never see Forks?"

"If it means I get to stay with you," she said, edging closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "then yes."

Edward put his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head. He took in her scent, remembering the powerful urge it caused the first time he smelled it. He didn't want to imagine living without it.

"Despite myself, I want you to come, Bella.” He smiled into her hair. "I can't explain it. But I can’t spend my life without you. I'll do whatever it takes."

"It's crazy, isn't it?” she said. “I wouldn’t let you leave without me. From now on, I go where you go. Deal?"

"It'll be dangerous, you know. Life on the road isn't easy. And for a human? There are so many reasons to be concerned. The Volturi chief among them. The moment it's known that I've taken a human, they'll double their efforts to find me. Involving a human in our affairs is breaking the Volturi's cardinal rule.

"If you think what Felix did to me was unpleasant, I hope you never have the misfortune of meeting Jane." He shuddered thinking about her, a vampire whose gift allowed her to cause immeasurable pain simply by looking at someone. She gave the term "bitch-face" a whole new meaning.

"Don't worry about me," she said, smirking. "I can take care of myself." She reached up and kissed him on the mouth, and Edward finally let her in. He parted his lips and searched for her tongue with his.

Bella broke away laughing. "God, it's so cold!"

"I've been dead for nearly a hundred years," he said, laughing. "It makes no sense, I know. Vampires, somehow, seem to break the second law of thermodynamics. We're not exactly alive, and yet we live. We move about, and yet we generate no heat."

"You are so fucking weird, Edward." She laughed and embraced him once more.

"I know I've brought it up before, and you refused," she said. "But maybe we could talk about making me like you. I'd be safer on the road. We wouldn't have to worry so much about the Volturi finding us. And besides, I have a theory."

Edward broke away. "I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy. I've never turned a human, and I certainly won't start now. Not with you."

"Don't you want to hear my theory first, before you make any rash decisions."

"No. I'm not the one talking about rash decisions. The matter is settled. I won't turn you into a vampire, Bella. End of discussion."

"We'll see," she said. "But I get it. I really do. So, let's talk about where we're going. What should I pack? How will we travel? How long will it take to get there? How long will we stay?"

"Slow down. We're not leaving just yet. You have to say goodbye to Charlie. And you have to make it believable. The last thing we need is an APB out on us. The FBI, your mugshot on billboards all over the country. Fuck, CNN, for Christ's sake."

She smiled wide and flung her arms out, twisting in a circle as she flailed around the room.

"We're really gonna do it, aren't we? I can't believe it, Edward. Two months ago I was ready to end it all. But now? Even with a pack of vampires after me, even though I won't be able to see Charlie again, I can't imagine a better life. A life with you. It's like a dream come true."

Bella invited everyone back inside.

"So it appears that you've come to a decision?" Carlisle said once they told him their plans. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"We'll be fine," Edward said firmly, cutting off any further discussion. "I'll make the arrangements. Bella will go see Charlie. Would it be possible for one of you to accompany her, discreetly, in case the Volturi show up? I don't think it's a good idea for me to be in public right now."

"I'd be glad to do it," Emmett said.

Bella practically squealed. "It's late. I should get home. I have to pack, and I have to talk to Charlie.”

“What are you going to tell him?” Alice asked.

“Don’t worry,” Bella said. “I know exactly how to push his buttons.”

Edward said goodbye to her on the front porch. He kissed her deeply and watched as she and Emmett drove away in the Denali. He hoped that Charlie believed whatever story Bella came up with, but he knew that was unlikely. Charlie didn't strike him as that naive. No. He was a dedicated cop, smart and resourceful. A war veteran, Bella had said. And a loving father who'd already seen his daughter suffer immeasurable trauma.

The likelihood was that Charlie would never give up the search. Edward knew that he would be branded a murderer and a kidnapper, whether it happened immediately or after the investigation grew. Maybe Charlie would dig up security footage from the bar. He’d plaster Edward’s photograph all over town. The networks would pick it up. Not only would he spend eternity on the run from the Volturi, but he'd have to elude the police, as well. Before long, one or the other would track them down.

For Bella's sake, he hoped it would be the police.

He and Bella would be better off, he grudgingly realized, if he disposed of Charlie before leaving town.

-30-

A/N I'll keep it short and simple this time. MazzyStarla makes the world go 'round. Edward is off his fucking rocker. And Bella might have finally found a pair of rose-colored glasses. Let’s hope they don't blind her to reality.

Until next time ...