Later that same night
The Driskill Hotel, Austin, Texas
Edward Cullen POV
"Maybe if you found a way to take your head out of your ass, you'd hear me the next time I ask you to turn…the fucking…air down….then I wouldn't have to kick you."
"Oh I heard you," I told her, creeping up next to her like I was telling the horror story that had become my life. "I just wasn't listening to you." Trying not to, anyway. "Because your voice... makes my goddamn ear drums... want to bleeeeeeed."
I was getting twitchy. I hate twitchy. So I backed off, finally.
"God. You are such an asshole."
"Takes one to know one, lady," I advised her as I rubbed at the bruise I no doubt had on my shin.
"Demetri, what is going on?" Marcus asked and that was my clue that he was even there, because I sure as Hell hadn't seen him when we arrived at the Driskill and had exited the limousine.
"They don't seem to be getting along very well, sir."
"Marcus," I said, indiscriminately straightening myself up a little when he finally did come into view. "Wasn't expecting to see you till tomorrow."
"Obviously, Edward," he replied, taking in my dress code.
"Marcus…You can't really expect me to work with this…" Bella Swan threw a hand toward me and I scowled.
"Well it hasn't exactly been a bottle of sunshine getting to know you, either, Barbie."
"Bella."
"I'm sorry?"
"My name is Bella…idiot."
Of course, she didn't get it.
I rolled my eyes at her.
"What exactly seems to be the problem?" Marcus asked the two of us. Which was a major mistake on his part, because that was when we both started in on him at the same time.
Yelling, screaming, complaining, waving our hands about like we were cloned out Captain Jack Sparrows on a sandy beach belonging to nowhere.
He made some eye contact with the driver who just shrugged, and then he pinched the bridge of his nose a little, closing his eyes before holding a hand up to us. Not that it stopped us, or anything.
"Please…be quiet…" he pleaded, but nope…we weren't done.
Both of us trying to get our points across…neither of us listening, and Marcus…well…losing his temper.
"Shut…UP!" he finally screamed, putting us both in our places, and then regained his composure as people passed us by, staring…gawking…entering the hotel. We stood there, finally quiet for him. I was running a hand through my hair to busy it so it wouldn't throttle the brunette know it all standing beside me. Who was standing perfectly still.
Perfectly.
And Marcus just watched the two of us for a few seconds.
"I realize I should have thought this through a little more, before putting the two of you together on this job," he started, motioning for our driver to retrieve our things from the trunk. "However, since it is now too late to revisit any viable prospects for this job…we will have to make do."
"Marcus, I…"
He held a hand up again. "Edward, you will do this," he told me under no uncertain terms. "And I expect you to treat Isabella with the respect she deserves...she has been quite the asset in your absence."
My absence.
Nice play on words, there, huh?
"You mean he…he worked for you? Before?"
"Yes, Isabella...Edward here was my highest asset before you came along," he told her and, although she eyed me a little out of the corner of her evil twitch inducing eye, she showed no sign of being impressed or…anything, really.
So I shot her a wink and then turned my attention back to Marcus.
Asset.
I really hated it when he used that word to describe me.
"Ex…asset," I corrected him as politely as possible while remaining assertive. "This is it, last job, Marcus."
He just smiled and nodded. "If you say so, Edward."
And no, I really didn't like the way he said that, either.
I wasn't about to argue with the man, though. It wasn't the time or place, and it was certainly none of Bella Swan's business.
"I can play nice," I assured him, nodding my head sideways at the royal pain in my ass. "As long as she does."
"I'm extremely professional when I need to be, I assure you," she said. Mostly to Marcus, who smiled.
"Good then, let us go inside and discuss our latest business adventure together, shall we?"
He had us follow him into the hotel and we by-passed by all the front desk people like we lived there, while Demtri, the driver, handled all of the check in bullshit and took our things to our room.
Rooms, hopefully.
I couldn't imagine Marcus would put us up in the Driksill, though, and then save money by getting a single…that's just not his style. He took the bitch queen and me to a quiet conference room and then placed his brief case on the table as we took our seats, opposite each other, on either side of Marcus.
No need to be in the vicinity of any physical attacks, now, right?
Sitting with Marcus was like slipping into an old pair of shoes, I had to admit. This process…of traveling to new places every few weeks…learning new skills as needed… putting those new skills to the test… It was like a whole new identity every time I'd turned around. Like I could actually reinvent myself.
Problem was, I'd done it so many times that I had long since forgotten who I even was, while I worked for him. Hence the retirement.
Attempted retirement.
And I was just starting to remember who the real Edward Cullen was, too, when he'd pulled me out of the dream state I'd become accustomed to and slapped me back into no man's land.
Marcus is a business man, these days, you see.
A high rolling business man.
Higher than high, actually.
Put it this way…think about the most powerful person on this Earth that you can…then imagine Marcus being that guy's boss.
Yeah.
I know.
He didn't start out that way.
Once upon a time, he was just a lowly con man, but, as his talent grew, so did his cons and eventually they turned into things that actually resembled "business investments". He acquired employees, the cons got more complicated, more note worthy, until, finally, he'd realized the ultimate con. The ongoing con. The one where you put people in your back pocket and they do all the hard work for you.
His investments grew too, after that. You know, buying companies…sometimes politicians… backing small business men, trading stocks…based on insider information that is…and when he was done with those investments and trades and businesses, he'd cut his ties for large profits and move on.
If it turned out any of them were unable or unwilling to turn him a large profit, well…he had ways of handling that side of things, too.
The money he made was recycled into paying people like me, investing in new schemes and or buying people who would do him favors…if you know what I mean.
Seemed like usually those favors were used to influence a vote in government one way or another…sometimes to sway a decision on city planning or…school zoning, you never really knew with Marcus. I never could guess at what his motivations were with things, but a lot of the time, I liked to think he was actually doing some good in the world so it was easy to get on board with most jobs.
Most being the key word, there.
Things had started out simple enough for me, but as Marcus's business ventures grew, of course, so did mine.
See, sometimes people didn't always play nice with Marcus so he would use me to get leverage. People like Bella Swan, too, I had to assume from her presence in this particular job.
My job...our job, was to insinuate ourselves into these peoples lives and then gather the dirt on them.
Sometimes create the dirt, even.
When Marcus had enough information to work with, to influence them to do business with him, that is, he would lower the boom.
We're gone and moved on to another job in another city before anyone's the wiser.
There's always that one person though…every once in a while…who still doesn't want to play his games.
Toward the end of my reign, I almost envied those people. Being able to stand up to Marcus the way they would…despite the fact that he could have ruined them….did ruin them…their lives…their families…with just one simple call to the right place.
Or wrong place, depending on how you look at it.
It had gotten hard to see who was right and who was wrong toward the end of things for me.
That, along with the combined frustrations of never being able to settle down…never knowing what life might be like in a normal setting…I was done.
But apparently…not so much.
"So, what have we got?" I asked, clapping my hands together like a kid in a candy shop. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, the adrenaline rush from the anticipation of cracking another nut was most definitely there.
I even thought I saw the hint of a smile playing on the pain in my ass across the table for a minute there, but she quickly hid it and returned to the bitch stare.
"He's a Texan, Edward… he also has... certain skills I am interested in."
"What's he do?"
He waved a hand at nothing. "Secret Service background, but currently he runs some small investigative service businesses."
I stared at him blankly for a minute there.
He lost me at Secret Service.
My eyes moved to the person across the table from me to see if she was having the same or at least a fraction of reaction I was. The look on her face as she consistently watched Marcus said that she might have had some concerns, but she wasn't going to question the man.
He continued on, but I stopped him.
"Marcus."
"Yes Edward?"
"You want us to break into a guys home, who used be Secret Service?"
"Yes, Edward, that is the protocol."
"And now he's…running investigative shops."
"That is correct."
I laughed. "He's gonna make us in like…two seconds."
And Bella Swan was still watching…still concerned…still unwilling to question my old friend…current acquaintance. I couldn't help but wonder where my smart ass, self absorbed, bitch and a half cup of low fat, decaf cappuccino had gone. There was a sense of emptiness inside of me suddenly that I…
No, I'm just kidding. I actually kinda the silent side of her.
"Why do you think I have brought the two of you in for this, Edward?"
"I…"
"Previous attempts to infiltrate have proven unsuccessful…I clearly underestimated him before now, and therefore… you are here… as well as Isabella."
I think my head was shaking…I don't know, but something about this did not sit well.
Marcus continued when I couldn’t find any words to debate him further.
"Think of it this way, Edward," he said in an almost loving way. "If I can get him onto my team, and I had access to all of his abilities and skills…I wouldn't need to continue pulling you in for important jobs, now, would I?"
He smiled and I let that sink in a little.
Damn.
He was right.
And I was finding myself just a little bit more on board with this than I had been a few minutes before.
A little.
He handed us each a state of Texas driver's license. "You will be Mr. and Mrs. Masen from upstate New York…Edward is into data mining…that should work well as a cover for your computer skills, Isabella…and.."
It took a minute or two for the words Mr. and Mrs. to sink in and I blinked a few times.
Then put my two cents in.
"Whoa, woah, woah, woah, wait just a fucking minute here…."
He stopped only to look at me with one of his looks that said…watch your language with me and this is the only time I'm going to tell you….so I said, "I'm sorry, but listen…" I laughed…for the second time during this meeting. "Partnering me up with…Bellatrix over here is one thing…"
"Bella," she corrected me, almost ready to reach across the table and bitch slap me again.
"But married? Really?"
Married?
…
…
Really?
"It's a necessary arrangement, Edward. We must always be willing to open up our minds and try new things."
He was very straight to the point and very insistent on most things, and most of the time I appreciated that about him, but this…I just didn't know if it was such a good idea. I honestly wondered if he was so desperate to get the skinny on this guy that he was losing his mind.
Our hard headed heroine still sat basically silent on the other side of the table and I scowled at her visibly, wanting her to know I knew she wasn't exactly keen on this whole thing even though she wasn't saying it. Then Marcus slid wedding rings toward each of us and I picked mine up, staring at it while I twirled it around between my fingers for a bit, while Captain do as I'm told slid hers onto her ring finger and then proceeded to ignore it.
She just…folded her hands and went back to giving her full and un-divided attention to the boss man.
I think I might have snorted.
"Got yourself a real team player over there, Marcus," I told him. Mostly because I just couldn't help myself anymore. "You must be so proud."
"Edward…" he warned, but it was too late.
She'd already locked her death ray glare onto me by the time he'd even thought about what to say.
"If by team player you mean I know how to shut up and listen to him tell us what we're up against, then thank you."
"Oh, she speaks."
"I can do more than speak," she told me, arching an eyebrow and my dick did a little knock knock joke against my jeans when she did it. I don't know why… it wasn't like I even liked this woman, much less found her dick worthy.
If you could even consider her an actual woman.
Must have been a knee jerk reaction to the female species in general.
I cleared my throat. "So…when do we make the move?"
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" we both inquired at the same time, whipping our heads from each others eye lock back to Marcus.
"Tomorrow," he repeated and then Demetri was there with our room keys.
Thank god that was a plural.
"We won't speak again until you've got something to report," he told us as he stood and began packing his things up. "Which I expect to be sooner rather than later…any more questions?"
I raised a hand and his eyebrows raised.
"Do we have a name for this… Texan?" I asked him, thinking maybe I'd do my own homework on the guy before our first contact.
"Yes we do, Edward," he smiled, taking another folder out and handing it to me.
I opened it, studying the picture of our target.
"His name is Jasper Whitlock. He may or may not be going by that name; he's very slippery like that. Late twenties, fit but not too fit, brown hair, blue eyes…and he's smart…he covers his tracks better than anyone I've know…I want to crush him."
Whitlock….I thought, yeah…that sounded pretty Texan.
"Now, if there's nothing else…" he said…turning to go, leaving us sitting there, and then stopped one more time before exiting the conference room all together. "And Edward…Isabella?"
We looked over to him.
"Try not to kill each other before then? Mmmmm?"
Demetri stayed for just a few extra minutes to inform us of our room numbers and the address where we would be living as man and wife for…who knew how long. It was in West Austin somewhere…which smelled of money and there was a moving van that would meet us with furniture and other miscellaneous personal belongings that we'd be needing.
After Demetri finished, he also left us sitting there.
Alone.
And I found myself making sure there were no sharp objects lying around that Miss hard ball over there across from me could get her hands on easily.
She let out some air and I got the feeling she'd been holding it for a while.
Kinda like when you're hiding from someone and you're standing there, in the dark, your back up against a wall as flat as you can get it…waiting for your pursuer to pass by and when they finally do….you breathe again.
"You okay?"
I don't know why I even asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" she spat and then shoved herself away from the table to leave.
I followed her.
"Oh, I don't know…maybe because you went from full on bitch mode to scared little five year old once Marcus got here."
"I respect him…which is more than I can say for you," she said flatly.
"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, Becka. You're not a hundred percent on board with this job anymore than I am."
She spun on me. "It's Bella. B. E. L. L. A." she told me and I resisted the urge to smirk at her. "Do you think you can try to remember that inside that pea sized brain of yours somehow? Edward?"
Twitch.
"Sure…as long as you can admit this job is full of…"
"Look, Edward…I know you might make it a habit of questioning Marcus; it was pretty obvious that you couldn't give a goddamn about anyone but you in there…but I need this job…I treasure this job….it means more to me then you can ever even begin to imagine…so do us both a favor? Don't try to get me to backstab the man who's given me the opportunity of a lifetime, here, kay?"
And I was suddenly aware of the fact that I had a company man in my midst. I wouldn't be getting any support outta her, that was for sure.
And I certainly wouldn't be trusting my deepest darkest thoughts of revenge against Marcus Volturi with her, either.
"Whatever you say," I told her and we found the elevators. Then stepped in with a few other hotel guests.
It was a quiet ride, needless to say.
I took the opportunity to run through the information I'd been given on Jasper Whitlock and, when we arrived at our floor finally, I came to the realization that I was tired as shit. And it was only the beginning.
"Listen," she said, as we approached our rooms.
I gave her my attention, curious as to what was in store for me this time, but she surprised me a little.
"I know we might not like each other and that's fine, I've worked with worse believe it or not…but we need to make this work, and we need to try to move past all of this…" she motioned between us. "Conflict, if we can."
I narrowed my eyes at her.
"You giving me a pep talk now?"
She huffed. "I'm giving you the opportunity to make this situation as bearable as possible."
"Well, thank you," I said sarcastically. "So much for that opportunity."
And then she rolled her eyes, but I thought I saw that same smile playing around the corners of her mouth.
"Goodnight, Edward, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow," she told me, crossing the hallway to her room. "Get some sleep."
I grinned.
"G'night, Bianca."
She stopped short and I had to hide the laughter that wanted to escape.
She didn't linger long enough to make a comment, though. She just shoved her door key card into the slot a little harsher than needed, before stalking into her room for the night.
I let the chuckles go once she was in her room and had locked her door, because goddamn if that ass of hers didn't shake and shimmy just the way I liked an ass to shake and shimmy.
"Enjoy your last night of freedom," I mused to myself. Then I entered my own room and tried to come up with a plan on how to make this job go as quickly as possible so I could get back to finding myself again.
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