Huge thank you to my fantastic beta, TwilightPrincess123! Also, thanks to those of you that have taken the time to review. It means a lot to me! Especially the three of you that reviewed every chapter! You are all wonderful. I hope you enjoy Chapter 4!
All characters are property of Stephenie Meyer.
"Rose, what have you done?"
APOV
I watched, unable to tear myself away, as the vision filled my mind's eye.
The bar was smoky, and reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. It was dimly lit, but that didn't affect my vision or Rosalie's. She could hear them in the corner, bragging in hushed whispers about what they had done to Bella. I could see the rage and hatred building in Rosalie, looking for an outlet. She strolled over to the men and immediately had their full attention. That was the power of Rosalie's beauty. I was sure they thought it was their lucky night.
"Hello, boys," said Rosalie, her voice deliberately seductive. The one that seemed to be the leader smirked. He was thin, for the most part, except for a spare tire around his middle. His teeth were stained from cigarettes and his hair was short, almost non-existent, and dirty. His pockmarked face leered at Rosalie.
"Well hello beautiful. Care to join us?" he asked, and his voice grated on my nerves. Rosalie smiled at them.
"Don't mind if I do." They had no idea that an avenging angel had just sat down among them.
"So, what's your name?' Again, it was the leader who spoke. The others merely looked on, flashing glances at one another. The atmosphere of anticipation and arousal was starting to build in them.
"Justice," said Rosalie. I could hear the barely contained fury in her voice. The humans were either oblivious or too drunk to understand. Either way, they were unaware of her intentions.
"That's a pretty name. I'm Lonnie. This here's Marcus, and over there is Billy and Josh," he said, pointing to each man in turn. "Well then, Justice, what brings you here tonight?"
Rosalie smirked at him, which I was sure he took as a sign of interest. "I'm looking for someone actually." Her answer brought the excitement in the men to a palpable level. They looked at one another and smiled. Naturally, they were thinking of a repeat of what they had experienced with Bella.
"Are you sure I'm not who you are looking for?" said Lonnie; in what he probably thought was a sexy voice.
"You could be," said Rosalie with a smile.
"Why don't we get out of here?" Lonnie asked, and his heart rate increased when Rosalie nodded and stood, her movements fluid and smooth.
"Why don't we?" she said in her smoky voice. She gestured for them to lead and they almost tripped over one another in their anticipation. Behind their backs Rosalie rolled her eyes as she followed them out of the bar.
The vision shifted, and I saw Rosalie and the men in a darker room, one with a bed and a lamp. It was sparely furnished, just the bed and a small desk with a chair. It appeared dirty, the threadbare bedspread stained and the color faded with age. A hotel room, maybe? The men eagerly filed in, with Rosalie right behind.
What happened next was fast, for most of the men, and brutal. Though Rosalie hadn't killed a human in many years, her perfect vampire recall made it so that it was no trouble for her to eradicate the vile creatures in front of her. As soon as the door shut behind her she went into action, starting with the closest human to her. She crushed their windpipes one by one, careful not to break their skin or spill a single drop of blood on the carpet. She left Lonnie for last.
He was curled up on the bed, weeping as he stared at the broken bodies of his friends. He knew what was coming for him.
"You know, Lonnie, men like you don't deserve to live. Do you know why?" Rosalie asked him as she moved silently towards him. He shook and wet himself in his fear. He was unable to answer her and simply shook his head over and over again.
"Men like you, who rape women, should all die. Today, I'm Justice for them," and with that statement made, and a flick of her wrist, Lonnie's arm was broken. He screamed in pain and clutched at his arm.
"What, you can give pain but you can't take it?" Rosalie sneered, breaking another bone in his arm. "Typical." Lonnie started to beg for his life.
"Please, I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! I swear!" he wept.
Rosalie placed her hands on his face, in a gesture that might have been taken for comfort in any other situation.
"That's right, you won't."
Rosalie moved her hands and the snap of Lonnie's neck was audible throughout the room. I flinched just watching it. She looked around the room at the bodies around her. There wasn't a sound to be heard, all life extinguished by her hands. With a smile of satisfaction, she turned and stalked from the room.
My vision cleared and I couldn't help the words that slipped from my mouth.
"Rose, what have you done?" All eyes in the room, the golden eyes of my family, turned towards me. Jasper looked at me in concern, having felt my horror during the vision.
"Damn it, Rosalie!" shouted Edward from across the room. He stormed upstairs and we could hear his fist slam through a wall. He, of course, had seen everything I had. Jasper left my side to go and try to calm him before he could do any more damage to the house.
"Rosalie killed them," I said in a quiet voice. "She killed the men that raped Bella." Emmett had a look of angry pride on his face and I knew that he was glad for what she had done. Esme turned her face into Carlisle's shoulder. Carlisle simply looked weary and defeated.
"Alice, will the murders be traced back to her?" he asked me. I searched the future, looking for the outcome of her actions.
"No. She was seen by some of the other bar patrons but they were all drunk and won't be able to give an accurate description beyond 'hot blonde chick'. Once the DNA comes back from the rape kit and is a match to them, the police won't look too closely. The rape of another police officer's daughter isn't taken lightly. They will let it slide." I said with some measure of satisfaction. "None of us, outside of Edward briefly and you at the hospital Carlisle, have been seen with Bella so there is no reason to tie the crimes to us."
We could all feel the calming waves that Jasper was sending out, trying to reason with Edward. I knew that his anger was not that the men were dead, but that it was not his hands that had dispatched them.
Edward and Jasper returned downstairs, Edward still fuming about Rosalie's actions. Light was starting to come through the windows as the sun came up. They returned to their previous seats, Edward on the piano bench and Jasper by my side.
EPOV
How could she take this from me? Bella was mine, mine to protect and defend. If anyone had the right to snuff the life out of those men it was me! I couldn't contain the anger inside me as I watched the vision playing through Alice's mind. I ran upstairs and punched the first wall I came to, leaving a huge hole. Esme would not be pleased. I could hear Jasper coming after me as Alice started to explain her vision to the rest of the family.
Edward, this isn't helping, Jasper thought at me as he sent waves of calm in my direction. I tried to allow him to settle the all-consuming hatred that seemed to be suffocating my unbreathing body. Slowly, his calming influence began to seep into me and the red haze cleared from my vision.
Better. Can you come back downstairs? Jasper asked me. I nodded and followed him back. I couldn't look at any of the others as I resumed my vigil at the piano. I stared at the keys, not even seeing them for the most part. I felt the sun start to rise as we waited for Rosalie's return. Alice's vision had shown Rosalie's actions only minutes before it was happening so it shouldn't be long. She shared my love of fast driving. I knew Alice said that no suspicion would fall on us but that didn't appease my anger. I heard a car pulling into the driveway and recognized the sound of Rosalie's car. She walked in moments later, her head held at a defiant angle, daring us to rebuke her.
"I had to. They couldn't be allowed to live, to do this again to someone else," Rosalie stated before anyone had the chance to speak.
"Rosalie, we are not judge and jury to humans. They would have been caught. There was evidence from Bella's rape that would have put them in jail," Carlisle said.
"How many more women would have been hurt in the meantime Carlisle? I stopped that. Bella probably wasn't their first victim, but I made sure she was their last." Rosalie was unrepentant as she sat next to Emmett. She looked at me and directed her thoughts to me only.
Edward, I know you wanted to kill them. Did you see that I made him suffer? I just nodded my head at her wearily. I heard the thoughts of my family around me. Esme's surprised me the most. She was glad for what Rose had done. Esme is so gentle; I forget sometimes that she was a battered wife once. She was so happy that I had found someone to love and so devastated that Bella had been hurt. She couldn't help but be glad that the men who had damaged Bella so much were no longer walking the earth.
"Rosalie, Alice has seen that your actions tonight will not bring suspicion to us, however, you must realize that you put us all in danger tonight. You were so concerned with Edward's actions in saving Bella yet you took a much greater risk," Carlisle stated calmly. His thoughts betrayed his demeanor. It had been a long day and his control was pressed to the breaking point.
Emmett looked up at Carlisle. "She did the right thing. I would have done it myself if she hadn't. Or Edward would have. It doesn't matter which of us killed them. They were sentenced to die either way."
"There's nothing to be done about it now. You should all get ready for school. We must keep up appearances," Carlisle said.
Edward, I know you would rather be at the hospital but we need you at the school. We must know what people are thinking. I nodded at Carlisle's thoughts and went with my siblings to get ready. It would be a long day.
We arrived at school at our usual time and I started listening to the thoughts of the other students. Jessica must have been very busy last night because most of the student body knew that Bella had disappeared. News of the rape had yet to make it around school and I was relieved for Bella's sake. Once she woke up, and she would wake up, she would not want the attention of being known as a rape victim. No one had seen me in Port Angeles so my part was also unknown. I moved through my classes, hardly paying attention. It was in my first period class that I discovered that the teachers knew what had happened to Bella. Charlie must have called the school to let them know why Bella wouldn't be in. I hoped they would keep the information to themselves but knew it was only a matter of time. I sighed.
At lunch, I sat with my siblings at our usual table. We all pretended disinterest in the things around us as I filled them in on what I had heard, my voice too low for human ears. I could hear the kind thoughts of Angela Weber as she worried about Bella. I debated telling her what had happened, but decided she would find out with the rest of the school. I could not appear too interested. Jessica was busy thinking of ways to make the story more sensational and make herself appear better. I tried to ignore her thoughts.
I had Biology next hour and suddenly the idea of sitting at that table without Bella was too much to bear. I decided to go see her at the hospital.
It's ok, Edward. Go ahead and go. We will take the car home. Alice had seen my decision and was letting me know that it was all right to leave. I looked at her and headed for the parking lot, leaving her to explain to Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper. I forced myself to walk at human speed until I reached the woods. Suddenly my desire to see Bella overwhelmed me and, the moment I was safely out of sight, I raced as fast as I could towards the hospital.
