Married to the Mob

Chapter Twenty-Eight

She blew out a breath, shaky and low. She told me everything that happened, from the moment she was shaken awake the night I was abducted, to my subsequent rescue almost twenty-four hours later from a dingy, dirty and abandoned farmhouse in Dekalb. My Bella, my sweet, loving Bella had enacted the rite of vengeance, killing Royce King, after shooting him in the balls. Her voice choked up as she described what she did, shaking uncontrollably. I wanted to pull her into my arms, hold her until she cried her eyes out, but my body was aching, sore and holding her hand was causing me excruciating pain.

"We should be on our honeymoon right now," Bella whispered. "Wherever that was supposed to be." She gave me a half-hearted smile, trying to make a joke.

"And we'll have it. We'll still go, cara," I vowed. "We'll have our wedding, and I plan to give you the world. That has not changed." She trembled, more tears flowing down her cheeks. "Don't cry, Bella. I hate that I can't comfort you."

"I'm happy you're alive," she said. "I'm worried about you and I love you. I'm afraid you won't want me. Especially after what I did!"

Fuck the pain. I pulled on Bella's hand and she stubbornly sat still, her crying becoming hysterical. "Bella, moving is an issue. I can't just lay here while you cry. Please, let me hold you," I choked out.

"I'll hurt you," she whimpered, curling up.

"I don't care. I need to hold you," I said. She sniffled and crawled onto the bed, gingerly wrapping her arms around me. I lifted my one arm, holding her as tightly as I could. Every inch of me burned in agony, but I didn't care. My girl, my love, had gone through this alone and I wasn't there. Feeling my arm around her body, caused her to grip my hospital gown and her tears, silent, but steady, soaked my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Bella. I wish ..."

"It's not your fault, Edward," she said, her voice raspy and unbearably sad. She shuddered, trying to move away. "I've got to be hurting you."

"You are, but I don't fucking care. I need to hold you as much as you need to be held," I whispered, closing my eyes. If my eyes were closed, I didn't have to contend with the blurry vision. I prayed that it was just temporary. What good is a mob boss who can't see when he fires a gun? Focus on your girl, Cullen. I turned my head, kissing her forehead and she snuggled closer, tension leaving her body. Her tears slowed and she seemed to melt against me. "Better?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I've been held, hugged and loved on by everyone in your family, plus Jacob and Uncle Jimmy. I love them all, but it's not the same. I wanted you. I needed you. You were right there, so close, but no fully here."

"Nightmares?" I asked.

"More like night terrors," she choked out. "I know I'm fucked in the head right now." She shivered, curling up even tighter and snuggling closer to me.

"I know that this is last thing on your mind, but what about school?"

"I'm not going back," Bella replied. "I can't ... I want to, but I think my time would be better spent by your side. I'm still going to practice psychology, but I'm going to help your guys. PTSD is a big deal, Edward. I know I'm struggling with it and that you will, at some point, have some form of it. I want to be able to help them. When I'm not acting like your psychologist, I'm going to be assisting you in HR in your office. Pull background checks and whatnot. I've already emailed my advisor, informing her that I was not going to continue with the program."

"When did you do that?" I asked, idly playing with her hair.

"While you were sleeping," she murmured. "I haven't been home. I've been staying here. Jake got my laptop and I ..."