Disclaimer: The Twilight saga, and its respective characters, belong to Stephenie Meyer.
Edward POV (because I skipped a chapter)
"What's the next move?" I hissed down the phone, watching as Bella's eyes widened at my tone. We were away from any and all prying eyes and ears in the Mexico City International Airport.
"Unclear, but pointless. Jasper and I are coming to find you."
I growled at Emmett's adamant tone. We did not have time for this right now. Bella's eyebrows narrowed ever so slightly in distress and I had to look away from her. She was too distracting. Every move she made, every word she said only drew me to her more; only made it that much more frustrating to not have a glimpse into her mind.
"Em, you can't. It's too dangerous."
"We know where you are, Edward. It will be a lot safer if we are all together. We can protect you; we can protect each other."
The crack I had been studying running from the ceiling to the center of the wall blurred in my vision. We couldn't protect each other because I had already put them in danger.
"Has Alice seen anything yet?" I demanded. Emmett's silence told me my answer – she hadn't.
"Call me when she does." I snapped the phone shut with a growl and turned back towards Bella.
Her arms were crossed heatedly over her chest, her eyes glaring into mine. Her irritation was palpable.
"Why won't you tell them where we are? Wouldn't be better if there was a group of us? More vampires to fight the Volturi?"
I was seeing red.
"No, because I don't want to fight the Volturi." Not to mention there wouldn't be a fight – just an all-out blood bath with us on the receiving end. "I've already pulled them in deep enough. They needn't worry about my safety."
She rolled her eyes, but ultimately released her arms and stared up at me in that way that made me feel as though she were the mind reader.
"Well… now what?"
I didn't know any more than she knew, but I couldn't tell her that. I needed to protect her as much as I needed to protect myself…and maybe then some.
"We need to get another car." It would be easier to drive, now that we were already in Mexico. The forgery that Jasper had had Jenks provide for identification and passports had never earned us a second-glance, but I didn't want to risk it now that we were in South America. We needed to remain low-key.
Bella swiveled around, her eyes searching until she glanced out towards the extensive parking lot.
"Get as in buy – or borrow?"
"Borrow," I answered with a smile despite the quickly escalating circumstances. Yes, Bella was a more than welcome distraction.
She didn't argue as we made our way through the parking lot, my head turning left and right as I glanced over the available cars. They were either too old, too slow, or too flashy. We needed something fast and inconspicuous. Most of the cars were already tinted to yield from the Mexican sun. Too bad I didn't have any of the forged license plates with me.
I could feel Bella's eyes on me as I searched and it sent a strange pulse through my body, knowing she was watching me and judging my movements.
"What about that one?"
I looked towards where she was pointing. A black Impala. It was fast and inconspicuous. I wondered if she knew that.
"Car and Driver?" I asked, making my way towards the vehicle. There was no one around that would notice anything strange.
"Huh?"
I laughed, shaking my head. She didn't know it was fast; it was just a chance choice.
She followed me to the driver's side, standing close enough to me that I could smell her lovely scent; feel the building electricity that seemed to follow us everywhere we went. I glanced into the driver's window and stood, peering down at her.
"No key," I commented. It seemed an obvious notion, but the amount of humans that left the key in the car always surprised me.
"I'll have to hot wire it." Rosalie would be proud.
She blinked, staring up at me, her pretty mouth pursing just the slightest. "Do I even want to know what that means?"
I laughed again.
We were on the road in moments, speeding up the onramp as I headed south. I figured Argentina would still be a good option; it was an arbitrary choice, but then again, what else did I have to go on?
"We can stop once we reach Panama and take a plane from there," I said to Bella as I sped down the highway leading away from the airport, three times over the speed limit. The nearly fifty-hour ride would only take about twenty if I kept with this speed – which I wholly intended to.
"Why don't we just stick to planes?" There was curiosity, but also something else in her tone. I glanced over at her to see her bottom lip jutting out just slightly in a pout. She liked the planes.
"Well…" I turned away from looking at her mouth to stare back at the road ahead of me. It was more necessary here than back at home. I had never before driven these streets. "By car, we are much less traceable. The Volturi are very well-equipped. They can see which plane we have taken at what time, and whether or not we landed with a delay, if they wanted to."
It was true. It was how they tended to catch up to vampires that were sought after, unless, of course, they were ravenous, heinous monsters scouring the planet for numerous bloody, unnecessarily obvious kills. These captures required Demetri's assistance. Which they no longer had.
I guess, in a way, if I had done anything to help my family, it was by rendering Demetri useless to the Guard. He could not track them, and I knew they would stay clear of airplanes or anything that would be traceable. Which reminded me…
I pulled the credit card from my wallet quickly and crumbled the plastic easily in my hand.
"What if we need gas?" Bella insisted as she watched in horror.
"Cash."
"Oh. Untraceable?"
I nodded, "Untraceable."
She was quiet for a while and I studied her for a bit as she stared out the passenger side window. She was chewing on her lip again, something she did when deep in thought. It was so frustrating not knowing her thoughts – and knowing that she could lower her shield. I wondered if she would be willing to trade for it. Perhaps I gave her answers to her unrelenting questions for some small moments into her mind.
It was funny how short of a time it was when I had previously thought how great and soothing it would be to be around a shield. To not have to hear the incessant inner ramblings of someone at all times. I was excited to get lost in the silence, but now, I only felt as though I were going completely insane. What I wouldn't give to have a simple glimpse into her convoluted mind. The questions she came out with; her reactions to certain things I said…. It was easy to believe that her mind was the one I coveted most. I didn't want her silence; I wanted her thoughts, bare and unedited.
My wishes came partially true as I was met with her bright scarlet spheres once more, fringed by the delicate, long black lashes. She was beautiful, of course, as vampires were. But it was something more, something beyond vampire beauty. Her beauty held no bounds, but she had this magical, innocent magnificence about her. It was breathtaking and heart wrenching all at once, to gaze upon her loveliness. No wonder she could distract me from the situation at hand, and she did – often.
Her eyes, normally windows to her hidden mind, reflected only two sentiments at the moment: annoyance and amusement.
"Could you stop?" she lamented, her voice traveling through me like a siren's call.
My eyebrows raised in questioning.
"I know when you are trying to read my mind. I've told you before – you can't break through no matter how hard you try."
"What if I try hard and I am relentless?" I teased her, my eyes widening innocently. She smiled and shook her head before turning to look back out the window. The smile was still there; it made me grin as I turned back to the road.
The sun, which had been hidden behind the clouds for most of the drive, was slowly moving into view, attempting to press through the car. The tinted windows kept the majority of it out, though, and even though our skin glowed unnaturally, it would not be noticed by driver's on the outside. I watched as it danced behind the trees before returning with full force as I drove.
Bella watched it too, her face practically pressed to the window as she watched with fascination. So she liked the sun as well. Yet another thing we had in common.
The buzzing and jolting of the cellphone as it bounced around in the ashtray disrupted my observing of the reddish tints glinting from Bella's long hair and I quickly snatched it from its placement, silently praying that it was Alice with news and not Emmett with another plan.
It was both.
"Jane, Alec, and Felix are heading to Red Rock, Canada as we speak." Which means they'll be finding Demetri soon.
"How long?"
Bella turned to look up at me, her eyes wide and fearful.
"Ten hours? I'll know their next move once they get there."
"Keep us posted." I started to hang up, my foot pressing even harder on the accelerator. They would arrive and leave Red Rock within the same hour, I was certain and then be heading towards Mexico City.
"Wait!" Alice cried, "There's something else…"
"What?" I growled, grasping the phone too tightly in my hand. The plastic began to groan against my grip. How much more could we take?
"We're taking the next flight out to Mexico City –"
"Alice!" I snarled, jolting forward in my seat. They couldn't. The Volturi will be here any day.
"Well, Carlisle, Emmett, and Jazz. Rose, Esme, and I are staying to man the fort back home –"
"They are not to come here, Alice. Stay together at home."
"Well, I know you are about to hang up on me, so Rosalie wanted me to tell you next time you hot-wire a car, make sure not to mutilate the ignition wires. They'll be easier to work with if they're more salvageable."
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind," I spat and then snapped the phone shut, tossing it back towards the ashtray. It bounced off, landing squarely in Bella's lap.
"Sorry," I muttered, glancing towards her. Her eyes were still wide, her head staring straight forward.
"Bella," I started, hoping to soothe her – I wasn't sure how, but something had to be said – but the phone buzzed once more, bringing her back to life. She jumped and looked down at the phone before blinking up at me. I nodded, staring away at the road. I would not be talking to the family again until they came up with a better plan than to get themselves killed.
She flipped open the phone hesitantly and then pressed it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"I saw that happen as well and, Bella, I must say you are a saint for dealing with dear Edward." I rolled my eyes but was happy my sister's words could put a soft smile on Bella's mouth.
"Esme, Rose, and I are in –"
"Don't say it, Alice." I barked, knowing she could hear me clearly through the phone. "If Aro catches up to us…" He would read my thoughts and know every detail of every single conversation. She could give us information about the Volturi's whereabouts, but never the family's.
"You're right, of course. Well, turn off the phone to conserve battery at least."
Bella pulled the phone from her ear and gawked at the battery life. Twenty percent.
"Okay," Bella complied quickly. "We could turn it on every hour or so for a few minutes and you could call?" Brilliant and beautiful.
"Yes! Excellent. Not every hour…hm, perhaps every two? It'll give me time to collect more visions until you have a chance to charge the battery or get a new phone."
"Yes, that will work. Starting at the next two-hour mark."
"Bella…you are so much easier to deal with than my cynical brother." Bella giggled at that, shooting me a glance, but I could only roll my eyes and shake my head.
"Bye, Alice, and thank you. So much."
"My pleasure," Alice charmed in her sing-song voice before hanging up.
"Your family is…" Bella trailed off, shaking her head as she smiled.
"Amazing, I know," I acquiesced softly.
Amazing and alive, for now…
Oh, cynical Edward. Whatever shall we do with you?
And, yes, Edward will be driving very, very fast.
Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! The chapter was a little later than I had hoped, sorry about that!