Chapter Twenty-One

Edward pulled her in his arms, aware of the curious onlookers. The media had yet to arrive. It was something to be thankful for, at least.

"We have some time to find her, Bells," her father said, taking the picture from Edward's hand. Her eyes focused on the evidence bag exchange, grabbing it before it was out of reach.

"Oh my God," she whispered and fought Edward's hold. "Let me down." The second her feet touched the ground, her knees gave out and she crawled to the nearest bush. She heard them cry out for her, trying to reach for her. To pick her off the ground, but she waved them away. She gagged and cried as Edward knelt beside her, "He took a picture of you in that box!"

Edward rubbed her back, holding her hair up. "You weren't meant to see it, Bella." Her father handed her a bottle of water. Edward watched as tears fell streaked down her cheeks, the fear, and pain evident her in dark eyes. She looked at her father and then at him.

"You okay?" He shrugged in response. It hadn't been easy to see a picture. She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Get me out of here," she whispered softly against his ear, and he couldn't help but do as she asked.

Edward carried her to her truck, staying close to it but far enough to talk with the others. Bella rocked back and forth in the passenger seat.

"Have to find her," she repeated in a desperate whisper after thirty minutes, drawing their attention. Charlie and Garrett tried to talk to her, but Edward knew she was far from hearing a word they said.

"That's enough," he said heatedly. "She's not going to tell us anything when she's like this."

He had to take her away from the staring and questioning eyes. Away from the memories that bombarded her of a horrifying event in her past. If the thought of stepping onto his burial site made his stomach churn and his knees shake, he could only imagine what it would feel like for her.

Her ability seemed to heighten her fear. It was time to leave.

Charlie cocked an eyebrow in question, his eyes dropping to Edward's hand on his daughter's back. It ran up and down the middle, only stopping long enough for him to whisper something in her ear. It appeared that he only offered comfort, but his hard glare when he looked up again made Charlie question his level of protection. This was much more than that and he was determined to find out what it was.

Edward had asked permission to see her, but the connection he was witnessing was strong already.

"If he's just taken her, we have only until nightfall by the time he gets her to the location of where he'll bury her. You can't take her back to the cabin," Charlie stated firmly. "I'm only doing this for her. I know if she dies, Bella will never come out of that." He pointed at his daughter, her rocking intensifying with every word he said.

"Shut up!" she screamed, turning the heads of those on the scene. She didn't care. "I need to leave here! Edward, just drive. I'll know, I'll know when I'm close." Edward circled the truck without a second thought.

Charlie felt his heart race and break at the same time. He hated that he had to push, but he already knew the truth. She would never leave the cabin in the woods if the woman died. He looked up and saw the concern in Edward's gaze. His eyes were on her, as if he couldn't look away. He appeared as scared as she was, but for different reasons.

She feared for her friend, he feared for Bella's well-being and state of mind.

Charlie rubbed a hand over his face, tugging at his hair for a moment. The choice was out of his hands, it now lay in theirs.

"We'll be right behind you," he said, tapping the door twice. He pushed away, stopping Garrett from pursuing them.

Edward nodded, started the truck, and left them behind. The red and blue lights from some of the police cruisers and trucks still bounced off the mirrors as he drove away, but soon they disappeared, swallowed up by the forest. It wasn't until they reached the highway that she finally took in a deep breath.

"North," she gasped, pointing. "Find a secluded spot, please, a few miles away please."

Edward only nodded and did as she asked. The minutes passed too fucking slow for him, watching her struggle through her fear, and emotions. All he wanted was to hold her, to take her away from it all.

However, even as those thoughts came to mind, he knew he had to hold that instinct back. Wasn't it similar to Bella hiding from the world? For years, the fear kept her from stepping outside the bubble she created in the remote woods.

There she was safe from the terror of those that sought to hurt or exploit her. Yet, she closed herself from the world, from her fears. He couldn't let that happen anymore. He wouldn't push her, since that would only serve to prove her right and break the tentative trust between them. He would encourage and pull back when he knew it was too much.

He could do that for her, because she meant so much more to him than he thought possible. All of that, his feelings and his wishes for a future had to wait.

They had to save the latest victim first.

~oOo~

There was a chill in the air, crisp and biting on one's face. Yet, he felt nothing. Numb to anything, but the task ahead. The woman had long since stopped whimpering and screaming, the drug paralyzing her body.

She was aware of everything, of the way the wind felt against her skin. The thump thump of her heart rushed through her ears, as clear as the sound of his footsteps. The scents of wet dirt and forest decay were undoubtedly pungent.

As he intended, it wouldn't be a thrill or satisfying if she wasn't aware. He wanted her to know that as he carried her to her deathbed.

Her seemingly blank eyes stared at the canopy overhead, brief glimpses of the starry night sky her only solace as she undoubtedly prayed. Her wishes, desires, and silent words ignored by some god as it had so often happened to him. Tears leaked down from each corner of her mascara-smudged eyes, falling down similar paths toward her neck and hair.

The crack of a tree branch would periodically break the silence around them. He was methodical in his approach, knew where his every footstep needed to land. His retreat would be along the same path, only backward. Soon, and he'd be able to sit back and watch as they scrambled to save her.

Once they reached their destination, he kept his face mostly hidden from her. The likelihood that she'd survive was little, but he miscalculated more than once. The thought made his hands tighten around her body making her whimper. The sound brought him back to the present, away from those that escaped his punishment.

He laid her on the plastic he set up earlier and pulled out a syringe from an inner pocket in his jacket. Her hazel eyes widened slightly, an indication that the drug was wearing away.

No matter, he thought, soon she'd sleep. Only for a little while, then she'd awaken in a pine box of his own making.

"We'll have a little talk soon, Doc."