Suddenly Bella was blinded by bright light. She gasped and pressed her hand over her eyes.
"Bella!"
Edward's velvety voice cut through the rush of rain. By the time she'd opened her eyes, he was standing before her, wrapping his hands gently around her arms.
"Are you all right?" he asked, studying her face with concern.
"Oh!" she gasped, hugging him tightly. All her fears melted away; she was safe in his arms.
He kissed her forehead. "Come and get in the car. You're soaked, and you must be freezing."
He led her about a dozen steps, and then she saw the headlights. They were aimed away from her so had been obscured by the deluge. He helped her inside, immediately reaching for the jacket in the back seat and tucking it around her shoulders. Bella realized that her teeth were chattering.
"You're really chilled," he observed a bit anxiously. He'd already adjusted the heat; warm air was filling the car. "Why didn't you stay in your truck to wait for me?"
"It's about half a mile back," she managed to reply. She didn't need to add that it was still on reservation land.
"Oh." He considered this for a moment. "Bella, I think in a situation like this the pack would make an exception, if they even found out. With this rain, I'm not sure any discernible scent would remain."
"I'd rather not take any chances. You've all been getting along fairly well lately, and there's no reason for me to jeopardize that."
"You got a flat, love. You're not to blame. No one could fault you for asking for help."
She shrugged and offered him a half smile. "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."
He pressed his cool lips to her forehead again then pulled back to sweep his gaze over her. "Aside from being thoroughly saturated, are you all right?" He inhaled deeply, his brow tightening. "You're bleeding."
She lifted her hands. There were light scrapes across the heels of both palms. She could just see a trace of red on the left palm. "I tripped on something and took a header," she explained.
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Just one?" He took her hands in his to examine them.
"Ha ha."
"I think you'll live," he decided, folding over her fingers to kiss the tips. Noting the coolness of her skin, he added, "But you need to get into some dry clothes."
"A little time cuddling in front of a roaring fire wouldn't hurt, either."
He grinned. "I think that can be arranged. I may even be able to conjure up some hot cocoa for you." He released her hands to reach for the gearshift.
"Mmm, sounds perfect."
Idly, she ran a finger over the deepest scrape on the heel of her palm. She'd be sure to let the rain rinse away the flecks of blood before she entered the Cullens' house. No need to tempt fate…
She was lowering her hand to her lap when she noticed her bare wrist.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, pushing up her sleeve.
Edward glanced over at her. "What's the matter?"
"Jacob gave me an old watch to borrow, since I always seem to lose track of the time when I'm with him. It was his grandfather's… It's gone."
Edward seemed about to make a negative comment, but Bella's expression changed his tack. Instead, he asked, "Did you have it on when you left his house?"
"Yes. It must've fallen off when I was checking the tire, or maybe when I stumbled…" She tried to recall feeling the cool metal against her wrist.
With all the water and ensuing sludge, the watch would likely be buried in mud within the hour. She and Jacob had just reconnected, just re-established their fragile friendship. She worried that he would interpret the loss of the watch as a sign that their relationship wasn't important to her, and it truly was.
She looked pointedly at Edward. "You said the rain will wash away your scent," she remembered.
"Probably," he agreed. She could see he already knew what she was going to ask.
"Then can we go back and look? Just for a few minutes, just to where I left the truck?"
"All right, Bella," he replied with a small sigh of resignation. He pulled the car around swiftly and skillfully.
"Thank you." She squeezed his arm softly in gratitude.
"Let's start at the truck," he suggested, "then if it's not there, we can work our way back to the highway."
She nodded in agreement. Edward negotiated the gravel road flawlessly, undeterred by the veil of rain. In less than a minute they had reached her truck. He parked across the road, aiming the headlights to illuminate the opposite shoulder. He opened his door, saying, "Stay in the car. You just got warm."
The whoosh of frigid air immediately convinced her not to argue. She watched through the window. The rain had slackened slightly, and she could just see him as he moved around the truck, stooping to check the ground beneath the flat tire. He turned to her, grinning in triumph as he held up his hand. She caught a glint of silver from the embellished watch band.
And then suddenly his head whipped to the side, his mouth twisting into a fierce snarl. In a blur, something flashed toward him, hurling him over the truck. Bella stared in shock, her gaze fixed momentarily on the watch as it arced through the air and disappeared into the darkness.
And then every instinct screamed at her to help him, to do something…
"Edward!" she cried
Bella fumbled for the handle, flinging open the door and clambering out into the rain. She stumbled through the slick puddles and mud, moving around the truck. Edward lay in a twisted heap halfway up the embankment, his limbs oddly contorted.
She cried out his name again, and his head shot up. "Bella, no! Get back!" he bellowed.
But it was too late. By the time she saw the figure coming at her, it had already flung her back against the truck. The breath left her body in a great, wrenching rush. Her assailant's movements were so fast that she couldn't even process what was happening.
Pain flared through her neck, then there was an iron grip on her shoulder. Her body jolted forward, her hands flailing helplessly as she tried to find something, anything to hang on to. Her attempts were futile, though. Her vision was blurring and darkening, and a strange roar was building in her ears. She grappled with consciousness, but it was rapidly slipping away.
To be continued...