A/N: Sorry for the delay! I wanted to upload the chapter yesterday, but we visited the godchildren and when I got home, I just wanted to go to bed and sleep for a week. This morning there was a problem with my Safari browser (for some reason I can't seem to edit chapters anymore) which still isn't fixed. I'm using Firefox now and so far it's working, but it's still somewhat annoying because it's been like this for the last two weeks now… Enjoy this chapter! I'd love to hear what you think. If you write a review, I'd be forever grateful!
A massive thanks to all who'd reviewed or alerted to me since the last update. You have no idea how happy your appreciation of Lifelines makes me! A special thanks, of course, to my beta KayMarieXW. Your input on this chapter was incredibly helpful!
Also, an apology is in order for misspelling Brianna McBride's penname in my last post. In my defense, I had just got up and was still half asleep when I uploaded the chapter.
I've been on Twitter for a while and I'd love to see you there. Follow me TheaJa1 !
Enough with the rambling now!
Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga is property of Stephenie Meyer. I'm only borrowing. All original characters belong to me.
28. TURNING POINT, PART 3
BELLA
A million different thoughts flashed through my mind simultaneously. That it couldn't be Victoria Lambert had spoken to on the phone, that he didn't even know her, that I was imagining things because I was scared and desperate… But then I felt Carlisle's hands on my shoulders, forcibly holding me back and I realised that while the conscious part of my mind was still grappling to understand, the subconscious part had already accepted that it was Victoria and decided to take action.
Henry Lambert knew her, had been working for her, had most likely spied on me and Carlisle and it didn't matter why he'd done it, what he gained from working with a psychopath like Victoria. What mattered was that he'd betrayed us and for that he'd deserved to die once he'd told me everything he knew. And by God, I thought savagely, I'll make him tell me! For a single moment, a moment that was so brief it could not be measured, I felt overwhelming relief, relief that what Victoria had done wasn't all my fault, that there was someone else to be blamed as well.
Then rage took over, wiping every conscious thought from my mind.
I strained to break out of Carlisle's grip, snarling and hissing ferociously as I tried to wrestle free, but he held me pinned against his chest, slowly dragging me towards his office. I was kicking at him, clawing at his clothes and still his grip wouldn't loosen. Using his elbow, he pushed down the door handle, then quickly spun around and shoved me into his office, closing the door behind him. Stumbling forward, I grabbed the edge of his desk to steady myself and wheeled around.
I paused for the tiniest of moments to assess the situation. Carlisle's office was larger than mine, with the desk standing perpendicular to the window, now on my right. A door opened into an adjoining bathroom that was so tiny that a man broader in build than Carlisle wouldn't have been able to turn around properly. Two comfortable-looking off-white armchairs and a small rectangular glass table sat in the corner beside the window, opposite of the desk. Shelves with medical reference works—not that Carlisle would need them—lined the walls. His desk was cluttered, which somehow didn't fit my image of him. Six or seven pictures in heavy silver frames sat in the left upper corner of the desk, clustered around a lamp. I couldn't see them from where I was standing, but I assumed they showed his family.
Carlisle had positioned himself in front of the door, knees bent and arms half-raised. He was prepared to stop me from leaving, but while his expression was serious and tense, I could tell that he didn't really expect me to resist.
He was wrong.
I had never liked Dr Henry Lambert. I had realised that he was exactly the kind of man I had always sought to avoid the moment I'd walked into his office and had seen the way he looked at me. I'd noticed how his eyes had lingered on the neckline of my shirt, how his gaze swept over every inch of my body. I wasn't stupid. I knew that he'd only hired me because he'd liked what he'd seen that day. Why else would he have hired me? I had no credentials to speak off, had only just finished my residency when Victoria had changed me. Still, I'd been grateful. I wanted my life to be normal again, at least as normal as was possible for a vampire. I'd accepted that I'd have to thwart Lambert's advances every now and then and while, as a human, that prospect would have frightened me, as a vampire it didn't. I didn't care how many times he tried to hit on me because I knew I'd be able to walk away. As he had proved to be persistent, I tended to stay as far away from him as possible.
Is that, I wondered absently, why he works for Victoria? To get back to me for not sleeping with him? Did he want to destroy me because I dared refuse him? Or wasn't this about me at all? Was Victoria blackmailing him? I despised Henry Lambert with every fibre of my being, but I was sure he loved his family, if not his wife, then his daughter, and who wouldn't do anything for a loved one in danger?
In the end, however, it didn't matter to me why he'd done it. He had done it and I'd make him pay for it if it was the last thing I ever did. I would make him tell me where Victoria was hiding and then I'd put an end to this. I wouldn't let anyone stop me. Not even Carlisle.
I charged.
Carlisle reacted instantly. Stepping forward, he pushed my raised right arm away with his left and a moment later I felt his right fist connect with my jaw. I stumbled sideways into the shelf, which toppled over when I crashed headfirst into it. He was talking to me. I heard his voice, but what he was saying didn't make it into my brain. I turned around to attack again before the shelf struck the ground, the plywood splintering easily.
Carlisle was still guarding the door, his expression strained. I understood only too well. It was only a matter of time before someone would come running to find out what was going on, alerted by the racket we were making. I had to reach Lambert and get the information I needed before that. But Carlisle stood unmoving, warding me off and talking to me in that calm, gentle voice of his. His words began making sense again eventually, but I simply refused to listen. I wasn't interested in what he had to say. He wanted to stop me and I couldn't allow that. Didn't he see that this was what we'd all been waiting for? Lambert could lead us to Victoria and if we found her soon, then maybe I'd be able to save Liv after all.
At some point he changed tactics, attacking me rather than waiting for me to come to him. I was no match for him. Carlisle was a superb fighter, with centuries of experience behind him. He wasn't as good as Jasper or Edward, but he was good enough to beat me, who had never really fought before that night in Chicago.
But, just as in Chicago when I'd somehow spread my shield over Edward and saved us both, I got lucky.
Carlisle had managed to grab me from behind, his arms like steel clamps around my torso. I had no clue of self-defence whatsoever, but Renée had made me watch Miss Congeniality with her over and over again and somehow those memories—fuzzy and indistinct, like all human memories that had survived my transition—found their way to the surface of my mind now. It was impossible to disable a vampire, but I didn't have to disable Carlisle. I just had to distract him for a moment to buy myself half a second or two.
Solar plexus. Instep. Nose. Groin. Bending my elbow, I jabbed it into Carlisle's stomach as hard as I could. It couldn't have hurt, but he still flinched, loosening his grip around my chest. I drove the long, thin heel of my shoe into his instep, then spun around and struck his nose with the heel of my hand. The feeling of guilt that washed over me when I brought my knee up, causing Carlisle to gasp, lasted only a moment. I was free and rushed to the door, almost ripping it off its hinges in my haste to open it. Just a few more steps and then Henry Lambert would be at my mercy…
I ran straight into Emmett's broad chest.
I yelped in surprise, then Emmett, who was clearly amused, lifted me up by the collar of the duffel coat that I was still wearing, carrying me back in Carlisle's office. Jake followed in Emmett's wake, taking care to stay clear of my kicking legs. His face was grim, his eyes dark.
As soon as he'd closed the door behind him I knew I'd lost. I'd never be able to reach Lambert now, not with Emmett virtually sitting on top of me. I slumped in his grip and the rage I had felt was almost instantly replaced by despair. Emmett didn't seem to trust me. He still held me literally at arm's length, my feet dangling a few inches above the floor.
"Alice," was all Emmett said, eyeing Carlisle, who didn't seem to have fully recovered from my attack yet, curiously.
"She couldn't reach either of you and called Emmett to tell us to get up here ASAP," Jake added. "She didn't explain what was going on though." His eyes shifted from Carlisle to me and I wondered what he saw in my face, for his hard expression grew instantly soft, worried. "What happened?" he asked gently.
"Victoria," I hissed, teeth bared.
"I'm afraid it's true," Carlisle said when Jake raised his eyebrows at me in surprise. "We overheard Dr Lambert—he's the Dean of Medicine—talking to her on the phone. Bella," he paused briefly as if he didn't quite know how to describe my outburst, "reacted very strongly." He gestured at the ruined shelf and the sea of books on the floor. "I thought I heard my cell phone," he continued, "but I was preoccupied. Is Alice coming?"
"She and Edward both are," Emmett replied in a serious tone. He finally released me, but he kept near me as if he expected me to bolt again. I peeled off my coat and tossed it over the glass table which had miraculously survived the fight, then sank onto the floor next to it, shoulders sagging. I could hear Lambert pacing around his office, his heart pounding in his chest. I wished I'd heard the entire conversation and not just the end.
I didn't glance up as Jake crouched down beside me. "You okay?" he asked softly, putting his arms around my shoulders and pulling me against his side although I stiffened at his scorching touch. Jake wasn't very good as respecting someone's personal space. It was a wolf thing.
"No, I'm not okay," I said—snarled, really. "The man who's been spying on me for God knows how long, is only two doors down and I want answers, but you won't let me near him!"
Jake placed the tips of his fingers underneath my chin, gently tilting my face so that I was looking at him. "And how would you go about getting those answers?" he asked calmly. "Beat it out of him?"
I didn't answer, but my silence must have told him everything he needed to know, for he sighed and shook his head. Emmett laughed once, incredulous. Jake's hand fell away from my face and took my hand instead. "Let Edward handle it," he said softly. "He's better… equipped for that kind of thing."
I blinked. Jake never spoke of Edward if he could help it. I'd noticed that things seemed to have changed between them—although I couldn't even begin to fathom why—and while they sort of got along now, I doubted they'd ever become friends. Jake may have changed his mind about vampires in general, but Edward wasn't just a vampire. He was the vampire who'd left me heartbroken. If I decided to forgive Edward, then Jake would probably—hopefully—accept that decision, but he'd never forgive Edward for what he'd done. I didn't think he could, for he was the one who'd picked up the pieces of what Edward had left behind.
That he now spoke of him as a friend and if not as a friend, then as someone he respected, maybe even valued to an extent—it was strange. Or maybe I was simply imagining things. It was hard to think through the black veil of despair shrouding my mind and I shook my head to clear it.
"I won't let him get away," I croaked. I wanted it to sound like a threat, but my voice faltered and it came out as a plea.
Carlisle placed his hand on my shoulder as well, a kind smile on his face. I instantly felt guilty for hitting him. "Let's see what he tells us during the interrogation first."
"You're considering letting him go?" Emmett asked in disbelief. "Carlisle, if that guy doesn't know too much already, he will after we're done with him. He can't be allowed to live!"
"We'll see," Carlisle replied quietly.
Next to me Jake shifted uncomfortably. I had a pretty good idea what he was thinking. According to legend, the Quileutes had become wolves to protect their tribe. That protection had later been extended over the entire county, and standing idly by while we disposed of Lambert went against everything Jake had been brought up to believe in. Besides, he was still a law enforcement officer.
In the end, however, he'd have no choice but to accept our decision. As Emmett had said, Lambert knew too much. We couldn't allow him to walk way even if we'd wanted to because he couldn't be trusted to keep our secret. If he was found out, we'd all die. Carlisle seemed to be prepared to trust Lambert's word, but I wasn't because I knew him.
And even if he didn't know a thing, I thought, with a bloodthirstiness that both surprised and scared me, I'd still kill him.
