a/n: Thank you for the reviews for last chapter.
Edward
"Bella, what do you think about going back to Forks?" I asked casually, trying to broach the subject later that evening as we were lounging in her apartment. The air conditioning was on the fritz again, and she was wearing a white tank top and pair of dark green shorts. She probably had no idea how tempting she was. If things kept up like this, I wasn't sure how long I would be able to stay away from her. Earlier in the park, her heart had been racing while we'd been running and the scent of her blood pulsing through her veins had made my mouth instantly fill with venom.
She looked up from the script in her lap. "What?" she asked in confusion.
"Forks," I repeated. "What do you think about going back for a little while?" After my discussion with Alice and Jasper, I realized the only thing I knew for certain was that Bella was in danger. The question was why. Was she being targeted because, as Jasper had suggested, she was in the spotlight and it would cause mass hysteria if someone so well known was attacked by a vampire—creatures whose existence by all counts was that of merely legends and myths? Was someone trying to make our existence known to man?
Or was it simply coincidental? I doubted the second one; for Bella to come into contact with more than one coven of vampires in her lifetime was extremely unlikely.
"Why?" she asked, bristling immediately. Maybe it had been a mistake to even mention it.
"I can protect you better there," I explained. But the fact of the matter was there's safety in numbers, and there were a lot of Cullens in Forks.
Bella laughed humorlessly. "OK, we both know that whoever this is, they're only bothering with me because I happen to be in the spotlight right now. If I run away and hide, he'll just move on to someone else."
"Maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing," I said softly.
"Of course it would!" she argued. "If I let him drive me into hiding, then he wins. And…what happens when I'm thrown back into the spotlight again?"
I couldn't hold back a sigh. "Maybe there's more at play here than you realize," I suggested gravely.
She lifted her eyebrows. "Is there?"
"I'm not sure yet," I answered.
"Then why is your jaw ticking?" she shot back.
"I—because you're a bit infuriating," I informed her. She was too perceptive for my own good.
"Just a bit?" she said as a grin tugged at the corners of her lips. That was, of course, where my gaze fell and her cheeks immediately darkened.
I chuckled, and then looked back at the magazine in my lap. "It was just an idea," I told her.
"You had Rosalie do what?" I hissed later that night. Bella was fast asleep in her apartment, and I'd snuck out to see Alice and Jasper when I'd been certain she wouldn't wake.
"You said we needed to get her back to Forks," Alice reminded me stubbornly. "And she wouldn't listen to you."
"So you're going to blow up her truck?" I asked incredulously.
Alice shrugged carelessly, but to her credit the expression on her face was a bit remorseful.
"She loves that truck," I said angrily.
"You really know a lot about this girl," Jasper remarked dryly. "I thought you barely knew her."
I shot him a dirty look and then returned my gaze to Alice. "At least have her blow up Charlie's cruiser instead."
"Edward, I'm doing her a favor," Alice insisted. "That truck is on its last wheel! She needs a new vehicle anyway."
"The cruiser, Alice!" I repeated as I headed for the door. "I'll be waiting for the call."
"Rosalie's going to be mad!" I heard Alice yell as I left.
Bella
The sound of my bedroom door being flung open roused me from my slumber and very nice Edward dream; the sudden light made me groan in protest. My eyes flew open just as Edward pulled my suitcase out from underneath my bed.
"What are you doing?" I asked my voice scratchy from sleep. A look at the clock informed me that it was just after three in the morning.
"Your father just called," Edward said, and from his voice I could tell that something had happened.
"What's going on?" I asked as I threw my legs over the side of my bed and stood, suddenly wide awake.
"His police cruiser was blown up," he answered, his eyes sweeping over my body.
"What? When?" I asked, my chest tightening with anxiety as I forced my hands to remain at my sides under his perusal.
"It just happened. We're going to Forks, Bella," he said firmly.
"But—"
"There was a note left on the windshield of your truck. Do you want to know what it said?" he asked me.
I wasn't sure I did, but I nodded wordlessly anyway.
"'Next time it won't be your car. It'll be your daughter.' That's what it said," he snapped.
"This is because of me?" I whispered, biting down on my lower lip.
"Don't do that!" Edward scolded shortly; I almost thought he sounded panicked, but that was just silly. "You'll bleed." There was a short pause. "Are you ready to take this seriously now?"
I could feel the tears stinging behind my eyes. "You have to keep him safe," I said firmly.
"I will," Edward promised in a low voice as he pulled my closet door open, and then turned to face me. "But I can't do it from here, Bella."
I nodded in understanding. "Then we'll go to Forks," I conceded.
"Let's get packing," he agreed.
It hadn't taken us long to pack. In fact, Edward had already finished by the time he'd come into my room to wake me up.
Guilt assaulted me as I looked out the window of the plane; it was going too slow for me. I wanted to see my dad now.
If I hadn't been so stubborn…if I'd let him hire someone to look into this the first time it had happened we might not even be in this mess. My stomach churned as I realized how easy it had could have been for my dad to get hurt…how easily it could happen again.
My dad was right. And so was Edward. I may not have been on board with having him protect me before, but I sure as hell was now.
