Caught in the Flames

Chapter One Hundred Thirty

As always, none of this is mine. I'm just the perv who want to make our beloved Twilight characters swear, drink, and go at it like horny rabbits. This story will be a combination of love, suspense, some violence and steamy, sweaty sex.

Chapter 130

EPOV

"Damn it!" I snarled, pounding my hand on the arm of the chair.

"What did the chair do to you?" Peter asked as he ate the contraband that Emmett snuck in for him. We were all enjoying a large pizza from Aurelios with garlic bread and pop. I would have preferred beer, but it wouldn't be fair to the man on large amounts pain medication pumping through his system. "Seriously, Edward. What did the chair do to piss you off?"

"It's not the chair. It's Bella," I frowned, glaring at my silent cell phone. "I tried calling her after Halsted and Atwater left and it went straight to voicemail. I've left messages and she hasn't called me back. What if something happened to her? Should I fly down to Florida?"

"Edward, she probably has meetings and turned off her phone," Emmett offered.

"I agree," Peter nodded, popping in his pizza crust into his mouth. "She doesn't know what happened. This contract is a big deal and Bella probably turned off her phone so she could focus on the presentations. Did she text you when she arrived?"

"She did. But that was late last night," I answered, pulling up her last text which I received about eleven yesterday evening.

I'm here! My flight was delayed and I'm heading to the hotel. I love you. Talk to you tomorrow! Hopefully, with a new client under my belt! ;-) – Bella

"If I had to hazard a guess, she probably is out to dinner with the new client and finalizing the deal," Peter said, taking a chug of his Pepsi. He picked up his call button, poking at it.

"Dude, you totally have a hard-on for your nurse," Emmett snickered. "I don't blame you. Charlotte's hot."

"I need to go to the bathroom," Peter snickered. "And I don't want either of you to hold my dick."

"Bullshit," Emmett coughed.

Peter flipped off my best friend and waited for the nurse, Charlotte, to come into the room. However, when a manly-looking nurse's technician ambled in. "What do you need?" she asked gruffly.

"Um, uh, some more pain medication," Peter whimpered, his eyes widening in shock. Emmett was barely containing his laughter and I was biting my lip to not double over in hysterics. It was a nice distraction to see Peter be all flustered at his dreams of Charlotte, his sexy nurse, not show up. "My burn is, um, hurting."

"I'll have to check with your doctor," she replied, waddling out of the room and shooting both me and Emmett a glare. She also looked at the pizza longingly before huffing angrily as she went back to the nurse's station.

"Denied!" Emmett bellowed, falling out of his chair. "Nurse Ratchet was not who you expected, was it?"

"Shut up, douche," Peter grumped. "Charlotte is the one bright spot in this whole nightmare. Not her." He shuddered. "I think she has a beard."

"She does," Emmett snorted.

"Stop making fun of Nurse Ratchet," I chastised. Peter's frown deepened and Emmett kept chuckling. I threw a pizza crust at him, arching a brow at him. As Emmett bent down picked the pizza crust, stuffing it into his mouth, Charlotte breezed in. She was holding a syringe, presumably filled with Peter's pain medication.

"Peggy said that you were in pain, Peter," she murmured. "Are you okay?"

"Not really," Peter answered, his skin flushing a bright pink.

I got up, nodding to Emmett. He was leaning back, watching the budding relationship between a patient and his nurse with rapt attention. "Emmett! Let's get some coffee from the cafeteria," I hissed.

"Nah, I'm good," Emmett replied, crossing his feet at the ankles. I got up from my seat, grabbing Emmett's arm and physically dragging him out of the room. "Edward, come on. Seeing Peter attempt to flirt is hysterical."

"Will you stop being such a moron?" I sighed, glaring at him. "He just lost everything and ..." My phone rang from my back pocket. My heart stopped. Nervously, I reached for it and saw Bella's number. I swiped my thumb across the screen, pressing my phone my ear. "Oh, thank God. Bella, I've been trying to get ahold of you all day." I fell back against the wall and slid to the ground, a few tears slipping down my cheeks.

"I had my phone turned off. The meetings were pretty intense and I wanted to make sure I wasn't distracted. This is a huge account. Is everything okay? You sound upset," she said, her voice tight.

"Bella ..." I whispered, covering my eyes as more tears streaked down my cheeks.

"Who did he get this time?" she asked, her voice dead and emotionless. "Who did he kill?"

"No one, sweet girl," I breathed. "Peter was the target, but he's fine. I was just concerned since you were in Florida – that you were in danger – your mom?" Over the tinny speakers, I heard her begin to cry. Shit. "Bella, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"I'm so over this," she cried. "When will it stop?"

"I don't know, love," I said soothingly, wishing I could take her in my arms. "Do you want me to fly down there?"

"No, Edward. That's not necessary," she sniffled. "It's just been a trying day and the news about Peter shocked me. Is he alright?"

"He's got some burns along his right side and a minor concussion from a scuffle with James. He, unfortunately, lost everything. When he's released from the hospital, he'll be staying with us. If you don't mind ..." I trailed off.

"No, of course! He can stay in the guest bedroom," Bella said, sounding impossibly tired. "Edward, I'll be back to Chicago tomorrow. We can talk more about this when I'm home."

"Bella ... I'm so sorry ..." I whispered.

"I've got to go, Edward," she said hurriedly.

"Okay," I frowned. "I love you." But, I had said it to dead air. She was gone. I prayed that she wouldn't pull away from me completely. My heart clenched at the prospect. I couldn't lose her.

A/N: Will Bella pull away? What will happen? Leave me some!