S Meyer, as always owns all the characters in Twilight – Unfortunately I don't!

Chapter 7

BPOV

The snow had really started to fall as we set off. I was feeling incredibly uncomfortable with this strange man in my car. Vulnerable. What on earth had I done? Why had I taken such a risk? Sure I knew his name, that he was good looking and he was looking for a new job, but what else did I know about him? Peeking across, I risked a quick glance at his profile which lit up each time we passed under street lights. It looked a strong profile – a determined looking jaw and an aquiline nose but I realised his mouth looked grim. He looked worn and tired.. I also realised that I couldn't see even a glimpse of his eyes under the sunglasses he was wearing.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses?" I asked abruptly.

"I have a problem with the light in my eyes. Something to do with damaged corneas," he replied. "If I don't wear the glasses my eyes swell up and close."

Fair enough. It still seemed odd to be driving along with a strange guy in the car. The snow swirling across the front windscreen added an air of unreality.

I glanced across at his profile again. I had a feeling I had met this man before. I knew that was impossible, I would defintely remembered, but there was something familiar about him, something tugging at my memory. No, nobody came to mind. I'm sure I would have remembered if I'd met somebody this hot before because now I'd had a closer look at my passenger I could see he was smoking hot. Really, really hot. Not just handsome and well built but simply gorgeous.

Despite his poor clothes he had an air of authority about him, a commanding presence. I shivered. I didn't want to but I felt a pull towards this man. It was a good job I had to concentrate on driving as I was finding it increasingly hard to stop looking at him. What on earth was I thinking of?

Okay, distraction time.

"What job are you interviewing for tomorrow?" I asked him.

Startled he looked towards me. He looked like he was finding it difficult to bring his attention back to me.

"I'm a builder!" he replied.

Surprised, I looked across at him. He didn't look like a builder.

"What d'you build?" I asked, now very curious.

"Walls, I build walls," he answered irritably.

"Is there much call for wall building?" I enquired, puzzled.

"I didn't say I build very good walls!" he replied.

I had to laugh.

"That's why I'm looking for a new job!" he said with an air of finality.

Well that attempt at conversation didn't go down too well!

With the snow now falling thickly I had to concentrate even harder on my driving. The traffic on the highway had slowed right down and I thanked heaven and my dad that I was in a four by four vehicle.

Suddenly he broke the silence. "D'you have a cell phone?" he asked. "I don't have one and I need to make a call. D'you mind if I use yours?"

"Sure," I replied. It's in my pocket. Again I felt sorry for him. He couldn't even afford a cell phone. I passed my phone to him. He took one look at it and groaned.

"There's no charge on it. It's dead! We'll have to find a pay phone somewhere. I've got to make a phone call now!" He sounded desperate.

"It's not that far to Seattle," I protested.

"But with all this snow it's going to take too long." he argued. "Do you want me to lose this job?"

I didn't reply and turned off on the next exit from the highway.

The snow was far worse off the highway and once more I thanked god for the SUV. We drove slowly along a dark, lonely snow bound road until he suddenly yelled "There's a phone! Pull over next to it."

I duly pulled over and parked next to the dimly lit public phone.

"I'll just be a moment," he said as he climbed from the car. Icy drafts of freezing cold air blew in through the open door as he got out. I shivered feeling cold.

Now I had stopped I felt tired. I put the radio on and settled down to wait, hoping that he wouldn't be too long. I looked over at him and saw that he was chatting away on the phone. Still feeling cold, I could see my thick woolly jumper on the back seat of the car next to his hold-all. I leaned back to pick it up to put it on. Something was hanging out of Brad's bag. It lloked like a scrap of paper. I picked it up and looked at it. It was a map! But it wasn't a map of Seattle. It was a map with directions leading through a thick forest and up into mountains! What the hell?

As I looked up from the map to look at Brad a news alert came across the radio:

"News is just in of a massive manhunt under way near Seattle for an escaped prisoner. He was one of two prisoners who escaped earlier today. One prisoner has since been recaptured. The second prisoner is the notorious wife killer Edward Cullen. Police say that if you see him, do not approach him as he is armed and dangerous. Contact your nearest police station. I repeat; do not go near him."

Oh my god! I froze as he turned his head towards me. He had taken off his sunglasses and I recognised the features of Edward Cullen. No wonder he had seemed familiar. I'd spent years of my life drooling over that face. I could see his expression change as he recognised the look of panic on my face.

I fumbled for the door handle. I had to get away! I couldn't stay with this man. He was a murderer and dangerous. I managed to get the door open, but I was too late! He darted back to the car, wrenched his door open and grabbed my wrist just as I was about to launch myself out of my door.

"I don't think so!" he exclaimed as he pulled me back inside the car. "You're going nowhere without me."

His grip on my wrist was tight and it hurt. I watched in disbelief as he pulled a gun out of his pocket and pointed it at me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" snarled Edward Cullen, sometime hero of mine, wife killer and now my kidnapper.

God help me!

EPOV

As I wrenched Bella back into the car I felt furious. Fuck it, she had recognised me. I could hear the car radio announcing the news of my escape. Why had I taken those damned sunglasses off? It had been instinctual as I strained to see the number I was trying to call. The light was so dim I couldn't see with them on.

Time had been slipping away and I needed to ring Emmett to find out if he had been able to carry out his part in my escape plan. A man looking just like me – same hair style, same colouring, same build, was at this moment slipping across the border into Canada. He was being paid lots of money to look inconspicuous while at the same time being noticed so that the Canadian authorities would remember him and report the passage of Edward Cullen into Canada. If they thought I'd escaped into Canada they wouldn't be concentrating their search in the States. At least that's what I hoped.

That was the plan. Emmett was able to reassure me that the guy had indeed crossed over the border. My relief was tremendous. I could now move onto the second part of my plan. The authorities should soon start looking North for the missing prisoner and the heat should be off.

My relief didn't last long as turning back towards the car I could see the look of horror frozen on Bella's face. She knew! She fucking knew who I was. Damn it to hell. I looked at the sunglasses in my hand. Idiot! I could see her scrambling towards the door in the car. I raced back, jumped back into the car and grabbed her before she launched herself from her side of the car. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the car.

Stupid girl! Where the hell did she think she was going to go in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of a snow storm? "I don't think so!" I exclaimed as I pulled her back inside the car. "You're going nowhere without me!"

Leaning across and slamming her door shut and then my own door shut, I instinctively pulled the gun from my pocket. "I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

We both sat in stunned silence. Bella was rubbing the wrist which I had grabbed looking shaken and shocked. Had I really just pointed a gun at a completely innocent and helpless young girl? What had happened to me that I had come to this?

Once again I hardened my heart. I couldn't afford to be sorry for her. Guilt had to be kept at bay. I needed her help, willing or not, and it looked like it was going to be not!

"Okay Bella, we're going to have to get along...." I started to say.

"Get along!" she screamed at me. "You have a gun in my face! God I am such a fool. Why did I offer you a lift - you bastard?"

Tears were now running down her face. "I trusted you," she continued. "I felt sorry for you. That's why I agreed to give you a lift. Damnit I feel such a fool!"

She was visibly shaking, whether from fear or anger I couldn't tell. Probably from both.

"It was your clothes," she finally said.

"What about my clothes?" I asked, puzzled.

"All that denim! I noticed it was all brand new and I thought it was really sad that you were trying so hard to get a new job."

I refused once again to feel guilty.

"Come on," I said, changing the subject, "We need to get going."

"Where to?" asked Bella. "I know you've no intention of going to Seattle."

"You saw my map?" I asked. Her silence confirmed it. "Well you are going to have to drive us where I tell you to go."

It was then I noticed she was shaking, really shaking. She was terrified of me! I didn't blame her, but I needed her to keep driving. I couldn't read a map, hold a gun on her and drive all at the same time. She was just going to have to drive. What could I do to reassure her? Nothing, so I was going to have to get her mad instead. Distract her from her fear.

"It's nothing personal. You just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time. Anybody would've done. Except... from the start I liked the look of you."

"What do you mean?" she asked, eyes growing larger.

Oh dear that was the wrong thing to stay. That won't make her mad it'll just make her more anxious. She already didn't like the look of my gun, without being reminded of how sex starved I'd been for the last five years! I didn't want to think about that myself!

Let's try the truth.

"I need you to drive me to a certain location where I can hide out until the heat is off, or at least dies down a bit. I can't do this on my own so I am going have to 'borrow' you for a few days."

"You mean kidnap me!" she stated flatly.

"I prefer to think of it as an extended holiday. Look, we can do this the hard way or we can do this the easy way. All you need to know is that you are going to be driving me and that you have no choice in the matter!" I waved my gun around feeling like one of the characters from my old movies, only this time I wasn't the hero.

I hoped she wouldn't make this harder. There was no way I could actually shoot her, but she had to be aware of my reputation as a cold-blooded murderer! (I never ever thought that would come in useful!)

She looked deeply into my eyes, a considering look on her face. I tried to look like a killer, using all my acting skills. I must have succeeded because she turned the car engine on.

"Okay Mr Cullen, I know when I'm beaten," and just for a moment she looked really beaten down and lost. I tried hard to push down the guilt.

I looked at her properly for the first time. She really was quite lovely. Her long flowing hair hung down her back. It had red shimmering glints in it reflecting from the glow of the dashboard and from what I could see of her figure she was perfectly proportioned. She still looked, to my jaded eyes about seventeen or eighteen. I could have spent hours looking into her big, brown eyes.

I pulled myself up short.

God , what was I doing? Lusting after a young innocent girl! Perhaps I had been locked up for too long. She didn't deserve this. I willed my erection away! Pervert! Don't think of her that way, she didn't deserve that. Think of prison. Stay focused. Stay angry. That's better.

"Come on," I snarled "back to the highway. We've got a long way to go."

I know this chapter was short, but it seemed a good place to break off.

This is just the beginning of their journey together.