Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Intensity

By Mama4Dukes

Chapter 05:

A/N: With this chapter, I must state that in no way am I indicating that I am an expert on tribal governments. I mean no disrespect to the Quileute Nation and I am expressly stating that this is a work of fiction. The Quileutes actually have a beautiful culture and a wonderful tribal infrastructure. I also want to point out that the fact that the shapeshifters are restricted to the reservation is actually canon. Bear in mind, Sam had to give up a college scholarship and stay on the reservation to protect it, and Jacob pointed out he could never leave the reservation. You’d better believe Paul is going to challenge the theory. I don’t like it and neither do Bella or he. On to the chapter.

Jake’s POV

This is bullshit! Why the hell does Paul Lahote get to imprint on my ex-girlfriend? There should be an imprinting law banning that sort of thing. Having her near Angela and me was uncomfortable to say the least. Unfortunately, we needed her skills to help deliver Leah’s baby.

When we caught sight of them at Disneyland, I freaked out. Not only had we not seen Paul in five years, but to see him with Bella really hurt. How could she do that to me? On top of that, the two of them looked happy-happier than I’d ever seen either of them before. Everyone else didn’t have a problem with the couple. Even my oldest son, Will, liked Bella. He now has a full-blown crush on her, not that I blame him.

The thing that bothers me the most is how uncomfortable Bella’s presence is to Angela. I don’t like it when Angela is upset, and that “bitch” comment that Bella made was downright rude. I can’t believe Paul stepped in to protect her. She deserved a dress down for talking to my imprint like that.

I was extremely angry with Charlie Swan and Sue Clearwater for hiding the fact that Paul and Bella had imprinted from me. Ever since I imprinted on Angela, Charlie hasn’t spoken about Bella, and he rarely, if ever, speaks to me. He claims it’s none of my business. Now that Paul has imprinted on her, it’s definitely tribal business. I informed the elders without anyone’s knowledge about the situation. Paul is going to be hauled back to La Push for a tribal meeting so we can address the Bella Swan situation. I told them they weren’t married nor was Bella pregnant. Tony Fuller was extremely pleased with the news and said we’d start working on the situation as soon as I returned to La Push from California in two days.

Bella’s POV

Oh, my Lord, I’m exhausted. I haven’t pulled an all-nighter in a while, but I felt just as strongly as Paul did that we needed to get out of California. What time is it anyway? Four in the afternoon? Holy crap! This is going to throw our sleep schedule off. Usually, we’re both up by six am.

“Paul, Paul honey, wake up.”

“Hmmrr…”

“Come on, baby, it’s time to wake up.”

“Nnnhhmmrr…”

“Paul!”

“I’m up! I’m up!” He bolted awake. “What time is it?

“Four in the afternoon.”

“Man, I was tired.” He got out of bed, slung me over his shoulder, and started the shower.

“Uh, honey, we’ve got to take our clothes off.”

“Oh, yeah… I’m so out of it.”

A quick shower later and we were dressed and out of our hotel room. We stopped at the concierge desk to find out how to get married. It was a piece of cake. All we had to do was get a marriage license and find a place to get married. The licensing bureau was open until midnight so there was no rush.

“Good, let’s find a place to eat. I’m starving,” Paul said.

We got a bite to eat on the strip before heading to the licensing bureau. It took five minutes for us to fill out the form and for a marriage license to be issued to us.

“Um, Paul?”

“Hm?”

“Don’t we need wedding rings?”

“Oh, yeah, good thinking, babe. Let’s see what we can get at the Forum Shops.”

We opted for simple platinum wedding bands from Tiffany and Company.

“Paul, would you mind if I met you somewhere in the mall in say, an hour? I kind of wanted to get married in a wedding gown.” I did. I never really wanted a big wedding, but I always wanted to get married in a white gown. Crazy, I know, but it’s how it’s always been.

He winked, smiled, and told me to have fun.

A half an hour later, I found a gown and a veil I liked at Carolina Herrera. It wasn’t a wedding gown, per se, it was a white evening gown with some silver details. I’d be able to use this again at an evening function so it wouldn’t be a waste of money. This being Las Vegas, they had a tailor on site who could do quick alterations. They said they’d have it ready for me by seven pm. Satisfied, I left the shop and walked around the mall. I stopped to pick up a pair of silver, strappy high-heeled sandals, which I could wear even after the wedding and some lingerie for the wedding night. I went back to Carolina Herrera and asked them to hold the items here until I picked my dress up. By then, it was time to meet my fiancé.

“I have to pick my dress up at seven pm.”

“That’s fine, I have to pick my tux up around that time, too. Let’s find a place to get married and make arrangements.”

Back at the hotel, we scoured the Internet on Paul’s laptop to find a chapel, any chapel, which would marry us. It was turning out to be harder than we thought. This week, apparently, was busier than usual.

“I suppose we can do a drive-thru wedding,” I suggested.

“Hell no! You bought a beautiful dress and I want to see you walk down the aisle in it.”

But, Paul…”

“No, buts, where there’s a will there’s a way and I just had a great idea. Wait here, I have to talk to the concierge.” Paul kissed me on the lips and left the hotel room.

Well, good, I’m glad he thought of something because I’m fresh out of ideas. I’m still freaked out by what Quil, Embry, Rachel, and Jessica said. How could the tribal council not want the best in life for the members of the tribe? It simply didn’t make sense to me.

Rachel and I have always gotten along, but it was Jessica who surprised me the most. I thought Jacob and Angela hiding their imprint from me was bad, but we were all still in high school back then. Jessica had it much worse. The fact that Mike fathered two children with Lauren while he was married to Jessica must have killed her. I’m glad she had Embry now. I’ve always liked him.

Paul was back at the hotel in no time with a victorious smile on his face. “I did it! Let’s go and get some dinner. The concierge suggested Spago at the Forum Shops. We can pick up our outfits then.

After picking up my gown and his tux, we met at Spago where we had a wonderful dinner.

“You know, honey, if I didn’t love you so much, I think I’d marry Wolfgang Puck solely for his culinary skills.”

“I can understand that, I think I’d be willing to go the other way for this food. Notice he has wolf in his name?” He chuckled appreciatively.

By the time we were done with dinner, it was already past nine pm. We walked back to the hotel where I was abruptly handed over to some woman-wedding dress and all.

“Hello, my name is Jennifer, I’ll be getting you ready for your wedding.”

“Oh, I’m Bella.”

“A pleasure to meet you Bella.” She smiled and led me upstairs to a bridal suite where she had a bath all ready to go for me. “Please take your time bathing, and then I’ll do your hair and makeup.”

I soaked in the tub for about a half an hour before going to Jennifer. There was a room set up like a beauty salon and I was instructed to sit. Jennifer washed my hair and asked what I wanted to do. I told her to just make me look good. She cut and styled my hair then put it in an updo. After that, she applied my make up. She instructed me to use the ladies room before putting on my gown because it would be difficult to do after I was in it.

When I was done using the ladies room, she placed the veil I had purchased on my head. It was time for me to get into my gown. A couple of minutes later, I was ready to take a look at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t believe it was me in the mirror. She did such a fabulous job.

“You look beautiful, but something’s missing. I can’t quite pinpoint it. Ah… I know. For you, from Mr. Lahote.” Jennifer handed me a small box from Tiffany and Company. I opened it and inside were a pair of heart shaped, drop earrings encrusted with diamonds. I was so overwhelmed; I had tears in my eyes.

Jennifer dabbed my eyes with a tissue and fixed my make up. I put the earrings on-they were stunning. “Now, you’re ready,” Jennifer assured me. “Ooh. We’re running a bit late, we need to go.”

Jennifer led me upstairs to… our hotel suite? Okay, maybe we were picking Paul up. She knocked and the door was opened for us. I couldn’t believe it. The entire downstairs of the two-story suite had been transformed into a wedding sanctuary. There were pink rose petals scattered all over the floor, which led to an arch with vines and roses twisted all around. Paul stood by the arch waiting for me looking as handsome as ever in his tuxedo with a big smile on his face.

Paul’s POV

The sight before me transfixed me. Bella looked stunning in a form fitting strapless wedding gown. She was given a bouquet and instructed to walk down the aisle. When she finally reached my side I was totally mesmerized. We said our vows, had the first of many kisses as a married couple, and the minister announced, “Congratulations, at precisely midnight on December 31st-you’ve become Mr. and Mrs. Paul Lahote.” He, then, played our song, James Ottos’s ‘Just Got Started Loving You,’ and instructed us to have our first dance together. We swayed to the beat of the song feeling complete and in love with each other.

After the ceremony was done, photos of us were taken inside and outside on the hotel grounds. Back at the hotel room, everyone congratulated us before going on their way taking the wedding props with them. I lucked out when I made the arrangements. The props, including the strewn rose petals were actually from a wedding held in the afternoon. When I was talking to the concierge, the wedding planner happened to overhear us and offered the props to us for use in our room. She said the flowers and whatnot were headed for the compost bin anyway, but they were still in perfect shape. There was no way we would have been able to purchase flowers for the wedding with all of the florists completely sold out. As it was, the bouquet and the boutonniere were from a wedding, which had been cancelled at the last minute. I tried talking her into setting the wedding up, but she said that, unfortunately, she had dinner plans. She cancelled the plans after I offered her three thousand bucks in cash for her services. In fact, she put together a crew of three, including a photographer, and I paid them each fifteen hundred dollars in cash. I wanted to make this wedding special for Bella.

Unbeknownst to my wife; Charlie, Sue, Phil, and Renee had been watching the proceedings via live webstream from their computer at home. I put in a call to them after everyone left and they congratulated us. “I wish you could have been there Charlie,” I said.

“ Call me, dad-son.” That actually brought tears to my eyes. I’d never called anyone dad in my entire life. My father wasn’t in the picture when I was growing up and when he was there, he’d be beating my mother or me up in a drunken rage.

After talking to Phil and Renee, who were overjoyed, I carried my wife upstairs to the bedroom. We took in the view of the Las Vegas strip for a bit. Then I kissed her. Bella removed my tuxedo jacket and laid it over a chair, then started working on my tie. One by one, she undid the buttons on my shirt until my chest was exposed. She ran her soft hands over it and kissed me. I took the opportunity to unzip her dress. I helped her out of it and laid it carefully over the chair.

She was wearing a white silk bustier, which laced up in the front with a pair of white silk thong underwear that tied at the sides with baby blue ribbons and a garter belt. My cock, which was already standing at attention, was now raring to go. I took my clothes off and stood in my boxers. I carried Bella to the bed, heels and all and laid her down.

Oh man, what if I cum before I even make it inside of her? I ran my hands over my goddess and stopped at her breasts. I loosened the ties on her bustier so her breasts popped out. Damn me, if this wasn’t a porn worthy sight. I wonder if she’d let me film her? I took her right nipple into my mouth while flicking the other one with my finger. I could tell Bella’s anticipation was building. I moved my hand down to her mound and stroked her over panties. I untied the ribbons on the side and flung her thong to the side, and then kissed my way down her sweet body.

“Paul, please,” she begged. She wanted me inside. I teased her with my fingers. “Paul!”

I couldn’t deny her any longer. I plunged inside of her in one fell swoop and damn if her pussy didn’t feel good on my cock.

“Oh God, yes. Keep going!” Bella cried as I fucked her pussy relentlessly. I decided that I wanted her doggie style so I pulled out of her and flipped her over. She thought I was playing with her. “No!”

I thrust inside of her from behind and ran my fingers through her hair, scattering the pins all over the bedroom.

“Oh, yeah, baby. You’re perfect like that. Keep fucking me like that.” I had fisted Bella’s hair and she was pounding herself back onto me over and over again. I was balls deep inside of her when I felt her walls clench on me. I came instantly at the same time and sunk my teeth into her neck again. Again? Again? This is the third time I’ve marked her and the second time in one week. What the heck is wrong with me? If this keeps up, I’m going to turn into a vampire.

I looked at my imprint who was moaning in ecstasy. She didn’t seem to be in pain at all. What the hell is wrong with her? Teeth hurt.

“Baby? Babe!”

“Hmm?” Bella smiled deliriously at me.

“Didn’t that hurt?”

“What? The bite?”

“Yeah.”

“No, it only hurt the first time. The second and the third time they became increasingly-um, I don’t know… erotic?”

Erotic? How could a bite be erotic? I brought my arm up to my mouth and bit down. “Ow!”

“What the hell are you doing?” Bella asked, alarmed looking at my now bleeding arm.

“I wanted to see if my teeth felt erotic. They don’t, by the way.”

“Of course, they don’t. Kim and Emily think that after the first time, a bite doesn’t hurt because you instinctively mark the same spot, and because it only happens when we orgasm together.” She got up and grabbed her medical bag.

“You talked about it to them?”

“Of course I did. Who else was I supposed to talk to about it? My mother? They said each time it happens to them, it feels like an orgasm on top of an orgasm.”

“So, Sam and Jared have bitten them more than once?”

“Yes,” she confirmed, as she cleaned my wound and wrapped it in gauze.

“I feel better now. I thought a wolf only marked his imprint once. I got scared after I marked you twice in one week.”

“No, in fact, Kim said she was once marked three times in the course of one night.”

“Figures. Jared is such a perv.”

“You’re a perv too and I like my personal perv,” Bella said, kissing me. “Thank you for tonight. It was more than I ever dreamed of.”

“Anything for you, baby.” We laid down on the bed and I held her until we both fell asleep. I woke up at 7 am with the sun streaming through the windows and coaxing our eyelids open. Bella was still sleeping in her bustier and garter with no panties. Hot damn! I’m not going to deny myself my wife. I decided the best way to wake her up was to make love to her softly and slowly.

Later that afternoon…

I suck at gambling. I really do. I’m positive all of the slot machines have been programmed to deny me my win. My wife, on the other hand, seemed to be winning each time she pulled down on the damned handle. Of course, we were only playing quarter slots so we weren’t winning much, but still.

“Look! I won three hundred dollars!” Bella squealed. Her machine was going haywire spurting out quarters all over the place. I helped her gather the coins up and we brought it to the cashier to have her exchange it for bills.

“It’s New Year’s Eve, what should we do?”

“Whatever you want, my treat. I’ve got three hundred bucks,” she joked.

“Let’s go buy tacky, tourist t-shirts, which say Las Vegas on it.”

“Okay.”

I kissed the mark that I gave her. Bella shivered at my touch.

She placed the money she had won in my pocket, and then whispered, “Hey, big boy. How about I give you three hundred bucks for you to come back to my hotel room with me so I can have my way with you?”

She didn’t have to ask me twice. I piggy-backed her all the way back to our suite and we got down and dirty together until our stomachs were screaming for food because we had missed lunch and it was way past dinnertime. There were four bedrooms in the suite inspired by Absolut Vodka that we were staying in and we tested out each and every one of them. We decided the Absolut Peach room was our favorite, but it might be because of the oversized spa bathtub for two located in the room. I was on my knees inspecting the tub when Bella walked in and asked what I was doing.

“I’m looking for the name of the manufacturer of this tub so we can switch our bathtub out for this one.”

“Can’t you just call the designer of the room and ask? It’s plastered all over the suite that the room is designed and constructed by the ‘esteemed Rockwell Group.’ What the hell makes them so esteemed anyway?” she asked. “Paul! You’ve disassembled the fixtures.”

“I’ll put it back together. Got it! They always hide the name behind the V-pop. Hand me a pad and pen, baby.” I wrote the name of the manufacturer down and, finally satisfied, we were off to dinner. The only problem was that it was New Year’s Eve and every place was packed. We ended up having to eat at the buffet at Circus Circus. It wasn’t bad. It was just that I wanted to have something a little more special for Bella and my first night as husband and wife; but as she pointed out, we overindulged at fancy restaurants in California so maybe this was just what we needed.

After dinner, we walked the crowded Las Vegas strip with the rest of the New Year’s Eve revelers. The shows were all completely sold out and even the movie theaters were, so we joined in the festivities on the strip. We were actually having a blast.

We stopped to get a caricature of the two of us drawn. We also bought our tacky Las Vegas t-shirts, which we were going to wear tomorrow like the tourists we were.

“Bella, after our spa day tomorrow can you help me pick out a couple of new suits for that meeting I have with the big wigs next week?”

“Yep, I was going to say it’s time you donated some of your suits anyway. The knees on one of your pants are actually almost transparent-that’s really bad considering they’re navy blue.”

“Yeah, but it’s my favorite suit. I’ve had it for seven years.”

“That’s obvious. Stop pouting. You know I don’t give two rats about appearance, but when the homeless guy near my job has clothes in better condition than yours it’s time for new ones.”

Two things I love about Bella. She doesn’t go nuts spending money on clothes, and only replaces items when it’s necessary. Second, she doesn’t hold her opinions back.

“Oh and Paul? You also need new underwear. Those boxers with the elastic that’s all stretched out looks more like a piece of gauze when you hold them up-um, no. The others aren’t faring much better either.”

“I draw the line there. Those are my lucky boxers. You can take the rest, but the gauze stays. Do you think, if I take them to the dry cleaners-he’ll put in new elastic for me?”

“Please don’t do that, I usually pick the dry cleaning up.”

Hehe, I’m gonna do that just to embarrass her. Yes, indeed.

Three months later…

We rang in the New Year in Las Vegas and three days later we were back in Phoenix and back at work. Three months had gone by and I was sitting at a meeting at the department of transportation, mentally praying to Taha Aki that they accept my proposal. My lawyer, Grant, was sitting with me just in case they accepted it.

The governor suddenly stood up and faced me. “Paul, congratulations. Your proposal was the best out of the twenty we looked at. Why don’t we let our lawyers hash out all of the details, and then come back to sign the contract after lunch?”

“Sounds great.” I nodded to Grant to take care of our end of the negotiations.

After a long, boring lunch during which the governor droned on and on about the next election, we signed the contract and shook hands.

“My wife is having a luncheon on Sunday, Isabella has already accepted,” the chairman of the transportation board told me. “Maybe we can do a round of golf while the women are having lunch. Steve will be there, too, as will Crispy.”

Steve Norton and Crispin Hodges were friends of mine. Steve was actually my accountant while Crispy was a lawyer for the Department of Education. He was a member of the Wa-Ya Indian Nation here in Arizona. “Sure, just have your secretary call mine with the time, and I’ll meet you at the club.”

Bella was a trooper. She knew how important hobnobbing with the political types were so she did it for me. She said she didn’t mind much because each time she met with them, she realized how ridiculous their lives were. Most of the wives couldn’t believe Bella actually worked for a living. She just took it all in stride and told them she loved her profession and saw no need to stop doing something she loved doing.

After a short meeting with Grant and a quick check at several of my sites, I headed for home, feeling as high as a kite. Initial estimates for the five-year reconstruction were at sixteen and a half billion dollars with a built in reserve of nine billion dollars. I knew it was most likely going to go over the amount, but I’d stay as close to it as possible.

I’d have to hire at least a hundred new permanent employees, on top of about two thousand temporary ones. I planned on Sam being one of them. I also planned on hiring Jared, but I had to convince him to get his GED first or there was no deal. I couldn’t relax my standards, even for a friend.

I was about five minutes away when I felt a sharp tug on my chest urging me to get home. Something was wrong with my imprint. At the same time, my cell phone rang with the Star Wars theme. “Hello?” I answered, desperately.

“ Get to your house now! I just found out Old Man Quil, Tony Fuller, and Jake left Seattle this morning for Arizona. Bella was talking to Jess when she saw them walking up to the front door. She has her cell phone on so we’ve been listening in,” Embry said frantically. “Go! “

“Crap! I’ve gotta go. Thanks, I’ll call you later.”

A minute later, I pulled into the garage and overheard Bella yelling, “Hey! Take your hands off of me! You have no business touching my neck!”

I saw red. I broke down the door, flew into the living room, and pinned Tony Fuller up against the wall. “Touch my imprint again and you won’t live to tell the tale,” I warned. “Visitors, honey?”

“Yeah, the unwanted kind,” Bella seethed. “This guy, I don’t know who the fuck he is, wanted to check out my neck for some reason.”

“Is that so?” I asked, trying to stay in control of my wolf. I did a visual assessment of my imprint and saw that she was fine.

“Oh, and I didn’t even invite them into our house. They just forced their way in. I was about to call the cops.”

“Good idea, honey. Go ahead,” I suggested. My wife wagged her eyebrows at me. Fuller, Old Man Quil, and Jake looked panicked. “Now, what the hell do you guys want?”

“We were checking up on you, Paul. We want to know why we weren’t informed of your imprinting. Matters like this have to be handled on a tribal level,” Old man Quil said.

“I don’t see it written in black ink.”

“Now, Paul, you know perfectly well that some things are done by word of mouth in the tribe due to your ‘special genetic traits.’”

“And what ‘special genetic traits’ might those be?” I knew he was talking about my being a wolf.

“You know…”

“Paul, you know he’s talking about the fact that you’re devastatingly handsome and intelligent compared to everyone else in the tribe. He digs ya,” Bella purred. God, I love my wife.

“Young lady, this is tribal business-we are tribal elders and as far as Paul and you are concerned, we are to be addressed with respect. You are making a mockery of these proceedings. Now, it’s obvious that you are an imprint, we would like to see for ourselves whether or not you are a marked imprint.”

“That’s none of your business, sir. This is my body and no one is touching it without my permission.”

“Jacob.” Fuller motioned to him to go to Bella. I had my wife shielded behind me in seconds and got up into Jake’s face.

“Let me ask you this, Jake. If I touched Angela without permission, what would you do to me?”

Jacob retreated, realizing I had a point.

“Paul Lahote, we are giving you and your imprint a tribal order to return to Quileute lands and face the elders. Furthermore, you are being ordered to marry and consummate your marriage within the La Push boundaries,” Old Man Quil commanded.

“Well, now, you might be able to give me an order-and that’s a big might, but honestly speaking, you can’t give my imprint an order. She’s not a member of the Quileute Indian Nation.”

“She will be once you return to La Push and marry.”

“Oh, didn’t she tell you? We got married last year. It was a beautiful ceremony, wasn’t it, honey?”

“Yes, dear, I loved the romantic setting you created and those beautiful diamond earrings you gave me. You also looked dashing in your tux.”

“How come she’s not wearing a wedding ring?” Jake asked.

“Oh, these rings?” She fished out a chain with her engagement and wedding band out of her shirt. “I don’t wear rings at work. I find they get in the way because I work with my hands so much. You know how that is, don’t you Jake? You’re a mechanic so you work with your hands. Do you wear your wedding ring at work?”

“Um, no, they get in the way,” he admitted.

Bella removed the rings from the chain and handed them to me. I placed them both on her left ring finger.

Jake, Fuller, and Old Man Quil all had twisted faces. They really looked like they were about to kill. Fuller finally spoke. “Paul Lahote, you are in direct violation of tribal laws. I’m ordering you to return to La Push with us. You and your imprint will annul your marriage and remarry on tribal land.”

“Don’t you dare come into my home and tell me what to do! I hate to tell you this, but this is not tribal land. This land belongs to Paul and Isabella Lahote. As such, it is private property. You have no jurisdiction whatsoever on this land, and even if we were in La Push, you wouldn’t be telling me what to do because Paul Lahote has always been his own man. I’ve done a lot for you, what the hell have you fuckers ever done for me?”

An argument ensued. I felt Bella slip her cell phone, which was still connected to Embry and Jessica, into my pocket. She disappeared into the upstairs bathroom for a few minutes. I heard her turn the tub water, the bathroom fan, and the vacuum cleaner on. What the hell was she doing? She turned everything off a couple of minutes later, walked back downstairs, and stood by my side where I was still arguing with Jake and the two elders. I kept a firm hold of her hand this time.

Five minutes after Bella came back downstairs, there was a knock on our door. I went to open it with Bella. “There was a call from this address to 911,” a uniformed police officer said.

“Yes, sir, it was me. My name is Isabella Lahote. This is my husband Paul. These three men forced their way into our home while my husband was at work. One of them, this one, put his hands on me.”

“Have you met these men before, ma’am?”

“Only one, sir-Jacob Black.”

The officer, then addressed me, “Sir, are you acquainted with these men?”

“Yes, sir, I know them from my previous residence on the Quileute Reservation in La Push, Washington. Two of these men are part of the tribal council there.” Arizona police were well acquainted with dealing with tribal governments. The state was teeming with sovereign Indian nations. This guy looked like he was Native American as well.

“Is your wife a member of the nation in question and were you married on tribal land?” Yep, he’s definitely of Native American descent. He knows way too much about the ins and outs of tribal law.

“No, sir, and we were married away from the reservation.”

The officer nodded his head and turned to my wife. “Would you like to press charges?”

“Not this time, sir, but I would like a restraining order put into place. After all, they forced themselves into my home when I specifically asked them to leave, and one of them put his hands on me. Wouldn’t those incidents count as forced entry and assault with intent to harm?”

“You’re well versed in police laws, Mrs. Lahote.”

“My father is the police chief in Forks, Washington, which is the town abutting La Push, where the trespassers are from. I’ll be putting a call into him as soon as these men are escorted off of this property.”

Well, that did it. If Bella hadn’t won the police officer over before, now she had him firmly on her side.

“Just so you know, Mrs. Lahote, you can bring up charges of forced entry and assault with intent to harm anytime in the next year. This is my card, if there are any further issues, please call me at anytime.” I quickly scanned the card, ‘Barry Blackfoot, Lieutenant,’ it read.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Blackfoot.”

“No problem. Gentlemen, if you would come with us-we ask that you leave the city limits immediately and refrain from contacting the Lahotes.” Lieutenant Blackfoot and his partner took some information from the three intruders, watched them get into their rental car, and followed them in their cruiser.

“Good job calling 911, honey.” I kissed her atop her head.

She fished her cell phone out of my pocket and put it on speakerphone. “Did you get that?”

“ Yeah, we heard everything. Those jerks have some nerve. I’ll tell Sue, Charlie, Billy, and Josh what went down-they’re definitely on our side. They now know that they can’t do a thing about Bella so they’re going to focus on you, Paul. Oh, get this. Jessica’s contract with the tribal school wasn’t renewed as of next year. They’re saying it’s because she wasn’t doing a satisfactory job. I know that Fuller and Old Man Quil were involved. We’re not worried, though, I make enough to support the two of us, and Jess can always teach elsewhere,” Embry stated.

“Alright, well, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help on my end. I have tons of connections in the Department of Education here in Arizona.”

“ Will do, man.” With that, Embry ended the call.

“Baby, are you okay?” I asked, lifting her hair up and checking her neck.

“I’m fine. I got a little scared when they forced themselves into the house. Maybe I shouldn’t have answered the door. Thank God, Embry came on the line and told me to keep the cell phone on.”

“Yeah, he called me when I was about three miles away. I freaked out and rushed home. I’m going to retain a lawyer for us, I think. I sense some legal trouble coming our way.”

“What about Crispy?” Bella liked the Hodges a lot. Crispy’s wife, Babs, was a nurse practitioner at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She and Bella hit it off instantly and the four of us frequently met for dinner.

“Crispy is a lawyer for the Arizona Department of Education, babe. I’m not so sure if tribal conflicts are his specialty-wouldn’t that fall under constitutional law?”

“I’m not so sure, maybe you should at least consult with him. I’m seeing Babs on Sunday, I can have her ask him.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I have a tee time with him at the club on Sunday, I’ll take him for drinks afterwards and bring it up then.” I walked to the sofa with my wife and sat down. I held her on my lap occasionally stopping to kiss her. I was on such a high until those traditionalist geezers invaded my home.

“Did you get the contract?” Bella asked.

“Yeah, I did. They approved it for sixteen point five billion with nine billion in reserve.” My face broke out into a grin. “What’s for dinner?”

“Whatever you want. We’re going out. I was going to make some Cornish game hens, but I didn’t have time to cook because of our visitors. They’ll keep until tomorrow.”

Now they’ve done it, those assholes have deprived me of Cornish game hen. I’m not happy. Not happy at all.

“Let’s get some Mexican food. Let me just throw some jeans on. Oh, and the governor spilled some of his drink on me during lunch so my suit needs to go to the cleaners.”

“Geez, each time you meet with the governor, he spills his drink on you. And it’s your new suit, too. Paul, is that a grease spot on your tie?”

“Huh, I guess it is.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’ll drop them both off at the cleaners on my way to work tomorrow.”

It was amazing how Bella and I worked in sync together. She handled the dry cleaners because it was right by her job. I always stopped for milk or bread or whatever we ran out of in the middle of the week because the supermarket was on my way home.

I was happy, ecstatic, and in total bliss. My wife was my world. I just hope the tribal council won’t do anything to fuck it all up.