Chapter Seven

"Does anyone have any ideas about what the hell is going on?" asked Uncle Emmett. I smiled at his grumpy tone. He'd always hated being left out of important discussions.

"No," Uncle Jasper said.

"Why does Edward always get to have all of the fun?" Uncle Emmett whined.

"There, there," Emily said sarcastically, patting his muscled arm.

"Shut up!" Tara hissed, shooting a sharp green-eyed glance at the lot of us. "I'm trying to eavesdrop here!"

"Schemey," Uncle Emmett said with a nod of approval. "I like it."

We all crowded at the top of the stairs and listened intently. I could hear Dad murmuring quietly to Grandpa Carlisle and Rob. "…And if it comes to that–"

"But it may not," Grandpa Carlisle said quickly, placating my father.

"No, Edward's right," Rob murmured. "We have to consider our options in the event that we find ourselves facing a worst-case scenario."

Before they could say anymore, the doorbell rang. Its cheery chime echoed ominously throughout the entire house. I exchanged glances with Aunt Alice, Jacob and my uncles. I could hear my heart gradually accelerating as I waited anxiously for them to open the door. After a few seconds, the door opened with a rush of air. The scent of humans swept up the stairs almost immediately. My throat ached, reminding me of how much I was in need of a hunt. "I'm looking for Dr. Emily Cullen?"

We all turned to look at Emily. She closed her eyes and sighed. A knot formed in my stomach as a thousand possible outcomes played out in my head. All of them were bad. Extremely bad. We were now officially on their radar, and with their desperation to find the killer responsible for this string of murders, it wouldn't take them long to realize that our family had been involved with this case more than once.

"Who are you, may I ask?" Rob asked.

"Special Agent Xavier Matthews, FBI. This is Special Agent Alexis Addison."

I gasped quietly and grabbed Jacob's hand. Both of my uncles cursed softly.

"Is she home?" asked Agent Matthews.

"What is this in regard to?" Rob demanded.

"The disappearance of Carolyn Sandman from the hospital this morning. Is Dr. Cullen here?" he persisted.

Rob paused. "One moment please," he said stiffly. He ascended the stairs, his face carefully arranged into a passive expression. It vanished when he caught sight of his mate. "Wait," he said quietly as he gained the landing. "I can say I was mistaken and that you're not here."

"There's no use," she told him. "They'll just come back later. No, I'll talk to them."

"What if they arrest you?"

"We'll post bail," Uncle Emmett grinned.

We all glared at him.

"Well someone needs to think about this practically," he said defensively.

"They have no grounds for an apprehension," Ian said. "And they have no warrant. They can't arrest you based solely on coincidence, and I'll sue them if they try."

"And you'll win," Emily smiled. She looked back at Rob. "See? I'll be fine."

I hoped that was true.

He frowned, but followed her back down the stairs without another word.

"I'm Dr. Cullen," she proclaimed.

"Dr. Cullen, where were you this morning at approximately eleven-fifty?" asked Agent Matthews.

"I was on my way to work."

"Is there anyone that can consolidate that?"

"I can," Grandpa Carlisle said. "As can anyone else here."

"And where are they?"

"Elsewhere," Rob said coolly.

I grimaced. "We should've kept Rob upstairs," I realized.

"Just slightly," Mom said.

"Jazz?" Uncle Emmett said. "Maybe you could lend a hand?"

"I'll try, but he's amazingly resistant," Uncle Jasper said. "And he won't appreciate my interfering." Calm settled over the room seconds later. I felt the tension in my shoulders release. As was expected, Rob gave Uncle Jasper a moderate glare seconds later. "I told you," he muttered, relinquishing the cloud of serenity.

We all listened carefully as the agent questioned her. Ian would nod every so often as she gave an answer. "She's doing well," he whispered.

"Do you think they consider her a suspect?" I asked.

"I doubt that they would have come all the way down here from Seattle if they didn't have some compelling reason to think that she's involved," he said.

The uneasiness in my stomach worsened. Whoever was setting us up was doing a very good job.

After another string of questions, Agent Matthews concluded the interrogation. "Well, thank you, Dr. Cullen. That's all. For now."

"Happy to be of service," she said. She shut the door after a moment.

I was the first down the stairs. Emily was still staring at the door. Ian followed me.

"Hey," he said soothingly, hugging her. "You did a very good job."

She made no reply.

"Are you okay, little sis?"

She hit him lightly. "It's big sister to you, kid," she retorted.

Ian grinned. "She's okay," he said to everyone else.

The rest of us filed down the stairs. I could feel that the blood had drained out of my face.

"What do we do now?" asked Aunt Alice quietly.

Emily raked her fingers through her hair. "I think all of you should leave for a while."

"What?" Aunt Rose said, phrasing my thoughts exactly. "What's the logic in that?"

"You don't need to be pulled down with me if something were to…happen."

"Absolutely fricking not," said Jacob.

We all looked at him.

He sighed and made his way down the last few steps. "Do you still not get it, Emily? The point of a family is that they figure things out together, even the hard things. You can't run all of the time. We're not going anywhere. If one goes down, we all go down."

"Amen," said Uncle Emmett. "And no more stupid heroics." He shot a pointed look at her, and then at me. I blushed and lowered my eyes. I was never going to live that down.

"Do you recall the last time you attempted to use this sort of 'logic' as a remedy?" Tara glared.

"Yes," Ian said. "It's not a solution, Emily. It merely adds to the problem. I think we all appreciate your dedication to keeping us alive, but having you risking your own life is not the answer. We must find a way to solve this so that we all get out of this together."

"So there," Tara said, prodding her forcefully.

Emily chuckled. "Message received."

"All of that goes for you, too," Dad said, looking at me sternly.

"Besides," said Aunt Alice said to Emily. "You just got off with a slap last time. I'll have to do much worse if you do something so outlandishly stupid again."

Emily smiled at her. "Thank you, Alice."

"For what?"

"For caring enough to slap me across the face with ridiculous force."

I laughed as they embraced and looked at Jacob again. He was already looking at me, and gestured for me to follow him. There was something in his handsome face that made me certain that I wasn't going to like whatever it was that he had to say.

I navigated my way through the crowd at the base of the stairs and climbed the stairs to the third floor. He was waiting for me in the hallway when I arrived. "What is it?" I asked.

He looked at me apologetically. "I think I should probably go back to La Push now. I might as well. We're running out of time fast here, so the sooner we catch these freaks, the sooner things can go back to normal."

"Okay," I nodded. "I'll go with you."

"No," he said gently. "One of us needs to get an education."

I gazed at him unhappily. "So this is goodbye, then?"

"Just for a week."

That was still too long for my liking. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face against his chest, drinking in his warmth and his intoxicating musky scent. "I hate this."

"Me too."

"No, I mean I really hate this."

A low chuckle rumbled in his chest. "Me too."

"Promise me you'll come back."

"Of course I will," he said, stroking my back. "You're stuck with me forever, kid."

"Promise me that you'll come back to me in one piece."

"You're underestimating me, Ness."

"Sorry," I said. "I don't mean to."

"It's not your fault. You're Edward and Bella's kid. It's in your blood. On both sides."

"That is very true."

He laughed and hugged me tighter. I closed my eyes and wished that I could stay in his arms forever. But, all too soon, he released me. "I'll call you lots. Promise," he said.

I didn't meet his eyes. This reminded me all too much of the time that I'd sent him away. Of course, the circumstances of his departure would be much different this time, but I knew that the feeling that his absence left would be the same.

Jacob cupped my chin in his hand and lifting my face so that our eyes met. "There's not a vampire on this planet that's going to keep me away from you for long."

"I know," I said. And I did, but that didn't make the separation any easier.

He kissed me gently. Warmth rushed through my body at the touch of his lips. For a moment, the craziness of our world faded into the background and all that there was that mattered was he and I. But like all other good things, it ended far too soon. I helped him pack, and then watched him drive away, a familiar hollow feeling taking form in the centre of my chest.

No, I thought. You're not going to wallow. You know he'll be fine. Just go on with business as usual. Yes, he's in insane amounts of danger right now, but he knows how to handle it. He's going to be fine. If he's proven anything, he's proven that he knows how to take care of himself. So snap out of it, Nessie. He can hold his own.

"Hey," Mom said, touching my back. "Want to go for a hunt?"

"Yes," I said. A hunt would be a perfect distraction. I felt a swell of affection for my mother. "Is Dad coming?"

"Nah. Let's just spend some girl-time."

I smiled. "Okay."

The two of us took off running towards the northwest. We skirted the last of the seasonal homes and then turned southward towards the state park.

"So," Mom said as we crossed the border into the park. "How're you doing with having Jake gone again?"

I shrugged. "I'm adjusting myself to the reality. He knows what he's doing. He can take care of himself. I'm not worried." Much.

She looked at me with surprise. "That's very mature of you. I certainly never had that kind of maturity when it came to Jake's safety, or your dad's for that matter."

I smiled. "I know, Mom. You've told me."

"Right," she said, nodding.

"How're you doing with having your newly-wedded daughter and best friend back under your roof?"

We both smiled. "It's been different," she said. "Challenging at times, but it makes me realize just how crazy your dad and I must have driven everyone else when we were newly-married."

"Okay, Mom, I don't want to know," I said quickly before any unwanted images could lodge in my head.

She chuckled.

We ran on in silence for a few moments. "Mom, when you and Jacob were together, did you ever think he'd move on?" I asked.

"Well, Jake and I were never technically together."

"You know what I mean."

I felt the weight of her suspicious gaze on me, but I didn't turn my head. "Why would you ask me that?" she inquired.

"I'm curious."

"Yes, I know, but why would you ask about that specifically?"

"It's just a question, Mom."

"Is it?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I was just asking."

"Is something–?"

"Ugh, stop reading into things! It was a harmless question!" I said exasperatedly. It was bad enough that Jacob suspected something. I didn't need Mom on my case, too.

"Okay, okay!" She sighed. "Well, yes, I did. For his sake, I hoped he'd find someone that wasn't so hopelessly in love with both him and someone else. But I was still selfish enough to want him to myself all at the same time. The summer before you were born was a very confusing time for me."

"Do you ever wish things had turned out differently?"

She pondered that for a moment. "I'm glad that things concluded the way they did, but I wish that there could've been a less painful way to arrive here. I'm not proud of the way I made him and your dad suffer. I put them both through a lot."

"But you were in love with Jacob," I stated.

"Yes."

"And you still wanted him to move on?"

"For his own sake, yes. Besides, I knew that a catch like him wouldn't be single forever. My biggest worry was getting over my jealousy when he did eventually find someone. But then he imprinted on you, so everything worked out perfectly in the end."

Ah, imprinting. It all came down to that. "How much do you know about imprinting?"

She gave me another suspicious look. "Not much more than you do."

I decided to stop there. I didn't want to make her any more suspicious than I already had, and I certainly didn't want her telling Jake any of this, or Dad. We remained more or less silent for the remainder of the hunt. After bringing down two deer each, we returned home. When we arrived, the Winters were just leaving.

"Where're you headed?" Mom called.

"The ocean," Emily called back.

I blinked and looked at my mother, who looked equally mystified. "Why?" I asked.

"Well, I decided to call in some of our European friends. One of the ones that you met at Nessie's wedding, Dahlia, is a tracker, and she might be able to help us with all of this. She's bringing two of our other friends along."

"But that doesn't explain the ocean," I pointed out.

"Well, see, Austin and Henry are flying here, but Dahlia…" Rob said.

"Dahlia's unique," said Ian. "She's not particularly trustful of modern innovations, like airplanes, so she's swimming here."

"We're picking up the others from the airport next week," Tara said. "Cael and Tanya are coming down from Alaska, too."

"They have phones?" I asked, frowning. I'd never heard of a nomad with a phone.

"Well, they stay in our homes every so often. They went back to our house in Dublin after your wedding."

"Do you just loan your houses to everyone?" asked Mom.

"Pretty much," Rob said.

"How many do you have, exactly?"

They all looked at Emily. "Yes, Emily," Ian said. "Do tell Bella and Nessie how many homes we have."

She gave him a withering look. "Let's just say I don't just shop for clothes," she said. "Now let's go. We don't want to be late picking Dahlia up. Goodness only knows what she'd do."

They all winced and hurried to the garage.

Mom and I chuckled. "She was a bit special, wasn't she?" I commented, recalling the sullen, reclusive Italian vampire from my wedding.

"Yeah. And remember how weird she was about Carlisle?" She'd been particularly cold towards Grandpa Carlisle, as she'd associated him with the Volturi.

"That was a little bizarre," I agreed. "Well, she's staying under his roof now. I wonder how she'll take that."

The Winters returned with Dahlia almost an hour later. Her clothes – which I could tell instantly that Emily had brought for her – were dry, but her hair was still sodden. She hung back behind the Winters slightly, her vibrant red eyes sweeping the living room distrustfully.

"Cullens, this is our friend, Dahlia," Rob said. "Dahlia, you remember the Cullens."

She looked around again and nodded. "E 'bello vedervi tutti di nuovo," she said in Italian.

Emily rolled her eyes and sighed quietly. "She says that it's nice to see you all again."

I frowned, her reaction confusing me. What was wrong with what she'd said? I looked at Dad for an explanation. He was smiling slightly. He leaned closer and whispered, "She's pretending that she doesn't speak English. Apparently that's what she does when she's around people she doesn't trust. Or like."

Grandpa Carlisle smiled congenially. "E 'bello vedere anche voi."

Dahlia stiffened and shrank back. She glanced sharply at Rob. "Tenere la spia lotano da me," she spat.

He looked at Grandpa Carlisle quickly, horrified.

I nudged Dad for a translation. He was gazing at her with a raised eyebrow. A few of my family members were trying not to chuckle. "She just called Carlisle a spy," he confided. "And she told Rob to keep him away from her."

My jaw dropped. Grandpa Carlisle? A spy? Was she completely delusional?

"Well, we'll show her where she's staying," Rob said. He glowered at Dahlia and gestured for her to follow him as he left the room, Emily bringing up the rear.

"Well that was…embarrassing," Ian sighed, sinking into a chair by the window. "I'm sorry, Carlisle. She's not usually so rude."

"It's quite all right, Ian," Grandpa Carlisle chuckled.

"What exactly is her problem with Carlisle, anyway?" asked Aunt Alice. "Aside from the fact that she thinks he's with the Volturi?"

"Well it's not Carlisle, not really, anyway," Ian said. "She's very old; she's over twenty-six hundred. She's seen much of the world. She's seen how destructive the Volturi can be. She had a mate once, a gladiator named Dacian that she turned. During the war with the Romanians, the Volturi killed him. She's passionately despised them and anyone even remotely connected with them ever since."

"She's a loyal supporter of the Romanians to this day," Tara added. "But it's because of your tie to the Volturi that she's so leery around you, Carlisle."

"Ah," he said. "Yes, I can understand that."

"Nonetheless, I thought she'd be better behaved than that," Tara said, frowning.

As had I. She was a guest in his house, for heaven's sake.

"So where are your other friends?" I asked, wondering why they hadn't had the rest of them come as well.

"Well, Adair's a bit of a card," Ian said. "He's quite a charmer, and he generally attracts attention, which is what we don't want to do in this situation. Julianna…well…"

"Do we really have to talk about her?" Emily said darkly as she and Rob returned. I saw Rob wince.

"Why?" I inquired with surprise. I hadn't noticed any open animosity between them at the wedding. But as I thought about it, I couldn't seem to remember them coming within twenty feet of each other, either.

"Julianna is Rob's ex," Ian chuckled.

My eyes widened. Everyone turned to look at Rob, who was glaring at Ian.

"You have an ex?" Uncle Emmett gaped.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing about her?" Aunt Alice demanded, nudging Emily.

"It was a long time ago," Rob said dismissively.

"Exactly how long were you together?" Grandma Esme asked, openly grinning.

"Fifteen years, wasn't it, dear?" Emily said coldly.

Rob sighed.

"I'm trying to picture this," Uncle Emmett said. "Rob, of all people, has an ex-wife." He whistled.

"We were never married," he said quickly. "She's more of an ex-girlfriend, and I would love to leave that subject right there."

"Oh, but that wouldn't be any fun," Ian grinned. "Tell everyone how she found out about Emily!"

"I prefer the story of how she became enamoured with you, actually," Rob shot back.

Ian's expression soured.

"I noticed that," I said. She'd seemed quite preoccupied with Ian at the wedding.

"Yes," Tara said unhappily. "I don't think there was anyone that didn't."

"How did you break up?" Mom asked with an amused smile.

"She didn't want to come to North America with Ian and me; she wanted to stay in Europe, so we parted ways amicably and can we please leave it at that?" But of course, it was not left at that. After half an hour of merciless teasing, Rob finally retreated to the garage to escape our inexhaustible barrage of questions.

I decided to go to bed shortly thereafter. I wanted to be in good shape for class tomorrow. I tried to convince myself that sleeping without Jacob would be just like every night I'd spent before we'd gotten married, but it was different. It was lonely. It had been over a year since I'd slept alone. I pressed Jacob's pillow to my chest and buried my face in it, inhaling his scent deeply. I realized that he hadn't called yet. He's probably busy, I told myself. Just stop worrying about him already.

But with an unknown number of vampires in the area that seemed to have our destruction on their minds, that was going to be far easier said than done.