FAGE 9 — THE LAST RIDE

TITLE — SHADOW

WRITTEN BY — ForeverRobsessed

WRITTEN FOR — JM Shaw (AKA WitchyVampireGirl)

RATING — MA

PROMPT USED — Don't You Wanna Stay by Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson

BANNER ARTIST — Mina Rivera

If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this exchange visit the facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the community below to your alerts to get all the stories directly to your inbox.

community/FAGE-9-The-Last-Ride/93625/

CHAPTER 1: CONUNDRUM

Soft, but sure footsteps echoed in the dark room. He walked straight to the chest of drawers in the corner, pulling a key from his pocket. He crouched low and turned it in the lock to open the bottommost drawer. Inside, his hand searched deep until it came across the object it sought — a flat, black, rectangular box. He hadn't set eyes on it since he'd last stuffed it in there. He hadn't needed to even think of it ever since.

But tonight . . . he had to go back to a past he had hoped to never revisit, even in his thoughts.

So, he plucked the lid open with steady fingers. His throat bobbed with a swallow as he inspected the gleaming metal. His gaze roamed over the magazine and the ammunition. Nimble fingers made quick work of loading it, having forsaken, but not forgotten the habit.

Once it was full, he slipped the magazine back in, pulled back on the slide, and then placed the gun back in the box.

He had a little while before he needed to head out.

He replaced the box in its spot, taking a moment to consider whether or not to carry a knife along, too. It was highly unlikely that he'd be able to keep his weapons on his person before he met Aro, but that wouldn't stop him from going in prepared.

Or perhaps it was better to appear as less of a threat as possible? After all, he wasn't looking for a fight.

Pursing his lips, he considered the conundrum, only to be startled when the light was flicked on suddenly.

He turned swiftly, only to find deep brown orbs staring at him with a hint of fire in their depths.

Her gaze flashed to the drawer behind him for just a second, but it was enough to make her lips press down in a firm line.

"What were you doing, Edward?"

Her voice was almost flat, but he knew it well enough to hear the slight quiver she attempted to veil.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. He didn't know what to say. They'd gone over this repeatedly in the past one week, ever since Felix had turned up at his workplace, his steel grey eyes conveying a silent message.

"Edward?" Bella prompted again, expecting an answer although they both knew she had realized why he was there.

"I have to go see him, Bella," Edward tried for the umpteenth time.

She thrust her hands into her hair and cried, "No, you don't!"

"He sent Felix to let us know he's found us. He sent the hotel's address to get me to see him."

"Do you even hear yourself? You talk as if you know the man."

Edward took a step forward. "I do know him," he insisted. "I spent half my life in his crew. I know how he works, how he thinks."

A sob caught in her throat and she shook her head. Suppressing it with a deep breath, she walked over to Edward, and placed her hands on his cheeks. "You say you know him, and yet you're ready to walk into his trap," she eked out in a strangled whisper. "If you know him so well, why are you trying to go back to him?"

Edward sighed, pulling her closer and tucking her head under his chin. He breathed in the scent of her hair as he murmured, "I don't want to go back to him. I left that life behind the moment I realized I loved you, Bella. But I don't have a choice. If I don't go to him, he'll come here. And I can't have him anywhere near you."

"Because Aro would love to kill me for taking his most trusted man away from him forever." She pulled back to look at him. Tears shimmered in her eyes, and they sent agony rippling through his chest. "Just like he'd love to kill you for walking away from him."

"He let me leave back then," Edward argued, though he couldn't muster enough conviction in his voice.

"We ran away in the middle of the night," she amended.

"But we never would've gotten out of the city if he'd really intended to stop us, Bella. You know that."

Her shoulders shook in his arms. "What are you saying? He let us go then, so that means he doesn't hold a grudge against us?" She sniffled. "You know as well as I do that's not true. We changed our goddamn identities, Edward! We moved as far away as we could. If he didn't harbor any resentment, why would he go through the trouble of looking for us? Just to catch up?" She sneered in disgust. "He's playing with you! Luring you out to walk into his sick trap."

His arms tightened around her waist. "Even so, I can't . . . I need to go speak to him."

"Why?" she cried.

"I can't have him come here!" Edward replied, frustration seeping into his voice. "We escaped, Bella, but we've never been completely free. The shadow of my past has always loomed upon us. Maybe this one last meeting can chase it away. Aro can get it out of his system, and we can finally put it all behind us. Whatever it is he wants from me, I can handle anything as long as it doesn't involve you."

"You promised." Her voice broke. "You promised me you'd break all ties."

Edward's eyes tightened. He lifted his hand to show her the wedding band that adorned his finger. "I know. But I also promised to love you and protect you until my dying breath. If I have no choice but to break one of those promises, I have no doubt which one I'd keep."

A/N — Firstly, I'd like to express my gratitude to the wonderful ladies who worked on this with me: snoopylover60, Payton79, Ninkita, and Pamela. I couldn't have done this without you.

This story comprises of six chapters, all of which will be posted today.

Finally, and most importantly, JM Shaw, I hope you enjoy it!

Pics for each chapter can be found in my FB group – Fanfiction by ForeverRobsessed

I'll see you in an hour or so.