The Man Who Can't Be Moved Ch 34 Teaser

As Sam slid the creamy yellow file folder toward me, my heart jumped into my throat. It seemed so harmless, yet so lethal at the same time. The papers were stacked thickly inside, showing me how much research and investigation Sam had done for me. Everything about James Eliot was inside; his place of birth, college transcripts, where he frequently hung out. It all was sitting there, waiting for me to lay it all out and solve the riddle. The answers I wanted were all right in front of me, and now, I couldn’t bring myself to look at them.

Because it would change everything.

I swallowed hard and let my hand creep out to open the folder, only to snatch it back into my lap. I wrung my hands together and tried to remember to breathe, but even though I was concentrating on the deep, even breaths of air moving in and out of my body, I still felt like I was suffocating.

“I can’t.”

Edward wrapped his arm around me comfortingly. “Yes, you can.”

I shook my head obstinately. “No. I can’t. I mean, my God, what if-“

Sam interrupted me. “Bella, no one says you have to look at this. I can just take the file back to the office and destroy it if you want.”

My eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You wouldn’t tell Edward what it was over the phone because it was that important to tell me in person and now you’re… just willing to take it back with you without me ever looking at it?”

Sam smiled. “Well…”

“I’m confused. It’s either so bad I need the two of you around to call the ambulance when I have a heart attack, or it’s no big deal at all and you have some kind of flare for the dramatic. Which is it? Because frankly, both of those options piss me off.”

Edward coughed a laugh next to me.

Sam’s smile widened. “I see why Jasper and Alice like you so much.” He took a sip of his coffee before continuing. “All right, here it is. It’s important information. Information that could, if you choose to let it, change your life. But there’s no danger if you never know. James is, for the most part, a very balanced individual.”

“How is that possible?” Edward asked in shock.

“Well, it seems that until he started digging into Bella’s background, James Eliot’s only offenses were minor traffic infractions,” Sam replied. “No more than your average citizen.”

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No cliffie this chapter. Promise.