They hit the main road, and their speed increased, the black of the night cloaking their surroundings in complete darkness.
The Jeep jolted violently on the dark road. Emmett and Alice both glared out the side windows as Edward focused on driving, muttering profanities angrily beneath his breath.
They were headed south, away from Forks.
"Where are we going?" Bella asked.
No one answered. She shared a glance with Kal. Worried. Frantic.
"Dammit, Edward! Where are you taking me?"
"We have to get you away from here — far away — now." He didn't look back, his eyes on the road.
The engine growled deeper as he pushed the car harder, the speedometer now reading one hundred and five miles per hour.
"Turn around! You have to take me home!" she shouted. Struggling with her belt and tearing at the straps.
"Emmett," Edward said grimly.
And Emmett secured my hands in his steely grasp.
"No! Edward! No, you can't do this."
"I have to, Bella, now please be quiet."
"I won't! You have to take me back — Charlie will call the FBI! They'll be all over your family — Carlisle and Esme! They'll have to leave, to hide forever!"
"Calm down, Bella." His voice was cold. "We've been there before."
"Not over me, you don't! You're not ruining everything over me!" she struggled violently, with total futility.
"Kal! What about you?" she demanded, "Are you just gonna sit there and let them take us away without saying anything?!"
Alice turned to glance back at him. She realised she hadn't truly taken Kal's feelings into consideration.
Kal held her gaze, giving her a reassuring look. Understanding surged between them. Alice gave him a sweet smile.
He turned to Bella, "I trust Alice, Bella. If she thinks this is the best course of action, then right now? I agree."
Bella looked at him speechless. Then anger flashed in her eyes.
"That's easy for you to say! I have a father, a life! I can't just leave! You're alone, you don't have anyone!"
Then she froze. The car went silent. A look of realisation crossed her face, followed immediately by regret. Kal stared at her for a full second. His mind spinning to produce a response.
"Ouch."
Bella's face fell.
"No! I didn't mea—"
Kal looked away from her and she fell silent.
Internally, he was actually quite happy — he had silenced her with a single word.
The car remained silent and tense for a few more seconds.
Alice spoke for the first time.
"Edward, pull over."
He flashed her a hard look, and then sped up.
"Edward, let's just talk this through."
"You don't understand," he roared in frustration.
His voice was louder than Kal had ever heard it; deafening in the confines of the Jeep. The speedometer neared one hundred and fifteen.
"He's a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He's a tracker!"
Emmett stiffened next to them, his reaction to the word telling.
"Pull over, Edward." Alice's tone was reasonable, but there was a ring of authority in it Kal had never heard before.
'That's kinda sexy.' Kal thought to himself.
"Will you STOP THAT!" Edward screamed.
"Stop what?" questioned Alice. "I'm just asking you to stop and think about this!"
"Not you!" shouted Edward, "Him!"
His head gestured to Kal.
"All day I've been hearing every inappropriate thought he has about you! I'm not even trying to read his mind! He's practically shouting them out loud!"
Kal's face flushed red and he felt his ears burn as the others in the car turned to him.
A moment passed.
"I can't help that my girlfriend is hot." he shrugged.
The corner of Alice's lips quirked, while Emmett broke into a full laugh.
"My man!" he said jovially.
Alice shot him a look that silenced him.
The speedometer passed one-twenty.
"Edward. Just pull over." Alice said, turning back to Edward.
In the backseat, Emmett furtively extended his free hand — the one not holding Bella — towards Kal for a fist bump.
"Listen to me, Alice. I saw his mind. Tracking is his passion, his obsession — and he wants them both, Alice — her, specifically. My reaction on the field set him off. I just made this his most exciting game ever! He's never going to stop! And he begins the hunt tonight."
"He doesn't know where —"
He interrupted her.
"How long do you think it will take him to cross her scent in town? Or his?" he gestured with his head to Kal again, "His plan was already set before the words were out of Laurent's mouth. Do you want him to die?!"
"You don't worry about Kal!" shouted Alice, for the first time since he had known her, Kal heard genuine fury in Alice's tone, "Kal and I can handle ourselves. This is about Bella."
"Charlie! You can't leave him there! You can't leave him!" Bella took the opportunity to shout.
"She's right," Alice said.
The car slowed slightly.
"Let's just look at our options for a minute," Alice coaxed.
The car slowed again, more noticeably, and then suddenly screeched to a stop on the shoulder of the highway. Bella flew against the harness, and then slammed back into the seat.
"There are no options," Edward hissed.
"I'm not leaving Charlie!" she yelled.
He ignored her completely.
"We have to take her back," Emmett finally spoke.
"No." Edward was absolute.
"He's no match for us, Edward. He won't be able to touch her."
"He'll wait."
Emmett smiled. "I can wait, too."
"You didn't see — you don't understand. Once he commits to a hunt, he's unshakable. We'd have to kill him."
Emmett didn't seem upset by the idea.
"That's an option."
"And the female. She's with him. If it turns into a fight, the leader, Laurent, will go with them, too."
"There are enough of us."
"There's another option," Alice said quietly.
Edward turned on her in fury, his voice a blistering snarl.
"There — is — no — other — option!"
Emmett and Bella looked at Edward in shock, but Alice seemed unsurprised.
"Hey! Don't talk to her like that asshole!" Kal scolded.
Now Emmett and Bella's shocked gazes turned to Kal, along with Edward who stared incredulously, before it quickly turned to fury. Kal locked eyes with him defiantly. The silence lasted for a few long seconds before Bella interrupted.
"Does anyone want to hear my plan?"
"No," Edward growled. Alice glared at him.
"Listen," she pleaded. "You take me back."
"No," he interrupted.
She continued anyway.
"You take me back. I tell my dad I want to go home to Phoenix. I pack my bags. We wait till this tracker is watching, and then we run. He'll follow us and leave Charlie alone. Charlie won't call the FBI on your family. Then you can take me any damned place you want."
They stared at her, stunned.
"It's not a bad idea, really." Emmett sounded surprised.
"It might work — and we simply can't leave her father unprotected. You know that," Alice said.
Everyone looked at Edward.
"It's too dangerous — I don't want him within a hundred miles of her."
Emmett was supremely confident. "Edward, he's not getting through us."
Alice thought for a minute. "I don't see him attacking. He'll try to wait for us to leave her alone."
"It won't take long for him to realise that's not going to happen."
"I demand that you take me home." Bella tried — and failed — to sound firm.
Edward pressed his fingers to his temples and squeezed his eyes shut.
"Please," she said in a much smaller voice.
He didn't look up. When he spoke, his voice sounded worn.
"You're leaving tonight, whether the tracker sees or not. You tell Charlie that you can't stand another minute in Forks. Tell him whatever story works. Pack the first things your hands touch, and then get in your truck. I don't care what he says to you. You have fifteen minutes. Do you hear me? Fifteen minutes from the time you cross the doorstep."
The Jeep rumbled to life, and spun around, the tires squealing. The needle on the speedometer started to race up the dial.
"Emmett?" Bella asked, looking pointedly at her hands.
"Oh, sorry." He let her loose.
A few minutes passed in silence, other than the roar of the engine. Then Edward spoke again.
"This is how it's going to happen. When we get to the house, if the tracker is not there, I will walk her to the door. Then she has fifteen minutes. Emmett, you take the outside of the house. Alice, you stay in the truck with Kal. I'll be inside as long as she is. After she's out we'll pick up Kal down the road, and you two take the Jeep back home and tell Carlisle."
"No way," Emmett broke in. "I'm with you."
"Think it through, Emmett. I don't know how long I'll be gone."
"Until we know how far this is going to go, I'm with you."
Edward sighed.
"If the tracker is there," he continued grimly, "we keep driving."
"We're going to make it there before him," Alice said confidently.
Edward seemed to accept that. Whatever his problem with Alice was, he didn't doubt her now.
"What are we going to do with the Jeep?" she asked.
His voice had a hard edge. "You're driving it home."
"No, I'm not," she said calmly.
The unintelligible stream of profanities started again.
"We can't all fit in my truck," Bella whispered.
Edward didn't appear to hear her.
"I think you should let me go alone," she said even more quietly.
He heard that.
"Bella, please just do this my way, just this once," he said between clenched teeth.
"Listen, Charlie's not an imbecile," she protested. "If you're not in town tomorrow, he's going to get suspicious."
"That's irrelevant. We'll make sure he's safe, and that's all that matters."
"Then what about this tracker? He saw the way you acted tonight. He's going to think you're with me, wherever you are."
Emmett looked at her, surprised again.
"Edward, listen to her," he urged. "I think she's right."
"Yes, she is," Alice agreed.
"I can't do that." Edward's voice was icy.
"Emmett should stay, too," Bella continued. "He definitely got an eyeful of Emmett."
"What?" Emmett turned on her.
"You'll get a better crack at him if you stay," Alice agreed.
Edward stared at her incredulously. "You think I should let her go alone?"
"Of course not," Alice said. "Jasper and I will take her."
"So you get to stay with Kal, and I have to leave Bella? I can't do that," Edward repeated, but this time there was a trace of defeat in his voice. The logic was working on him.
"I didn't react like you," Alice countered, "It's not the same and you know it."
Bella changed tack, trying to be persuasive.
"Hang out here for a week —" she saw his expression in the mirror and amended, "— a few days. Let Charlie see you haven't kidnapped me, and lead this James on a wild-goose chase. Make sure he's completely off my trail. Then come and meet me. Take a roundabout route, of course, and then Jasper and Alice can go home."
She could see him beginning to consider it.
"Meet you where?"
"Phoenix."
"No. He'll hear that's where you're going," he said impatiently.
"And you'll make it look like that's a ruse, obviously. He'll know that we'll know that he's listening. He'll never believe I'm actually going where I say I am going."
"She's smart," Emmett chuckled.
'No she's not, this is a terrible plan.' Kal thought to himself privately, making sure not to broadcast his thoughts to Edward, 'But she's convincing Edward so I should just keep quiet.'
"And if that doesn't work?" demanded Edward.
"There are several million people in Phoenix." Bella informed him.
"It's not that hard to find a phone book."
"I won't go home."
"Oh?" he inquired, a dangerous note in his voice.
"I'm quite old enough to get my own place."
"Edward, we'll be with her," Alice reminded him.
"What are you going to do in Phoenix?" he asked Bella scathingly.
"Stay indoors."
"I kind of like it." Emmett was thinking about cornering James, no doubt.
"Shut up, Emmett."
"Look, if we try to take him down while she's still around, there's a much better chance that someone will get hurt — she'll get hurt, or you will, trying to protect her. Now, if we get him alone…" He trailed off with a slow smile.
The Jeep was crawling slowly along now as they drove into town.
"Bella." Edward's voice was very soft. The others looked out their windows. "If you let anything happen to yourself— anything at all — I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you understand that?"
"Yes," she gulped.
He turned to Alice.
"Can Jasper handle this?"
"Give him some credit, Edward. He's been doing very, very well, all things considered."
"Can you handle this?" he asked.
And graceful little Alice pulled back her lips in a horrific grimace and let loose with a guttural snarl that had Bella cowering against the seat in terror.
Edward smiled at her. "But keep your opinions to yourself," he muttered suddenly.
…
'Charlie's waiting for me.' was Bella's first thought as they approached her father's house. The house she had grown up in. All the house lights were on.
'This isn't going to be pleasant.'
Edward pulled up slowly further down the road, staying well away from Bella's house. Bella noticed all three vampires were acutely alert, ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the wood, looking through every shadow, catching every scent, searching for something out of place. Strangely, Kal seemed to be doing the same.
The engine cut off, and she sat, motionless, as they continued to listen.
"He's not here," Edward said tensely. "Let's go." Emmett reached over to help her get out of the harness.
"Don't worry, Bella," he said in a low but cheerful voice, "we'll take care of things here quickly."
"Alice, Emmett." Edward's voice was a command. Emmett slithered soundlessly into the darkness, instantly disappearing, Alice stayed in the truck with Kal.
Edward opened the door and took Bella's hand, drawing her into the protective enclosure of his arm. He walked her swiftly toward the house, eyes always roving through the night.
"Fifteen minutes," he warned under his breath.
"I can do this."
Kal and Alice watched the two of them from the truck. He could hear Emmett nearby, surveying the area for any movement.
They stopped on the porch and Bella took hold of his face in her hands, looking fiercely into his eyes.
"I love you," she said in a low, intense voice. "I will always love you, no matter what happens now."
"Nothing is going to happen to you, Bella," he said just as fiercely.
"Just follow the plan, okay? Keep Charlie safe for me. He's not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologise later."
"Get inside, Bella. We have to hurry." His voice was urgent.
"One more thing," she whispered passionately. "Don't listen to another word I say tonight!"
He was leaning in, and so all she had to do was stretch up on her toes to kiss his surprised lips with as much force as she was capable of. Kal and Alice averted their eyes as the couple sucked on each other's faces.
A few seconds later they split, and Bella turned and kicked the door open.
"Go away, Edward!" she yelled at him, running inside and slamming the door shut in his still-shocked face.
"Bella?" Kal heard a man's voice from inside — Charlie's he assumed.
"Leave me alone!" Bella screamed.
Kal heard the hurried thud of feet on stairs as she ran up them. Then a bang as a door shut and was locked behind her. Muffled sounds of cloth ruffling, as Bella rifled through clothes and who-knows-what in her room, followed by thudding on wood.
Charlie was pounding on the door.
"Bella, are you okay? What's going on?" His voice was frightened.
"I'm going home," she shouted, voice cracking.
"Did he hurt you?" His tone edged toward anger.
"No!" she shrieked a few octaves higher.
The sounds of clothes being packed and items being sorted through only intensified, as Edward — who had climbed through her window — joined in.
"Did he break up with you?" Charlie was perplexed.
"No!"
"What happened, Bella?" Charlie shouted through the door, pounding again.
"I broke up with him!"
Alice turned to Kal from the front seat, drawing his attention away from the argument which continued in the background.
"Thank you for trusting me Kal." she whispered to him, one of her hands reaching out to him. His hand met hers, her cool fingers softly caressing the back of his own.
"I'll always trust you." he assured her gently.
Her face broke into a brilliant smile.
"So," Kal continued, "Are you going to tell me why you stopped me? We both know I wasn't exactly in harm's way."
Alice hesitated.
"It's hard to explain." she began, "I just had this feeling that it wasn't the right time. Something would have gone wrong if we had fought then…
"But the right time is coming. I can't tell exactly when, but I know it's sometime soon. If we just wait, things will go a lot better."
Kal digested that for a moment.
"This feeling… was it a random feeling, or an 'I'm Alice and I can predict the future' feeling?"
Alice laughed.
"The latter."
Kal nodded.
"Okay. Like I said, I'll always trust you."
Alice flashed him another dazzling smile, before turning back towards the house. Her hand pulled Kal gently forward.
"Take my seat. Bella and Edward are nearly done."
He slipped into the passenger seat, as Alice moved to the drivers. Their hands remained clasped together on the console between them.
In the house, the rustling had subsided, Edward had slipped out the window as Bella unlocked the door and stormed out of her room, past her father.
"What happened?" Kal heard the man shout, "I thought you liked him?"
More hurried footsteps as Bella rushed down the stairs, then, "I do like him — that's the problem. I can't do this anymore! I can't put down any more roots here! I don't want to end up trapped in this stupid, boring town like Mom! I'm not going to make the same dumb mistake she did. I hate it — I can't stay here another minute!"
Complete silence.
'Yikes.' Kal thought to himself, though he was sure he wasn't the only one thinking it.
Then he heard Charlie's voice; strained, clearly trying to cover up his breaking heart.
"Bells, you can't leave now, it's nighttime." he whispered.
"I'll sleep in the truck if I get tired." The reply was brutal, cold.
"Just wait another week," he pled, still shell-shocked. "Renée will be back by then."
That seemed to completely derail Bella, whose voice turned to shock.
"What?"
Charlie continued eagerly, almost babbling with relief as she hesitated.
"She called while you were out. Things aren't going so well in Florida, and if Phil doesn't get signed by the end of the week, they're going back to Arizona. The assistant coach of the Sidewinders said they might have a spot for another shortstop."
A second later.
"I have a key," Bella muttered.
Kal heard the turning of the door knob.
"Just let me go Charlie." said Bella angrily.
Kal heard in slow-motion as the man's breath hitched in his chest, almost stopping completely. He felt that if he examined the man with his x-ray vision, he might see the man's heart literally shattering into pieces.
Whatever the significance of those words, they had deeply hurt the man.
The door was hurled open a second later.
"It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!"
Kal looked towards the house and caught sight of the man frozen on the doorstep, stunned, while a teary Bella ran off into the night.
She reached her truck, threw her bag in the bed, and wrenched the door open. Climbing inside, and shutting the door, she started the engine, and pulled out of the driveway.
"I'll call you tomorrow." she yelled, before fully leaving the drive and driving off into the night.
…
She didn't know when, but Edward had appeared in the seat beside her at some point.
"Pull over." he said, as the house disappeared behind them.
"I can drive." she denied him.
His hands gripped her and pulled, his foot pushing hers off the pedal. Before she knew it, they had swapped seats and Edward was driving.
"You wouldn't be able to find the house," he explained.
Lights flared suddenly behind them. Bella stared out the back window, eyes wide with horror.
"It's just Alice," he reassured her, taking her hand again.
Her mind was filled with the image of Charlie in the doorway. "The tracker?"
"He heard the end of your performance," Edward said grimly.
"Charlie?"
"The tracker followed us. He's running behind us now."
Her body went cold.
"Can we outrun him?"
"No." But he sped up as he spoke. The truck's engine whined in protest.
Her plan suddenly didn't feel so brilliant anymore.
She was staring back at Alice's headlights when the truck shuddered and a dark shadow sprung up outside the window.
Her bloodcurdling scream lasted a fraction of a second before Edward's hand clamped down on her mouth.
"It's Emmett!"
He released her a second later.
"It's okay, Bella," he promised. "You're going to be safe."
They raced through the quiet town toward the north highway.
"I didn't realise you were still so bored with small-town life," he said conversationally, and she knew he was trying to distract her. "It seemed like you were adjusting fairly well — especially recently. Maybe I was just flattering myself that I was making life more interesting for you."
"I wasn't being nice," Bella confessed, ignoring his attempt at diversion, looking down at her knees. "That was the same thing my mom said when she left him. You could say I was hitting below the belt."
"Don't worry. He'll forgive you." He smiled a little, though it didn't reach his eyes.
He continued, "Bella, it's going to be all right."
"But it won't be all right when I'm not with you," she whispered.
"We'll be together again in a few days," he said, tightening his arm around her. "Don't forget that this was your idea."
"It was the best idea — of course it was mine."
His answering smile was bleak and disappeared immediately.
"Why did this happen?" she opined, voice catching. "Why me?"
Edward just stared darkly at the road ahead.
"It's my fault — I was a fool to expose you like that."
The rage in his voice was directed internally.
"That's not what I meant," Bella insisted. "I was there, big deal. It didn't bother the other two. Why did James decide to kill us? To kill me? There're people all over the place, why me?"
He hesitated, thinking before he answered.
"I got a good look at his mind tonight," he began in a low voice. "I'm not sure if there's anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw you. It is partially your fault."
His voice was wry.
"If you didn't smell so appallingly delicious, he might not have bothered. But when I defended you… well, that made it a lot worse. He's not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life.
"Suddenly we've presented him with a beautiful challenge — a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the few vulnerable elements. You wouldn't believe how euphoric he is now. It's his favorite game, and we've just made it his most exciting game ever."
His tone was full of disgust.
He paused for a moment.
"But if I had stood by, he would have killed you right then," he said with hopeless frustration.
"I thought… I didn't smell the same to the others… as I do to you," Bella queried hesitantly.
"You don't. But that doesn't mean that you aren't still a temptation to every one of them. If you had appealed to the tracker — or any of them — the same way you appeal to me, it would have meant a fight right there."
I shuddered.
"I don't think I have any choice but to kill him now," he muttered. "Carlisle won't like it."
She heard the tires cross the bridge, that marked their approach to the Cullen household, though she couldn't see the river in the dark. She knew they were getting close. She had to ask him now.
"How do you kill a vampire?"
He glanced at her with unreadable eyes and his voice was suddenly harsh.
"The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces."
"And the other two will fight with him?"
"The woman will. I'm not sure about Laurent. They don't have a very strong bond — he's only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by James in the meadow…"
"But James and the woman — they'll try to kill you?" Bella asked, her voice raw.
"Bella, don't you dare waste time worrying about me. Your only concern is keeping yourself safe and —please, please — trying not to be reckless."
"Is he still following?"
"Yes. He won't attack the house, though. Not tonight."
He turned off onto the invisible drive, with Alice and Kal following behind.
…
Kal and Alice parked right in front of the Cullen house just seconds after Bella and Edward had done the same.
They quickly slipped out of the vehicle. Ahead, Kal saw Emmett wrench open the door of Bella's truck and hug her like a(n American) football to his vast chest before rushing her through the door in an instant.
Kal and Alice shared a look. The cheeky smile on Alice's face seemed to ask 'Need me to do that for you?'Kal's own somber face delivered her a resounding no.
They made it to the door a couple seconds later, which was promptly slammed shut behind them by Emmett.
Rushing, the group burst into the front room, Edward and Bella already there. All of the other Cullens were there, already on their feet at the sound of their approach. Laurent stood in their midst. Low growls rumbled deep in Emmett and Edward's throats.
"He's tracking us," Edward announced, glaring balefully at Laurent.
Laurent's face was unhappy. "I was afraid of that."
Alice danced to Carolyn's side and whispered in her ear; her lips quivered with the speed of her silent speech. Carolyn lay a hand on Jasper's shoulder, and the three of them disappeared up the stairs together. Rosalie watched them, and then moved quickly to Emmett's side. Her beautiful eyes were intense and — when they flickered unwillingly to Bella's face — furious.
"What will he do?" Carlisle asked Laurent in chilling tones.
"I'm sorry," he answered. "I was afraid, when your boy there defended her, that it would set him off."
"Can you stop him?"
Laurent shook his head.
"Nothing stops James when he gets started."
"We'll stop him," Emmett promised. There was no doubt what he meant.
"You can't bring him down. I've never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He's absolutely lethal. That's why I joined his coven."
'His coven.' Kal thought to himself. The show of leadership in the clearing had been a ruse.
Laurent was shaking his head. He glanced at Bella, perplexed, then Kal, and back to Carlisle.
"Are you sure it's worth it?"
Edward's enraged roar filled the room; Laurent cringed back.
Carlisle looked gravely at Laurent. "I'm afraid you're going to have to make a choice."
Laurent understood. He deliberated for a moment. His eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room.
"I'm intrigued by the life you've created here. But I won't get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won't go up against James. I think I will head north — to that clan in Denali."
He hesitated.
"Don't underestimate James. He's got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He's every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won't come at you head on… I'm sorry for what's been unleashed here. Truly sorry." He bowed his head.
"Go in peace," was Carlisle's formal answer.
Laurent took another long look around himself, and then he hurried out the door.
The silence lasted less than a second.
"How close?" Carlisle looked to Edward.
Esme was already moving; her hand touched an inconspicuous keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall. Kal raised an eyebrow while Bella gaped in surprise.
"About three miles out past the river; he's circling around to meet up with the female."
"What's the plan?"
"We'll lead him off, and then Jasper, Carolyn and Alice will drive them south."
"And then?"
Edward's tone was deadly. "As soon as Bella is clear, we hunt him."
"I guess there's no other choice," Carlisle agreed, his face grim.
Edward turned to Rosalie.
"Get her upstairs and trade clothes," Edward commanded. She stared back at him with livid disbelief.
"Why should I?" she hissed. "What is she to me? Except a menace — a danger you've chosen to inflict on all of us."
Bella recoiled.
"Rose…" Emmett murmured, putting one hand on her shoulder. She shook it off.
Edward merely looked away from Rosalie as if she hadn't spoken, as if she didn't exist.
"Esme?" he asked calmly.
"Of course," Esme murmured.
Esme was at Bella's side in half a heartbeat, swinging her up easily into her arms, and dashing up the stairs before she could gasp in shock.
With Bella gone, Carlisle stepped forward.
"Rosalie," he chided, his tone calm, "Bella is with Edward. She's part of this family now… And we protect our family."
There was a moment of silence as Rosalie stared hard.
"Fine."
And she vanished up the stairs in an instant.
Carlisle sighed. Then turned to Kal.
"And what about him?" he asked Edward.
"The tracker's not hunting him. Yet. He hunts his prey one at a time, and he wants Bella first."
When Bella appeared again, carried down the stairs by Esme and Alice, everything had already been settled downstairs. Edward and Emmett were ready to leave, Emmett carrying a heavy-looking backpack over his shoulder. Carlisle handed something small to Esme. He turned and handed Alice the same thing — it was a tiny silver cell phone.
"Esme and Rosalie will be taking your truck, Bella," Edward said.
Bella nodded, glancing warily at Rosalie. She was glowering at Carlisle with a resentful expression.
"Alice, Carolyn, Jasper — take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south."
They nodded as well.
"We're taking the Jeep."
"Alice," Carlisle asked, "will they take the bait?"
Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still.
Finally her eyes opened. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that." Her voice was certain.
"Let's go." Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen.
Suddenly, Edward rushed toward Bella, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her in the air. An instant later they were kissing deeply, Edward seemingly uncaring that his entire family was watching.
'What a weirdo.' Kal thought to himself.
The kiss ended shortly after. Edward turned. And then he was gone, Carlisle and Emmett disappearing with him.
The others were left in a strange silence, awkwardly looking away as quiet tears streamed from Bella's face.
The silent moment dragged on, and then Esme's phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear.
"Now," she said. Rosalie stalked out the front door without another glance in either of their directions, but Esme nodded at Kal, and touched Bella's cheek as she passed.
"Be safe." Her whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door.
Jasper, Carolyn and Alice waited. Alice's phone seemed to be at her ear before it buzzed.
"Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car."
She vanished into the shadows the way Edward had gone.
Jasper and Bella looked at each other. He stood across the length of the entryway from them… being careful. Carolyn stood by his side
"You're wrong, you know," he said quietly.
"What?" she gasped.
"I can feel what you're feeling now — and you are worth it. Both of you are."
His gaze shifted to include Kal.
"You're both a part of this family now." added Carolyn, "And family is everything to us."