AN: Emmett to the Rescue ..

Chapter 20

Now, Edward

I awoke sharply; listening for whatever it was that had disturbed the silence. For a few moments, my mind refused to accept where I was, my dreams of Bella and Charlie at the forefront of my mind. The unwelcome memories of yesterday drifted back in, as the pain in my ribs and back made itself known. Looking around, I noticed that the room had lightened and guessed that it was close to dawn. I couldn't be sure what day it was, whether I had missed a whole day or this was just the following morning. My first thought after that was how worried Bella had to be with both me and Charlie missing.

Shifting on the mattress, I tried to stand and stretch, trying to ignore the persistent pain in my ribs when I did so. Aro would be back soon, and I couldn't afford to be seen as weak or he would believe he had the upper hand. Which I suppose was true at the moment.

Now that I was fully awake, I could hear a faint tapping noise. Confused, I looked around, uncertain which direction it was coming from since there was no movement from the top of the stairs. A light tinkle broke the silence again, and this time my eyes flicked to the window, which darkened with a shadow.

"You there, Edward," Emmett's unmistakable voice whispered into the hole now in the window.

Despite recognizing his voice, I whispered, "That you, Emmett?

"Yeah, who else?"

"Did you find Charlie, Emmett? How's Bella?"

"I'm sorry, Edward, we don't have any other leads; we're just watching Aro. Bella's not happy with any of us."

"How long have I been here?" I winced as I opened my mouth, pain radiating through my jaw.

"A couple of days; it's Saturday afternoon." He must have known what my next question was because he answered me without pause. "We'd have been here earlier, but your tracker signal gave out before we got here. Fortunately, we were close enough to see Aro switch vehicles. We weren't quite sure where in the house you were, and had to wait until he left before we could search the place to find you. Aro's been hanging around since yesterday evening, and we figured if he was here then he couldn't be taking Charlie anywhere."

I pulled myself to my feet, trying to shake off the headache, drinking the full bottle of water Stefan left yesterday. I felt a little better, but I knew it wouldn't last long. "Good. Aro told me that he had to call them―whoever they are―every hour or Charlie would be taken out of the country." I had to stop for a few minutes and fight the nausea back. "You on your own?"

"Of course not," Emmett scoffed. "Garrett's right here with me, Carlisle is watching so he can warn us if Aro heads back in, and Jared and Seth are close by setting things up. Aro left about ten minutes ago."

Taking shallow breaths and fighting against the threat of blacking out, I asked, "I assume Seth and Jared have checked out the rest of the house already? What's the plan?"

"Hang on a bit, Edward. Seth and Jared are back."

Emmett disappeared from sight, and although I could hear voices the words all ran together. My attention drifted away from them and back on Charlie and Bella until Emmett returned to the window.

"We have to move quick, Emmett. Aro won't stay away for too long, he's a sadistic bastard so he'll want to see me punished more. I'm pretty sure he's insane."

Emmett moved away and a different voice echoed quietly into the basement. "Hey, Edward, it's me, Seth. Jared and I have checked out the house and the only two people inside are Vladimir and Stefan. They're in the kitchen playing cards. Aro must be fucking confident―he hasn't posted any guards in the grounds at all. Jared's outside the kitchen window, and as soon as we give him the signal, he'll send them a nice little present." He snickered and finished up. "With a little luck, both men will be completely out of it, and Jared'll help them outside to the fresh air. Unfortunately for them it's a walled garden, and they'll never find the gate before he takes care of them. We'll see you real soon."

"Be ready, Edward, Garrett and I will be with you in a few minutes."

"Wait, Emmett. I'm handcuffed to a hook embedded in the wall."

"Not to worry," Emmett laughed. "We got bolt cutters; it won't be a problem."

With that they all disappeared, and for a short while everything was quiet. Then all hell broke loose, starting with the sound of glass breaking, followed by shouting and yelling from the other side of the door at the top of the stairs.

There was a crash from somewhere overhead, and the thunder of boots as they crossed the floor above me. Within minutes, the door to the basement crashed open and the light flicked on, blinding me for a few seconds.

"Christ, Edward. They really did a number on you, didn't they?" Garrett didn't wait for an answer as he stepped toward me, cutting through the chain as if it were butter.

"Sorry, we don't have time to get you out of the cuffs, we've gotta get out of here, now." Garrett reached out and slid his arm around my waist, holding me up as I leaned on him.

Practically dragging me up the steps, Emmett met us at the top and helped me to stagger through the house and out through the front door. The sunlight was blinding, and for a moment I couldn't see anything while pain lanced through my head. Squinting through slitted eyes and gritting my teeth, I tried to ignore the stabbing pain in my side and the sharp gravel cutting into my feet.

Seth and Jared came running around the side of the house shouting for us to move it. Asking no questions, Garrett dragged me across the driveway and into the trees on the far side of the property, not a moment too soon. The car, carport, and part of the side of the house exploded, throwing everyone into the air.

For a few minutes I was blind and deaf, the ringing in my ears twenty times worse than before. Pain rolled over my entire body and I was unable to move. Lucky for me, Emmett had been further into the trees and recovered first.

He mouthed some words at me, and at my blank expression he pulled me to my feet and put his mouth right next to my ear, yelling, "Come on, Ed, we gotta get moving!"

I heard only a murmur, but guessed he was trying to say. Emmett pulled me along with him and we retreated into the trees away from the driveway. In minutes we were stumbling out of the trees onto the driveway of another house, in much the same condition as the one we had left.

By now, the ringing in my ears had subsided somewhat, though the pain in my ribs now outstripped everything else from where I had been thrown to the ground. Garrett, Seth, and Jared shot out of the trees just a couple of minutes behind us, Seth and Jared a bit battered but laughing like they'd played a prank on someone, not blown up a car and half a house.

Carlisle stepped out of a car parked around the side of the house, helping me into the rear seat where I laid out as flat as I could, closing my eyes and fighting the persistent nausea. Emmett climbed into the passenger seat and I felt the car rumble to life.

With my eyes closed, my hearing began to improve a little, and I heard Carlisle speak. "Jared says Aro's car just pulled into the driveway, and turned immediately and left again"

"Get on it, Carlisle, it might be the last lead we have to Charlie!" Emmett shouted.

"Edward needs a hospital right now, Emmett," Carlisle argued. "There's no telling what damage Vladimir inflicted, let alone what else is going on after that explosion. What the hell were they thinking?"

"Carlisle," I whispered, still battling the pain in my side. "Carlisle," I repeated a little louder, forcing the words out. Both Emmett and Carlisle stopped speaking, Emmett turning to look at me while Carlisle's eyes caught mine in the rear view mirror.

"You need treatment, Edward," Carlisle said while Emmett said nothing, waiting for me to tell him what to do.

"Doesn't matter right now, Carlisle, go after him."

He sighed and put the car into drive heading out through the open gates, Seth, Jared and Garrett following close behind.

We were lucky that the road was virtually abandoned with only one car in sight; a black SUV not too far ahead of us.

Carlisle increased his speed until we were close on Aro's tail, pushing him to move faster. Pulling myself into a seated position, I closed my eyes for a few minutes as the nausea returned. Eventually, I managed to force it back far enough to be able to open my eyes again.

"Thank God," I blurted out as my eyes caught sight of the red blinking tracker on the dashboard. "We still have a way of tracking him, and I'm betting he's heading straight to where he has Charlie. We have to keep him in sight; I don't want to give him a chance to switch cars again."

The movement and words took every bit of my remaining strength, and I leaned back in the seat, refastening my seat belt and closing my eyes as Carlisle increased his speed again, keeping as near to Aro as he could. Occasionally, I peered out of the window, conscious of the darkening sky and the increase in traffic around us as we approached downtown Chicago.

I hoped we were heading back to his estate, but Aro had other ideas, and suddenly swung onto the I-90 Express heading north out of Chicago. Sitting forward and trying to watch where he was heading, I questioned, "Where the fuck is he going?"

The question didn't need an answer as Aro began to dodge in and out of the traffic, trying to shake us off. "Don't lose him, Dad," I warned. The car surged forward, gaining on the SUV, which switched lanes, darting in and out of the vehicles in front of it; luckily, it was after the main rush hour.

Abruptly, the SUV raced across the intersection in front of us and turned against the traffic. "What the fuck is he doing?" I breathed in shock. Without a word Carlisle followed him and as the car lurched from side to side, I gripped the 'oh shit' handle above my head, praying that nothing got in our way.

For a while it seemed as if my prayers had been answered when the traffic began to thin out, but unfortunately, luck ran out when a Chevy truck turned out into the traffic from a side road on the left, almost directly in front of Aro's SUV.

The SUV lurched to the right trying to avoid the Chevy, and presenting itself broadside to the oncoming traffic. The Chevy had been accelerating hard, and with no time to slow down, the driver was unable to avoid the SUV, hitting the rear door like a tank. It was no match for the truck, and the force of the blow lifted the SUV off the ground, where it hung suspended for a few minutes before crashing back down.

Carlisle took evasive action, swinging the car onto the sidewalk, which was mercifully free of pedestrians. With a blaring of horns all around us, more cars coming to a juddering halt, although two others were unable to avoid joining the mass of twisted metal in the center of the road.

Stunned, we all sat in silence for a few minutes until the lick of orange flames flickered from the underside of the SUV. In unison, we all scrambled from the car, running toward the SUV; the only thought on my mind was making sure nothing happened to Aro, or my son might be lost for good. Within minutes the flames were reaching above the top of the SUV, and while Carlisle headed for the driver of the Chevy to check on him, Emmett and I raced for the SUV, only for the flames to flare up, beating us both back.

Racing around the other side of the car, I managed to wrench the driver door open, catching him as he fell out, his sightless eyes turned toward the sky. It was Paul Lahote, one of Aro's soldiers. Gently, I laid him out on the ground and climbed carefully into the car. The interior was empty and there was no sign of Aro, and worse, I had no idea if he had been in the SUV and had managed to get out, or had never been in there in the first place.

Staggering back to the sidewalk, I slumped down on the curb, the only thought in my head that somehow we had lost the only lead we had to Charlie. I dreaded telling Bella.

I had no idea how long I sat there with my head in my hands, only becoming aware of Emmett because he was shaking my shoulder. "Edward, come on. We have to get out of here before the police come, or we'll be caught up with them for hours."

There was silence for a few minutes, and then he shook me again. "Edward, you know I can't be found here. The department thinks I'm on vacation, and they'll be ecstatic to get their hands on you, so come on. Get up!"

"Okay, okay, Emmett. I'm coming." I groaned, the pains in my body making themselves felt again as the adrenaline wore off. "Carlisle and Garrett can stay here and help people out of the other cars, and tell Seth and Jared to scout around and see if Aro got out." I didn't have to say anything more; I could see the look on Emmett's face, and knew we might have come to a dead end, something I was loathe to admit in words. "Tell Seth and Jared to get Caius any way they want to; I'm done with negotiating."

Emmett helped me to my feet and we made our way back to the car, which had come to a halt just before the stacked tables and chairs of an outdoor cafe. I was glad it was closed, or the death count may have been a lot more. I hoped that it was only Paul that died.

In silence, Emmett and I head back to the house to work out what to do next. I was dreading telling Bella that I had failed to not only protect Charlie, but that now the only lead we'd had was lost.

** Dangerous Secrets **