In this chapter, a little bit more about the couple from the dealership.

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CHAPTER 10: Déjà Vu

The sun was starting to sink in the rain-heavy sky by the time the two girls arrived at Cullen House. Bella was suddenly anxious that Edward had already gone to Volnostia. She couldn't feel the familiar tingling that indicated that Edward was near.

"I'll take these to your room," offered Alice, grabbing two fistfuls of bags and heading upstairs. "You find your man."

Jasper heard them enter the house, and greeted them from the top of the stairs.

"It looks like a successful expedition!" he joked, quickly moving out of Alice's path.

"Jasper," Bella asked him, "where is Edward?"

"Don't worry Bella," he assured her. "He wouldn't leave without saying goodbye to you. I think he went to take a walk in the forest for a while."

The forest? She remembered what happened the last time Edward was in the forest.

"How long ago did he go there?" She tried to sound casual. Judging by Alice's sharp glance at her, at least one of her listeners wasn't fooled.

"About half an hour ago. He should be back soon."

Bella was very good at being patient, most of the time. This wasn't one of those times. She thanked Jasper and disappeared into the front hall, flipping open her cell phone as she went. Just as she suspected, Edward wasn't answering.

Not completely certain of her plan of action, she called to Jasper that she'd be back in a while, and went outside. The wind was picking up, making her shiver, and dark clouds were appearing in the eastern sky. It reminded her of the night she met Edward.

"...you will never go into those woods alone at night again. I cannot guarantee your safety ... in fact, I may be forced to take care of you myself."

She remembered Edward's warning. Well, she rationalized, it's not night yet, and walked determinedly toward to forest. As she approached, she felt the faintest of tingling. Not the standard there's-an-empath-here awareness, but rather the Edward-is-nearby sensation. She had no idea of his distance, but here was her chance to try a little tracking.

Forcing her rational thoughts aside, she gave herself completely over to her emotions, concentrating on the intensity of the familiar tingling. It took her down one of the darker trails. The recent snow masked the crunch of the leaves, allowing her to move almost silently.

"He must be able to sense me coming," Bella thought, following the direction of the intensifying current. She wondered what his reaction would be. He'll be angry, she reasoned with a frown, especially if he is meeting someone here. Of course, he'll probably send the other person, or people, away.

The current suddenly spiked, and Bella slowed her pace to a cautious creep. Edward was very close, but she had no idea if anyone else was there. Up ahead, she could hear a man's voice. Was he talking with Edward? Tension made her even more aware of the now almost-overwhelming tingling. She could feel it pulsing through her whole body. Carefully she crept toward the voices.

Suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth and an arm wrapped around her from behind, pinning her back against something hard. She was noiselessly yanked to the frozen ground. Her instinct to struggle was quickly squashed by the realization that her captor was Edward, and she automatically relaxed.

"Don't move," he hissed in her ear. He released his hold enough to see her face. Bella had been wrong - he wasn't angry. He was furious.

Edward put a finger against her lips, indicating for her to be quiet. Ahead of them, she could still hear the man talking, although she couldn't make out the words. The wind was by now rustling the leaves too loudly for her to hear him, and there was a distant rumble of thunder. What, again? She realized that the man was alone, speaking into a telephone mic. The tone was harsh.

Bella turned questioning dark eyes to Edward. He shook his head lightly, and put his lips to her ear.

"Trust me?" he whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear. His breath tickled, sending a shiver through her. She nodded.

It sounded like the man was finishing. Bella heard the soft click of the phone. Edward abruptly pushed her, face forward, flat to the ground, covering her with his body and whispering urgently in her ear again.

"This will sting. Hold still."

He pressed something in his hand to the snowy earth next to him. Suddenly Bella felt as if her back was being pricked by thousands of needles. Judging by Edward's sharp intake of breath, he felt it more strongly than she did. She heard rapid footsteps approaching, and held her breath. Edward was doing the same. They paused, then continued on.

After a couple of minutes, she felt Edward slowly turn his head above her, presumably to make sure the man was truly gone. Then he pulled himself off of Bella, standing up and helping her to her feet. She gave a muted gasp when she saw him. It seemed like someone had taken whatever was on the ground and painted him with it. Hesitantly she raised her hand to touch his cheek. It felt like his skin, but it looked like snow-covered leaves.

"Chameleon cloaking device," he whispered, his irate expression softening briefly at her touch. He showed her a small button in his palm. "It'll wear off in about three more minutes. Let's get out of here."

Edward practically hauled her after him through the woods. Bella stumbled a couple of times, unable to keep up with his long strides.

"Either slow down or go ahead without me," she whispered irritably. "You're not dragging me through the forest like a naughty child."

With an exasperated sigh, he slowed his pace. His mouth was set in an angry line. Breaking away from the protection of the woods, the wind nearly knocked Bella over. Edward pulled her closer to his side as they hurried toward the house. Instead of going to the front door, he propelled her to side of the building, out of the wind. In spite of the comforting current between them, Bella wasn't looking forward to this conversation.

He turned her toward him with exaggerated care. Edward's eyes were black as he glared down at her in the semidarkness.

"Now, Bella," he stated through gritted teeth, "you are going to tell me why the hell you followed me into the forest when I explicitly told you not to."

Bella glared back at him, refusing to be intimidated. "I needed to tell you something important, but you weren't answering your phone." Jeez, she sounded like an impatient six-year-old. "I also just wanted to see you again."

"And that was more important than heeding my warning?"

Uh-oh, this wasn't good. "You said not to follow you at night. The sun was still up, and I didn't follow you...exactly. I...tracked you." The excuse sounded lame, even to her own ears.

Edward gripped both of her arms through her jacket, giving her a shake. "Stop splitting hairs. You knew exactly what I meant!"

She twisted away from him. "You're hurting me," she told him coldly. He released her, still glowering as he watched her rub the circulation back into her upper arms.

"Do you know who that was in the woods? Our officer of the Elite Guard. Can you imagine what could have happened if he saw you?"

Bella gasped. She forgot that she was supposed to be upset with him. "He could have killed you! Edward, if anything..."

He groaned, bending his head and running his hand through his already messy hair. His anger suddenly left him as well.

"We're talking about you, not me." His voice now seemed tired. "I couldn't live with myself if I let any harm come to you."

They gazed at each other for a moment. Edward lifted his hand and plucked a couple of muddy leaves from Bella's hair, his face expressionless. "I hope I didn't hurt you when I knocked you down. The cloaking device is painful, so I thought it would be better to cover you than to submit you to it."

Bella nodded. She glanced down at her jacket. It was wet and muddy in patches from the snowy ground.

Another low rumble of thunder reminded them of the coming storm. "It seems that we're always caught in thundersnows." Edward sighed. "Let's talk inside."

He pulled her after him, more gently this time. They entered through a pair of French doors at the side of the house, which led to an almost-empty sunroom. No one used it in the winter months, and the huge shutters around the room were closed. Bella remembered that the shutters rendered the room soundproof.

They sat on the only piece of furniture in the room - a stone bench. It was so small that Bella's legs brushed his, sending yet another shiver through both of them. She took a steadying breath.

"Are you going to tell me how you came across that Elite Guard Officer?" she asked, trying to sound offhand.

"Only if you first tell me what was so important that you risked your life to find me."

Bella looked at him steadily. He wasn't going to like this. "Alice and I saw his daughter while we were shopping. It looked like she was following us."

Edward scowled and uttered something forceful in Volnostian. She was right...he didn't like it. Before he could continue what sounded like a stream of expletives, Bella hurriedly told him about the girl and Alice's deductions, omitting the part about her friend's abilities. By the odd glint in his eyes when she mentioned that the girl was probably a limited telepath, she had a sneaky suspicion that he had figured out Alice's secret. However, he didn't push the matter, much to Bella's relief.

Bella was trying very hard to follow her training, to remain rational and detached. She reported the events of the afternoon in standard debriefing format. Edward wasn't fooled... she was frightened. Knowing Bella, she was more worried for him than for herself. His report on the Elite Guard Officer wasn't going to help.

"I went for a walk in the forest to clear my head," he explained, "and thought I saw a flash of someone else there. It wasn't unusual for people to walk around the woods, but I decided to investigate anyway."

Bella could envision him following the man through the forest. Edward moved like a cat ... quickly and silently. She imagined that he could also be deadly. His victim would have no idea he was there.

"It took me a while to realize who he was. Then someone called him on his cell phone. I suspect it was the girl. He made some comments about 'her' and 'them.' He instructed her to get as much information as possible. That's when you arrived."

Bella's eyes narrowed in thought. "You think that 'them' are Alice and me."

"Possibly."

"Coincidence is now out of the question."

"Probably."

For a long moment, anxious brown eyes met worried amber ones. "Do you think that they recognized you at the dealership, and traced your back here? Edward, there's probably a bounty on your head. He'll kill you!"

Edward frowned. "I doubt it. You are the vulnerable one here. Being at the dealership at the same time as us could have been a coincidence... or not. Now, however, they know where you live, and followed you and Alice while you were shopping. The girl can probably read your plans to some extent."

He paused, then his ochre eyes widened suddenly. "Oh shit."

"What?" Bella felt him fight back a flash of panic.

Taking a deep breath, he turned his body sideways to look directly at the woman next to him. "Remember our discussion with Jasper this morning? Those cadets who were murdered? You suggested that the killer could be a lecturer or a high-ranking Altairian Guard officer, because the victims were from different bases..."

"And he would need the ability to detect empaths," Bella finished his thought. "A telepathic or empathic partner."

Edward was right. Why hadn't she thought of that earlier? Given the circumstances, she was quite likely their next target. Bella attempted to suppress the shiver that crept down her spine, knowing that he would sense it.

"It could still be both of us, Edward. He may be trying to kill two birds with one stone."

He grimaced at the morbid pun. It was just like Bella to still be thinking of the danger to him. He didn't deserve her.

Bella moved her eyes from Edward to contemplate a spot somewhere behind his shoulder. "I can speak with Uncle William. He would be able to issue an edict to his Elite Guard to leave you alone, and that accepting any kind of reward for you would result in court martial." She inwardly cringed at the idea of begging for her Uncle's help, especially after she stormed out only a few days ago. He would want something in return...such as her enrollment in the Guard. Her life would be completely under his control again. However, if it saved Edward, she was willing to make any sacrifice.

"No!" Bella jumped at the sudden anger in Edward's soft voice. "You are not putting yourself back in that man's hands."

"But..."

He gripped her upper arms again, turning her to face him straight on. "Bella, you're not doing it. Don't you dare waste your time worrying about me!" he told her fiercely.

Bella looked pointedly at his hands. What was it with this arm grabbing of his?

"Sorry," muttered Edward, releasing her. His amber eyes burned into hers. "I'm a Volturi operative, Bella. A very high-ranking one. There are always people trying to kill me. I can take care of myself. If this guy is targeting empaths, then the Volturi are probably involved. They wanted your parents, and now, thanks to me, they want you."

"Edward, I told you before, we are in this together. Let me help."

He ran his hand though his hair in frustration. "I, and the people I deal with, if you can call us people, are extremely dangerous. Human life means nothing to most of them. If you cross their path in any way, especially by interfering with one of their pet projects, I don't think even I could protect you. "

Edward was beginning to recognize when Bella was going to be stubborn. This was definitely one of those times. Her mouth set in tight, straight line, and she folded her arms across her chest.

"Bella, you shouldn't be trying to help me. I've already put you in enough danger. The Volturi will..." He couldn't finish his sentence. "I'm asking...begging...you not to get more involved in all this. Do you understand?"

"I understand," she replied flatly. "So I shouldn't have got involved with you either, is that what you're saying? Well I'm sorry, it's too late. I'm already involved." Bella suddenly found the floor fascinating. "I know that you regret having to be bonded to me, but at this point there isn't much we can do about it."

He wanted to demand what the hell protecting her from sadistic, homicidal madmen had to do with the bond they shared, but the pain in her voice undid him. Edward gently grasped her shoulders and turned her to face him. "I don't regret being bonded with you." He sighed. "Bella, please look at me."

His hands slid down her arms to capture hers. Bella stared at their fingers for a moment before lifting her head. She was surprised to find his face so close to hers.

"Well, you sure seem like you regret it. I thought we went already went through this angst-filled discussion last night, and that we agreed to be in this as equals. That we'd face whatever is happening together, each protecting the other. But now you're going back on all that." She looked down at their hands again.

"In fact, whenever you talk about us, you never seem happy about it. What am I supposed to believe?"

Edward's sensitivity to Bella's emotions was developing rapidly, and the combined waves of anger and anguish coming from her hit him hard. He absently drew circles on the backs of her hands with his thumbs, subconsciously attempting to soothe her. Suddenly the electricity between them spiked, and her eyes darted to his. Images of his thumbs caressing other parts of her body flashed through his mind. She couldn't be thinking the same thing, could she? He watched her blush, her teeth sinking into her lower lip, and groaned softly.

"Believe that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me," he finally responded. "Believe that even though you deserve much better than me, I am too selfish to let you go unless you ask me to. I need you, Bella, and I'm terrified that I am going to lose you. That's why I get so overprotective."

A loud banging on the inside door broke into the tension between them. "Hey, you two decent?" Emmett.

Edward took a deep, steadying breath. "No," he called back. "Come on in."

Emmett was grinning from ear to ear as he entered and saw them. "Carlisle's back and he's calling a family meeting...now. In the dining room."

Bella opened her mouth to say something, but Emmett forestalled her. "You're family, Bella. No arguments. And Edward, I guess you're with Bella now, so that makes you family by association."

Emmett grinned again at their stunned expressions. "Carlisle wants to know what the blue blazes is going on around here. Something about no more secrets."

Jasper poked his head in. "Better hurry. Carlisle's fixin' to have conniptions."

Bella, Edward, and Emmett looked at each other, then followed Jasper quickly. This couldn't be good.

"Oh hell," muttered Jasper as they entered the dining room. "I mean, hello Carlisle."