I have underestimated Luke. Underestimated his level of obsession, and also his reach.

He has hired a team of private investigators. He is relentless in his pursuit of my Bella. He is sniffing around too much. Making too much noise. Her face is plastered over every major news outlet.

Pop princess gone missing?

Rumors of nervous breakdowns abound. Fans theorizing a possible connection to her father's disappearance. Questions. Questions that I can't have. The agency can't know she is with me. And so it is time for me to quash the problem.

River arrives at seven, two hours later than he said he would. We give each other a brief nod, and then he asks me where the girl is.

If there is anyone I trust, it's River. We were in the sanitarium together as children. I did not speak, and he spoke too much. And as luck would have it, he ended up being my roommate.

He was annoying. Psychotic. But mellow, most of the time. And mellow was what I needed. When I wouldn't speak to him, he started writing me notes. In code. My brain liked the challenge. It took me a week to figure it out. He was smart, like me. So we wrote to each other. In code.

I didn't tell him my secrets, and he didn't tell me his. We just talked. About stupid things. But it was nice to talk about stupid things. When everyone else looked at me like I was the worst of humanity. Like I was a monster.River never did.

He was my first friend. My only friend. And he is the only person I would trust to look after my Bella.

I have no need to call her out of her room. When she hears the door close, she comes on her own. Her face flashes with surprise and then fear when she sees that we have a visitor. The same visitor I tricked her with before.

River smiles at her, juggling an apple between his palms.

"Hello, Isabella."

"You know my name?" she asks.

Her eyes flicker to me, and she bites her lip. She wants him to be someone other than who he really is. A knight come to save her.

She wants to tell him about her monster. How I am keeping her here against her will. About the dirty things I do to her, but not how much she really loves them. The things he has already seen with his own eyes.

"Of course I do," he answers. "My friend Javi here has told me so much about you."

My cheeks heat, and I want to tell her that's a lie. I've told River very little about her. But he is nosy. And this is his way of getting information. I have no doubt he will ask her plenty when I'm gone, while she tries to persuade him to set her free.

"I'm leaving," I announce.

Both of them look at me. River takes a bite of his apple, and Bella's eyes grow wide.

Afraid.

River is watching me carefully as I go to her, but I do not care. I touch her cheek. It has been so long since I've allowed myself to touch her. To feel her. To breathe her in.

I want her. I want her to let me have her.

"You are mine, Bella," I assure her. "Only mine."

It is the right thing to say. Her shoulders relax, and she leans into my touch. It surprises me.

River smirks. I don't care.

"Where are you going?" Bella asks.

"I have some business to take care of."

She doesn't know about Luke. She doesn't know about the trouble he has gone to in order to find her. She also doesn't know that I've been looking for her father myself. And that Luke isn't the only matter I am leaving for today.

"How long will you be gone for?"

Her lip trembles and something wrenches inside of my chest. An urge to comfort her. To tell her it’s okay. But that would be a lie.

She is with me. And it is not okay.

"I will be back soon enough."

"That's what my father always used to say."

She retreats, and I feel the loss of her immediately. My hand is cold when I shove it into my pocket and turn away.

River gives me a nod before I go. One that says everything I need to know.

He will take care of her.