Caught in the Flames

Chapter One Hundred Forty

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 140

EPOV

Alice's store.

The call was at Alice's store.

That's why the address was so familiar.

I could see the mere hint of flames in the window. It was still contained, thankfully. Garrett and I barked out orders, wanting to put an end to this fire, quickly and with as little damage as possible. Alice would be heartbroken if anything happened to her store. She was so proud of it. I broke open the front door and strode inside. I knew the store would be empty. In theory. Alice and her employees didn't normally show up until after nine for their ten o'clock opening. However, it didn't stop me from shouting, "Fire department! Call out!"

Habits die hard.

I heard a weak, "Help!" in the back. Confused as to why there was someone in the store, I nodded to Ben, walking quickly to the rear of my sister's store. Pushing through the door, I saw Bella's mother tied up in a chair. Her eyes were wide and she was squirming. Through the hazy air, I could see her skin blister. She had received one of James' lethal acid pills presumably. I heard the door slam behind me and a strong metallic screech. I turned around, seeing James leaning casually against a file cabinet holding a non-descript flame thrower from the grocery store.

Through my mask, I could hear a panicked pounding on the wooden door that was now blocked by James, the file cabinet and the growing flames, moving toward the exit, going in search of more air to fuel the fire. "Lieutenant! I can't open the door," Ben hollered through the door. "Was it backdraft?"

"Nope," James answered quietly. Only Renee and I heard his utterance. "Your lieutenant is going to die." His face drew up into an evil sneer, growling lowly.

"Edward!" Ben shouted. "Answer me!" The pounding on the door grew faster, more insistent.

"I suggest you get out of here unless you want to become human barbeque. I need to have a conversation with Lieutenant Cullen. We have much to discuss. Namely my girlfriend and why he felt it okay to touch what WASN'T HIS!" James snarled, louder this time. Ben's knocking stopped. Blowing out a breath, James collected himself. Calmly, he added, "And time is of the essence. I've got less than twenty minutes before Renee spontaneously combusts."

"We'll get you out, sir," Ben said, his voice anxious.

"No, you won't," James sang. He sauntered over to me and pulled my oxygen mask from my face and disconnecting my radio. "I'll take this, Edward. Out of the three of us, I'll be the one getting out of here alive and you will be dead. I'll swoop in, taking back Isabella and keeping her in my care. This farce of a life that she's leading is over."

"What do you want?" I asked, glaring at him. "Bella will never go with you. She hates you."

"No, she doesn't," James snorted. "She loves me and wants to be with me. Renee told me. Right, Renee?"

"Fuck you," Renee choked out. "You are a monster."

"No more a monster than you, Renee. This was your idea," James growled, backhanding Bella's mother.

"It was my idea to get her back with you, but I didn't want to fucking die," she screamed hysterically before she leaned forward, coughing deeply. She spit out bright red blood and she moaned, falling back against the chair she was tied to. "That money that Bella inherited is mine!"

"Renee, you were just a means to an end," James said softly, caressing her hair. "Bella was my ultimate goal. She will be mine as will her money, her inheritance. With this douchebag out of the way, I can finally ..." Renee moaned, her skin blistering even further. "It looks like Renee won't make it another twenty minutes. No time to talk, Edward. I'm just going to have to kill you."

"Unlikely," I growled, looking at him. He was smaller than me. He had a muscular build, but I was bigger and trained. I would not die in this fire. I would kick his ever-loving ass and go home to my fiancée. He had other ideas. James just smirked, producing a very hefty hunting blade. I was shocked. I would have expected a gun from him.

No, he probably wants to see you struggle.

Or bleed out ...

In the blink of an eye, James attacked me. He hit me directly in the stomach, causing the air to whoosh out of my body. I fell to my knees. James back handed me. I landed on my hands, blowing out a harsh breath. I swept my leg underneath his as he cackled at how easily I went down. He landed heavily onto his back, grunting lowly. I straddled his waist, punching his face and brutally attacking him. He was not going to walk out of this building.

"Is that the best you got?" James taunted, blood pouring from his nose and from a fresh cut above his eye. "Because I can keep going ..." He rolled his hips and pushed me against the floor, his fists pummeling my chest. He jumped up, kicking me. I curled up, trying to protect myself. He roared, grabbing the collar of my jacket. He was smaller than me, but obviously very strong. He lifted me easily. "Bella downgraded with you, you pussy," he spat.

I thrust my elbow into his face, causing him stumble back. "How does it feel to fight someone who can fight back?"

"ARRRRRRGGGH!" James roared, running into me. I fell against Alice's large table that she used to sew her designs. The corner jabbed into my side. I groaned. James used my vocalization as a sign of weakness. He thrust the knife into my belly. "You are not going to win Bella, you fucker." He pulled the knife out of my stomach.

"Neither are you," I spat, weakly reaching for the knife. James just laughed evilly, stabbing me again. Unfortunately, he couldn't pull it out and it was stuck in my body. I knew he had done some serious damage. I was growing weaker by the second. I fell back against the table. My fingers grazed a pair of sharp scissors. Shaking my head, I picked up the scissors and bum rushed James. Using the last ounce of strength, I stabbed the scissors into James neck. He screamed, reaching for the scissors in his throat. I collapsed on the floor, my breathing becoming more and more shallow.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Renee burst into flames. James was stumbling, trying to blindly find the door in the back of the store. I was moaning, every inch of my body was in pain. It was a combination of my fight with James, the stab wound and now the flames starting to lick the edge of my suit. My alarm was blaring but I barely registered it. I was losing too much blood. As my mind faded to black, the last thing I remembered was reaching for my girl.

"Bella ..." I wheezed before darkness consumed me. I love you.

A/N: So ... don't throw sharp objects at me. What do you think happened with James? Do you think that Edward got to him? Will Edward be saved? Leave me some! Pretty, please?