Author's Note's: This is a rough cut. I just sent it in to be betad, but I wanted you all to have it too!
Song recc for this chapter: Runaway by Pink
I don't own the peeps.
Emmett pounded on the door to the security office. He had never needed to think about the security of his building before. The doorman only cleared people he knew; everyone else needed to be buzzed in, including deliveries. There was no acceptable reason for this to have happened. He pounded on the door again, harder, not caring if he left a dent or broke the thing down. Finally, a pale man with a nasty disposition answered.
"What?" he snapped. "What is so fucking important?"
"This," Emmett barked, thrusting the balloons at him, "is what's so important. How the hell did these end up outside my door?" He towered over the man, using his size to intimidate him.
"Guy told me it was an inside joke between the two of you. He knew everything about you, I figured you knew him too." Emmett saw that, according to his name tag, his name was Marcus.
"Who was he? Did you check his ID?"
"No," Marcus replied, "I didn't even think to. The doorman sent him straight here at his own request, and he knew so much about you, I didn't bother."
"Do these things record?" Emmett motioned to the monitors on the guard's desk.
"Of course they do."
"Show me the footage around the time the guy came to see you."
"I don't think I can do that without a warrant." Emmett took a step closer to him, balling his fists. Marcus reevaluated his position. "I think I can do it just this once though as long as you don't say anything to anyone." He sat down at his computer and pulled up the morning footage, starting at five o'clock and working his way quickly forward. At six, Alice appeared. Various people from the building left and returned between six and seven, most with pets. Marcus slowed the recording just before eight.
"There. That's him." Emmett saw the outline of a figure on the screen, but he was holding the balloons in front of his face. From every angle, he made sure the balloons were between him and the camera.
"That asshole!" Emmett slammed his fist on the desk, shaking the monitors. "Wait, what's that?" He pointed to the screen closest to him.
"That's the front entrance view from about five minutes ago. Wow, get a load of that!" Marcus paused the footage and oogled a tall blonde as she made her way out of the building. Realizing what had happened, Emmett snapped, punching Marcus in the face and knocking him out of his chair. He stormed out of the office and rushed straight to the street. There was no sign of Rose. He pulled out his phone and found her name in his contacts. He called her, but it went straight to voice mail.
He had a good idea of where she was headed. He went up to his floor to grab his keys and helmet, then headed across the street to the parking garage. He was glad he had the foresight to go back to the hospital to pick up his bike while Alice cared for Rose. The engine rumbled, echoing through the garage, and he strapped on his helmet. He took off, determined to find her.
Rosalie located the orthopedic clinic in the hospital and was glad to see that it was empty. She made her way around the front desk and into the treatment areas. After a bit of searching, she found the casting room, isolated in the very back of the clinic. The door was unlocked, so she entered and locked it behind her.
The cast cutter made sawing the cast off easy. It looked like something out of a horror movie, but even when Rose slipped and went too deep, the blade just vibrated against her skin. When she was satisfied with the cut, she grabbed the cast spreader. The cracking the cast made sounded worse than bones breaking. Once it was opened enough, Rose wiggled and slid her hand out. She made a face at the smell. Only a few days and it smells like this? Nasty! She threw the cast away and found a brace that fit her well in one of the drawers. She cleaned up the rest of her mess, leaving the room as close to how she found it as possible. She walked to the exit hurriedly, hoping no one would notice her.
"Rose?" A familiar voice called out to her. So much for not being noticed. She stopped and turned to face her father.
"Hi, Dad," she said, shifting to hide her now uncasted arm. "What's up?"
"Shouldn't you be at Emmett's? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, yeah, we just stopped by here really quick," Rose lied. "He needed to, uh, check on something. I'm not entirely sure what he's doing, but I need to go find him before he leaves without me." She laughed nervously.
"So he's here with you? That's great, I need to talk to him about one of his patients."
"Dad, we're in a huge hurry."
"It'll only take a second. Let's go find him." Carlisle smiled. Rose faked a smile back. Well, this couldn't possibly be any worse.
They wandered the hospital for what seemed like hours to Rose, but was really only five minutes. Suddenly Carlisle's pager went off. He frowned when he read the message.
"Sorry, Rose, looks like you'll have to find him without me. Tell him to give me a call though!"
"Sure thing!" With that, Carlisle jogged off toward the ER. Rose heaved a sigh of relief. She found the cafeteria exit and found her cab. She still had so much to do, and she knew that Emmett would figure out what happened soon.
During the ride, she started thinking about Emmett. Guilt was eating away at her over the way she acted, especially the way she left. Really though, he was just being nice by offering to come with me. He just thinks I'm pretty, so he tried doing a few things to get my attention, then got in over his head. She didn't want to burden him with her baggage. He was a great guy, and super sexy to boot, and Rose definitely had a serious case of lust for him; he was too good for her.
Somewhat content with her paper thin rationalization, Rose asked the cab driver to wait for her again so she could grab a few more things. She casually walked inside, praying no one was there. This time, her prayers were answered; the common room was empty. Everyone's probably still asleep. She hit the elevator button and waited impatiently. The possibility that Alice and Jasper would see her crossed her mind, but she doubted they would be there. With Jasper acting out of character, Alice would drag him around the city in an attempt to pull him out of his slump. Rose wished her friend would just let things be, but at that moment it played to her advantage.
Rose rode the elevator to her floor, quickly checking the hall both ways before exiting completely. She walked to her door, keys in hand. She entered the apartment, locking the door behind her. The rest of her luggage was still packed and waiting for her, so she didn't have to do much. In lifting the bags, she discovered that she would have to leave the biggest clothing duffel bag behind. No great loss. She shouldered the other two bags and left the apartment. She threw the bags into the trunk of the cab and gave the driver the address to Jacob's junkyard.
James was rewarded for his stakeout; not only did he get to watch Rosalie's friend leave, looking worried and upset, Rose herself came running out minutes later, without that tool McCarty. James followed her to a coffee shop, watched her get into a cab, then followed the cab to the hospital and Rose's apartment. He didn't know what she was up to, but watching her squirm was exhilarating. He loved this part of the hunt.
As the cab drove off for the third time, James noticed a motorcycle fly by him between the lanes of traffic. That crazy asshole's going to get himself killed.
Rose pulled her luggage out of the trunk of the cab, silently cursing the lazy driver for not helping her after she had tipped him so well. Once she had everything on the sidewalk, she slammed the trunk down. The noise caught Seth's attention, and he came running out of the garage barking and snarling. Rose chuckled at him, holding her hand out so he could smell her. Once he caught her scent, he started wagging his tail. She dragged her bags through the gate and up to the office, dropping them by the door, and looked through the window. Jacob was asleep on the couch. Seth marched past her through the dog door. Rose decided to knock.
"Who is it?" Jacob called from the couch, not bothering to open his eyes.
"Jake, it's Rosalie. I bought the car the other day, had it towed here when it was totaled, all that fun stuff."
Jacob bolted upright. "I'll be right there, just give me a second!" He threw off the blanket that had covered his lower half, and Rose watched as he searched the office in his boxers, hunting for his pants. Now that's not a bad view. He's no Emmett, but is certainly nice to look at. Jacob found his pants under the couch and danced around trying to put them on while standing. He made eye contact with Rose and flashed her a smile before tripping over Seth and smacking his forehead on the desk.
" Oh my God, are you okay?" Rose tried the door and found that it was unlocked. Jacob looked up at her from the floor, dazed.
"I am now."
Rose rolled her eyes and helped him to the couch. She saw a minifridge in the corner, so she grabbed a soda from it and knelt in front of him, holding it against his head. He took it from her and tilted his head back, letting out a sigh.
"Is that better?" Jacob nodded.
"What the fuck? What the hell's going on?" Emmett burst through the door, yelling at them and looking pissed. Rose wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about. Is he that pissed that I left? Emmett clarified his question. "What the hell were you two doing?" Rose looked up at Jacob, then down at his boxers, and his pants around his ankles... She started laughing.
"Really, Emmett? Really?" Rose stood, steadying herself on Jacob's knee, which earned her another dirty look from Emmett. "That's adorable. Not only are you a stalker, you're controlling and jealous too?" Emmett cringed.
"I'm sorry. I just thought... I don't know. I guess it doesn't matter. You aren't mine; you can do whatever you want to whoever you want." He gave Jacob a pointed look. "Even if they are barely legal."
"How did you even find me?" Rose asked, ignoring his jab at poor Jacob.
"There were only a few places you would have gone. I went to the hospital first and Carlisle said that you had been looking for me. I knew that wasn't true, so I went to your apartment. I saw you get into a cab, and knew you'd be headed here, but I got caught at a few lights. Apparently I missed the show."
"Grow up. Why are you here? I left without telling you for a reason."
"I know, really shitty of you by the way. I don't want you to do this alone though. I know you can, but that doesn't mean you should. I want to help." He gave her big, sad, puppy-dog eyes.
"Fine. I hate driving alone anyway. But you buy your own food; I'm not taking out a loan to feed you." Emmett nearly squealed with joy. Rose raised and eyebrow at him, and he composed himself.
"Yeah, okay, great." He tried to play cool.
"Go back to your place and pack a bag. I'll come by and pick you up once I get a car."
"Promise? Because if you don't pick me up, I'll be forced to put out a missing person's report on you."
"I promise. Now go." She opened the door for him. He kissed her forehead and left, practically skipping to his bike. Rose watched him leave the junkyard, feeling horribly guilty; she hoped he would forgive her one day. She turned to Jacob, who was still sitting on the couch, half dressed.
"Get me a car so I can get the hell out of here."
"You're not really going to pick him up, are you?" It was a statement more than a question.
"No."
James watched the motorcycle take the same path he was taking. He thought it was impossible that they were following the same person, until he saw the bike pull into Jacob's junkyard. When James saw that it was Emmett under the helmet, he almost got out of the car and took him down. Almost. When he heard the commotion from inside, he decided to get out and casually walk by, pretending to be on the phone. He overheard bits of the conversation, and was livid when Rose agreed to let Emmett come along.
He had his back to Emmett when he got on his bike and took off for his place. James decided to stay put; Emmett was inconsequential at the moment. He had to think of a way to get to Rosalie alone. James did not like to adjust his plans yet again, but it was necessary. Anything for his Rose.
Once Jacob got dressed, he and Rose walked to the garage. Rose saw a lot of new inventory, all of it extremely flashy. Jacob let her peruse freely without questioning her this time. She passed a few cars that she loved, but they were way out of her price range. She sighed, delicately running her fingers across the hood of a Porsche 911 Turbo. It was beautiful, but retailing at $190,000, it was unattainable. She wandered around more, but kept coming back to the 911. Screw it, I'll just ask.
"How did you end up with this one, and how far out of my price range is it?" She braced herself for the answers. Jacob grinned with a devilish twinkle in his eye.
"I got that one from Charlie; some drug dealer used it to traffic his goods. I got it at the police auction Saturday. I muscled this other guy out of it, totally scared the crap out of him so I could get this baby." He leaned against a Land Rover crossing his arms and looking smug. "I got it for a steal too."
"How much?" Rose saw a glimmer of hope.
"Eighty grand."
Rose scowled. The glimmer was gone. There was no way in hell she could swing that. No bank would finance her now that she was unemployed. Not that she had time to wait on a bank loan anyway. She felt stupid for even thinking about it. Jacob sensed her frustration.
"Do you want this thing? It's a whole lot of car for a chick."
"Really? Because I was just thinking that it's a lot of car for a little boy." She raised an eyebrow at him, daring him to respond.
"Seriously, do you want it?"
"Of course I do! But there's no way I could pay you that much for it. Ever."
"You're just going on a vacation, right? If I let you borrow it, will you bring it back to me unscathed?"
"Are you serious?"
"Yes. Under one condition."
Rose rolled her eyes. She could only imagine what his requirement would be. A date? Maid service? Sex? Rose shuddered. Not that Jacob wasn't attractive, he just... wasn't enough.
"You have to come work for me when you get back."
"What?"
"I want you to work for me. You know a lot about cars, I need help around here so I can do more work on cars and worry less about the business, and it would be great to have a chi-... woman working the public relations end of things. And come on, playing with cool cars all day, what's better than that?"
Rose thought it over. On one hand, she would work long hours with undetermined pay. On the other hand, it was her dream job. She loved cars, and had for as long as she could remember. Work with cars all day instead of pushing papers? Drive literally the best car I've ever seen? It was a no-brainer.
"Absolutely." It was Rose's turn to grin. Jacob ran to grab the keys, and Rose eyed her new prize. It was gorgeous. She circled to the driver's side and waited impatiently for Jacob to return. She tried not to think about leaving Emmett behind. Or lying to him. Or how he made her feel. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, trying to force the thoughts out. Jacob startled her when he touched her shoulder.
"You okay?" He was concerned by the tears that had started to trail down Rose's cheeks. She cursed her emotions for betraying her.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rose replied. "I just hit my arm on the, uh, mirror. It caught me by surprise and hurt really bad." She smiled weakly, hoping Jacob would buy her flimsy excuse. His face relaxed back into his regular smile.
"Good deal then. Here are your keys. It's fully insured, and there's a Triple A card in the glove box. I'll toss your bags in the back for you. Are you sure you're okay to drive?" He gestured towards her wrist.
"I'll be fine. I promise."
"Yeah, I see how much that's worth," Jacob mumbled under his breath as his walked away. Ignoring his comment and the sting it left, she slowly opened the door to her new 911. It still had that fresh off the lot smell; Rose found it intoxicating. She sat in the driver's seat and ran her hand along the dash and all the displays. 415 brake horsepower, zero to sixty in 4.2 seconds, maximum speed of 192 miles per hour... Rose was in love. She barely noticed that Jacob had loaded her things into the trunk and was standing at her door. She caressed the steering wheel, stretching her arms out and getting a feel for the seat.
"Do I need to leave you two alone?"
"It's a nice car. I'm just appreciating it."
"If you appreciate it much more, I'm gonna have to get a mop and bucket!"
She responded by starting the car and revving the engine. The sound shook the garage. Jacob pushed the doors open and Rose buckled her seat belt. She eased the car out of the garage. When she was out, she rolled down the darkly tinted window and signaled for Jacob to come over. He bent down, sticking his head in the window.
"You won't tell Emmett, right?"
"Tell him what? That you're leaving without him? I think he'll figure that out without my help."
"Thanks. You're the best."
"That's what they keep telling me." He winked at her. She rolled her eyes and pushed his head out of the car. Jacob opened the gate for her. She put the car into gear and very carefully pulled onto the street.
Here we go.
As Chicago faded in her rear view mirror, Rose felt relief start to settle in. The silence was soothing; she wasn't the least bit tempted to turn on the radio. It was her and the road, exactly how she planned it days ago. Well, not exactly, but close. She smiled, leaning back in the seat and letting the cruise control do half the work. It was perfect.
Emmett paced his kitchen anxiously. He had left the garage an hour ago and Rose still hadn't called or been downstairs. He checked his bag again to make sure he packed everything he wanted. After putting the bag by the door, he sat on the couch and tried to watch TV. He flipped through the channels; nothing looked appealing. Finally, his phone rang.
"Hey! Are you downstairs yet?" Emmett couldn't contain his excitement.
"Uh, no," a man replied. "This is Jake, from the garage."
Emmett's enthusiasm deflated.
"What the hell do you want?"
"Well," Jake said, hesitating, "Rose is probably going to kill me, but she said that she isn't going to pick you up."
"What?" Emmett was furious.
"Sorry, dude. Thought I'd give you the heads up. Do you want to follow her?"
"Of course I do! How though? Did she tell you where she was going?"
"No, she didn't tell me; why the hell would she tell me?" Jacob scoffed. "I gave her my 911. It's lo-jacked, so I can follow it anywhere. I can send updates to your phone."
"Where is she now?"
"She just left ten minutes ago."
"Great. Keep me updated."
"Sure. And Emmett? Don't let her kill me. Please."
Emmett smiled and hung up. He shoved as much stuff as he could into a back pack then grabbed his helmet. She was not going to get away from him that easily.
James watched Rose pull out of the garage in her new ride and was impressed. He thought he knew everything about her, but he didn't know she had money. Lots of money, by the looks of the car. As Rose raced down the block, James waited patiently for Jacob to go back inside before following her. Traffic was surprisingly light, and that made concealing himself difficult.
When Rosalie got on the highway instead of making the turn to get to Emmett's, James was delighted, but confused. She stayed the night at his place, but left without him. She promised to pick him up, but bailed.
What a bitch. I love her.
We're underway! Go, Rose, Go!
Life has been nuts, so I don't have much of 9 done yet, but once I get it wrapped up, reviews WILL be rewarded!
