Chapter Ten

Alice

Peter was not keen on accompanying me to Port Angeles but I pointed out until he heard from Darius there was little he could do in Seattle, I assured him Edward wasn't here and I'd traipsed all over Seattle in the past couple of days, we would have crossed paths somewhere especially as his interest in being here would be the same as mine, Bella.

"Who knows, you might even be able to help us."

"Help you? Do what? Play Santa for some human kid? Do I look like a fucking fairy godmother?"

"No, but I'm sure dressed in sequins and with wings you would. Come on Peter, just try being helpful, what else have you got to do right now?"

He agreed albeit reluctantly and insisted on doing the driving so I sat back and told him what I'd discovered and what I had planned.

"Why is it you like organizing people Alice? Does it never occur to you that some people like to control their own lives?"

"Of course it does, but right now Bella has no control over anything and no money to arrange anything while we have the time, the control, and the money. Wouldn't you like to be responsible for making someone smile Peter?"

He huffed and puffed but he didn't say no which was a vast improvement on his usual frame of mind which was to disagree with everything and everyone.

I could tell Rose was upset the moment I set eyes on her and we hugged briefly, much to Peter's amusement, before getting down to business.

It seemed that Emmett had collected all the leverage we would need and it was plain from what he and Rose told us that Ellie would be far better off with Bella if we could persuade Doug that it lay in his best interests to let his daughter go. The only problem we had then would be persuading Bella to allow us to help her. She had no reason to trust us and plenty not to but I hoped the idea of having her daughter back might sweeten things a little.

I was just explaining the small house I had found for Bella and was in the process of leasing when Peter's phone rang and he went outside to take the call.

Peter

When I saw Darius' name come up on my phone I was relieved, the idea of playing Mary fucking Poppins to this human and her kid left me cold, it just wasn't me. I had no love for humans, I saw them much as humans saw cattle or sheep but as it kept me close to the only person Edward seemed to care about I was prepared to put up with it for now. I just hoped Darius had good news for me, surely he had traced one or both of our quarries.

"Darius, speak to me. Make me smile."

"Wish I could Peter but I'm not sure you're going to like what I discovered."

My stomach did a backflip, bad news?

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

"Well, we were right in thinking that Edward was behind the Major's disappearance but he had help, Volturi type help although I don't think from what I can find out that the Volturi itself was involved. It seems a certain young man has gone rogue on Aro."

I cursed, it was obvious who he meant and it explained a lot.

"Alec, that little weasel. So where is our friend? So long as he isn't in Volterra itself we can manage a rescue mission."

"Not necessary, Peter. The Major freed himself somehow, I don't have any details but he has just popped up on the radar, that's how I traced him. He's back in the States already and I would imagine looking for payback."

"So Edward Cullen is about to find himself in a world of pain? Great. Getting his hands on Alec might prove more difficult. You say he popped up on the radar, didn't he call you?"

"Nope and he obviously hasn't called you either which is worrying. Do you think he's concerned about who he can trust? I mean you didn't race to his rescue so maybe he thinks you decided not to stick your nose into what might have appeared Volturi business."

I was pretty pissed off at the thought of that.

"He should know better. I'd never leave him hanging."

"Well, he's been a prisoner for three years so I guess maybe he isn't thinking clearly. Are you still in Seattle?"

"Nope, I met the energizer bunny and she persuaded me to stick with her and the other Cullens who are watching Bella Swan. Eddie boy isn't here but he might still turn up unless you have anything for me? I guess the Major will contact me sooner or later. Where did he head?"

"That's the slightly worrying part of this story. He flew to Sea-Tac and rented a car at the airport."

"Seattle? You think he's hunting Edward here too?"

"Actually I think he's looking for the girl. I found a trail which showed me he'd hunted for her online. I guess he's better at that stuff than I gave him credit for although he might have gotten help from a lawyer there, a guy called Jenks. Does that name mean anything to you?"

"Nope, but this Jenks wouldn't have had much trouble tracking the girl down. I guess I should get back to Seattle, see if I can find him. Thanks, Darius and if you hear anything else…"

"Yeah, I'll let you know. Just be careful Peter."

"I will but don't worry. Whatever he's been through he'll trust me."

I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. It made me uneasy to think that my best friend had escaped captivity and hadn't contacted me. I should have been his first port of call not some lawyer in Seattle.

I glanced back at the motel room where the others were still talking about Alice's crazy plan for the girl. Instinct told me to get in the car and leave but I owed it to Alice to tell her that the Major was free and that we had been right about Edward's involvement in his disappearance so I went back inside.

They fell silent as they saw my face and I told them exactly what Darius had told me. No one was particularly shocked to hear that Edward was involved although they were horrified when they learned that Alec Volturi had been his partner in crime.

"Darius didn't think the Volturi were involved though?"

"Nope Em. He thought Alec was acting alone."

"Poor Jazz, I wonder what they did to him. I'm just glad he managed to escape. He shouldn't be difficult to find now we know he's in Seattle and looking for Bella. We should get back."

I was just about to explain our concern about the Major's continued silence when my phone went again. This time I didn't bother excusing myself, I had no secrets from these people.

"Darius, what have you got? We're on speakerphone."

"I just eavesdropped on a call between Edward Cullen and Alec Volturi. They're both crapping their pants over his escape but Edward thinks the Major might be headed for Seattle to get even with the girl."

"The girl? You mean Bella Swan? What's she got to do with it?"

"It would appear that Edward let the Major believe that she was involved in the plan to imprison him and as Alec is safe in Volterra and Edward is in Europe it would appear he's come for her first."

Alice's mouth opened in horror while Rosalie groaned and Emmett put a hand to his face in shock. It seemed their carefully laid plans for Bella's Christmas might just be fucked by her death if the Major got to her before we did and Darius had said he was already in Seattle and knew where she lived.

We piled into one car and headed for Seattle as fast as we could, pleased that in the dark we could drive without headlights giving us warning of any other cars and particularly patrol vehicles on the road. It was plain from the outset that even running we wouldn't have been able to beat him to Bella's place, we could only pray that she was able to talk some sense into him or that she wasn't there when he arrived or we were going to find ourselves confronted by a drained, and probably mutilated body, depending on the Major's frame of mind and after three years in captivity he was unlikely to be in a good mood.

We arrived at the apartment building half expecting to see it surrounded by blue flashing lights but all was quiet. If he had attacked her he had done so without alerting anyone else in the building. As we entered through the lobby, Emmett having overridden the keypad entry, we looked at each other, he'd been here, we could smell his scent.

"Stay here, Em and out of sight. Just in case he's still here and tries to get out. We have no idea of his frame of mind so don't automatically assume he'll see you as a friend. Just try to follow him."

Em didn't like my order but he nodded reluctantly and retreated back outside while I hurried to catch up with the girls who had taken the emergency stairs up to Bella's floor.

Her door was ajar and we entered cautiously but no one was there. It was clear that he had forced entry and Bella had tried to defend herself. The furniture was out of place according to Alice and on the floor by the kitchen sink lay a knife, close by a pool of blood. It wasn't huge but the scent had my mouth watering ad I saw Rosalie was holding her breath and looking uncomfortable.

"We're too late. What do you think he did with her?"

I stared at Rose, what a stupid fucking question, what did she think the Major had done with Bella? Taken her out to dinner and a fucking movie?

"What do you think? He was thinking clearly enough to dispose of the body though. I guess she's not going to lead us to Edward now."

Alice was looking around anxiously but she didn't look as horrified and devastated as her sister.

"What you looking for? A limb or two? Her heart?"

Alice shook her head glaring at me, I guess our truce was over.

"We have to find them."

"Them? You think she's still alive after this?"

"Yes. He won't kill her, he can't, but he won't understand why and neither will she. I'm just afraid there will be an accident if she tries to escape."

"Whoa! Back up and start again from the beginning. You lost us."

Alice sat down heavily on the arm of the couch and bit her lip.

"Jazz won't be able to kill her but he won't understand why and if he's confused and angry after what happened to him he's going to be extremely volatile. I'm worried Bella will try to escape and force him to act. We need to find them before something terrible happens."

"Ok, still not getting the picture. Try again."

Rose was looking as mystified as me which was a relief, for a minute there I thought I was losing my mind.

"Jazz and Bella. She's his mate. I sensed it but only after we left Forks and then only dimly. It's Bella's gift, she scrambles other gifts. Edward couldn't read her mind, I couldn't see her future and James couldn't track her properly, he had to make her come to him."

I was about to laugh but then I saw how serious she looked, she really believed this crap. But something gave me pause for thought. She was a seer of a kind, had she really seen this? It was just a shame she hadn't seen the Major coming earlier and saved her human friend from a world of grief.

"Ok. Say you're right. Where do we look for them? What'she going to do?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know but he'll need somewhere he can hide her. Somewhere he can leave her safely while he hunts. After three years he's going to need to hunt frequently because I doubt Edward or Alec would have given him much, they'd want to keep him weak. You know him best, in this mood anyhow so where do you think he'd go?"

I rolled my eyes, she was the one with the freaky visions, not me!

"I'll call Darius, he might be able to help. I'm not going to be able to trace him because he's not in danger now. We can try tracking him but in a city that won't be easy, especially as it's pouring with rain washing his scent away by the minute."

Darius was dubious, the Major wasn't likely to be making calls or using the internet but as he had a human with him he might just use the credit cards supplied by his tame lawyer, We could only hope as we went back down to the street to begin our own search and hope Alice was right for the girl's sake.