Jacob Moves In

Disclaimer; all characters and copyright belong to SM.

A/N-thank you for the kind reviews!

Chapter Fifty One

Charlie insisted on driving. Tori capitulated only when he promised that he wouldn't interrogate her about Renee on the way. "Just keep the questions to a minimum and we won't have a problem." She warned him.

"Right." Charlie drawled sarcastically as he opened the passenger door of the cruiser for her. Tori slid gracefully into her seat. "Where exactly are we heading for?"

"Seattle." Tori replied cryptically as she made herself comfortable. She refused to wear a seatbelt.

"Ren is in Seattle?" Charlie said incredulously. "How the hell did you track her to Seattle?"

Tori gave him a dark look. "That's three questions already. Anymore and I'll climb out of this car and walk away."

Charlie's jaw flexed as he shut her door none too gently and walked around to the other side of the cruiser. When he climbed in, much less gracefully than she did, he saw a glimmer of a smile cross her lips. "I'm glad you find this whole thing so amusing." He huffed.

"You are angry with me." Tori was definitely amused now.

"I'm not angry I'm frustrated. There is a difference." Charlie scowled as he switched on the engine.

"Clearly." Tori teased lightly. She looked him up and down lasciviously. "In more ways than one I imagine."

Charlie frowned, feeling like a fool again. Her ambiguous meaning was clear. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he pulled onto the road. He was finding it hard to concentrate with her being so close to him in a confined space. Her presence was intoxicating. Her sweet scent was filling up the cab and sent his pulse racing. He couldn't understand why she had such an effect on him. He was being ludicrous. After a moment of tortuous silence where he struggled to keep his composure, Tori broke the spell by turning on the radio. The sudden noise startled him and he swerved slightly. He glanced at Tori's profile. She was wearing that same half smile again, looking amused, as if fully aware of what she was doing to him. Eventually after flicking through several stations she settled on one playing soft rock.

"This is what you like?" Charlie asked for something to say.

"Another question." Tori smiled enigmatically. "Right now this is what I like. But it could change tomorrow."

"Do you ever give a straight answer?" Charlie muttered.

"Do you ever stop playing the cop and interrogating people?" Tori threw back at him.

"Now you're the one asking questions." Charlie said pointedly.

"Touché." Tori laughed at his ticked off expression. "I'm a live by the seat of my pants kind of gal." She faked a southern accent and ramped up the music in the car.

"You're definitely something." Charlie had to yell to make himself heard above the twanging guitars.

"And so are you." Tori's amusement faded and she now appeared perplexed. "I don't know what it is about you." She switched off the music, suddenly seeming annoyed with herself. "No more talking. Just drive."

The abrupt change in mood sent Charlie's head spinning. He glanced at her often as he drove but she refused to engage with him again.


The light was dawning when they finally reached the outskirts of Seattle. Charlie had made one stop for gas, then continued on. He had offered to buy Tori something to eat or drink but she had refused both. He bought himself some snacks, wondering how she could go so long without even drinking water, but when he asked she insisted she was fine. As the journey progressed she had retreated into herself. Charlie couldn't get her to open up to him at all and this just increased his frustration with the whole situation. It seemed her unintentional slip up that she found him interesting had unnerved her.

"I don't know where to go from here. I'm gonna need some directions." He said eventually as he slowed down almost to a stop.

"My turn to drive." Tori said coolly as she avoided looking at him directly.

"You are not driving the cruiser." Charlie's fingers flexed on the steering wheel as he glared at her.

"I drive from here. This is non-negotiable." Tori insisted curtly.

"No."

"Then I leave right now." Tori said calmly as she opened her door while the car was still moving.

"For fucks sake, woman." Charlie snapped as he desperately reached across her and slammed the door shut before she fell onto the tarmac. "What is it with you?"

A faint hiss, almost like a snake, escaped Tori's perfect mouth as she stiffened, clearly incensed by the way he had spoken to her. "My patience is wearing thin." She spat.

Charlie pulled over and confronted her. He opened his window, letting the fresh air pool into the car. It cleared his head for a moment. "So is mine, Tori. Get out of the damn car if that's what you want. I don't care. I'll track Ren down myself without your help."

A shaft of sunlight broke through the cloud cover just then, setting Tori's vibrant red hair on fire. Her porcelain skin began to glow. Charlie stared as an odd shimmer began to ripple across her exposed arms and face. Tori immediately sank lower in her seat, turning her face away from him. "Just drive straight, then take a left." She said in a low voice. "We need to hide out for the day. We can't approach them until nightfall or we'll be exposed."

"Exposed to what." Charlie said in exasperation. "No more games, Tori. Where is Renee?"

"I said no questions." Tori was in control now that the sun was once again hidden behind the clouds. "Just drive." She ordered.

Charlie scowled, giving in, while at the same time wishing he could just walk away from this damaged woman. But he couldn't. He felt so drawn to her and didn't understand why. There was a powerful attraction there, almost a compulsive need to be close to her constantly. "One more day, Tori." He muttered. "If you don't take me to Renee tonight. We are done."

"I will take you to her tonight. You must trust me." He was astonished when Tori reached out and covered his hand with hers. Her fingers were icy as they slid fluidly between his. He swallowed thickly as he raised his eyes to her lovely face. He longed to snatch her sunglasses away so he could see her eyes. "Do you trust me?" Her cadence was soft, gentle. It was a tone he hadn't heard from her thus far.

"I guess I have no choice." Charlie said gruffly. He tried to hold her hand but Tori abruptly snatched her hand back and laid it in her lap. He sighed heavily, feeling vexed again. "I need to call my daughter and let her know what's going on." He reached in the glove box for his cell. When he pulled it out he realised the battery was dead. "Dammit, can I borrow yours?" He asked Tori.

"I don't have one. They're like a ball and chain. I prefer to be free." She smiled enigmatically again, drawing him back into her web. "Relax, your daughter will know everything all in good time. Now, we need to find somewhere to stay until nightfall." She reminded him.


They hung out in different bars and restaurants throughout the daylight hours. Tori seemed to have an aversion to going out into the sun. She was fine when the clouds covered the bright sky, but when the sun reared its head she would duck for cover, pulling him with her into a shadowy nook as if the sunlight would burn her smooth skin with one touch. Charlie bought her drinks, but she refused to eat anything. He wasn't even sure she drank much, not in front of him. He would visit the men's room and when he came back her glass would be empty.

They talked about lots of things and nothing. Tori seemed to hang on to his every word. Somehow she managed to extract a lot of information out of him without giving anything in return. He had already told her about his older strict parents and his rigid upbringing, then his feelings of being trapped when they both fell ill at the same time and he was forced to drop all his plans of going to college and get a steady job with a regular income so he could support them.

"I wondered what drew you to your ex. Now I see." Tori revealed as the afternoon drew to a close. They were sitting outside a little coffee shop, drinking latte's, at least Charlie was, Tori's was going cold in front of her. A light rain was falling. She seemed happier to be outside now that there was no fear that the sun would break through the clouds at any unexpected moment.

"What do you mean by that?" Charlie didn't hide his annoyance.

Tori smiled in amusement. "You are angry with me again."

"I'm frustrated. I told you there's a difference. Now answer the question. What did you mean?"

"I mean that she must have seemed like a breath of fresh air to you after leading such a stifling existence." Tori finally responded.

This revelation surprised Charlie. He had never thought of it like that before. His romantic choices had been limited in Forks. All the girls he had grown up with had either married or moved away. His life had consisted of work and looking after his parents. The only bright spots were the times he spent with his best friends, but then they got caught up in their own relationships and his life became more mundane than ever. Then Renee had breezed into town with her friends. Her hippy spirit had called out to him. She had asked him to join her on her grand adventure, but instead he had trapped her in the same way his parents had trapped him when she fell unexpectedly pregnant with Bella.

"You never loved her." Tori pressed as she watched the rapid change of emotions cross his expressive face.

"She's the mother of my child." Charlie rubbed a hand over his face. This trip down memory lane was making him uncomfortable.

"But that doesn't make you responsible for her mistakes." Tori's expression turned thoughtful. "You can still walk away. You can climb back into your car right now and go home to your daughter."

"What about you, Tori? Will you walk away?" Charlie said pointedly. His expression turned pleading. "You could have died in that fire. You were lucky to escape. I can't believe the Cullens set their own house alight. They must have been desperate to destroy evidence to go to those lengths. They haven't been seen since, but we found no casualties so they must have escaped." He tried to reach for her hand but Tori withdrew from him. "You can't put yourself in danger like that again. You asked me to trust you. Why can't you trust me? When we've dealt with Renee come to the station with me and make an official report about what that family have done to you."

"We live in two different worlds." The sun was beginning to set. The sky blazed red just like Tori's hair. "It's time to go. And this time I drive." She said quietly as she rose elegantly to her feet and walked away without waiting for his response.


They were in downtown Seattle. Charlie peered through the windscreen. The night air felt thick, dense. It was gone midnight. Tori had barely spoken since their last conversation other than to tell him to quit asking questions. The further they travelled the more rundown the houses began to look. Tori had driven aimlessly for a while, whether to confuse him and make him deliberately lose his sense of direction, Charlie wasn't sure. They were entering the less prosperous neighbourhoods now. Eventually she stopped, parking the cruiser under the cover of some trees, shielding the car from any curious eyes.

"Stay here." Tori warned him. She made as if to get out but Charlie grabbed her hand. It was cold, just like it had been all day. He clung on.

"You can't expect me to stay here while you go off alone. I'm not a fool." He looked at the dilapidated house she had targeted. He had come across places like this before on occasion during his time in the force. "This is a crack house." His heart sank and his throat tightened. "Ren can't be in there. She doesn't use drugs."

Tori eased her hand out of his. Her expression hardened. "I never said she was a user."

Charlie quickly climbed out of the car. "Tell me." He demanded.

"Her new boyfriend runs that place. She helps him out so to speak." Tori said harshly. "She was already up to her neck in it when I for...persuaded her to hand over your daughter's check."

"She's a supplier." Charlie said, sickened. "Fuck."

"I warned you that you might not like what you see." Tori reminded him coldly. "But you insisted. Do you really want to bring this woman back into your daughter's life?"

"I need to look her in the eyes, Tori . I need closure." Charlie felt like he was drowning.

"As you wish."

Tori seemed to vanish into thin air right before his eyes. Charlie whirled around, calling her name, searching. Then suddenly there were loud screams coming from inside the dilapidated building, followed by angry cussing. Out of the darkness Tori reappeared, she strode into the light, dragging someone along behind her by their hair. It took a moment for Charlie to register it was Renee. She was screaming bloody murder. She was so thin. Her face was caked in makeup, the thick mascara was pooling around her hollow eyes, which opened wide when she saw Charlie standing horrified in front of her.

Tori threw her at Charlie's feet like she was yesterday's trash and locked eyes with him. "Here is your closure." She said coolly. "As for me I need to finish what I started."

With that parting comment she vanished back into the darkness.

A/N-thanks for reading!