Chapter Fifty Two.
Jasper
It was late evening and I sat on the back porch watching the sun set. In my hand
the little bird sat, the place he had every day at this time. I had worked hard on the
place and it was nearly finished. All it needed was Bella's presence to turn it from a
house to a home. I was trying to stay optimistic but it was getting harder and harder
as the weeks went on with no contact from her. I knew she was still at the Quileute
Reservation because Annie had rung and told me so. All she would ever say was that
it wouldn't be long before little bird flew. I'd had a single text from Alice, it just said
BELLA? I sent back NO. Since then I'd heard nothing.
The phone in the house rang and I wondered who the hell it might be. I answered
it,
"Jasper it's Carlisle."
I didn't say anything
"Have you heard from Edward?"
At this I took notice
"No, Why Should I have?"
There was a long silence then
"He's back in the country. Sam contacted Annie to say he was back in Forks. We think Bella's gone off with him. She was supposed to be going out with friends for breakfast or at least
that's what she told Emily. She got the deputy to drop her at the house after work.
She never had any plans to go out with her friends and when Emily went to the
house to see she found the place empty. Bella finally rang her to say she was back
with Edward and they were leaving. She thanked them for their help and said she'd
be in touch once they were settled somewhere."
I felt as if I'd been punched in the gut.
"Jasper? Did you hear anything from her?"
I couldn't answer. I just put the phone down turned and punched a hole in the newly plastered wall.
She'd left! Bella had gone back to Edward. I suppose I should have expected it.
The phone went again, it rang and rang but I just ignored it. Then my mobile went
off. I snatched it from the counter top preparing to throw it through the window.
Something made me look at the screen and it stopped me dead. It was her, the one
number I'd been waiting to see. Was she ringing to let me know the good news? Did
she really think I would be happy? I turned it off and ran out of the house. I needed
time to think. I hunted deer and destroyed a few trees but still didn't feel any better.
I could have torn the house down but I didn't, I was too crushed to do anything else.
The phone started ringing again and I pulled the jack out of the wall and threw the
whole thing out the door. I couldn't put it off any longer. I took my mobile out of my
pocket and turned it on, the message icon was flashing. I sighed and opened my
messages. There were three messages. One from Alice, one from Annie and one
from Bella. I guess they were all telling me the same news. Edward and Bella were
back together at last. My finger hovered over the delete icon, I really didn't want to
read her message but I guessed I'd better get it over with.
There were just two words ALICE KNIGHT. What the hell did that mean? It wasn't
what I was expecting to read, that was for sure. Was it a name? If it was I didn't
recognize it. Then it hit me, Bella had sent me a plea for help, she had called me her
knight in shining armour It had obviously been done quickly but Alice had the
information I needed. I rang Alice's mobile and paced as I waited for her to answer.
"About time Jazz. I thought she'd never contact you..."
I cut her off
"What the hell is going on Alice. I've just had Carlisle on the phone asking about Bella and Edward. She's gone off with him so why is she asking for my help?"
She sighed loudly,
"She didn't go with Edward idiot! She was taken by him. I told her to ring you but she has
this idea she's not worth it and she's worried about putting you in conflict with the
family again. You really are up on a pedestal as far as she's concerned. Edward
forced her to call Emily."
I let out a breath, Edward the ass hole I could deal with. Bella leaving me was a whole other thing.
"Where are they Alice?"
"They're in the Denali National Park but nowhere near Tanya's place. I can't get a fix on her exact location. I know she's given Edward a really hard time but hasn't mentioned you. He
thinks she's terrified of you."
I didn't understand that
"Why?"
"Rose gave him an edited version of your time with Bella."
I growled deep in my chest.
"Jazz He's losing patience with her. You need to get there quick."
I didn't wait to say goodbye to Alice, Bella needed me, I was gone.
I got a last-minute flight from Port Angeles to Seattle while a phone call to Jenks
organised money and ticket from there to Anchorage and a private jet into the
Denali National Park. I fretted the whole time I was in the air, ignoring the flight
attendants which was unusual for me. I tried to always be polite, after all they had a
job to do and it wasn't their fault we didn't eat or drink. I had a three-hour wait in
Seattle which gave me long enough to meet Jenks and collect my tickets, money,
paperwork and do a little shopping in the airport. I'd left without anything so I
bought a bag, a change of clothes and a few essentials. I'd just hunted luckily so I'd
be OK for a while and I knew there were plenty of animals when I got to Denali. I
had considered contacting Carlisle again but something stopped me. I didn't want
Rose to know there was trouble, she might give Edward a heads up. I did ring Annie
but there was no reply at her house and her mobile was turned off.
As I boarded the plane for Anchorage I had a bad feeling. I knew Edward, he was
fascinated by Bella and he'd never stopped loving her. I knew he wouldn't give her
up easily. I wasn't worried about taking him on, I could win with my hands tied
behind my back, but I was afraid of Bella getting hurt. I would have to work out a
way of getting her away from him before the fight. Oh yeah, I knew it would come to
a fight because he wouldn't give her up and she wanted me to get her away. I sat
holding the bird in my hand, my knuckles white but maintaining enough control not
to crush it. The flight was tedious in the extreme but I zoned out, I needed to stop thinking
like Jasper Hale and start thinking like Major Whitlock. If not, Bella would be lost to
me and quite possibly dead. I received a text message from Annie just before take off but it was a string of numbers, no more, I had to speak to her, her message had been cryptic
in the extreme. A set of numbers but what did they mean? Her phone was now going
to voice mail but my messages were never answered, my calls never returned. I
studied the numbers again with Whitlock eyes. Of course, they were coordinates
within the Denali National Park. I grabbed my phone and scrolled through to the
Google Earth app then I tapped in the numbers Annie had given me 63-1538
150-2614 N W. After a few minutes I had it. Edward had taken Bella somewhere
close to the Muldrow Glacier. The nearest place to stay was the Grizzly Bear cabins
and camp ground but I couldn't imagine Edward using a camp site, it was too public,
so they must be in a private cabin, that's why she hadn't given me the coordinates
for the camp ground. I needed more information and hoped I could contact Annie or
Alice when we landed.
