Come Take a Walk with Me

Chapter Twenty – Blood Soaked Asphalt

Couched within the shadow of a building, I roared and launched myself at one of the men that stood watch. The satisfying crunch of bone rang through my ears, milliseconds after I landed on his back. Sick thoughts ran rampant in his mind, seconds before the rush of tremendous pain colored his thoughts blood red. A scream burst from his mouth, only to be cut off as his nervous system completely shut down. Before his body hit the asphalt, he was dead.

My right arm shot out, my hand clamped around one of the other's, who had already registered my presence. With a simple twitch of my hand, his neck snapped before a sound could be made through his crushed wind pipe.

In those few seconds it took to kill the first two, I sensed another nearby, watching and ready to make himself known. However, time of was of the essence. My first priority was Bella.

At least I knew that we were right. Alice's vision was blocked because of him. However, before I could do something about him, another of her screams pierced the night as Lenny intensified his taunting, unaware of his friends' deaths.

The third man, Jason, turned toward me, his eyes wide with fright. He had every reason to fear me, as I stalked toward him. Despite his doubts about what he and his friends were doing, he chose to remain and do nothing to save her.

He did not have a chance to step away when I hit his throat, his hands instantly reaching it, fighting to take another breath. I snarled and tossed him, his body sailed through the air. He smashed against a trash bin, sliding to the ground, blood trickling from his mouth as his heart beat started to slow.

Before I could advance on the man that dared lay a hand on Bella, Jacob jumped between us. His snarling wolfish grin betrayed him, his inner voice as loud as ever. The boy had no idea what control meant.

His thoughts however enraged me. "Jacob!" I roared. "How could you lead them toward her?" I snarled as his mind conjured the images, the plan to win a place in Bella's heart. He forced the men toward her, scaring them with carefully placed snarls until they found Bella. In my eyes, his idea of "saving her" had sealed his fate.

Only twelve seconds had passed since I first come upon them, but her screams and cries made it seem infinitely longer. "She needs help," I snarled, attempting to circle around him. He stood in my way of protecting her. His interference would lead to her pain.

"Edward!" she screamed behind him. I snarled and ran toward one of the bodies, using it as a distraction. I grunted as I flung it toward him, his mouth clamping around the man's torso. I ran head long toward him, and at the right moment, I shifted my direction. I avoided his blood-stained teeth by a hair's width, circling around. I grabbed the fur on Jacob's back, swinging him toward another body.

Before he could shake away his momentary dizziness, I turned toward Bella. My venom ran thickly, as every muscle in my body screamed to attack. To protect. From behind, I wrapped an arm around her attacker's shoulders, forcing his head to one side with the other.

Bella lay on the asphalt, blood seeping into her clothes and the ground, her eyes scrunched tightly. Her sweater was cut through the middle, a blood stained knife lay beside her. I roar ripped through me, before I clamped my teeth into his throat savagely. I heard her scream again, her eyes snapping open, widening as they locked with mine.

She could finally see what I really was. Gasping, her eyes widening even further; it was only a millisecond later that her shield went up. She was safe, from the monster that tried to hurt her, Jacob— and from me.

I ignored the pain at the knowledge that she feared me, that she felt the need to protect herself from me, and I drank deeply. He would not die as quickly as the others. His bones started to crack under my killer embrace.

Three pulls and Lenny's body crumbled to the ground, I could no longer tolerate the taste of him on my tongue. The first human blood I have consumed in over seventy years, and all for her. I looked up at the night sky, closing my eyes as an overwhelming sadness washed over me. It was over. She would never accept me after seeing my true nature.

I heard her crawl away from me and my gaze returned to her. She gasped and pointed at something behind me. It was at that moment that I realized I was within her shield. Jacob snarled and growled at its perimeter, attempting to bat at it with his paws.

"Jacob," Bella whispered, taking in the ravished bodies around him. In his anger and inability to gain access, he'd torn them apart.

"I killed them," I said softly. "But he…" I could not believe that he had gone so far. "How could you do it, Jacob?" I walked toward the edge of the shield, aware of Bella rising to her feet. Cuts and bruises started to heal on her face, hands and chest. Despite her ability, I seethed with rage, my body trembled as the need to destroy still coursed through me.

"He did that?" Bella said, walking to my side, the shield molding tighter around us.

His mind had only one word chanting repeatedly through his thoughts— mine.

"If she was your imprint, Jacob, you never would have allowed this." I growled as my hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. "You led them to her. They would have raped her, every single one of them, probably even killed her." His large head tossed from side to side, his internal mantra continued.

"He did what?" There was fear and rage in her words, her body trembling and pushing the boundaries of her shield further out. "You were going to let him do that to me," she spat viciously. "This is how you show your devotion, by placing me in paths of monsters."

I could not kill Jacob in front of her. Not after the look of fear she had while I drank from the man that hurt her. I wanted to and knew it was a desire that would remain with me always. I would have to find a way to keep her from knowing that I would kill a boy she once thought of as a friend.

I heard voices, running footsteps and the sound a slow moving car. It would pass the entry of the alley in less than a minute. I looked around us, blood soaked the asphalt in various places; their blood and hers laid spilt everywhere.

Cover your tracks; a rule that burned into my mind, something to remember to ensure our secret and ambiguity among humans.

Unsure of her reception, I cautiously held out my hand for her to take. "Open your mind to me," I whispered. Her eyes met mine, searching them. Whether she found something reassuring or not, I was not positive. Fingers, soft and still covered in her blood, slipped along mine.

As Jacob snarled viciously at her acceptance, I showed and explained to Bella exactly what needed to happen next. She nodded, released my hand and snapped her eyes toward Jacob. Her hand shot up, pinpointing energy near him. The moment it released, his body slid along the ground, grit, fur and blood covering him.

His form remained, which was essential. I grabbed Lenny as I growled, "Close your eyes, Bella." The moment they slid closed, I threw his body toward Jacob, grabbed Bella and swung her onto my back. "Keep the shield up for as long as you can and hold on." Her arms wrapped around my shoulders, her blood stained hands inches from my mouth.

I groaned and fought my thirst as I jumped onto the side of a nearby building. She gasped as my fingers gouged onto the gritty surface, using them to climb toward the roof. On the next jump upward, her legs wrapped around my waist, burying her face into my shoulder, her fear palpable.

We both heard the voices of several men entering the alley beneath us. Thankful for the cover of darkness, I looked back at the scene. Charlie along with seven other officers fled into the alley, armed and ready. Within his own mind, he bellowed Jacob's name, but kept it from spilling forth.

Jacob, still in wolf form, stood in the mist of strewn body parts; blood splattered the nearby rubbish and walls that enclosed him. Shocked gasps could be heard from each of the officers, and as Jacob took a step forward, they opened fire, only a few hit flesh as he prepared to jump over them.

"Do not look, Bella," I whispered, shaking a hand loose, long enough to press her face against me. "It is something you should not see."

"So much blood," she cried softly. "What about my dad?"

"He's safe now," I said as Jacob launched himself over Charlie and the other policemen. Shouts and screams spread like wildfire as he disappeared down the street.

At the end of the alley, Charlie stood still. "Is she safe?" he asked softly, his eyes on the men running after Jacob.

"Yes," I said loud enough for him to hear. He startled and shook his head, even his body visibly shivered. He feared me, more than his daughter ever did and possibly could, if the past few minutes were any indication.

In his mind, he imagined opening a door for me to read him easily. "We need to talk without her present."

"I agree," I replied.

"Get her out of here."

"Dad?" Bella said softly, trying to look down at him. "Oh God. So much blood."I felt her head loll to one side, her hold on me loosening. I cursed and held onto her arm, speeding my climb up the building.

"He will be safe," I said, rocking gently on the soles of my feet and launching us onto the roof. "Jacob is already out of town."

"Okay."

I made quick work of returning to the jeep. Careful to keep the blood-soaked areas of our clothing from being seen by the few people we passed on the street. We looked like many of them; a young man out with his date, who'd had a bit too much to drink.

Bella slipped in and out of consciousness until we reached where I had parked. There, Jasper, Alice and Carlisle waited, their anxiety almost cracking through their mask.

"Oh, Bella," Alice cried. "Is that her blood? Why didn't I see this?"

"It is not all hers," I said as Jasper opened the door. I eyed him. "Are you all right?" He gave me a grim smile. "Then follow us on foot, just in case Jacob decides to make an appearance again." He nodded, crossing the street and moving downwind.

"Tell us what happened," Carlisle said, climbing behind the wheel. "Alice, don't worry about my car. You can go with Jasper." She turned toward Jasper's direction without another word. I knew she would peek into our futures to hear my explanation and would pass along the information.

Slipping in the backseat with Bella, I held her close, hyper aware of the drying blood on her clothes. Within seconds, Carlisle pulled out onto the road, taking us out of the city. My body was still tense, ready to strike, wanting more destruction and Jacob's head.

The moment the voices of the people in Port Angeles dimmed to only a murmur, I knew I was in trouble. Bella's blood, however little the amount in comparison to the others, started to become where one of my senses focused. That and the thrum of her pulse, the way the pale skin fell and rose rapidly just above it.

"Edward," Carlisle said firmly. His thoughts and voice allowed my mind to pinpoint on another factor besides my other senses. Those seconds allowed me to notice that I held Bella's body close to my own, my mouth poised over her neck. I inhaled deeply and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Pull over," I gasped. He did immediately, jumping out and opening the door. My arms tightened my hold on her, as my instincts told me to protect her.

"If you cannot give her to me," he reasoned. "You have to remove the clothes that are soaked in blood. "Is she still bleeding?" I shook my head, trying not to breathe again. "Hurry, Edward." Through his eyes, I could see that my own had already changed color, to red.

Careful not to jostle her, I pulled off her jacket and the torn long sleeve sweater. Only a small dot of blood stained the tank top she wore beneath, so it would remain. The area near the hollow of her throat was still pink and raw from where that man held the knife to her. Jacob had distracted me enough to not to see the weapon Lenny had pulled on her after she tried to kick him.

Emotions thick and violent seared through me, my hold tightening around her. "Easy, Edward."

"She could have died," I said flatly. "Why? It was because I chose to allow my emotions to keep me from protecting her. I would have followed had it not been because of my pain. Now, she will always fear the dark. Always fear me."

"She's here with you now," he replied. "Let's go home."

In a tone that Carlisle seemed to find somewhat disturbing, I told them every detail of what had occurred from the moment I found Charlie to when I left him behind. "Do we know if Charlie's all right?"

"He has already called, Edward," Carlisle answered. "He'll be fine." After several minutes, as the city disappeared from view, I knew I would have to answer his unspoken question and argue his thoughts.

"I do not care if he has been banished by his people," I said angrily, but only loud enough for him to hear. "Jacob went too far when he had a fellow wolf nearly attack her." I snarled at his thought. "Collin may not have wanted to kill her, but he sure as hell hurt her. For that, I blame Jacob."

"I know, son," he murmured, appearing older than his age of transformation. "Jacob is alone, now. Sam said that wolves aren't meant to be alone. And that eventually, he could become more beast than human."

The information did nothing to sway my mind; it only increased my need to protect her. Jacob Black would die by my hand.

AN: betaed by kyla713. Next, a talk with Charlie.