Chapter Thirty Eight

Jasper

I came to again unable to understand what I was seeing, Garrett has seized Jane in a vice like grip then threw her out of the building several hundred feet to the fencing which protested loudly. Looking to where the noise was I saw Alec struggling against a girl, a girl I knew well. What the hell was Bella Swan doing here in Boulder? Not only that but how was she able to hold onto a furious vampire? I grabbed Alec from behind hoping that whatever had upset his gift wouldn't stop working just yet and told Bella to shut her eyes and keep them closed. I didn't want her seeing what I was about to do. I twisted Alec's head until it came free and Peter handed me a lighter holding it gingerly between mangled fingers which had just started pulling themselves straight once more.

"I'll give you one thing Major, you know how to make an entrance!"

I didn't tell Bella to open her eyes until Alec was a pile of ashes then went to help her up as Peter went to the aid of another young man I hadn't noticed before, a Native American. What was he doing here? I hadn't seen him when we came in.

Putting my arm around Bella I helped her up,

"You can look now Bella"

She opened her eyes but didn't look round as I expected, alarmed. No, she gazed into my face and her hand touched my cheek,

"Are you OK? I thought we might not be in time."

I smiled at her, worried about me!

"How did you know where we were? How did you get here Bella?"

"It's too complicated for now and my hand really hurts".

I lifted her arm very carefully and I could see why, the fingers were bent backwards, obviously dislocated, and her knuckles were almost the size of my wrist.

"You need a hospital Bella."

She shook her head,

"No way, too complicated and if they find me they'll find Seth, he's in a lot of trouble as it is."

"Does Charlie know where you are?"

She shook her head and looked at her hand resting in the palm of mine.

"Can you put my fingers back?"

I started to shake my head but she smiled although I could see she was in terrible pain, feel it too.

"OK. Look the other way."

She did as I told her without argument again, and taking her pain into my body I pulled her fingers until they clicked back into place. I felt her body sag and knew she'd fainted so I scooped her up in my arms as Garrett came back in shaking his head,

"The bitch ran for it but I think she knows her brother is dead. What the hell happened in here?"

"We don't have time for a post-mortem now. The authorities will be here soon, let's go."

The young man I hadn't seen before called out

"Our car is a write off but we need to get it away, its rented in Bella's name."

"I'll deal with the car, you go with the others, find a motel to hole up and text me."

I nodded to Garrett who was probably the least hurt of us and pulled the young man with us back to the car we had left earlier.

"You drive Peter."

He held up still crushed fingers and the young man got behind the wheel.

"Do you have a driver's license kid?"

"Its Seth not kid and no I don't, but I drove us to Seattle and then here."

"Then go before those siren get any closer."

Seth started the car and drove away from the emergency vehicles we could hear approaching.

A few miles down the road he pulled in at a motel and held out his hand,

"I'll rent the room but I need some cash. I'll tell them my sisters been taken ill."

I didn't have a hand free but Peter shoved a handful of bills in his outstretched hand and sent him off keeping a wary eye out for trouble,

"Who the fuck is Seth?"

"No idea but he's Bella's friend and he came to help so I guess that makes him one of the good guys."

"Is she OK?"

"No, she needs pain relief, ice, and sleep."

"When Seth gets back I'll send him for pain killers and food and I'll get the ice. There's always an ice machine at these places."

Seth came back a few minutes later with a key smiling when Peter gave him more money and a short shopping list.

"Any problems kid you don't lead them to us OK? Here's my cellphone. The Major is on speed dial. Find somewhere nice and public and ring. Got it?"

"It's Seth not kid, and yeah I got it."

He ran off before Peter could answer him,

"Cheeky little fucker isn't he?"

Bella

When I opened my eyes I found the pain had eased considerably and I was laying in a bed, warm and comfortable, a cold compress on my injured hand. I tried to sit up but a cold hand on my shoulder kept me laying down.

"Wait Bella. Let yourself come to properly first."

I opened my eyes to see Jasper sitting beside me holding an ice pack on my hand.

"We did it, Seth and I. I really didn't think we would make it in time. She said we needed to move fast but I couldn't drive myself so Seth offered to help."

"I know. He's told us what happened Bella. You were very brave coming all this way on the word of a stranger."

"I couldn't affords to ignore her, what if I had? You might have been dead now. You and your friends."

I pulled myself up on his arm looking around,

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"The guy from the bus. I saw him in the storage room, the guy who warned me about the attack. He was there."

I heard a chuckle and the same guy walked out of the shadows to bow with a flourish,

"That would be me Bella. Garrett at your service...again it seems."

"You're a friend of Jaspers?"

"Kind of, we have mutual friends. Not terribly well housebroken but I guess that can't be helped."

He was pushed aside by another man, the one who was on the floor behind the young man who had been attacking Jasper when we came in.

"Listen you, if I want a press officer I'll employ my own, now get out of the way and let me see this superwoman."

He looked me up and down without saying anything at first then shrugged,

"You don't look much like an Amazon so do you have a secret weapon you're keeping from us?"

I shook my head warily, this must be Charlotte's mate, or was that ex mate? I couldn't remember.

"Well I guess you'll do but you could have arrived a little earlier in the game, Alec almost took my fucking hands off."

"I'm sorry. We came as quickly as we could."

He nodded pursing his lips,

"I guess so. So you're Bella. I guess it pays to stay on your good side."

"Then you stand no chance Peter, You may as well throw yourself under an express train now and get it over with. Put us all out of our misery."

"Fuck you Garrett, who would you have to bitch about if I weren't here?"

"Oh I think I'd learn to live with the absence."

I could see they were really the best of friends so I closed my eyes again and sank back onto the mattress only to remember Seth,

"Where's Seth? He didn't get hurt did he? It's all my fault if he did."

"Actually Bella its my own fault for offering to come but I'm fine. At least until we get back, then it might be a whole other story."

I remembered we had stolen away in the night and groaned,

"Charlie is going to throw a fit, note or no note, and Harry..."

"I think it might be a little more serious than that Bella."

I looked at Jasper who was watching Seth,

"She doesn't know does she?"

Seth shook his head,

"Nope but she saw one at least so I guess she's gonna find out eventually."